Test Kitchen for Local Chefs and Bartenders Coming to Oceanside

Currently scheduled to arrive by late summer, The Lab Collaborative is bringing a full-service restaurant to coastal Oceanside that will also function as a test kitchen for area chefs and bartenders. The project, which is landing at Pierside North, has been in development for two years but managing partner Jack Everett tells Eater that the pandemic helped solidify the concept by highlighting the need for restaurants to be able to pivot on a dime.

Everett, who co-owns Senor Grubby’s and has worked in corporate restaurants for 20 years, says the idea is to use this first flagship location to spin off other restaurants under The Lab Collaborative umbrella. So while the restaurant will have a resident executive chef in Ramiro Guerra (formerly of Belching Beaver) and a more static American-style bistro menu, it will also feature quarterly menus created by guest chefs and bartenders that could eventually evolve into stand-alone concepts.

Everett says they plan to host local chef pop-ups in the 4,179-square-foot-space as the buildout progresses; once completed, the restaurant will have a custom glassed-in kitchen and at least 70 seats outdoors. The ownership team is hoping to open other projects in the Oceanside area, from a fast-casual restaurant to a distillery, and is also looking to purchase a nearby farm.

Location Matters’ Marc Karren represented the landlord in the lease.