Modern Times Beer Plants New Eatery in Encinitas

Modern Times Beer, which expanded up the West Coast this year with brewery restaurants in Los Angeles and Portland that both feature vegan cuisine, has returned to its home base to debut a new North County venue that’s also its first in the San Diego area to serve food. Rolled out over the weekend, The Far West Lounge lands on Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas where the space is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Decked out like a grandma’s living room circa the 1970s, the company spent hundreds of hours handcrafting design details that range from felted recreations of TV dinners to knotted macrame plant hangers and a bar facade made from 2,000 dominoes and Modern Times coffee-stained wood. There’s wall of stadium-style seating, a mini mart area that retails beer, coffee, and brewery merch, and a 40-seat, 34-tap bar that will pour Modern Times Beer from all of its brewery locations; a special Hazy IPA, called Totally Open in Encinitas, will be released here soon.

Its all-day menu is a concise list of meat-free comfort food, including cheesy potato croquettes, chilaquiles, and a double burger and brat made with Beyond Meat products. Director of Hospitality Nic Peláez tells Eater that whenever possible, Modern Times’ future projects will always have a food component. After completing its expansion to Santa Barbara and Anaheim, the brewery will turn its attention back to Point Loma’s Lomaland Fermatorium, where it will enlarge its production facility and add a restaurant space.