USA, CA: Attitude Brewing Company preparing to launch in San Diego’s Mercado del Barrio

Mercado del Barrio, the long-dreamed town center for Barrio Logan, is coming into its own.

Five years after the $80 million, three-building project opened at National Avenue and Cesar Chavez Parkway in San Diego, the mixed-use development of subsidized apartments and retail shops is 96 percent leased, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on October 8.

“The location of it was great,” said Peter Park, vice president and asset manager for Shea Properties, which is responsible for the nonresidential portion of the project. “It just took time to mature and evolve.”

The biggest new tenant and the largest in the main building is Attitude Brewing Company, a new microbrewery concept that will occupy nearly 5,000 square feet at the northwest corner of the site.

It’s the dream of Kurt Bach, 50, who arrived in San Diego from Portland, Ore., in April. His heritage may be Irish-German, but he spent years doing business in Mexico. (His wife is from Mexico and he speaks fluent Spanish.)

“I like Mexico, I like the culture of Mexico, but it’s difficult to do business in Mexico — there’s a lot of red tape and ‘weirdness,’ now a lot of insecurity, so I’m back in the U.S.”

He also worked in Oregon breweries and thinks he can elevate the taste of Mexican-style beers far beyond what’s familiar with popular brands like Dos Equis, Carta Blanca and Tecate.

His lagers, IPAs, stouts and other brews will carry names commensurate with the hip Mexican “actitude” he wants to celebrate, such as “rebellious” and “courageous” — “rebelde” and “valiente” in Spanish.

He is working with a brewmaster familiar with Mexican beer tastes and hopes to source Mexican-grown hops.

The menu will feature wraps made from Peruvian-style tortillas and gourmet burgers with a hot Mexican flare.

10 October, 2017