Microbrewery may hop into downtown Carlsbad

CARLSBAD — A new microbrewery and restaurant may hop into Carlsbad Village after the Planning Commission approved its plans at its July 17 meeting. 

Brought forth by the operators of Carlsbad’s Ocean Palms Beach Resort, the two-story, debut Bluewater Restaurant and Brewery would provide local, seasonal beers and gastropub food along the beachfront on Carlsbad Boulevard between Oak Avenue and Pine Avenue.

Barry Blue II, who would oversee the microbrewery and is a brewer, said that he hopes to establish a place where locals will say, “Their beer is great, their atmosphere is great, their food is great, and you can watch the sunset every single night.”

“It’ll be a real asset to the community,” said Commissioner Hap L’Heureux.

The applicants proposed demolishing a non-descript commercial building and several residences that currently stand at the 6,637 square-foot site to make way for the microbrewery.

“I think that what is currently there is a mess and this is going to clean it up,” said Commissioner Jeff Segall. “We need more of these, not less in Carlsbad.”

Haley Griffin, a representative from Tobo Investments, which owns the Best Western hotel adjacent to the property, spoke at the meeting about concerns over the noise and traffic brought by the microbrewery and its construction.

Concerned about the noise, the commissioners added one condition to restrict delivery hours to the restaurant to between 8 a.m. and noon and another to restrict the outdoor dining hours to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday.

With those conditions, the commissioners unanimously approved the microbrewery.

The project will receive a final vote at City Council during an upcoming meeting.