New Concepts Are Coming To San Diego's Liberty Public Market

April 23, 2018

New vendors are poised to enter San Diego's bustling Liberty Public Market this Summer, including chef-driven donuts, small batch popcorn, and a joint project from Carnitas Snack Shack's Hanis Cavin and Mastiff Sausage.

As the food hall craze continues to gain traction around the nation, Liberty Public Market has secured its place as San Diego’s prosperous trailblazer - consistently attracting the national spotlight for its collection of gourmet artisan and chef-driven concepts from publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine and more. Having opened doors in March of 2016 within Liberty Station, the evolution continues as the ownership group, Blue Bridge Hospitality, announces five new incoming concepts from local mainstays.

Fratboy's new everything bagel and cream cheese donuts
An over-the-top chef-driven donut shop (Frat Boy Donuts), plus a gourmet small-batch popcorn company (Minocqua Popcorn), will replace a flower shop and a culinary provisions store within the market’s central corridor. Anchoring the market’s Mess Hall (adjacent to the Mess Hall Bar and Bottlecraft), three new culinary concepts will debut this summer. Chef Hanis Cavin (of Carnitas Snack Shack fame) is teaming up with Chef/Partner Eric Gallerstein of Mastiff Sausage to develop The Pig's Gig - a new barbeque smokehouse venture. Chef/Owner Junya Watanabe (RakiRaki Ramen, Pokirrito) will bring a bold fusion of Korean and Mexican flavors to Liberty Station.  And Little Italy’s pizza-by-the-slice haven, Landini’s Pizzeria, will introduce its beloved New York-style pies to Point Loma.

Frat Boy Donuts will bring their inventive selection of gourmet donuts, cronuts and additional pastries to Liberty Public Market this June. Founders Tori and Alex Gould of AG Industry Concepts first debuted their flagship location in Pacific Beach in October of 2017 alongside Executive Francis Laureano (Bottega Louie, Terranea Resort). More than a dozen yeast and cake donut varieties will be offered fresh in-house daily. Elaborate and over-the-top variations range from the "Dat Cookie Doe," a bright blue frosted donut topped with raw edible cookie dough and crushed chocolate chip cookies, to the "Ya Bacon Me Crazy," a buttery flaky cronut glazed in caramel and topped with chopped bacon. Chef Laureano also plans to offer seasonal and weekend specials including a selection of vegan cake doughnuts. Founders of the popular market staple Stuffed!, Frat Boy Donuts marks the Gould’s second concept within Liberty Public Market.

San Diego-based brothers, Eric and Alex Howard of Wicked Maine Lobster in Liberty Public Market, will bring their uncle’s famed small-batch artisan popcorn to the West Coast with the debut of Minocqua Gourmet Popcorn Company. Hailing from Minocqua, Wisconsin, the company uses the highest-grade kernels and the finest ingredients obtainable to create new unique flavors every few months—alongside in-demand favorites including White Chocolate Pretzel, White Cheddar Chive, and Cheese Popcorn made with real, melted Wisconsin cheese.

With an outpost of his award winning RakiRaki Ramen & Tsukemen already thriving in Liberty Public Market, the latest yet-to-be-named concept from Junya Watanabe (RakiRaki Ramen & Tsukemen, Pokirrito, and the soon-to-be-open j/wata Temaki Bar), will bring a bold fusion of Korean and Mexican flavors to guests starting this summer.

Chef Hanis Cavin and his pet pig Carnitas
Chef Hanis Cavin (Carnitas Snack Shack), who is in the process of opening his own East County barbecue restaurant, is teaming up with a Liberty Public Market staple, Mastiff Sausage Company, led by Executive Chef/Partner Eric Gallerstein, to develop a brand new barbecue venture and catering company. While details are still under wraps, these locally renowned meat masters will smoke everything right in the market and offer a chef-driven take on some classic barbeque specialties.

An offshoot of its original Little Italy location, Landini’s Pizzeria will transport market visitors to New York with authentic thin slices topped with a myriad of fresh ingredients. Owners Christine and Leonardo Landini will offer a lineup of pizza variations from the vegetarian Michelangelo with spinach, mushrooms, tomato, bell peppers and olives to the Meatball Ricotta Marinara. Dedicated to delivering a truly local taste, the pizzeria uses only the freshest produce and hand selected meats from trusted butchers.

Liberty Public Market is located at 2820 Historic Decatur Rd inside Liberty Station, and open daily from 11am to 7pm.  For more information, visit libertypublicmarket.com.