According to a commercial real estate listing from North Properties, the two-story building housing Key & Cleaver is being marketed as a turnkey restaurant and bar opportunity. The listing describes a package including the real estate, restaurant equipment, inventory and liquor license, while emphasizing that the offering is not a sale of the Key & Cleaver business itself.
The property is listed by broker Tom North for $1.45 million. Marketing materials describe a fully built-out restaurant featuring a copper-topped bar, commercial kitchen with refrigeration and fryers, charbroiler, upstairs patio, additional bar space and a private event area. The listing also highlights on-site parking and an elevator connecting the building's two levels.
The property has been advertised for approximately seven weeks, according to the October 21 listing, although the materials do not establish when ownership first decided to pursue a sale.
Key & Cleaver opened in April 2023, taking over the former Brooklyn Bar & Grill building, which had closed in early 2021 following the death of longtime owner Bill Lutzius. Lutzius was also known for previously operating San Diego's celebrated Aero Club whiskey bar in Middletown.
Hospitality veterans Jennipher Hager and Christopher Dainty transformed the University Avenue property into a neighborhood-focused burger restaurant emphasizing locally sourced ingredients, craft beverages and casual hospitality. Hager previously worked at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido, while Dainty managed Wonderland Ocean Pub in Ocean Beach.
The restaurant quickly distinguished itself through its commitment to using regeneratively raised beef from San Diego County's Perennial Pastures Ranch, locally produced buns and an extensive selection of San Diego craft beer, cider and spirits. Its menu includes specialty burgers, chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese and wings, while the original building features a garden-inspired interior and an upstairs outdoor space.
But the restaurant's early years were not without challenges.
In a November 2025 interview with San Diego Magazine, Dainty described significant financial pressure stemming from prolonged street construction along University Avenue. He estimated that the disruption had cost the restaurant approximately 40 percent of its business and explained that expanding into a second location had become important to the company's survival.
"It's gotten to a point where we need to expand if we're going to keep this thing going," Dainty told the publication.
That expansion eventually brought Key & Cleaver to downtown Oceanside, where the company opened its second restaurant in 2026 inside the former Breakwater Brewing Company space near Mission Avenue and Coast Highway.
The Oceanside location continues the brand's emphasis on locally sourced burgers and craft beverages, with a coastal setting, outdoor seating and access to the city's growing restaurant and tourism district.
The City Heights property has also recently accommodated another culinary venture. In March 2026, chef Brandon Salas introduced Omakase Inu, an intimate Japanese-inspired tasting experience incorporating Latin flavors, in the upstairs space at Key & Cleaver. The potential implications of the property sale for that operation have not been established.
The $1.45 million listing introduces new uncertainty surrounding the original restaurant's future, but several important details remain unresolved. The listing does not establish whether Key & Cleaver intends to close, relocate, continue operating under a new landlord or negotiate an arrangement with a prospective buyer.
It also does not establish whether Hager and Dainty own the underlying real estate or whether another property owner is directing the sale. The inclusion of restaurant assets and a liquor license suggests that the space is being marketed for continued hospitality use, but a buyer's eventual plans remain unknown.
The situation comes amid continuing challenges for San Diego's independent restaurant industry, where rising labor, food, insurance and occupancy costs have placed pressure on operators already navigating changing consumer spending patterns.
For City Heights, the potential departure of Key & Cleaver would represent another change for a University Avenue property that has housed neighborhood gathering places for years. For the restaurant's founders, the listing raises questions about the future of the original location even as their Oceanside expansion has established a presence in North County.
SanDiegoVille has not independently confirmed whether the listing signals an impending closure or simply a potential change in property ownership. Additional details about the owners' intentions, any anticipated transaction and the future of the restaurant have not been announced.
Key & Cleaver's original location is at 4727 University Avenue in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood. Its Oceanside restaurant operates at 401 Mission Avenue, Suite C140. For more information, visit keyandcleaver.com.
Originally published on October 22, 2026.
