San Diego's more than 60-year-old Valley Farm Market has ditched its famed BBQ Shack at the original Spring Valley location and will be adding a full kitchen and new juice bar, as well as opening a new restaurant, brewery and lodge in East County.
Founded in the San Diego East County community of Spring Valley in 1956 by Felix and Eleanor Marso, Valley Farm Market has been operated by the founders' four children over the years and is now managed by grandson, Derek Marso. In addition to a commitment to sourcing only the finest food items, Valley Farms has come to be known for hosting frequent community events and supporting area charities and youth sports teams. In fall 2019, Valley Farms opened a 5,000 square-foot outpost in La Jolla within a new mixed-use complex near Windansea beach.
Valley Farms Market closed their onsite BBQ Smokehouse Shack after orders were picked up on Super Bowl Sunday. Ownership plans on renovate the stand to become Gatherings Grounds by Valley Farm, a coffee, smoothie and juice bar that will unveil later this year. They will also be adding a full kitchen to the Spring Valley store, which will allow them to offer a similar menu as La Jolla, featuring smash burgers, Baja rice bowls, carne asada fries, poke bowls nachos, Nashville chicken sandwiches, their popular barbecue meats and more.
"The BBQ isn’t going anywhere," explained Valley Farms proprietor Derek Marso. "It will just be ordered inside once the kitchen is up and running. I didn’t want to confuse people and make you order food at two separate locations so this will make it logistically easier to manage and navigate. We will continue to load up the hot cases inside with all of our bbq and will put plenty of sides out while we are transitioning. I just ask for you to be patient. We are at the mercy of the manufacturer of our appliances. We are told that delivery will be soon so we can start the kitchen."
The company is also working on the opening of Valley Farm Outpost, set to open later this year at the former Blue Jay Lodge on Sunrise Highway within Cleveland National Forrest in Mount Laguna. The Outpost will have an onsite barbecue-focused restaurant, brewery, full bar, grocery and will also have cabins available for rent. There is no timeline on when Valley Farm Outpost will open to the public.
For more information, visit valleyfarmmarkets.com.
For more information, visit valleyfarmmarkets.com.
