Felix's BBQ With Soul is taking over the restaurant space at 223 North Coast Highway, previously occupied by Kettle on Coast. Owner Felix Berry confirmed the impending opening, saying the restaurant is awaiting final inspections and targeting both a soft opening and grand opening sometime in October.
The restaurant has also applied for a liquor license for the new location. Felix's own website has already been updated to list the North Coast Highway address as its new Oceanside restaurant, although it currently shows the location as closed every day, indicating regular operating hours have not yet begun.
The return comes surprisingly quickly after Felix's permanently closed its longtime Oceanside restaurant in August. The restaurant had operated for nearly 17 years before shutting down its location at 309 Vista Way on August 2, leaving many longtime customers wondering whether the brand would ever return to the city where its San Diego County story began.
At the time, Felix's did not publicly announce a reason for the closure. Social media commenters speculated that dramatically increasing rent may have played a role, but those claims were never independently confirmed by SanDiegoVille.
The new restaurant will bring Felix's considerably closer to the center of Oceanside's increasingly busy downtown dining and entertainment district. The North Coast Highway space sits just blocks from the Oceanside Pier and beach, giving the longtime restaurant a much more prominent coastal location than its previous home.
Felix's is replacing Kettle on Coast, the ambitious brunch, bakery and coffee concept that occupied the space at 223 North Coast Highway. Kettle on Coast focused on a scratch kitchen, locally sourced ingredients when possible, house made baked goods and a menu combining African Diasporic, Mediterranean and California influences. Kettle on Coast announced that it was permanently closing after failing to receive sufficient initial support to sustain the restaurant. Felix's subsequently secured the space and is now completing the final steps required to open.
For Berry, the new restaurant represents a return to the city where Felix's became a North County institution. The Alabama native has credited his late mother with inspiring his love of Southern cooking and has previously described restaurateur Ruth Davenport, another Alabama native, as an important influence on his decision to eventually open his own restaurant.
Berry signed a lease for his original Oceanside restaurant in 2008 during the Great Recession. Davenport died from cancer shortly afterward, and Berry continued with the restaurant in part to honor the dream and encouragement they had shared.
Over the years, Felix's developed a following for its combination of barbecue, soul food and Louisiana influenced cooking. Its menu includes baby back ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, fried chicken, fried catfish, gumbo, jambalaya, oxtails, shrimp and grits, po'boys and a lengthy selection of traditional sides.
The restaurant's Southern comfort food staples include collard greens, red beans and rice, baked beans, macaroni and cheese and cornbread. Felix's describes its approach with the slogan, "Barbeque is what we do. Soul food is who we are."
Felix's grew well beyond its original Oceanside restaurant over the years, expanding throughout San Diego County and beyond. The company currently operates San Marcos and Carlsbad restaurants, while its newly updated website now once again counts Oceanside among the brand's locations.
The company previously operated a restaurant at Market Creek Plaza in southeastern San Diego before that location closed in 2016 after its lease was not renewed. Felix's later announced plans to return to the city of San Diego with a restaurant beneath The Orchard at Hilltop development near Euclid Avenue, although that proposed location has yet to open.
Throughout its history, Felix's has positioned itself as more than a barbecue restaurant. Berry and the company have been involved with churches, schools, nonprofits and community organizations, while the restaurant became one of North County's better known Black owned dining businesses and a gathering place for community events.
The new Oceanside restaurant therefore represents something of a full circle moment for the business. What appeared in August to be the end of Felix's nearly two decade presence in Oceanside instead became a brief absence, with the restaurant now preparing to reopen in a more central Downtown Oceanside location.
An exact opening date has not yet been announced. Felix's is in the final stages of preparation and hopes to welcome customers to the new North Coast Highway restaurant during October, pending completion of the remaining inspections.
For more information on Felix's BBQ With Soul, visit felixsbbq.com.
Originally published on October 2, 2026. Information first reported by Joey Reams of WhatNow.
