New brewery finds the Lemon Groove

As reported by the Reader in March, the City of Lemon Grove has been working to attract a brewing business to contribute to the revitalization its downtown commercial district. In mid-October, Lemon Grove got its wish, as 13 Point Brewing Company announced it would be opening its first brewery at 8035 Broadway, roughly 2000 feet from the city's central trolley stop, Lemon Grove Depot.

13 Point has been in the works for a couple of years. According to Dylan Frank, the brewery's director of marketing and eventual tasting-room manager, opening in Lemon Grove had been an early consideration for the business, based on San Diego's beer geography.

"If you look at a map of all the breweries, there's a hole in the Lemon Grove/Spring Valley area," he says. Once they started looking at Lemon Grove properties in earnest, he says, they realized how much the city was willing to help them through the process. "They really have been super awesome to us. I can't stress that enough."

Dylan's father, Bob Frank, is president of the startup, while his friend and longtime homebrewer Robert Bessone will be head brewer. The team started construction this week on the stand-alone property and its 30-space parking lot. They hope to open spring 2018 or sometime shortly after.

Dylan, who's taken coursework at SDSU's Business of Craft Beer program as the team has been seeking out locations, says they anticipate producing a variety of beer styles and hosting music performances.

He notes the name 13 Points is itself a musical reference, based on the Grateful Dead's Steal Your Face logo. The logo depicts a round skull with a red and blue circle, bisected by a 13-point lightning bolt.

"We want that to visualize the sense of feel of the place," he says of the bolt, “the sense of community, great music, and one hell of a good time."