Downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Tavern has launched an onsite food hall to assist area chefs and food purveyors during this difficult time.
Rick and Estela Borba met at Hotel Del Coronado when he was a barback and she was a cocktail server. Now many years later the duo are owners of downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Tavern and recently opened Coastal Cantina in the 3,000 square-foot space that last housed Los Panchos de Charly in the Gaslamp Quarter. Earlier this month, the Borbas teamed up with a couple local food purveyors to launch Gaslamp Tavern Food Hall.
"First, we wanted to offer options to local restaurants who have been affected by Covid," explained Gaslamp Tavern owner Rick Borba. "This is a low cost way to keep your business running and profit until the world gets back to normal. We also wanted to offer our in-house customers and the Gaslamp delivery scene more options and a single hub to get them from. We didn't want to be a jack of all trades so the idea is to bring in people who make great food that we don't focus on, and to offer quality options prepared by people who are obsessed with that specific cuisine."
Gaslamp Tavern Food Hall currently consists of three different dining concepts with room for at least one more. Ownership has built a large patio on street level to increase occupancy, as well as added outdoor bar seating. As far as vendors, San Diego Chef Nick Brune's Eco Caters operates Ghost Fried Chicken and San Diego Tuna Company, and Chef Michael Montoya helms Tacos El Tuerto. Chef Nicholas Brune was born and raised in the heart of "flavor country" Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and locally he was the proprietor of Local Habit in Hillcrest or many years and launched his catering business in 2007. Michael Montoya is a Los Angeles native with a culinary career spanning from coast to coast having worked in food destinations including Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most recently, Michael moved to San Diego and worked as chef de cuisine at The Winery in La Jolla.
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| San Diego Tuna Banh Mi |
Ghost Fried Chicken offers a menu centered around spicy fried chicken. Expect a concise menu featuring spicy fried chicken on the bone, as tenders, atop fries and in sandwich form. San Diego Tuna Company currently sells a poke bowl, a poblano tuna melt, a tuna banh mi and a Baja ceviche bowl, all made with local line caught tuna. Tacos El Tuerto offers a several types of tacos, tortas, bowls, nachos and a selection of Mexican side dishes. A barbecue and/or a pizza concept may be added in the near future.
Gaslamp Tavern & Food Hall is currently open 868 5th Avenue in downtown San Diego. The restaurant has launched its own app for easy ordering, but the eateries are also available on most third party delivery apps. For more information, visit gaslamptavern.com and check out the menus below.
