Novo Brazil Brewing Company opened its first location outside the South Bay Thursday, an 11,500-square-foot restaurant and sports bar in the Mission Valley Mall.
Founder Tiago Carneiro made the announcement.
The main dining room is 8,000 square feet with a capacity of 352, while the outdoor patio is 3,500 square feet with a capacity of 237. And for sports fans, there are more than 100 feet of 1.5-millimeter pixel pitch LED video walls throughout the restaurant, along with 25 JBL speakers for surround sound. There also is a 20-foot video wall for guests on the patio.
The restaurant also has moving lights and CO2 blasts for the big moments – for goals and touchdowns, baskets and home runs.
“We are proud to be establishing such strong roots throughout San Diego,” Carneiro said. “We love supporting our local sports teams and we relish the opportunity to provide a next-level fan experience for watching their games on TV. Even if you’re attending an event at Snapdragon (Stadium) down the road or at one of San Diego’s other great venues, we invite you to come by for pre- and post-game celebrations.”
The brewery, which occupies the space formerly filled by Tilted Kilt, can be accessed directly from the parking lot at the southeast corner of the mall or through the CAVA/Nordstrom Rack courtyard from the north. The San Diego FC Store is adjacent to the restaurant’s outdoor patio.
Novo Mission Valley features the same menu as its locations in Imperial Beach and Otay Ranch Town Center in Chula Vista, with Brazilian-inspired dishes and sports bar fare. There are 64 taps, serving all Novo beers and its other lines of beverages, Nova kombuchas (hard and non-alcoholic), California Spritz beer cocktails, and hard seltzers.
Novo was founded in Chula Vista in 2015.
“A few friends of mine have mentioned that NOVO could be the new Seau’s, which I’ve been told was a Mission Valley staple and the best place to watch our hometown teams. Many kids of the 1990s and early 2000s may have children of their own now, so we hope we can provide a similar experience – along with nostalgia – to both old and new generations.”
Seau’s, the namesake restaurant of the late Chargers star linebacker Junior Seau, operated from 1996 to 2012.
Hours of operation are noon – 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from noon to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant will open early on days with morning NFL games and other notable contests, including this Saturday for the SDSU men’s basketball game at 11 a.m.
