January 26, 2008
Beach Pit BBQ Makes Debut in Old Town Tustin
A headline on Thursday’s Tustin News of the OC Register caught my eye (and stomach), “Old Tustin Garage gives way to restaurant.” Taking an old service garage and converting it into a restaurant sounds like a messy job. However, to Tim DiCinces, Beach Pit BBQ owner, it was an obvious choice. He says, “I’ve had the vision for that building and bringing it to life for a long time.”
This is the second location for the Beach Pit BBQ. The flagship restaurant can be found in an old house on 1676 Tustin Avenue in Costa Mesa. According to the Register, “The Costa Mesa location is in a renovated house and has mostly outdoor space and the feel of ‘backyard barbecue,’ [DiCinces] said. With the new location, he wanted to create the character of a barbecue roadhouse.” Beach Pit BBQ’s newest (and second) location is in Old Town Tustin at 560 El Camino Real and opens to the public on Monday, January 28th.
The new Old Town Tustin location, formerly the old Tustin Garage, is a historic building, built in 1915, having served motorists going between LA and San Diego in the early-to-mid 1900s. The Tustin Preservation Conservancy was quite supportive of DeCinces effort to open a restaurant in Old Town: “The conservancy, which supports the preservation of Old Town Tustin, was in agreement with the Beach Pit because of its adaptive reuse — preserving the historic building but turning it into a business or dwelling that fits with the community.” DeCinces has been working on the building’s restoration for two years.
On the company’s website, Tim Dinces talks about where the idea of such a restaurant came about:
“Throughout eight years of professional baseball, I was able to see many parts of the country and taste the various culinary cultures of our country. I fell in love with not only the taste, of true, wood smoked southern BBQ, but also the hospitality and comfort that came with it… To ensure we could capture the centuries old skill that southerners hand down from generation to generation, I enlisted the help of a few of my favorite eating stops down in the bus leagues. My partners and I as well as our manager have gone back to a few of these joints in the deep south for ‘BBQ boot camp’ if you will.”
Back in May 2006, the Costa Mesa location was featured on ABC Channel 7’s “Dining with Dills” where Elmer Dill couldn’t speak more highly of a down-home, casual barbecue place that served “the real ‘Q’”. His account described entering the gates of the old property and being greeted by the resident host, a dog. Another first-hand experience can be found on “The New Diner” blog.
Sounds yummy and fun… going to have try it out. With dinners priced moderately from around $14 for a plate and $9 for a sandwich, the price is pretty appealing, too. On a random side note, does anyone think the Beach Pit BBQ sounds like 90210’s famed Peach Pit? All I can think of is Nat behind the counter doling out some good advice.
