Gilly’s Bar in North Park Reopens With New Owners | Eater San Diego

"After a planned sale fell through earlier this year, I learned that two San Diego cocktail veterans, Erick Castro (Polite Provisions, Raised by Wolves) and Jacob Mentel (Youngblood, Wormwood), stepped in to take over the longtime Gilly’s Bar and renamed it Gilly’s House of Cocktails with the goal of balancing well-made drinks and value. They only shut the space for two weeks to freshen it up, keeping many original elements in place (as Castro quips, “You can’t buy carpet like this”), invited the staff to stay on (some did; familiar faces like Elih, who’s spent more than 20 years behind the bar, remain), and are earmarking funds for staff continuing education, health insurance, and mental health resources — a cause Mentel is especially passionate about. Both partners, who say they are diagnosed with ADHD and work well together, will do shifts behind the bar while Mentel acts as general manager and runs the cocktail program and Castro attends to ownership duties; they designed pricing with regulars in mind (well drinks and shots $5, a beer-and-shot pairing $10, cocktails topping out at $12) and the updated menu includes Castro’s famous boozy vegan eggnog. No food is prepared on-site, but customers are welcome to get takeout from nearby restaurants on the block, and the owners encourage cooperation with neighboring bars rather than competition; on opening night a longtime customer pointed out a mirror etched “Joni’s” behind the bar and said, “She made this place,” a reminder that not all change erases the past." - Kelly Bone