Books + Records Bar Nearly Ready To Bring Elevated Bites, Craft Cocktails & Live Jazz To San Diego's Bankers Hill

August 28, 2023

The team behind Common Stock in San Diego's Hillcrest is nearly ready to unveil Books + Records, a bar and restaurant bringing elevated bites, craft cocktails and live jazz to the former Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant space.

From Anderson Clark & Brian Douglass, who are both former Hillstone Restaurant Group employees and Ivy League graduates (Cornell and Yale, respectively), Common Stock first opened in the space that last housed Salt & Cleaver in Hillcrest in September 2018. The restaurant melds fine dining and fast-casual, offering a classy, New York City meets Copenhagen minimalist design and a concise menu of American comort foods. In 2020, the Common Stock team took over Farmer & The Seahorse in Torrey Pines and implemented a new, all-day menu by Common Stock corporate chef Sam Deckman, who is the son of Valle De Guadalupe's Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman.

Aguachile with tomatillo, nuoc cham, avocado, cilantro and crispy taro

Last fall, the Common Stock crew leased the former Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant, which announced plans to relocate in 2021 (although there has been no update on this actually happening). Opening this week in the former Bankers Hill space is Books + Records, an 80-seat, 2,200 square-foot restaurant concept centered around house-made, locally-sourced, farm-fresh California cuisine, as well as a full raw bar with fresh seafood. From the bar, expect a devotion to craft cocktails, as well as a curated selection of local beer and domestic and global wines. The space will also host frequent live jazz bands and other entertainment.  

In addition to Books + Records, the Common Stock team is also opening a new, 1,200 square-foot eatery centered around wood-fire cooking within a longtime craftsman-style home at 3376 30th Street in North Park. That yet-to-be named project is not expected to unveil until later in 2024. 

Books + Records is anticipated to open on August 31 at 2202 4th Avenue in San Diego's Bankers Hill neighborhood. For more information, visit booksandrecordsbar.com and check out the menu below.