Men’s Journal called San Diego the best beer city in America. Within San Diego, they called 30th Street in North Park “easily the nation’s best beer boulevard.” Walk a 1.6-mile stretch and you’ll pass a dozen brewery taprooms — North Park Beer Company, Fall Brewing, Belching Beaver, Thorn Street, Mike Hess, Modern Times Flavordome, and more.
But here’s what the craft beer tourism stories don’t tell you: the very success of North Park’s brewery scene is creating a valuation paradox that every restaurant and bar owner in the neighborhood needs to understand.
The Numbers Behind the Boom
North Park currently has 12-15 active craft beer establishments concentrated along 30th Street and University Avenue. San Diego County as a whole has 150+ craft breweries — the most of any county in the nation — generating a $1.2 billion economic impact and supporting nearly 6,500 jobs according to a Cal State San Marcos study.
The neighborhood itself is a perfect storm for hospitality:
- Walk Score: 86/100 — “Very Walkable”
- Median age: 34 with 49% of residents between 25-44
- Median household income: $94,318
- 70.6% renters — a demographic that dines out at higher rates
The 16th annual North Park Festival of Beers draws 50-60 local craft brewers each year. Brewery taprooms function as neighborhood anchors, driving foot traffic that benefits every restaurant on the block.
The Property Value Effect
Academic research quantifies what North Park residents already feel. A 2024 University of Toledo study found that single-family homes within half a mile of a new brewery see approximately a 10% increase in sales price. A Denver study of 250,000 housing transactions showed premiums of up to 20% several years after a brewery opens.
For commercial real estate, this means rising rents across the board. San Diego restaurant leases average roughly $31-35 per square foot, and North Park’s 92104 zip code is currently the most popular real estate zip code in San Diego.
Rising property values are great if you own the building. But most breweries and restaurants lease.
The Squeeze
Here’s the paradox: breweries catalyze the gentrification that eventually prices them out.
In 2024, San Diego County saw a record 11 brewery closures. In 2025, that rose to 12 closures — including two in North Park itself (El Cid Brewing and GOAL Brewing). Nationally, craft beer production fell 4% in 2024, the biggest drop outside the pandemic.
Erik Fowler of the San Diego Brewers Guild put it directly: “A lot of breweries that opened seven to 10 years ago are coming to the time to renew their leases, and they can’t take the burden of increased rent.”
Modern Times — one of San Diego’s most recognizable craft brands with a taproom on Upas Street — went into receivership in 2022 and was sold to Maui Brewing for $15.3 million. In 2025 alone, nine shuttered breweries were taken over by other beer companies — a clear consolidation trend.
What This Means for Restaurant Owners
If you operate a restaurant or bar in North Park, the brewery ecosystem affects your business in three ways:
1. Your lease is your most valuable asset (or your biggest liability). If you locked in favorable terms 5-10 years ago, your below-market rent is essentially free cash flow. That favorable lease directly increases your SDE and your valuation multiple. When your lease comes up for renewal, expect the landlord to adjust to current market rates — and budget accordingly.
2. Foot traffic is a rising tide, but it’s not free. Brewery density draws people to the neighborhood, but you need to differentiate to capture those dollars. The restaurants thriving in North Park are the ones that complement the brewery experience — the kind of brand positioning that makes you the obvious dinner stop before or after a taproom visit.
3. Selling while the market is hot is a strategic choice. North Park’s desirability means qualified buyers are actively seeking established operations in the neighborhood. A profitable restaurant with 3+ years of clean financials and a favorable lease in a high-foot-traffic corridor like 30th Street will command premium multiples. The factors that drive what your business is worth are all working in your favor right now.
The Broker’s Takeaway
North Park’s brewery scene has done something remarkable — it turned a residential neighborhood into one of San Diego’s premier dining and nightlife destinations. But the economics that follow success are relentless. Rising rents, stiffer competition, and lease renewal cliffs are real.
If you’ve built a profitable operation in this corridor, you’re sitting on an asset that’s worth more today than it may be when your lease resets. Understanding your business’s fair market value in this environment isn’t just academic — it’s strategic.
Businesses Mentioned