The team behind San Diego's popular Swagyu restaurant concept is rebranding its Pacific Beach location to become Beach Bum, an ocean-themed burger bar and party spot.
Chef Steve Brown opened his first Swagyu Chop Shop in summer 2020 at 1002 Palm Avenue in Imperial Beach, with a second location launched in Poway soon after. In 2021, Brown took over the 19-year-old Isabel's Cantina in Pacific Beach for a pop-up branch of his butcher shop and steakhouse Swagyu Burger & Chop Shop. Other branches of Swagyu were in the works for the space previously occupied by Schooner Station Pizzeria & Sports Pub in Encinitas and as part of the currently under construction Freeman Collective in South Oceanside, but both those projects are on hold.Swagyu's Pacific Beach location will be repurposed to become Beach Bum Burger Bar, offering Swagyu's lineup of American Wagyu and Angus beef burgers with a beach party theme, as well as the addition of an automated self serving beer wall, shuffle board and some arcade games. During the transition, which should be complete this summer, Swagyu PB will still be operating with food available to go from noon to 8pm. Patrons can still sit out on the patio but there will be no waiter service and everything will be served in disposable containers even limited beer.
The Swagyu team is also opening a "Swagyu Burger" mini-location in a new food hall in Costa Mesa very soon and hopes to take that fast-casual concept nationwide in food halls in Minneapolis, Boston, San Jose and Los Angeles' Koreatown. The Swagyu Imperial Beach location will be the flagship branch moving forward where Chef Steve Brown does his steak-forward tasting menus and full restaurant offerings.
Beach Bum Burger Bar is anticipated to open this August at 966 Felspar Street in San Diego's Pacific Beach. For more information, visit swagyuchopshop.com.
