A second Trader Joe's is a step closer to opening in Encinitas after the city approved a liquor license for the grocery chain's new store at 1590 Leucadia Blvd.
The city's Development Services Department signed off on a Type 21 off-sale general license on Tuesday, Oct. 6, according to a notice of decision posted by the department. The license will allow Trader Joe's Store #313 to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits for off-premises consumption.
The store will occupy the former REI space in the shopping center near Garden View Road and El Camino Real. REI and Islands Restaurant, the center's two original tenants when it was built in 2004, have both vacated.
Encinitas Brewing Company, a brewpub headed by local restaurateur Brian McBride and Encinitas resident Ryan Van Biene, will take over the former Islands Restaurant space next door. The Encinitas Planning Commission approved permits for the brewery in March.
The two businesses will fill a center that Planning Commissioner Bridget Kimball described as "somewhat desolate" during the March hearing on the brewery's permits, as The Coast News reported.
What the license means
The Type 21 is an off-sale general permit. It authorizes sales of beer, wine, distilled spirits and ready-to-drink beverages. Alcohol displays would take up about 7% of the store's floor area, with the rest devoted to food and merchandise, according to the city's findings.
The census tract where the store sits already has four off-sale licenses, one above the state limit of three. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department raised no objections in a Sept. 23 email to city planners. The department logged 97 alcohol-related incidents in the surrounding beat from 2021 through 2026.
Encinitas already has a Trader Joe's at 115 N. El Camino Real. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in July that the new location and a Clairemont store would bring the county's Trader Joe's total to about 20.
Brewery details
Encinitas Brewing plans to install a 10-barrel brewhouse in the 5,500-square-foot space, producing up to 2,000 barrels of beer and about 100 gallons of gin and vodka annually, according to San Diego Beer News. The brewpub would seat 194 people across indoor and patio areas and operate from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
McBride, who also runs Priority Public House, and Van Biene, co-founder of Austin-based Pinthouse Brewing, said at the March Planning Commission hearing that the center's layout suited their plans. "That center is a little weird, but I think it works great for what we're trying to do and parking is amazing," McBride said.
No opening date has been set.
What's next
The license approval can be appealed to the City Council by 5 p.m. Oct. 16. An appeal requires a $484 filing fee and would suspend the license action. Neither Trader Joe's nor Encinitas Brewing Company has announced an opening date.
