When brothers Marcel and Martin Favela decided to start brewing beer, their mission was to create one-of-a-kind Mexican craft beer, infusing unique ingredients inspired by their Mexican American roots.
With three brewery locations – two in San Diego and one in Los Angeles, Border X is bringing craft beer and culture together. During the pandemic, they were able to open their third location, Mujeres Brew House in San Diego.
Watch the video above to see why Border X Brewing has been a successful venture for the Favela family in spite of the pandemic. Or read the full interview transcript below (lightly edited for clarity).
Border X Brewing’s Journey
David Favela, CEO Border X Brewing (00:06) A lot has changed in the last four years. If I go back in time to the beginning of the four years, we were in expansion mode, and we were making plans to expand into Los Angeles and to the City of Bell. We launched that in March of 2019.
(00:19) – Things went very, very well for us, all the way up ’til March 2020. In a very ironic twist, we were nominated for a James Beard Award, and then the very next week, we were shut down with the pandemic.
(00:31) So we have three breweries now – Barrio Logan, City of Bell, and now Mujeres. Mujeres Brew House is our third location. We opened it up in October of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. We thought the first three shutdowns were it, but there was one more. But you know, it such a great opportunity that we had to take it.
Mujeres Brew House
DF (00:52) – Really, the inception of the project was the Mujeres Brew Club which was a club that met here at Border X. And we almost said in a joking way… well, what if we took over that brew house over about three blocks from here? We spoke to the landlord and did. And we really are dedicating it to reclaiming women’s legacy in brewing.
(01:13) – And our plan really is to continue to expand in physical tap rooms. So we’re looking at possibly three more tap rooms – one in North County, San Diego, one in Inland Empire, somewhere between Riverside and Temecula, and then one in Orange County near the city of Santa Ana. So they all have similar demographic. We think we would fit perfectly there. And then secondly, we’re really looking at canning our beer.
Family Atmosphere at Border X
DF (1:39) People here in Barrio Logan call the inside of the tasting room “the living room of the community” because people walk in, and that’s where they see their extended family and friends. You know, bumping into people randomly, that’s what really creates a sense of place.
(01:55) – So when we built this back patio, we wanted to make sure that it was just an extension of that. I would tell my designers, my cooks and everyone else that I wanted this to be like coming to your favorite uncle’s home who had the best barbecue, who had great seating, that you just love coming to on a summer day or a summer evening.
For more information, visit borderxbrewing.com.
Related articles:
Zarco Guerrero, a Man of Many Faces in Mesa, AZ
La Selecta, Hampton Roads’ Full-Time Hispanic Radio Station
Barrio Dogg Serving Up Culture to San Diego Community
San Ysidro Health Dedicated to the Traditionally Underserved
