A new National City ordinance that makes it easier for craft breweries to open in National City has led to a creation of a taskforce to attract brewery-related businesses to the city.
National City business and civic leaders formed an outreach taskforce called the South Bay Craft Coalition to promote National City as the region’s newest craft beer destination, said Jacqueline Reynoso, president of the National City Chamber of Commerce.
“We formalized this group to attract craft breweries in National City,” she said.
The South Bay Craft Coalition consists of about a dozen members in the city’s own economic development team, members of the National City Chamber of Commerce, brokers and realtors with knowledge of local real estate opportunities for craft breweries and a few craft beer entrepreneurs who have a craft beer business already in National City.
National City’s new Craft Beer Policy, which the council approved last December, enables brewers whose output is less than 60,000 barrels per year to open by-right in mixed-use zones without having to acquire a conditional use permit, which can be costly.
Reynoso said the coalition’s goal is to attract Baja breweries to National City so that the city can become the hub for Baja breweries in a binational region. Reynoso said the group is planning a trip to Tijuana to meet with brewery owners.
Reynoso said National City is missing out on the economic impact craft breweries can have in the city. She points to the benefit that breweries and tasting rooms have revitalized Chula Vista’s downtown business district.
“This is a high growth-industry, no longer growing but exploding,” she said.
“Eddie Trejo, owner of Machete Beer House and a member of the coalition, said the craft beer scene has often skipped out on National City because of a perception that National City was not craft beer friendly. He said this perception came about with National City’s previous policy that required a conditional use permit which made it difficult for smaller craft beer businesses to open in National City.
“In a way, National City has been left behind by the craft beer industry,” he said.
Trejo said a binational craft beer scene can benefit both sides of the border.
“Some of the breweries down there want to move up and start their business up here,” he said. We want to show them that there is a great opportunity in National City.”
