On South Cedros This November, the Night Starts Before the Doors Open

Encore Sushi opened this month at 112 S. Cedros Ave., in the 1,700-square-foot space Kai Ola Sushi left when it closed in June. The new owners say the address was a deliberate choice. "Cedros is where North County goes to find something original. Encore is the gateway, the first stop where a night on Cedros begins," partner Chris West told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The timing is what makes Encore useful. It opens at 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and at noon on Fridays, and its happy hour runs until 5:30. Rare Society's happy hour goes from 4 to 6, and on several November Fridays the Belly Up starts its own music at 5. Put together, an evening on South Cedros can begin in mid-afternoon, and which kitchens are open depends on the night you pick.

A sushi counter where Kai Ola used to be

Encore belongs to James La, a longtime North County sushi chef who worked at Kai Ola before it closed. He has also worked at Samarai Sushi and as a private sushi chef. The Union-Tribune reported that the restaurant set its grand opening celebration for Oct. 23. La sums up the concept like this: "Sushi is a live performance. The counter is our stage, and every piece is cut the moment it's ordered."

For anyone planning around a show, these are the hours that matter:

• Tuesday through Thursday: 3 to 9 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday: noon to 10 p.m.
• Sunday: noon to 9 p.m.
• Monday: closed
• Happy hour: 3 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, with select $5 items

Encore's website and its phone line, 858-925-7052, are the places to check before you go. Encore sits on the same short stretch of South Cedros as the Belly Up at 143 S. Cedros Ave.

Two closed days that don't match

The other big dinner room close to the Belly Up is Rare Society at 330 S. Cedros. Its site lists hours of 5 p.m. to close, Wednesday through Monday, so it's closed on Tuesdays. Happy hour runs 4 to 6 p.m. at the bar and the patio high-top tables. Encore is closed on Mondays.

Because the two restaurants close on different days, every night of the week has at least one of them open. On a Monday, Rare Society is your sit-down option. On a Tuesday, it's Encore. From Wednesday through Sunday, both are open, and you're choosing between sushi and a steakhouse.

The Belly Up's own dining room is part of this too. The venue says Wild Note Cafe closed during COVID and came back as TAVERN, with a new menu and a remodeled interior. Some older directories still list Wild Note at the Belly Up's address, but TAVERN is the current name.

The November calendar, matched to open kitchens

Here is the Belly Up's Solana Beach calendar for the first half of the month, matched with which of the two nearby dinner rooms is open on each date. Sold-out labels were current as of late October and can change.

The Fridays stand out. On Nov. 6, the Belly Up and the Bill Walton Foundation present the Electric Waste Band in a 5-to-8 p.m. happy hour benefiting the foundation. On Nov. 13, Atomic Groove plays a "Peace . Love . Good Vibez" dance party in the same early slot. On both nights, a headliner follows: Ozomatli with SeaPoodle on Nov. 6, and the Frankenreiter and Band of Heathens "Rolling Together Revue" on Nov. 13, which plays again on Nov. 14. The calendar lists the same 5-to-8 p.m. happy-hour slot again on Friday, Nov. 27, with April and The Funk Junkies. On those Fridays, the venue's own schedule starts while Encore's happy hour is still going.

How a Friday can run

Taking Nov. 13 as the example, each hour lines up with something listed on the block:

1. Noon: The Belly Up box office opens. The venue's FAQ says Friday box office hours start at noon. On Saturday through Thursday, it opens at 4 p.m., or 5 p.m. when there's no evening show. Phone sales run daily from noon until closing.
2. 3 p.m.: Encore's happy hour begins. It's the earliest bar deal on this stretch of South Cedros. On Fridays, Encore's kitchen has been open since noon.
3. 4 p.m.: Rare Society's happy hour starts at the bar and patio high-tops.
4. 5 p.m.: Atomic Groove's happy-hour dance party begins at the Belly Up and runs until 8.
5. Late evening: Donavon Frankenreiter and The Band of Heathens take the stage. Encore stays open until 10 for anyone eating after the show.

The Belly Up's FAQ says the venue is strictly 21 and over, with no exceptions. If your group includes anyone younger, the early happy-hour sets won't work, and the dinner part of the plan becomes the whole evening.

Daytime on the same block

The block is busy before 3 p.m. too. Lofty Coffee at 132 S. Cedros opens at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. on weekends, and closes at 5 p.m. every day. Farther south, Barefoot Coffee Roasters at 439 S. Cedros Ave. #204 is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with its own happy hour from 3 to 4 p.m. Barefoot's happy hour starts when Encore's does, at the other end of the street.

On Sundays, the Solana Beach Farmers Market runs from noon to 4 p.m. at 444 S. Cedros Ave. It's open year-round and closes only on Easter, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, so it has no November closures. That makes Sunday, Nov. 8, the most stacked day of the stretch: the market until 4, Encore open from noon, Rare Society from 5, and the sold-out Bahamas show that night. A separate city-run event, the free Sunday farmers market at La Colonia Park, was canceled on Nov. 1 for Día de los Muertos.

Mid-November dates near the coast

Two city events fall on the same days as Belly Up shows. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, the Veterans Day Ceremony runs from 11 a.m. to noon at La Colonia Park, 715 Valley Ave., well before Nick Shoulders plays that night. On Saturday, Nov. 14, World Kindness Day fills Fletcher Cove Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A San Diego Blood Bank drive runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Fletcher Cove Park parking lot, and the city also lists a clothing swap for the day. The Frankenreiter show's second night is the same evening, which leaves a few free hours between the end of the Fletcher Cove events and the start of happy hour on Cedros.

Later in the month, the Belly Up's calendar shows the Blind Boys of Alabama with Shemekia Copeland playing a Christmas show on Sunday, Nov. 29. Encore closes at 9 on Sundays, so plan on an earlier dinner that night.

At Booth Properties, we follow how blocks like South Cedros change, from a new chef behind a familiar counter to a venue that schedules shows for 5 p.m. If you live near Cedros and want to know how what's opening nearby might affect your home's value, Devon and Bunny are happy to talk it through. Request Your Home Valuation.