"Female-Forward" The Hen House To Bring All-Day Brunch To San Diego's Crown Point Starting July 30

July 20, 2022

The team behind Wokou Ramen & Yakitori, which shuttered its Pacific Beach location last fall, has rebranded their restaurant space in San Diego's Crown Point to become The Hen House, advertised as a "female-forward" all-day brunch bar set to open on July 30. 

From Empress Capital Investments founders Joey Pena and James Langley, Wokou Ramen & Yakitori's is a Japanese fusion concept that first unveiled in June 2017 within the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch in Carmel Valley. After about a year and a half in development due to the installation of a yakitori grill, the second outpost of Wokou opened in a 2,800 square-foot corner unit in San Diego's Crown Point in early 2020, just a month before the pandemic struck. During the course of its unfortunately timed tenure, the Crown Point location was rarely busy and permanently shuttered in October 2021.

The Hen House Chicken and Waffles
Rather than abandon the property entirely, Empress Capital Investments has reconceptualized the Crown Point restaurant space to become The Hen House, which will be an all-day brunch restaurant rumored to eventually start transitioning into a fried chicken-centric eatery at night. With promotional phrases like "delicious micheladas for sexy bitcheladas," and "muffin can stop me I'm all the way up," the concept states that it is 'female-forward' despite being owned entirely by men. The Hen House concept was created with the assistance of Cubic Orange, a San Diego-based design company that helps craft brand identities and product launches.

Empress Capital Investments also operates Leap Coffee in Escondido, Crafted Culture in Sable Springs, and two Death by Tequila locations - the original in Encinitas and another at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch in Carmel Valley. Empress partner James Langley is also the founder and CEO of Resident Brewing in downtown San Diego and has been instrumental in the continued growth of Rise & Shine Restaurant Group's Breakfast Republic chain.

The Hen House is anticipated to open by this spring at 3801 Ingraham Street in San Diego's Crown Point area. For more information, visit thehenhousesd.com.