After serving the Ocean Beach community for over 40 years, Cheswick’s West is ready to make changes at 5038 1/2 Newport Avenue.
Longtime OB resident Dean Hall opened the concept in 1983 and has been a staple to the community ever since. The 1,400-square-foot dive bar was put up for sale late last year and has now been taken over by new owners, which include Julius and Kimberly Ulrich, Francesca Lawrence, and AnnaMarie Spenner, according to SanDiegoVille. The new team plans to close the bar following Memorial Day and rebrand it into a new concept. The name and timeline of the rebranding are unknown at this point.
“We will take over as Cheswicks for a brief period and then shut down to build out the new concept right after Memorial Day,” Julius Ulrich explains to SanDiegoVille.
While the timeline for the reopening is unknown, the new owners should have no problem with the transition, considering the bar’s Type-48 full liquor license has been grandfathered in. This means food is not required on the premises to stay open until 2 a.m. The intimate bar currently has a capacity of 49 people, but a re-established outdoor patio can increase the seating to 83. The change in ownership comes after the company’s founder passed away in 2021, followed by longtime manager Michelle Driscoll, who took over and eventually retired.
This is the latest long-time Ocean Beach establishment to recently see a change in ownership, following the change in ownership of another beloved local bar, The Harp. Earlier this year, it was announced that a handful of local investors and the frontman for San Diego-born rock band Slightly Stoopid purchased the bar after the original owner passed away the previous year following an altercation. While ownership changes are slowly changing Ocean Beach, a handful of businesses are coming in, such as Pazzo’s Italian, while some are deciding to move away, including Gianni Buonomo Vintners moving to a new facility in Sports Arena.
