A craft beer infusion for SDSU

Sadly, macro-lager keggers will likely always rule at SDSU, but when it comes to on-campus drinking, Aztec nation will soon have a quality craft beer option. Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Company just won out on a bid for a space in the new student union where it will install its first ever Oggi’s Pizza Express. Located at the end of the walking bridge spanning College Avenue, next to a new bowling alley, ownership (which includes an SDSU alum who’s the daughter of one of the college’s adjunct professors) compares the new venue to the Chipotle model. Patrons will be able to order 10-inch individual pizzas (which will be a tad thinner than the puffier crusts at their other locations) and customize the sauces, cheeses, and other toppings that go on them.

But this is really more about the beer. Oggi’s Pizza Express will have 20 taps. Half of them will pour the company’s beers, which are produced at Left Coast Brewing Company in San Clemente. The other 10 taps will be devoted to highlighting guest beers with a bent toward local product. It’s a natural fit given SDSU’s recently installed Business of Craft Beer certificate program. For those who prefer to immerse themselves in craft versus its curriculum, there will be a mug club where regulars will get a personalized 25-ounce serving vessel they can use each time they come in.

The space Oggi’s has secured is 3,600 square feet. It will be outfitted in the company’s standard sporty motif with a nod to Aztec greats including Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk, and will include a line-style ordering space where guests customize their pies and, by the time they are done paying, their pizzas are essentially waiting for them. A variety of salads and wraps will also be available, and beer and wine will be served at a separate, television-equipped bar. An 1,000 square foot patio will provide additional dining space. The project is set to debut in March and will represent the eighth Oggi’s location in San Diego, and sixteenth overall after last weekend’s grand opening of the chain’s Fullerton store.