Texas-based bar and restaurant set to open on waterfront in downtown San Diego

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- A Texas-based restaurant and bar is coming to the waterfront in downtown San Diego and will offer indoor and outdoor seating and live indoor music performances after the Port approved a lease agreement with the company. This will be The Rustic’s first location in California.

With locations in Houston and Dallas, The Rustic is coming to San Diego in the former Joe's Crab Shack location along the Embarcadero with construction slated to begin sometime in the next two years as long as all the terms of the lease are met, the Port announced.

The 9,000 square-foot building has a wrap-around patio, a boat dock and 56 parking spaces, and was formerly the historic San Diego Rowing Club, built in 1900.

The bar and restaurant will offer indoor and outdoor seating, live indoor music, including its popular Jam & Toast family-style brunch that includes communal dining and live acoustic performances, along with American food dishes, craft beers, wine and cocktails. The Port says boaters can also dock and dine at the site on the Embarcadero.

The Rustic is a dining and entertainment brand by Free Range Holdings, LLC, which operates four The Rustic restaurants in Texas, including the flagship location in Houston adjacent to the Houston Convention Center.

The Port of San Diego said The Rustic still has to satisfy the preconditions of the Option to Lease Agreement before they are issued the lease, which includes securing project financing, obtaining construction and project permits, providing a construction contract and completing a parking study and management plan. 

The Lease would be a 15-year term with two 5-year options to extend.  

Part of the lease, The Rustic and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra will be entering into an agreement to ensure performances at The Rustic and The Rady Shell don't conflict with each other. The Port noted The Rustic is limited to 12 ticketed events per year and that they will be required to comply with local noise ordinances.

The Rustic now has 24 months to meet the preconditions of the lease terms. Construction would begin once the preconditions are met and the lease has been issued, according to the Port.

The Rustic will be located at 525 E Harbor Drive after the Joe's Crab Shack in that location closed in August 2025.

It is unclear yet what hours the San Diego location will be open, but The Rustic's current locations are open most days from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Rustic is continuing to branch out of Texas, opening not only the upcoming San Diego location, but has a Scottsdale, Arizona bar and restaurant slated to open soon.