Garden-dwellers of Escondido, stand by for a handoff: Quarry Escondido, the new name for the former Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, is set to open Saturday, Nov. 14, one night after the last dinner served under the Stone name on Nov. 13. Stone co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner are running it as an independent restaurant at 1999 Citracado Parkway, and the Quarry Escondido website is already taking email signups.
The Nov. 14 date comes from secondary coverage. The New York Post, citing San Diego Magazine, reported the opening date on Oct. 24, and How To Beer has repeated it since. The restaurant’s own site is more cautious. As of Nov. 1 it says only “opening late 2026” and lists the old bistro phone number, (760) 294-7866.
What changes at Quarry Escondido
Not much, at least at first. Koch told Axios, as quoted by the Post: “It will offer up new experiences and new dishes on the menu, going back to its earlier days of an entree-focused menu,” he said. “But people shouldn’t expect anything very dramatic.”
- Beer: Stone beers stay on, next to a wider craft list. San Diego Magazine quotes the plan as “a beer program celebrating the breadth and quality of the craft brewing community.”
- Food: a return to an entree-focused menu, per Koch.
- Setting: the gardens, koi ponds and one-acre beer garden stay, How To Beer reports.
- Name: the Stone name leaves with the Nov. 13 service. The site is independent of the Stone brand.
A possible February pause
How To Beer, citing an interview Koch gave the North County Chronicle, says the founders want to reopen quickly for the holidays with no big changes, then possibly close in February to rework the front of house, including the bar. That plan comes from a single report, so treat it as tentative until Quarry confirms it.
How the founders got the Escondido bistro back
The bistro opened in 2006, and the Union-Tribune once put its traffic at about 500,000 visitors a year, according to San Diego Magazine. Sapporo bought Stone in 2022. In May 2026 it sold the Stone brand to Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat USA, but the Escondido properties weren’t part of that deal. In August, Sapporo said it would close the bistro in November unless it found an operator.
Koch and Wagner stepped in on Oct. 14. San Diego Magazine notes that the brewing side of the Citracado Parkway site is still unresolved, so Quarry is a restaurant story for now. We covered the takeover in Stone Founders Take Back the Escondido Bistro & Gardens.
Your Quarry Escondido flight plan
If you want one last Stone-branded meal, the window closes Friday, Nov. 13. Quarry Escondido is due the next day, right in the middle of San Diego Beer Week 2026. Check the restaurant’s site or call before you drive in, because the official page still hasn’t printed the date.
Same gardens, same founders, a new name over the door. Our scanners will stay pointed at Citracado Parkway for the first menu and tap list.
Transmission complete.
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