In 2017, husband-and-wife partners Tommy Nguyen & Grace Chi opened the first location of Cross Street Chicken & Beer in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood. Chi was raised within the Convoy District restaurant industry, as her parents opened one of San Diego's first Korean restaurants, Arirang House. Today her father owns Grandma Tofu & Korean BBQ, her sister owns Bing Haus, her mother owns Friend's House Korean, and her grandmother and uncles own Dduriba - all located within a stone's throw of Cross Street. A second location of Cross Street opened in 2019 as a vendor inside Carlsbad's Windmill Food Hall.
Cross Street was built to be a modernized version of a Korean "chimaek" eatery. Now engrained in the culture of Korea, chimaek is a portmanteau of the word for chicken combined with maekju, the native word for beer, and this style of restaurant has been booming in popularity in South Korea and China. At chimaek restaurants, draft beer and fried chicken dishes are usually paired and ordered as a single menu item along with other anju - salty drinking snacks. Cross Street centers its menu on fried chicken wings and tender strips served with an array of sauces, as well as chicken sandwiches and sides like corn cheese and dumplings.
The newest Cross Street Chicken & Beer grand opened last night in the space last occupied by California Native within Del Mar Highlands Town Center. The new branch offers an expanded menu and the addition of a full bar with craft cocktails, draft beer, wine, and a variety of Soju. Based on the maintained success of Cross Street restaurants, the team plans to continue expanding around Southern California and beyond.
The third Cross Street Chicken and Beer is now open at 12955 El Camino Real, Suite G-2, within Del Mar Highlands Town Center in Carmel Valley. For more information, visit crossstreetcnb.com and check out the menu below.
