The Shipping Yard Project in Imperial Beach Adds Ironfire Brewing Co.

Last summer, chef Steve Brown returned to his hometown of Imperial Beach to announce The Shipping Yard, an ambitious new project for the coastal town. Since then, the chef has been using his roving Cosecha pop-up to introduce himself to the culinary community with several more events, including multi-course dinners featuring Wild Willow Farm and whiskey, coming up before he settles Cosecha into a more stationary home in Coronado.

As for his casual but much more massive shipping container-built eatery in the South Bay, Brown had been looking for a brewery partner for the project and just announced that he will be collaborating with Ironfire Brewing Company, which was opened in 2012 in Temecula by two brewer-alums of Ballast Point.

With the brewery’s new participation, Brown says they will be expanding The Shipping Yard's footprint to 8,500-square-feet at the corner of Date Avenue and Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, which will include plenty of outdoor seating just steps from the water, a full bar, and a dog park. Brown tells Eater that his beer-focused menu will incorporate Ironfire brews into various dishes.

Eater spoke with Ironfire co-founder Greg Webb, who shared that the craft brewery will relocate its barrel-aged program to the Imperial Beach site, with the aim of expanding its sour and funky beer production and eventually installing a pilot brewery to allow for more experimental brews. There will be a tap room dedicated to Ironfire’s beers as well as an attached beer garden. Another planned component is an second story shipping container that will function has a private room for high end beer dinners and other events.

The partners are now creating a new plan to submit to the city, with the hope of breaking ground by late Spring 2017 and getting up and running by the end of Summer 2017.