Native Son, Santa Ana and Rancho Cucamonga’s local cocktail bar and alehouse officially opens Native Son Bar DTLA November 4th, 2022, while paying homage to Modern Times and the Dojo and serving up their food, curated beers from around the globe, wine-based cocktails and spritzes, and now for the first time, brewing their own Native Son Craft Beer!
Jon Sanchez, President of Native Son, was a USC Marshall School of Business graduate and he started his professional career working for Nestle. During his five years traveling around the country with Nestle, it was craft beer from his native Southern California that always gave him a sense of home. Sanchez searched out breweries like Stone, Green Flash, and Lagunitas in towns like Philadelphia, Charlotte, and San Francisco. When he moved to San Francisco while working with Nestle he was able to visit Lagunitas, and Russian River Breweries regularly. Sanchez left Nestle to venture into the industry to open his own craft beer bar back in his native land of Orange County in Southern California. In 2014 Sanchez found a unique location in Downtown Santa Ana, a rooftop office space that he thought was perfect for converting into a beer bar. Sanchez and his team ran with that one location until 2019 when they opened their second Native Son Inland Empire location in Rancho Cucamonga inside the Haven City Food Hall. In early 2022 Sanchez became aware of Modern Times’ hardships, and he reached out to acquire their Los Angeles brewpub on Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles and Native Son Bar DTLA will be the third location in the Dojo in Downtown Los Angeles.
Hearing that Modern Times had decided to close their DTLA location, Native Son thought they would be a perfect fit to keep the Dojo alive and Modern Time thought so too. Says Sanchez in a statement, “My experience in New York City in 2008-2010 gave me a deep love of downtown urban environments, and the people that lived walking distance to their favorite spots. This was the reason we started in Downtown Santa Ana. That neighborhood is the most urban downtown in all of Orange County. Our expansion to DTLA feels a lot like our start in Santa Ana. Our neighborhood here on Olive Street is right downtown, has high rise residential and office buildings, and above all is walkable to all sorts of fun bars and restaurants. We want to be a part of making downtown Los Angeles a great place to live and work.”
Native Son, known for their curated rotating list of Craft Beers, they feature over 35 Craft Beers on Draft including Mumford & Son Lager from Los Angeles, Pliny the Edler DIPA from Russian River Brewing Company in Windsor, California, and Pie of the Tiger Smoothie from Full Circle Brewing Company in Fresno, California, and over 25 Specialty Cans & Bottles such as Infinite End Cold IPA from There Does Not Exist in San Luis Obispo, California, Life Goals Hazy DIPA from Great Notion Brewing in Portland, Oregon, and the Super Duper Nice Strawberry Peach Sour from Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Doral Florida to name just a few, but Native Son’s news is that for the first-time they will start brewing their own craft beer at Native Son Bar DTLA!
Native Son Head Brewer JP Boudwin originally from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and now Koreatown for the last nine years has seen almost all sides of the industry. Until a little over five years ago Boudwin’s focus was mostly on retail and events specializing in craft beer and natural wine. Still heavily involved in both and often spending vacation time doing wine harvests, Boudwin became a brewer. He started working for Modern Times as an event rep a few months before they opened their DTLA location. Once “The Dojo” opened he quickly transitioned into being their original brewer’s assistant. He took to it fast and fell in love with the work. A few years later he became the Head Brewer for the last few years before being asked to transition to Modern Time’s Anaheim production facility as they were closing several locations. In those final days Boudwin was fortunate to meet Jon and Lacy of Native Son who came in to look at the DTLA space. Shortly after Boudwin started consulting for Native Son in their efforts to take over and breathe new life into “The Dojo”. After taking a 2-month sabbatical from Modern Times this past August and September to do a wine harvest in Austria and then help his brother work on his brewery and urban winery in Philadelphia, Boudwin came back home to Los Angeles and the very next day he accepted an offer to come on full time and work for Native Son.
As Head Brewer at Native Son Bar DTLA, Boudwin will be responsible for all of things brewing, cellaring, recipe development, and all day-to-day logistics that come with it. “Since Native Son has already been a force in their craft beer, cocktail, and food programs, I want to lead with that same mentality. Honoring the classic, the experimental, and all the in-betweens,” says Boudwin in a statement. “We will start by developing three house beers that we will continue to fine tune as we grow. A Mexican Lager, a West Coast IPA, and a Hazy IPA will be the first to hit the taps. From there you will see a mix of true to style beers with some small, updated twists as well as the more newer school styles you see from a lot of breweries these days. Seasonally appropriate and fun all around, and I have a feeling we’ll be just in time for the holidays around late November to early December, fingers crossed.”
Native Son is also known for their craft spirits and cocktails, so while they are working on bringing a full spirits bar to Native Son Bar DTLA, Beverage Director Brock Woolsey has created a list of Wine Based Cocktails & Spritzes including the Part Time Lover prepared with Mommenpop Orange, Cocchi Americano, Aperitif, sparkling wine, lemon, and mint, Brine & Dandy made of dry vermouth, Fino Sherry, orange bitters, and an olive, and Bitter Little Thing comprised of Cardamaro, Punt e Mes, and Amomillado Sherry.
Native Son Executive Chef Alec Guerrero, a Le Cordon Bleu alumni grew up in Los Angeles and Santa Ana as a proud Hispanic and he incorporates the culture he grew up within his style of cooking. Chef Guerrero will be presenting his inclusive menu featuring Native Son items like the Downtown Double Sliders made with Angus Beef Classic, iconic pig sauce, American cheese, and kosher dill pickles served on an artisan brioche bun, Grilled Elote, buttery grilled sweet corn, mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and paprika, Hummus n Chips, house-made roasted beet hummus and house-made potato chips, and Native Fries made with Cajun French fries, iconic pig sauce, and grilled onions, along with a full Weekend Brunch Menu.
“I think what most excites me about Native Son opening in DTLA is just the opportunity to make a name for ourselves, not just as a casual dining location, but also our entering into the Los Angeles craft beer scene,” says Brandon Goodwin, General Manager of Native Son Bar DTLA. “We have an intelligent, eclectic group of individuals who are hungry to make an impact on our community, and we hope to make that impact felt in our own beautiful, Native Son way.”
Native Son has always loved the atmosphere and feel of the Dojo, and they want to preserve its unique style. Native Son Bar DTLA is excited to use the 10bbl brew house to showcase their point of view of craft beer. The kitchen will continue to produce food and include weekend brunch and non-vegan options.
Native Son Bar DTLA is open for every Monday through Thursday from 10:30 am to 12:00 Midnight, every Friday and Saturday from 10:30 am to 2:00 am, and every Sunday from 10:30 am to 10:00 pm. Native Son Bar DTLA serves Brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm, and they offer Happy Hour daily from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
