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Slightly Stoopid Frontman Buys Iconic Bar Where He Grew Up | San Diego Magazine

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Slightly Stoopid Frontman Buys Iconic Bar Where He Grew Up | San Diego Magazine


OB is weird. And locals like it that way. Change doesn’t come easily to the beach town that prides itself on offbeat as the norm and counterculture as the status quo. So when the former owner of The Harp Anthony “Tony” Fleming passed suddenly last October, the fate of the beloved Irish pub seemed murky. 

Would it get snapped up by outside investors? Would it change the vibe of Newport Avenue? Would it turn into another quirky bar with moody bronze light fixtures, explosively kitschy patterned wallpaper, and ironically named $25 cocktails?

As of today, OBceians can rest easy. The Harp now officially has four new owners—all locals, all familiar faces. 

Courtesy of Red Light Management
Miles Doughty (fourth from L) and Slightly Stoopid

Miles Doughty is the frontman and lead singer of Slightly Stoopid, an Ocean Beach-based reggae-rock band that Doughty started with Kyle McDonald and Adam Bausch in 1994. Jeremy Diem is the current president and CEO of Hodad’s, the OG best burger in SD. Tyson Green and Steve Ashton are longtime best friends and regular fixtures behind Ocean Beach bars like Mother’s Saloon (R.I.P.), Sunshine Company Saloon, and Aquarius Bar & Grille. 

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The four friends initially banded together in order to get into the hospitality business, hoping to purchase Cheswick’s West on Newport Avenue. Negotiations didn’t pan out, and when Fleming passed away, Green says the opportunity to buy The Harp instead felt like fate. 

“Things happen for a reason, and that was a blessing,” he says, explaining that a larger space with a kitchen and live music element better fit the group’s vision. Doughty agrees, adding that he hopes to leverage his music industry experience to bring more bands and live music to The Harp. It’s all their first experience with ownership, but none of them are worried.

Interior of Ocean Beach Irish Pub The Harp on Newport Avenue in San Diego
Courtesy of Next Wave Commercial

“It’s cool to be able to do it with your friends that have been in the bar business for 25-years plus,” says Doughty. Green agrees, fully confident in the assembled team. “I have no fear,” he laughs. “It’s an amazing feeling to know we’re going to kill it and that’s just the way it’s going to be.”

Doughty is the only born-and-raised OB local, but everyone has roots in the beach town that go back decades and intend to keep the spirit of The Harp and Ocean Beach as it has been. However, Doughty adds, they do plan to eventually renovate and rebrand the space once they have a few months of summer service under their belts. But he assures me that everyone will still be welcome at the all-ages space with plenty of good music, food, and family fun. 

Open today, the new owners are taking on what has historically been The Harp’s busiest weekend—St. Patrick’s Day as their first official debut. “We’re going to throw ourselves to the wolves and let it rip,” laughs Green. “We’re super fired up—OB’s in for some cool shit.” 

San Diego bar and restaurant The Lion's Share flyer about their
Courtesy of The Lion’s Share

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

San Diego Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day This Weekend

Corned beef is a great way to sop up Guinness and Jameson, and there will be plenty of all three across San Diego this weekend. Pacific Beach’s Duck Dive is serving a corned beef egg and hash breakfast special and traditional corned beef hash for dinner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. North Park Beer Company’s Bankers Hill location is running a couple Irish food specials (plus plenty of beer, duh) on Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, The Smoking Gun in Gaslamp is slinging corned beef tacos, Barleymash will have a Reuben sandwich special (plus plenty of Irish-inspired cocktails and green beer), and The Lion’s Share will host an “Irish Goodbye” pop-up menu of Irish bites and cocktails from Ian Ward (bar manager at Addison). 

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Beth’s Bites

It’s the South Park Spring Walkabout this Saturday from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m., and there are like, a bajillion amazing places to stop, shop, sip, and savor. If you’re not sure where to start, The Rose just released a handful of new spring cocktails, so that seems as good a place as any.

A new Mexican restaurant coming to Little Italy? Sign me up.

I finally stopped by Shawarma Guys’ new brick and mortar location in La Mesa to get their lemon cream chop fries and a Wagyu beef shawarma cheesesteak. Both excellent, although I think the cheesesteak could have been a little bigger. (Am I challenging myself to a Shawarma Guys x Giorgino’s cheesesteak-off??) 

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San Diego, CA

Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels

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Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels


San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com


— SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.

Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.

RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.

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San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.

Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.

Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.

Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.

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Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.

Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.

Ferree finished with five saves.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations


When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”

It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says. 

The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.

Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.

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Gage Forster

Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Eric Wolfinger

“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments. 

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Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

Kimberly Motos

About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

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Gage Forster

Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.

“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”

Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.





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