Local Roots kombucha tasting room opens in Cedros Design District

Local Roots hard kombucha has moved into Solana Beach’s coastal neighborhood with its new taproom in the Cedros Design District. Local Roots promises to be a “better-for-you adult beverage” that is organic, vegan and gluten free, packed with probiotics with no artificial sugar.

The Solana Beach tasting room opened in late September on the corner of South Cedros Avenue, just under the design district banner. The booch bar forms a Cedros’ “tasting triangle” with Carruth Cellars urban winery next-door and Culture Brewing across the street.

The tasting room will have 20 fizzy and flavorful options on tap including Strawberry Mojito; Purple Haze with blueberry and ginger; the spicy, unique Tropical Habinero that mixes habanero, pineapple and mango; and the beachy Island Vibes with coconut, pineapple and blue spirulina.

Hard teas and non-alcoholic kombucha are also on the taplist and cans and growlers are all available to-go. Lunch items will be available to order with Blade 1936, Local Roots’ food partner out of Oceanside that serves up wood-fired pizzas and modern Italian.

Local Roots has also been named the exclusive kombucha of the Belly Up’s new concert venue at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, still under construction. Local Roots was also a top seller at Solana Beach’s community celebration Fiesta Del Sol this spring.

This is Local Roots’ second location, their first taproom is in Vista, also home to their solar-powered brewery.

Booch tasting at Local Roots.

(Karen Billing)

Local Roots is brewed, owned and operated by cousins Ryan White and Joe Carmichael. The Encinitas and Carlsbad residents started the company in 2017 in a garage. At the time, both cousins were on journeys for better health—White’s wife was battling breast cancer and they were focused on clean eating, cold pressing their own juices at home; Carmichael was getting into craft kombucha for its gut-health goodness.

Fermented foods are a source of probiotics and fermented tea kombucha can provide the gut with healthy bacteria, helping improve health aspects like digestion and inflammation.

“That intrigued me,” said White, who admits he didn’t enjoy his first experience with kombucha and found it tasted a little disgusting.

The two started brewing together to create a higher-alcohol hard kombucha, flavoring it with juices White was making in the kitchen. They customized their fermentation process, taking the time to craft the perfect-tasting kombucha. The result was light, refreshing and flavorful, what Carmichael calls “The gateway kombucha”— something even the doubter, someone who doesn’t even think they like kombucha, will think tastes good, creating forever kombucha converts just like White.

Their brews became more than just a hobby as they learned more about commercial brewing and canning. Toward the end of 2018, they started making Local Roots in a small brewery and tasting room space Vista.

“We were only there for six months because we grew so fast,” White said.

Their colorful cans first landed on shelves in late 2019 in stores such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Lazy Acres and local restaurants. They moved into their expanded space now known as “The Boochyard” and scaled up production, sending Local Roots outside of San Diego to Northern California and Arizona.

The bar at Local Roots in Solana Beach.

(Karen Billing)

Friends, family and Local Roots fans have been asking for them to open a tasting room along the coast and they are happy to be in Solana Beach.

The Cedros spot is a former hair salon. In a major build-out, they added a roll-up door to open up the whole front of the space to the artsy avenue. The space features modern printed wallpaper and exposed brick, a reclaimed wood bar and leather-seated stools. A greenery wall above a cozy couch reads “Hey Booches!” in purple neon light.

While they signed the lease back in 2019, they just opened the tasting room this September due to planning and pandemic-related delays. It took such a long time to go from lease to reality that they eagerly opened just three hours after their final inspection.

Local Roots is also committed to giving back with their quarterly “Can for a Cause”. Their last creation, Safari Ride, supported the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Their latest is Pink Panther, a combination of watermelon, raspberry and coconut that is a new favorite and considered by many to be one of their best mixtures yet.

Through Dec. 31, Local Roots will be donating 10% of all gross proceeds from each purchase of Pink Panther to the Susan G. Komen foundation in support of finding a cure for breast cancer.

The Solana Beach taproom is located at 112 South Cedros Avenue. For more information, check out localrootskombucha.com or find them on Instagram @localrootskombucha