A top Sapporo executive mysteriously appears as a director of Stone Brewing founder Greg Koch’s new Escondido restaurant, but Koch insists it was all a mistake. When SanDiegoVille pressed him on how such a bizarre error made it onto an official liquor license application, Koch abruptly stopped responding, leaving some very interesting questions unanswered.
A senior executive of Sapporo USA is listed as a director of the new company behind Quarry Escondido Restaurant & Gardens, the forthcoming restaurant venture from Stone Brewing founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner. But when SanDiegoVille questioned Koch directly about the executive's involvement, he insisted the name had been included on an official California liquor license application by mistake. Koch initially engaged in a series of exchanges with SanDiegoVille, marking his first direct response to the publication's inquiries about the venture, before abruptly ceasing communication when pressed for specifics about how the unusual error occurred and whether it had actually been corrected.
The discrepancy emerged in a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control application filed October 23, 2026, under Koochenvagners, LLC, the company established to operate the former Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at 1999 Citracado Parkway. The filing identifies Gregg Ian Frazer as a director, despite Koch's insistence that Frazer has no ownership or management role in the new business.
Frazer is not an unfamiliar name with no apparent connection to the property. Existing ABC records for Stone Brewing Co., LLC, the Sapporo-affiliated company operating at the Escondido location, identify Frazer as a vice president and Sapporo USA Inc. as a member. Frazer's publicly available LinkedIn profile also identifies him as a senior vice president at Sapporo USA.
The overlapping records prompted SanDiegoVille to contact Koch through Instagram about the ownership and management structure of Quarry Escondido, which the founders have promoted as an independent venture following Stone Brewing's approximately $165 million sale to Japanese brewing giant Sapporo in 2022.
Koch responded that Koochenvagners is privately held and that he and Wagner are its sole owners. He expressly denied any involvement by Sapporo, stating, "Sapporo has no financial, operational interest or involvement in the venture."
Regarding the executive identified in the application, Koch wrote, "Gregg Frazer was listed on the application in error and will be removed. He has no ownership or management role in the venture."
Koch also confirmed that Michael W. Daugherty, another individual named in the application, is an officer of the new company, explaining that Daugherty has worked with him for 32 years.
SanDiegoVille subsequently asked how Frazer came to be identified as a director if he had no involvement in the venture, whether the listing resulted from an administrative mistake and whether a correction had been submitted to ABC.
"Inclusion of Gregg was an administrative error. He is being removed," Koch replied.
That explanation, however, left the central question unanswered: How did a senior executive of the Japanese brewing company that purchased Stone Brewing end up identified as a director of a supposedly independent new restaurant business operated by Stone's original founders?
The circumstances are particularly noteworthy because the new restaurant is not simply assuming Sapporo's existing liquor license or transferring a license held by Stone Brewing. Instead, Koochenvagners is seeking to acquire an entirely separate restaurant liquor license previously associated with an unrelated establishment in Vista.
California's ABC licensing process requires applicants to disclose information concerning their ownership and management structures. The department's published transfer requirements include an LLC questionnaire, organizational documentation and information identifying individuals associated with the applicant. The process is intended to establish who controls or participates in a business seeking authorization to sell alcoholic beverages.
The presence of an individual's name in a pending application does not, by itself, establish that the person owns an interest in the applicant or actually exercises management authority. Applications can contain mistakes, and corrections can be made during the licensing process. Nevertheless, the appearance of a senior Sapporo executive in a leadership position on an application for a new, purportedly independent venture raises a reasonable question about how the information was entered and reviewed.
After Koch characterized the inclusion as an administrative error for a second time, SanDiegoVille submitted more detailed follow-up questions asking who prepared and reviewed the application, whether Frazer knew he had been identified as a director, and whether a formal amendment removing his name had actually been submitted to ABC.
SanDiegoVille also asked whether Sapporo currently leases the adjacent brewery facilities from Koch and Wagner, whether any such arrangement would continue after Quarry opens, and whether ongoing leases, shared services, contractual arrangements or other business relationships would exist between the new restaurant and Sapporo.
Finally, Koch was asked to identify an appropriate Sapporo representative who could address the company's plans for the brewery and production facilities.
Although the messages were marked as seen, Koch did not respond to those additional questions before publication. His silence followed several substantive replies in which he had addressed the ownership structure, licensing arrangements and Sapporo's purported lack of involvement.
The exchange leaves unresolved how Frazer's name appeared on the application, whether the executive was aware of the listing, who was responsible for preparing the filing and whether ABC has received a formal correction. Koch has maintained that the inclusion was inadvertent, and SanDiegoVille has not independently established that Frazer holds any ownership interest or management authority in Quarry.
The application identifies additional individuals and entities associated with the new restaurant. The Gregory G. Koch Trust is listed as both a manager and member, while Daugherty is identified as vice president. Koch's explanation that he and Wagner are the sole owners is not necessarily inconsistent with ownership interests being held through trusts or other legal arrangements, although the complete structure has not been independently verified.
The disputed director listing is not the only noteworthy detail revealed by the application.
Koochenvagners is seeking to transfer a Type 47 on-sale general eating place liquor license from an unrelated restaurant in Vista rather than obtaining its license through the existing Stone Brewing operation. The license, number 656191, was previously held by Rancho El Agave LLC for Wildwood/Rancho El Agave at 116 Civic Center Drive, Suites 104 and 105, in Vista.
According to the ABC records reviewed by SanDiegoVille, the license was originally issued May 6, 2024, and surrendered April 10, 2026. The pending transfer to Koochenvagners is identified under application number 683835.
Koch explained that the separate license was necessary because Quarry will not manufacture beer.
"Stone Escondido operates under Sapporo's Type 1 beer manufacturer license. We aren't brewing, so we purchased our own Type 47, which is the standard license for a restaurant," Koch wrote.
California's Type 47 license generally authorizes qualifying restaurants to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the premises, while a Type 01 license authorizes beer manufacturing. Purchasing an existing transferable restaurant license is an established licensing procedure and does not suggest anything improper about the transaction.
The distinction is important because the pending Quarry application concerns a license being transferred from a separate business in Vista, not an existing Stone Brewing license that would naturally identify Sapporo personnel. The available records do not explain why Frazer's name appeared in the new applicant's organizational information.
The new application also identifies California Business Escrow as the escrow company and lists a Form 220 hold dated October 23. The filing remained pending in the records reviewed by SanDiegoVille, with no final approval date identified.
Meanwhile, separate ABC records continue to show active licenses held by Stone Brewing Co., LLC, at the same Escondido address. License number 578034 includes a Type 01 beer manufacturer license and Type 77 event permit, while license number 578040 includes Type 09 beer and wine importer and Type 17 beer and wine wholesaler licenses.
Those records identify Frazer as a vice president and Sapporo USA Inc. as a member, further documenting his established association with the existing Stone Brewing operation.
The continuing active status of those licenses does not establish that beer production will continue indefinitely, but it highlights the separate regulatory structures associated with the outgoing brewery operator and the incoming restaurant venture.
The broader question of who will control the enormous Escondido property after the restaurant changes hands remains equally significant.
Koch and Wagner have said they retained ownership of the Escondido real estate through Stone Brewing's successive corporate ownership changes. That arrangement means the original founders can return to operate the restaurant and gardens even though the Stone Brewing brand itself has passed through multiple corporate owners.
According to reporting by Axios San Diego, the founders retained ownership of the property throughout the company's ownership changes. The site includes the sprawling restaurant and landscaped gardens as well as the adjoining industrial brewing and production facilities.
SanDiegoVille asked Koch whether Sapporo would continue occupying or controlling the brewery portion of the property after Quarry assumes restaurant operations, and whether the company intended to maintain any ongoing business relationship with the new venture.
"I believe Sapporro has been forthcoming on their plans. They are the best source of that info," Koch responded.
Koch did not directly address whether Sapporo leases the production facilities from the property owners, whether any existing lease would continue or whether the new restaurant and brewery operations would share services or other contractual arrangements.
Those questions became more specific in SanDiegoVille's final follow-up, which Koch viewed but did not answer.
Sapporo has publicly announced plans to wind down beer manufacturing at the Escondido facility as it consolidates production elsewhere. The company previously disclosed plans for significant layoffs and said it had not identified a viable long-term solution for the site.
The status of the industrial brewing facility is particularly consequential because the restaurant and gardens occupy only part of the larger property. The future use of the production buildings, equipment and related infrastructure remains unresolved publicly, even as Quarry prepares to operate independently.
The founders' return follows a complicated series of corporate transactions involving one of San Diego's most recognizable craft beer brands.
Koch and Wagner founded Stone Brewing in 1996, helping transform San Diego into an internationally recognized craft beer destination. The company opened its Escondido brewery and World Bistro & Gardens in 2006, creating a sprawling destination known for its industrial architecture, extensive beer selection, dramatic landscaping, waterfalls and expansive outdoor dining areas.
In 2022, the founders sold Stone Brewing to Sapporo for approximately $165 million, a transaction that drew considerable attention because Stone had spent years promoting its fiercely independent identity.
Earlier this year, Sapporo sold the Stone Brewing brand and associated assets to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA, while retaining the Escondido brewery and restaurant operations outside that transaction.
Sapporo subsequently announced plans to wind down its Escondido operations, placing the future of the popular restaurant and gardens in doubt.
Koch and Wagner then announced they would reclaim the restaurant portion of the property, preserving the venue under a new identity rather than allowing the landmark dining destination to disappear entirely.
The existing Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens is scheduled to close November 13, with Quarry Escondido Restaurant & Gardens expected to open afterward, subject to licensing approvals and the completion of the transition.
The announcement has been welcomed by many longtime Stone Brewing fans, who view the founders' return as an opportunity to preserve one of North County's most distinctive restaurant destinations.
Yet the October 23 ABC filing introduces a curious complication to the otherwise straightforward narrative of the original founders reclaiming an independent restaurant from the company that purchased their brewery.
A senior Sapporo executive appears as a director of the new company. Koch insists the listing is an administrative error, denies Sapporo has any involvement in the venture and says the executive will be removed.
What remains unexplained is how that executive was included in the application for a separately purchased liquor license, who was responsible for the filing and whether the promised correction has been formally submitted.
After initially engaging with SanDiegoVille and offering explanations, Koch stopped responding when asked those specific questions.
For now, the public record and Koch's account do not fully align. Whether the discrepancy is ultimately resolved through a routine correction or additional documentation, the questions surrounding Quarry's licensing and its relationship to Sapporo remain unanswered as the founders prepare to reopen one of San Diego County's most celebrated restaurant properties.
Originally published October 26, 2026.
The discrepancy emerged in a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control application filed October 23, 2026, under Koochenvagners, LLC, the company established to operate the former Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at 1999 Citracado Parkway. The filing identifies Gregg Ian Frazer as a director, despite Koch's insistence that Frazer has no ownership or management role in the new business.
Frazer is not an unfamiliar name with no apparent connection to the property. Existing ABC records for Stone Brewing Co., LLC, the Sapporo-affiliated company operating at the Escondido location, identify Frazer as a vice president and Sapporo USA Inc. as a member. Frazer's publicly available LinkedIn profile also identifies him as a senior vice president at Sapporo USA.
The overlapping records prompted SanDiegoVille to contact Koch through Instagram about the ownership and management structure of Quarry Escondido, which the founders have promoted as an independent venture following Stone Brewing's approximately $165 million sale to Japanese brewing giant Sapporo in 2022.
Koch responded that Koochenvagners is privately held and that he and Wagner are its sole owners. He expressly denied any involvement by Sapporo, stating, "Sapporo has no financial, operational interest or involvement in the venture."
Regarding the executive identified in the application, Koch wrote, "Gregg Frazer was listed on the application in error and will be removed. He has no ownership or management role in the venture."
Koch also confirmed that Michael W. Daugherty, another individual named in the application, is an officer of the new company, explaining that Daugherty has worked with him for 32 years.
SanDiegoVille subsequently asked how Frazer came to be identified as a director if he had no involvement in the venture, whether the listing resulted from an administrative mistake and whether a correction had been submitted to ABC.
"Inclusion of Gregg was an administrative error. He is being removed," Koch replied.
That explanation, however, left the central question unanswered: How did a senior executive of the Japanese brewing company that purchased Stone Brewing end up identified as a director of a supposedly independent new restaurant business operated by Stone's original founders?
The circumstances are particularly noteworthy because the new restaurant is not simply assuming Sapporo's existing liquor license or transferring a license held by Stone Brewing. Instead, Koochenvagners is seeking to acquire an entirely separate restaurant liquor license previously associated with an unrelated establishment in Vista.
California's ABC licensing process requires applicants to disclose information concerning their ownership and management structures. The department's published transfer requirements include an LLC questionnaire, organizational documentation and information identifying individuals associated with the applicant. The process is intended to establish who controls or participates in a business seeking authorization to sell alcoholic beverages.
The presence of an individual's name in a pending application does not, by itself, establish that the person owns an interest in the applicant or actually exercises management authority. Applications can contain mistakes, and corrections can be made during the licensing process. Nevertheless, the appearance of a senior Sapporo executive in a leadership position on an application for a new, purportedly independent venture raises a reasonable question about how the information was entered and reviewed.
After Koch characterized the inclusion as an administrative error for a second time, SanDiegoVille submitted more detailed follow-up questions asking who prepared and reviewed the application, whether Frazer knew he had been identified as a director, and whether a formal amendment removing his name had actually been submitted to ABC.
SanDiegoVille also asked whether Sapporo currently leases the adjacent brewery facilities from Koch and Wagner, whether any such arrangement would continue after Quarry opens, and whether ongoing leases, shared services, contractual arrangements or other business relationships would exist between the new restaurant and Sapporo.
Finally, Koch was asked to identify an appropriate Sapporo representative who could address the company's plans for the brewery and production facilities.
Although the messages were marked as seen, Koch did not respond to those additional questions before publication. His silence followed several substantive replies in which he had addressed the ownership structure, licensing arrangements and Sapporo's purported lack of involvement.
The exchange leaves unresolved how Frazer's name appeared on the application, whether the executive was aware of the listing, who was responsible for preparing the filing and whether ABC has received a formal correction. Koch has maintained that the inclusion was inadvertent, and SanDiegoVille has not independently established that Frazer holds any ownership interest or management authority in Quarry.
The application identifies additional individuals and entities associated with the new restaurant. The Gregory G. Koch Trust is listed as both a manager and member, while Daugherty is identified as vice president. Koch's explanation that he and Wagner are the sole owners is not necessarily inconsistent with ownership interests being held through trusts or other legal arrangements, although the complete structure has not been independently verified.
The disputed director listing is not the only noteworthy detail revealed by the application.
Koochenvagners is seeking to transfer a Type 47 on-sale general eating place liquor license from an unrelated restaurant in Vista rather than obtaining its license through the existing Stone Brewing operation. The license, number 656191, was previously held by Rancho El Agave LLC for Wildwood/Rancho El Agave at 116 Civic Center Drive, Suites 104 and 105, in Vista.
According to the ABC records reviewed by SanDiegoVille, the license was originally issued May 6, 2024, and surrendered April 10, 2026. The pending transfer to Koochenvagners is identified under application number 683835.
Koch explained that the separate license was necessary because Quarry will not manufacture beer.
"Stone Escondido operates under Sapporo's Type 1 beer manufacturer license. We aren't brewing, so we purchased our own Type 47, which is the standard license for a restaurant," Koch wrote.
California's Type 47 license generally authorizes qualifying restaurants to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the premises, while a Type 01 license authorizes beer manufacturing. Purchasing an existing transferable restaurant license is an established licensing procedure and does not suggest anything improper about the transaction.
The distinction is important because the pending Quarry application concerns a license being transferred from a separate business in Vista, not an existing Stone Brewing license that would naturally identify Sapporo personnel. The available records do not explain why Frazer's name appeared in the new applicant's organizational information.
The new application also identifies California Business Escrow as the escrow company and lists a Form 220 hold dated October 23. The filing remained pending in the records reviewed by SanDiegoVille, with no final approval date identified.
Meanwhile, separate ABC records continue to show active licenses held by Stone Brewing Co., LLC, at the same Escondido address. License number 578034 includes a Type 01 beer manufacturer license and Type 77 event permit, while license number 578040 includes Type 09 beer and wine importer and Type 17 beer and wine wholesaler licenses.
Those records identify Frazer as a vice president and Sapporo USA Inc. as a member, further documenting his established association with the existing Stone Brewing operation.
The continuing active status of those licenses does not establish that beer production will continue indefinitely, but it highlights the separate regulatory structures associated with the outgoing brewery operator and the incoming restaurant venture.
The broader question of who will control the enormous Escondido property after the restaurant changes hands remains equally significant.
Koch and Wagner have said they retained ownership of the Escondido real estate through Stone Brewing's successive corporate ownership changes. That arrangement means the original founders can return to operate the restaurant and gardens even though the Stone Brewing brand itself has passed through multiple corporate owners.
According to reporting by Axios San Diego, the founders retained ownership of the property throughout the company's ownership changes. The site includes the sprawling restaurant and landscaped gardens as well as the adjoining industrial brewing and production facilities.
SanDiegoVille asked Koch whether Sapporo would continue occupying or controlling the brewery portion of the property after Quarry assumes restaurant operations, and whether the company intended to maintain any ongoing business relationship with the new venture.
"I believe Sapporro has been forthcoming on their plans. They are the best source of that info," Koch responded.
Koch did not directly address whether Sapporo leases the production facilities from the property owners, whether any existing lease would continue or whether the new restaurant and brewery operations would share services or other contractual arrangements.
Those questions became more specific in SanDiegoVille's final follow-up, which Koch viewed but did not answer.
Sapporo has publicly announced plans to wind down beer manufacturing at the Escondido facility as it consolidates production elsewhere. The company previously disclosed plans for significant layoffs and said it had not identified a viable long-term solution for the site.
The status of the industrial brewing facility is particularly consequential because the restaurant and gardens occupy only part of the larger property. The future use of the production buildings, equipment and related infrastructure remains unresolved publicly, even as Quarry prepares to operate independently.
The founders' return follows a complicated series of corporate transactions involving one of San Diego's most recognizable craft beer brands.
Koch and Wagner founded Stone Brewing in 1996, helping transform San Diego into an internationally recognized craft beer destination. The company opened its Escondido brewery and World Bistro & Gardens in 2006, creating a sprawling destination known for its industrial architecture, extensive beer selection, dramatic landscaping, waterfalls and expansive outdoor dining areas.
In 2022, the founders sold Stone Brewing to Sapporo for approximately $165 million, a transaction that drew considerable attention because Stone had spent years promoting its fiercely independent identity.
Earlier this year, Sapporo sold the Stone Brewing brand and associated assets to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA, while retaining the Escondido brewery and restaurant operations outside that transaction.
Sapporo subsequently announced plans to wind down its Escondido operations, placing the future of the popular restaurant and gardens in doubt.
Koch and Wagner then announced they would reclaim the restaurant portion of the property, preserving the venue under a new identity rather than allowing the landmark dining destination to disappear entirely.
The existing Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens is scheduled to close November 13, with Quarry Escondido Restaurant & Gardens expected to open afterward, subject to licensing approvals and the completion of the transition.
The announcement has been welcomed by many longtime Stone Brewing fans, who view the founders' return as an opportunity to preserve one of North County's most distinctive restaurant destinations.
Yet the October 23 ABC filing introduces a curious complication to the otherwise straightforward narrative of the original founders reclaiming an independent restaurant from the company that purchased their brewery.
A senior Sapporo executive appears as a director of the new company. Koch insists the listing is an administrative error, denies Sapporo has any involvement in the venture and says the executive will be removed.
What remains unexplained is how that executive was included in the application for a separately purchased liquor license, who was responsible for the filing and whether the promised correction has been formally submitted.
After initially engaging with SanDiegoVille and offering explanations, Koch stopped responding when asked those specific questions.
For now, the public record and Koch's account do not fully align. Whether the discrepancy is ultimately resolved through a routine correction or additional documentation, the questions surrounding Quarry's licensing and its relationship to Sapporo remain unanswered as the founders prepare to reopen one of San Diego County's most celebrated restaurant properties.
Originally published October 26, 2026.
