Portside Pier officially broke ground yesterday on North Harbor Drive. The two-story, 42,000-square-foot multi-restaurant development is entering a year-long construction phase on the North Embarcadero bayfront that Rafael Castellanos, Chairman of the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners, calls an “extreme makeover of San Diego’s front porch”.

Back in 2015, Portside Pier was selected from several proposed plans to replace Anthony’s Fish Grotto, whose 50-plus year lease on the iconic site expired in 2016. The multi-million dollar transformation has a local restaurant company behind it, The Brigantine, Inc., which was first founded in 1969 and now runs seven locations of the Brigantine Seafood and Oyster Bar and six branches of Miguel’s Cocina as well as a brewery at its Kearny Mesa corporate headquarters. Next month, the group is scheduled to debut Ketch Grill and Taps, a craft beer pub, in Point Loma.

Ketch Grill & Taps will also have an outpost in the southeast corner of Portside Pier, where it will be joined by Brigantine on the Bay on the north end, serving surf and turf fare and featuring an oyster bar and lounge with exhibition cooking. Another location of Miguel’s Cocina will bring Mexican cuisine to the southwest corner of the development while Portside Gelato & Coffee will have a prime walk-up spot on the promenade offering coffee and espresso from Café Moto and housemade gelato. All totaled, there will be 20,111-square-feet of public restaurant space with seating for 1000 guests.

Slated for a late 2019 opening, Portside Pier will also feature two rooftop bars and banquet space as well as a wrap-around second floor walkway and viewing deck with panoramic views of San Diego Bay. It will also have spots for private boats or water taxis, for those who want to dock and dine.