Fallbrook Brewing Company to open new bar and restaurant.

Fallbrook Brewing Company has plans to open a new bar and restaurant in the friendly village it's named for. Dubbed Firehouse Que and Brew, the new business will serve beer, wine and barbecue at 1019 South Main Avenue, about a mile south of the two-year-old company's brewery in historic downtown Fallbrook. That location will continue to operate as brew site and tasting room, business as usual.

Owner and brewer Chuck McLaughlin says the new place will serve plenty of Fallbrook beers, including a new recipe brewed exclusively for the restaurant. "Most likely an IPA that can stand up to the strong flavors of the barbecue," he adds.

He also plans on featuring guest taps "that will all have some sort of Fallbrook connection." These may include Coronado Brewing, Temecula's Ironfire Brewery, whose brewers attended Fallbrook High School, and Bolt Brewery, which briefly launched as a Fallbrook microbrewery back in 1987. "There are a lot of other connections to Fallbrook also," McLaughlin says, "Everyone has a grandma that lives in Fallbrook."

For food service, McLaughlin will also maintain a focus on his home area, teaming up with local restaurant the Rib Shack, which he describes as offering "low and slow barbecue." Rib Shack will create a bar menu likely to include ribs, chicken, brisket, and pulled pork. Until recently the property was the site of a Mexican seafood restaurant. But McLaughlin says the Firehouse name stems from its history as "the muster area for the local bucket brigade."

Measuring about 2200 square feet, the restaurant will feature two separate outdoor dining patios. McLaughlin says the Fallbrook Brewing team hopes to open the expansion in December at soonest.