Mother's Saloon Reopens in Ocean Beach With New Ownership & Eventual Name Change To Northside Tavern

August 20, 2020

Mother's Saloon in San Diego's Ocean Beach shuttered this spring after 9 years in business, but industry veterans have revived the neighborhood destination and reopened it with the same look and feel. They will soon change the name to Northside Tavern

Colin and Shelby Wickersheim ended their tenure as owners of Mother's Saloon this past May after being unable to reach an arrangement with the buildings landlords. Most feared the Ocean Beach pub was finished, but in came Sabrina Sutphin, Jason Micozzi and Tom North. Sutphin has been living in Ocean Beach for nearly two decades and worked at nearby Lucy's Tavern for 16 years. Micozzi is also a Lucy's alum of almost 10 years and also worked at Tilted Stick. Tom North was long a bartender at Lamplighter and was the San Diego CityBeat bartender of the year in 2006.

"We're so grateful to even be open right now," explained co-owner Sabrina Sutphin. "We do plan on changing a few things in the future such as eventually adding a rooftop/sky deck. We are also planning on giving Mother's a facelift, painting the inside and outside, and eventually changing the name to brand it as our own. We opened very quickly after making the deal with the Wickersheims and they've helped us so much navigating owning a new business and with the changing and challenging times. We wanted to keep things simple so we chopped the extensive menu and made it quick beach eats with breakfast on weekends. We're just three friends who had a dream that we're now living."

Mother's Saloon's new ownership recently transformed their expansive parking lot into a 2,000 square foot outdoor beer garden. They installed umbrellas and misters and also have four outdoor televisions and another four inside that are viewable from the patio. The bar also added a few top-notch local bartenders who are pumping out cocktails, craft beer and wine. The eatery is currently serving a concise menu of Mexican-inspired bar eats that includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, loaded fries, ceviche, burgers, wings, salads and a buffalo chicken sandwich. There is also a weekend brunch menu. The bar & restaurant will eventually rebrand itself to become Northside Tavern. 

Mother's Saloon is located at 2228 Bacon Street in San Diego's Ocean Beach. For more information, visit motherssaloon.com.