NYC-Based Prince Street Pizza & Los Angeles' Irv's Burgers Hosting Independence Day Block Party In San Diego's Pacific Beach

June 18, 2024

New York City-based Prince Street Pizza and Los Angeles' 78-year-old Irv's Burgers are hosting an Independence Day block party to celebrate their grand opening in San Diego's Pacific Beach. 

We reported earlier this year that year-old Mission + Garnet food hall in Pacific Beach had shuttered all but one of its six onsite eateries without any notice. It was later revealed the reason for the shake-up was the food hall was transitioning from operating all the onsite restaurant stalls to subleasing most of the space to another operator. Although Early Bird Breakfast Burritos is allegedly staying onsite, the rest of the building will be taken over by Lawrence Longo, who will soon open branches of NYC's famed Prince Street Pizza and Los Angeles's iconic road stop Irv's Burgers.

Prince St. Pizza was founded in 2012 by father-and-son owners Frank & Dominic Morano. The authentic NYC slice shop concept has since expanded with a handful of branches sited in Los Angeles, as well as locations in Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto, and a pizzeria in downtown San Diego that opened in early 2023. Prince Street Pizza offers a menu of "Neapolitan-style" round pies and "Original SOHO Square" pizzas, including their iconic Spicy Spring with fra diavolo sauce, fresh mozzarella, spicy cupping pepperoni and Pecorino Romano cheese.

Founded along Route 66 in West Hollywood in 1946 as Queen's Burgers, Irv's Burgers came to being when Irv Gendis purchased the business in 1970. In 2000, Sonia Hong and her family took over ownership of Irv's Burgers, but following a series of setbacks closed the eatery in 2018. In 2022, Lawrence Longo, a food entrepreneur who made a pit stop at the burger spot years prior while on a mission to eat a burger everyday for 365 days, bought the then-shuttered eatery and reopened it. Longo has since opened several additional locations of the historic burger haunt. Irv's serves a simple menu of burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, and shakes. 
Early Bird Breakfast burritos will reportedly move to the space last occupied by Spitfire Tacos within Mission + Garnet. The rest of the former Denny's building has been renovated for the July opening of Irv's Burgers and Prince Street Pizza.

To celebrate the launch of Irv's Burgers and Prince Street Pizza in Pacific Beach, the restaurants will host a joint grand opening block party on Thursday, July 4, from noon to 4pm. Guests will get the chance to enjoy a complimentary Irv’s burger, fries, and milkshake combo, in addition to Coors Light and Howler Head beverages, as well as free Prince St. Pizza slices, Peroni beers, wine, and Salt & Straw ice cream.   The celebration will also feature tunes by a local DJ, photo booths, and entertainment. 

Both Prince Street Pizza and Irv's Burgers will unveil this summer at 4505 Mission Boulevard in San Diego's Pacific Beach. For more information, visit princestreetpizza.com and irvsburgers.com.