Live music, local food vendors and art exhibits will fill an empty venue in National City at the Neighbors Arts Festival on Aug. 3, before it is demolished, and eventually transformed into a multi-use complex by Protea Properties and Malick Infill Development.
That complex will include WellFed, a restaurant curated by National City native Chef Phillip Esteban and his creative team, Open Gym.
In celebration of the demolition that is the next step towards making his first solo restaurant a reality, and in an effort to connect with the community, Esteban, 37, and Open Gym have teamed up with developers and A Reason to Survive (ARTS), a local youth arts organization, to organize Neighbors.
“The idea behind Neighbors is to really create a long term relationship with the community. We want to create an experience that resonates with the local neighbors,” Esteban said. “I want them to know that I’m one of them, this is where I grew up.”
The event will start at 3 p.m. and take place at 130 E 8th St. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the event will be free for the community and family friendly.
Starting at 5 p.m., general admission tickets will be required to access the later part of the event, which will consist of a beer garden, an interactive art station for adults and more live music. Admission will close at 7 p.m.
Luis Travels, Real J Wallace and other music artists will be performing. Food Vendors at Neighbors will include Serbesa SD, Mostra Coffee, Sushi On A Roll, Snoice SD, Chicano Soul Food and more. There will also be a beer garden by Machete Beer House.
General admission tickets can be purchased through eventbrite for $10 each. Four beer tickets or six food tickets can also be purchased for $10 each, or you can opt for a bundle that includes admission, food and beer for $25.
A family bundle, which includes admission for two adults, eight beer tickets and 20 food tickets, is also available for $50.
Proceeds from the one-day Neighbors Festival will benefit ARTS, which has the mission of igniting the power of creativity in youth, inspiring them to overcome obstacles and equipping them with the skills needed to become compassionate catalysts for positive change, according to the ARTS website.
According to ARTS Executive Director James Halliday, most of the art on display and for sale at the event will be art created by young artists who have been involved with ARTS in the past, including Marco Chacón, Claudia Hernández, Kayla Jackson and Gabrielle Maynard.
“Communities come together around food and culture, and an event like Saturday’s is where the bonds of good neighborliness grow,” Halliday said in an email to The Star News.
Working with and giving back to the community won’t end with the Neighbors event according to Esteban, who is back in National City after traveling, and cooking at renowned restaurants in New York City and San Diego.
“It was a bigger calling for me, not just coming home to San Diego, but to come home to South Bay and National City,” Esteban said.
WellFed isn’t expected to open until the end of 2020 or early 2021, but with the opening Esteban said he hopes to create jobs for people in the South Bay community and show students who want to become chefs that they can stay local and get into the industry, all while keeping sustainability in mind and sticking to no waste practices.
“The restaurant space itself hasn’t been fully defined yet. I want to make it inclusive. I don’t want to come in and make this fine dining restaurant, but I want to come in and create an enriching experience for the community,” Esteban said.
To stay up to date with the latest WellFed developments follow @opengymsd on Instagram.
