Odie O’Connor is intimately familiar with three things: North County San Diego, sourdough pizza, and his friends Clayton Wheeler and Craig Applegate. As a trio of Encinitas natives, “I’ve known those guys for 25 years,” he says. Over the past decade, all three have successfully launched different hospitality concepts—O’Connor opened Boxcar Pizza in Portland, Oregon, and Wheeler and Applegate launched Blacktop Restaurant Group (Board & Brew, Pure Taco, Casero Taqueria). They’re finally teaming up to open Odie’s Pizza Company in Oceanside, inside the former Sublime Tap House space this January.
When he moved to Portland, O’Connor first got into sourdough pizza a decade ago. “I would eat a slice of it, and then I would feel fine—like I wouldn’t have that heavy gut that you typically get with pizza,” he explains. It led him to launch Boxcar, a vegan pizza shop offering gluten-free and alternative diet options. “It just seems like a lot of people are sort of getting more in tune with their nutrition,” he says.
Odie O’Connor
As one of the oldest forms of bread making, O’Connor says sourdough can taste better and be better for digestion. He didn’t see a similar pizza shop in San Diego and returned to his hometown earlier this year to start building Odie’s. “The idea was to bring something that wasn’t in San Diego and make it available for everyone, to be inclusive of all diets, or as many as we can,” he says. “I turned into a total dough nerd.”
Odie’s dough will go through a 48-hour-long cold fermentation for a fuller flavor, and they’ll also offer gluten-free and vegan options as well. “Our normal pies are going to be 16” New York-style pies, and also 16×16” grandma-style pies, which is like Sicilian,” says O’Connor. They’ll also serve wings, salads, milkshakes, soft serve, and local craft beer.
Opening in North County was a no-brainer, he says. “I’ve always loved Oceanside. I grew up surfing the pier,” he says. “It just feels like Oceanside is really booming right now, and there’s room to bring things to it… we’re super excited to get it going.”
Odie’s Pizza is slated to launch in January and will be open seven days a week from 11 am to 9 am.
San Diego Restaurant News & Upcoming Food Events
Inaugural O’wineside Mexican Wine Festival Coming in October
Exquisite as the Valle de Guadalupe is, there’s more to Mexican wine than that sole region. The first O’wineside Mexican Wine Festival will feature wine from 25+ different wineries across seven different Mexican states, starting at 1 p.m. and culminating at a wine-pairing dinner curated by chef Roberto Alcocer of Michelin-starred Valle and partners Baja chefs Miguel Bahena (Madre in Ensenada) and Omar Valenzuela (AVIA in Mexicali, Célida Café in Ensenada). Tickets for the festival are available here; tickets for the wine dinner are sold separately here.
Beth’s Bites
- Not to toot my own horn (okay, it’s precisely to toot my own horn), but I’m co-hosting a cider and food pairing event on Thursday, October 10, at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort with Bivouac founder Lara Worm and chef Roy Hendrickson. Tickets are available here, including four courses paired with Bivouac ciders and a discussion about San Diego’s growing cider scene. Hope to see you there!
- The Taco Stand continues its expansion. A new location will open at 1722 S. Coast Highway in Oceanside early next year. It’ll be the 14th location for the Showa Hospitality Group and the 10th in California.
- Pesto Italian Craft Kitchen College is out, and Joyee’s Dumpling House is in at 6011 El Cajon Blvd. in College Area. As much as I love lasagna, I love dumplings even more, so this is very exciting to me, personally.
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to food@sdmag.com.
