The Escondido landmark has a new name and a date. Stone Brewing co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner will reopen the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens as Quarry Escondido on November 14, just one day after the venue serves its final dinner under the Stone name on November 13. The announcement, reported by San Diego Magazine and carried widely this week, gives the comeback story its first concrete details since the founders revealed on October 14 that they were taking the bistro back.

The backstory is worth a quick recap. Sapporo, which bought Stone in 2022, sold the Stone brand earlier this year to Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat USA, but the Escondido properties were not part of that deal. In August, Sapporo announced it would close all three Escondido locations and move production to Paso Robles and Kansas City, a decision that cost hundreds of jobs and left the 57,000-square-foot bistro and gardens facing a November shutdown. Koch and Wagner stepped in to take the restaurant back, and now the plan has a name.

Quarry Escondido will be an independent restaurant, separate from the Stone brand, but Koch has been clear that it will keep the soul of the place. The beer program will celebrate “the breadth and quality of the craft brewing community,” with Stone beers still in the mix alongside a wider range of craft offerings. The menu is shifting too, going back to what Koch describes as an earlier, entree-focused approach, with new dishes alongside familiar favorites.

The founders are also being realistic about the timeline. In an interview with the North County Chronicle shortly after the takeover announcement, Koch said the plan is to get the alcohol licensing sorted as soon as possible and reopen in time for the holiday season, with no major changes right away. A bigger refurbishment is penciled in for later, possibly a February shutdown to rework the front of house, including the bar. The bones of the building, its gardens, koi ponds, and one-acre beer garden, are staying put.

For San Diego beer fans, the November 14 opening is a rare piece of good news in a year full of closures. The bistro at 1999 Citracado Parkway has been a pilgrimage site for craft beer drinkers since it opened in 2006, and its near-death experience was a gut punch for a community that already lost too many breweries this year. That the two people who built it are the ones bringing it back feels fitting.

We will be watching to see how the beer list shapes up once the doors open, and whether Quarry Escondido becomes a showcase for the wider San Diego scene the way Koch promises. For now, Escondido has something to look forward to on November 14, and that is worth raising a glass to.