September 2014 - San Diego Streets

Sempra and Pinnacle Growing Up Fast in the East Village

We’ve had our eyes on the East Village as two of Downtown’s fastest growing buildings continue to rise. After just a short time, the new headquarters for Sempra Energy has already shot up seven stories.

In June, we told you about plans for the new headquarters, where the energy company will move 700 employees next summer. Work continues on the 16-story building along Eighth Avenue between Island and J.

The developer has restored the previously-removed fourth roll-up door on the left side of the remaining red facade. Those doors will allow access to the underground parking garage. This section, known as the Unicorn Building, will become a new restaurant/retail space.

We love construction cranes, and this project has two. The center tower continues to rise a few floors ahead of the rest.

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Pinnacle International has made significant progress on first of two 45-story residential towers at 15th and J.

They’re already up to about 31 floors, but have plenty more to go. Located on the far end of the East Village, the project has already made a big impact on the Downtown skyline.

Solid construction walls recently came down to reveal what will eventually become a large public park outside the first tower. We understand that the towers will include commercial space at ground level, so hopefully that means at least one of those big spaces will hold some sort of cafe along the park.

On the northwest corner of the block, Texas-based Stella Public House and Halcyon are also working on a shared restaurant space with a large patio overlooking the new park. Eater San Diego shared in July that the restaurants hope to open by next month, but we’ll believe it when we see it.

Keeping it Real at Juice in the East Village

On our Labor Day stroll through Downtown, we finally popped inside Juice at 871 G Street, one of two new East Village concepts from craft cocktail experts Consortium Holdings.

We love a good neon sign, even if it’s a small one.

Still in its first couple months of operation, Juice is a cold-pressed juice bar offering a selection of healthy, natural drinks. That’s a little different from the usual bar and lounge concepts for which Consortium Holdings has become known at their other joints like Craft and Commerce and Ironside Fish & Oyster. They recently opened Rare Form in the East Village as well.

Juice in East Village, San Diego

Inside, the Juice crew was super friendly and quick to offer samples and suggestions. We eyed the breakfast bowl the dude in the corner seemed to be enjoying. It was one of their Morning Bowls—hemp granola, mixed berries, raw honey, coconut flakes, and your choice of yogurt, frozen avocado/mango/pineapple, or frozen banana/almond. Now that’s a complete breakfast.

We were craving avocado, so we decided on the Mango Enchanted—frozen avocado, mango, and pineapple blended with your choice of Pulp Fiction or Drop The Beet. They poured samples of both options and we decided on Pulp Fiction, a signature juice containing spinach, cucumber, pineapple, and cilantro. They gave us the leftover from the bottle so we could taste it on its own as well.

According the menu, the ingredients in our concoction can lower blood pressure, fight free radicals, improve memory, and flush toxins. There’s a big focus on health benefits here—”keep it real” is their tagline.

Simple, but cool interior. Yes, those are the lyrics from Notorious B.I.G.’s Juicy on the wall.

The prices are steep at $8 for their standard 16-ounce juices or $9 for a blended drink like the one above, but we have to say that it was a worthy treat that we’d certainly have again.

Juice in East Village, San Diego

With similar juice joints opening around town—Ritual Juicebox in Hillcrest and Juice Crafters coming soon to Little Italy and Hillcrest—this one is certainly worth a visit. Close by, Sol Cal Vegan Market will also serve cold-pressed juices, but we’re still waiting for more on that one.