Walk past the gate at 1999 Citracado Parkway, just south of the Escondido Auto Park, and you're among boulders, winding paths, a granite koi pond and a waterfall, with a two-story glass bistro looking down on an acre of garden. For twenty years that acre carried the Stone Brewing name. As of mid-November it belongs to Quarry Escondido, an independent restaurant run by the two people who built it, Stone co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner.
The name is changing, but the gardens, the koi pond and the founders are the same. The garden was nearly lost because of the way the Stone business was sold, and that same sale history explains why the first version of Quarry is designed to feel familiar.
The gardens were never part of the brand sale
Koch and Wagner sold Stone Brewing to Sapporo in 2022. In May 2026, Sapporo sold the Stone brand to Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat USA, and that deal covered Stone's public venues in Point Loma, downtown San Diego, Oceanside and Pasadena. It did not cover the Escondido bistro. In the words of San Diego Magazine, Sapporo "was left wondering what to do with this huge asset that didn't really make sense anymore."
So a restaurant that still drew crowds had no brand behind it. In August, Sapporo said it would close the bistro in November unless it found the right operator. CalMatters, in a story republished by Daylight San Diego, reported that Sapporo filed WARN notices with the state saying it expected to lay off 272 employees.
Koch and Wagner stepped in on Oct. 14. San Diego Magazine called them "the most unexpected and sensible who." The brand had moved to new owners, but the place itself returned to the people who designed it.
What Escondido was trying to keep
The bistro is 13,500 square feet including back of house. It has fire pits, a vine-covered side nook, and an acre of gardens built mostly from reclaimed materials that won a national sustainability award. It opened in 2006, when, according to San Diego Magazine, most craft tasting rooms were "warehouses with taps" and food came from a truck out back. By 2016 the company said it was North County's third-largest tourist attraction, behind Legoland and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The Union-Tribune reported about 500,000 visitors a year around that time.
City Hall got involved too. Francisco Vargas, an economic development management analyst for the city, announced the buyback and said Koch and Wagner would keep most of the hospitality jobs. He told CalMatters the plan reflected work with local economic development officials and "strong community support for preserving the Bistro & Gardens and its role in the Escondido community."
If most of the hospitality jobs carry over as planned, regulars may see some familiar faces along with the familiar garden.
The holiday version is meant to look familiar
Koch has been clear that the first months will not bring a reinvention. He told The North County Chronicle:
"Our plan is to get the ABC licensing as soon as possible, and then reopen and hit the ground running for the holiday season. No major changes right away. We'll be too busy and putting the team through big menu or other changes during the very busy holiday season wouldn't be wise."
BeerAlien's rundown lists what the early Quarry is expected to look like:
- Beer: Stone beers stay on tap alongside a wider craft list, described as "a beer program celebrating the breadth and quality of the craft brewing community."
- Food: a return to an entree-focused menu like the bistro's early years.
- Setting: the gardens, koi ponds and one-acre beer garden stay.
- Name: the Stone name ended with the last Stone-branded service, which was scheduled for Nov. 13.
Koch summed it up in a quote carried by BeerAlien: "people shouldn't expect anything very dramatic."
Before reopening under its new name, the restaurant needs a license change approved by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. How To Beer reported Saturday, Nov. 14, as the target opening date, and the Quarry Escondido website lists its opening as late 2026. If you're planning a holiday dinner or a group gathering there, check the site or call the bistro's longtime number, (760) 294-7866, before you go.
The real changes are planned for after the holidays
Familiar is the plan for now. The redesign comes later. In the same Chronicle interview, Koch described a longer project:
"Ultimately our plan is to Refurbish, Repair and Remodel (somewhat). Aiming at perhaps a February shutdown so we can do some Front of House reconfiguring. Have ideas to rework the bar for example, but we don't even have firm plans yet! But yes, [we] will keep the bones."
Koch called the February pause a possibility, not a date. Even so, if you hope to book the garden for a winter birthday or anniversary, ask about February before you commit.
The brewery is a separate question. The bistro takes up roughly a third of a building that also held what was the county's largest brewery when it opened. Koch told CalMatters that he and Wagner are exploring options for the adjacent brewery, and San Diego Magazine reported that they are still working on a plan for the brewing side, as Sapporo had been for most of the year. For now, Quarry is a restaurant and garden.
Here is the timeline so far:
- 2022: Koch and Wagner sell Stone Brewing to Sapporo.
- May 2026: Sapporo sells the Stone brand to Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat USA, without the Escondido bistro.
- August 2026: Sapporo says the bistro will close in November unless it finds an operator.
- Oct. 14, 2026: Koch and Wagner announce they are taking over the restaurant and gardens.
- Nov. 13, 2026: Last scheduled service under the Stone name.
- Holiday season: Quarry Escondido reopens with few changes once the ABC license change is approved.
- Possibly February: A front-of-house remodel, including the bar, that Koch says is not yet firm.
The Stone name leaves, and other Escondido taprooms get noticed
With the name change, the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote, "Stone will have effectively been erased from the Escondido landscape." The same story argued that because Stone loomed so large, many people assume it is the city's only brewing company, and that other local taprooms "now stand a greater chance of being discovered."
The Union-Tribune's list of Escondido taprooms worth knowing:
- Backyard Brewery
- Barley & Sword Brewing
- Burgeon Beer Co., which also runs Burgeon at the Oasis
- Made Wright Beer Co.
- Escondido Social Taproom, 132 N. Kalmia St., opened in October by co-owners Aldo Barbosa and Matthew Holden, pouring San Diego-made beer, wine, hard seltzer and nonalcoholic drinks
Escondido Social Taproom is the newest of the group. If Quarry does close in February for the front-of-house remodel Koch has floated, these taprooms are where Escondido beer drinkers can go in the meantime.
For two decades the garden on Citracado Parkway was where many local celebrations happened, and Sapporo's sale nearly ended that. The founders kept it open. Places like this are part of what makes Escondido feel like home. If you live nearby and are wondering what your own property is worth right now, Jamie Gilman and our Vista-based team have followed this city since 1978 and can give you a free home valuation built on what's actually happening here.
