Southern-Tinged Restaurant and Live Music Venue Lands in the Gaslamp

With live entertainment finally permitted again at restaurants that serve food outdoors, provided that proper social distancing between the performers and diners is maintained, a new venue that grand opens today in the Gaslamp brings a a touch of Southern hospitality to downtown San Diego.

Replacing Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, Cerveza Jack’s Gaslamp is run by local hospitality group Good Time Design (The Presley, Moonshine Flats) but it’s modeled after its Music City counterpart, Cerveza Jack’s Nashville, which opened in 2017 but has been temporarily closed since the holidays after the space was damaged in the Christmas Day bombing. While they repair the venue for reopening, Good Time Design is running a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for its out-of-work employees.

Though the group launched a Cerveza Jack’s in Pacific Beach back in 2016 before turning it into Moonshine Beach, the concept returns to San Diego with a new Southern-tinged menu that includes corn, jalapeno, and crab hush puppies, crispy crawfish tacos and jambalaya pasta. The Fifth Avenue bar and restaurant is now open for outdoor dining, with live music starting soon as well as a growler program for its 40-tap beer list.

• All Openings [ESD]