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Posted date: 6/19/10
Posted date: 5/14/10
Posted date: 5/10/10 San Diego Coastal Gem
Basic is featured in the San Diego destination section of Delta's Sky Magazine.
"Located in downtown's East Village neighborhood, Basic labels itself an "urban kitchen and bar." The restaurant is set in an old warehouse, and the exposed brick walls, industrial garage doors and open ceilings keep the cool vibes flowing. Basic is a chill spot for a casual lunch or a brick oven pizza and cocktails after work." Posted date: 5/4/10 Don't Miss San Diego's East Village
Basic is highlighted in this Travel Channel feature about San Diego's East Village.
Posted date: 1/22/2010 Industry Spotlight: Jon Mangini of BASIC and URBN
Is it just me or does it seem like every month brings a more upscale and multifaceted venue to San Diego? Restaurants aren't just restaurants these days; they're part cocktail lounge and sports bar with a side of night club. Many of these new venues are bursting with variety, yet leave us customers a little bit confused. On the other side of the spectrum is Jon Mangini, a man who truly embodies the phrase: Less is more. His venues include the flagship BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar in East Village, the original URBN Coal Fired Pizza in Vista and the newest URBN location set to launch in North Park early 2010. This San Diego industry leader believes in a simple vision, great menu, consistent, quality service, and urban atmosphere. Based on his rapid business growth and community loyalty, we think he's onto something. From his top three tips for success to the strong foundation of his business model, a sneak peek at his new Asian concept to come and, of course, his go-to pizza combo, get to know Jon Mangini in this week's San Diego Industry Spotlight. DiscoverSD: Why do you feel your simple and straight-up approach has been so well received in San Diego?
We came in and did something that was laid back, industrial and urban but still trendy and fun. I think for San Diegans it was truly a refreshing change. Also, I think we came along during a time of economic downturn and we had a low price point with a simple menu. That was appealing to people. DSD: What are your 3 must-know tips for success in the dining / nightlife industry?
One of the most important things is for your customers to get it. When they walk in your establishment they need to get it. You don't want them to say what is this place? Is it a sports bar, is it a lounge? I want them to come in and just get it. The other thing is to know your food. It is true our industry is all about restaurant hospitality and guest services but at the end of the day, people are coming in to eat and drink and you have to give people a great product. Finally you have to hire a great staff. You can say that customer service is important and you can say that hospitality is your number one priority but the fact is, every time a customer comes in I'm not the one that is talking to them. You have to hire people that you know are going to represent you well and represent the establishment well. You want people who will treat customers the way you would treat them. I want people who will talk to our guests, laugh with them and make sure they are having a damn good time. DSD: We've seen a lot of restaurants and bars come and go. What are the 3 most common and/or significant mistakes you see owners and managers make? The other is that at times the restaurant business gets a bad rap. What people don't tell you about this business is that there are not a lot of barriers to entry. If you have a little bit of money to invest you can get in. There are a lot of people who want to get in the restaurant and bar industry and they think it's going to be a big party and they end up coming in to it with false hope. It is a hard business. It puts a lot of stress on your personal life. It's not a 9-5. It's a 24-hour job. There are a lot of people who get in that should be more educated and/or get more training. 5 years ago there were a lot of people getting in the business who could make it because there was so much money going around. All of a sudden when the economy sinks, the customer gets sharp. They want fantastic service and excellent food in a quality establishment. Something else that others may over look is the menu and quality of food. You can't neglect one of the most important things about opening a restaurant - you have to have a great product. You can have everything else but if your food is not great people are not going to like their experience and they are not going to like your restaurant. DSD: How is URBN different from BASIC?
DSD: What is your method for choosing venue locations? Following East Village and Vista, how did you end up with the new URBN in North Park?
SD: What is your favorite pizza combination?
DSD: When you're not working, where can we find you? DSD: What expansion plans lie ahead in 2010?
Posted date: 1/11/2010 Downtown's Award Winning Hot Spot, BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar, Launches URBN Coal Fired Pizza in North Park
Downtown San Diego’s popular pizza restaurant and lounge, BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar announces the launch of URBN Coal Fired Pizza in North Park. The casual eatery spin-off and brain-child of entrepreneur Jon Mangini, is slated to open its doors in April 2010 at 31st and University. The 5,000 square foot location will feature an authentic coal fired oven and the same industrial "warehouse" style ambiance and raw design elements that BASIC has become known for. On the heels of the tremendous success of BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar, Mangini has announced his latest venture, showing no signs of slowing down. Although this is the second location for URBN, the first eatery opened doors in Vista in November 2008, and Mangini plans to launch between 10 to 15 additional locations up and down the coast of San Diego. Mangini attributes the overwhelming success of BASIC to the simplicity of his approach. The one page menu, streamlined décor and laid-back atmosphere exudes a “no muss, no fuss” attitude and the proof is in the numbers. Since inception in 2006, BASIC’s revenue has grown from $1.8 million to over $4.5 million annually. “Instead of being a passing fad, our concept is so simple that it can’t really go wrong or out of style,” Mangini says. “We wanted to have the ‘staying power’ to keep this place around as long as we could, as opposed to becoming that one place that used to be the ‘it’ spot in town.” Mangini foresaw the shift happening in the Gaslamp nightlife scene. Restaurants and clubs are overdoing themes to be too trendy and flashy. “Now, I’m watching the big guys eat each other up,” Mangini says. “Places are closing their doors and big changes are taking place as everyone competes to be the newest hot spot in town. I’m just the little guy in the corner who has a concept that I think people like, just in a very different way.” This second URBN location will feature a full-service bar as well as BASIC’s award-winning, thin-crust New Haven style pizza as the highlight on the one page menu. URBN selections will include everything from traditional pepperoni pizza to signature toppings like fried eggplant, broccoli, fresh little neck clams and the famed garlic mashed potato & bacon pie. The URBN salad is the other contender on the menu: a sumptuous blend of mixed greens, sliced pears, candied walnuts, and gorgonzola served with a light vinaigrette. URBN will also host additional salads that will be announced closer to the launch date. URBN will be open Monday through Saturday from 11:30am-2am, and Sunday from noon to 2am. Please visit www.urbnnorthpark.com for more information. Posted date: 11/11/2009 THANK YOU SAN DIEGO, FOR VOTING US "BEST PIZZA IN SAN DIEGO' AS THE WINNER OF NBC'S GOLDEN LOCAL CONTEST. WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!
Posted date: 2/2/2009 Basic Recipe Used for Pizzeria’s Growth
Restaurateur Jon Mangini has found a recipe for success in a recession. Basic Urban Kitchen + Bar, which Mangini opened in a 6,000-square-foot converted warehouse near Petco Park in April 2006, had sales of $1.2 million in its first eight months of operation. Specializing in thin-crust, brick-oven-baked pizzas, sales at the fashionably gritty establishment rose to $2.5 million in 2007. Yet last year, when consumer confidence became an oxymoron and many restaurants were forced to close their doors, Basic’s sales jumped to $4 million. “The key is simplicity, especially nowadays with the economy the way it is,” Mangini said. “But even when the economy was great, the fact that we were selling food at low price points was important. “When we opened I told our staff that we don’t want people to walk out of Basic and have the money they spent register negatively in their minds,” he said. At Basic, 14-inch pizzas start at $10, while 20-inch pies with toppings range from $25 to $28 and can be washed down with a pint of beer for $5 or $6. Wine sells for $6 or $8 a glass and liquor is also served. That’s Amore Even in hard times, people still seek the conviviality of dining out with friends and family, Mangini says. “People don’t want to spend a ton of money,” he said. “But they do want to be out with others and have some fun, so they’ll have a pizza and a couple beers rather than a steak and a couple bottles of wine.” In October, he opened Urbn Pizza, a spinoff of Basic, on Main Street in Vista. “It’s an older building with a lot of charm and high ceilings and it gets walk-by traffic,” he said, describing the 3,000-square-foot, free-standing structure that formerly housed an Italian eatery. Urbn’s menu is the same as Basic, but the pies are baked in brick ovens powered by coal rather than natural gas, as at Basic. “Most of the original pizza joints in Connecticut and New York had coal-fired ovens, and in time those ovens get a flavor of their own just through use,” he said. To his knowledge Urbn is the first restaurant in the state to use anthracite coal-fired brick ovens. And anthracite coal burns cleaner than natural gas, he added. Posted date: 2/18/2008 Rollin’ in Dough
As the old saying goes, if you’re not successful the first time around, try and try again. In the case of Jon Mangini, a former hospitality company executive who dreamed of opening his own restaurant, it took nine tries. “I always wanted to go it on my own,” said Mangini, 34. “But each time something stopped me in my tracks.” That was before he struck on the idea for Basic Urban Kitchen + Bar, which opened in spring 2006 near Petco Park in a converted Tenth Avenue warehouse and specializes in thin-crust, brick-oven pizza ala the little Italian bistros he hung out in as a kid growing up in Connecticut. Serving a simple menu of pies with a variety of toppings and libations in a fashionably gritty environment where garage-style doors open up to brick walls and concrete floors, Basic — a pioneer in the redeveloped industrial district — has a mixed clientele of baseball fans, tourists and others out for a night on the town. “This place is its own billboard because 30,000 to 40,000 people pass by here going to and from the games, and those who don’t come in when they see we’re packed, return later,” he said. Right Location Sales that jumped to $3 million in 2007 from $1.8 million in the first year would attest to that. As with any restaurant venture, selecting the right location was extremely important. But Mangini, who found 10 equity investors to help bring the dough to the table to open Basic, was wise to avoid following in the footsteps of other downtown restaurateurs and club owners, said Heidi Hageman, his publicist. “He foresaw the shift happening in the Gaslamp Quarter nightlife scene,” she said. “Restaurants and clubs were overdoing themes.” While many say downtown is saturated with night spots, more keep popping up. Yet Mangini said he didn’t want his to among the trendier ones whose shelf life expires when newer and bigger operators come on the scene. There are a couple flat-screen TVs hanging on a wall behind the main bar, however he didn’t want Basic to be a sports bar with an appeal limited to baseball season. “I’m the little guy in the corner who has a concept that I think people will like just as much, but in a different way,” he said. His corner of the world is growing, however. San Diego Metropolitan © 2007 All Rights Reserved. Indies Flavor The Urban Food Scene
Basic Urban Kitchen And Bar Downtown’s booming East Village is home to one “newbie” where less definitely means more. Basic Urban Kitchen and Bar opened this year without much ado. In fact, during its construction, I probably walked by and peered in the windows at least five times wondering what in the heck was going on. The space, which has been pegged “hard-edged” or “cold” by some, and “minimalist” by many, is truly Downtown’s anti-club. The sparsely furnished room has high ceilings, a concrete floor, clean lines and only a trace of color. This no-frills corner hangout was handmade by its owner Jon Mangini. Originally from the East Coast and formerly in construction, Mangini worked with architect Graham Downes to create his vision of a bar that is industrial and edgy, yet still warm and inviting. Even with a few hard edges, Basic has a huge female following. The one-page menu offers only one thing: pizza. Thin-crusted East Coast-style pies come in two varieties and toppings are sold separately. There’s the “Red Pie” (marinara) with and without mozzarella and the “White Pie” (Parmesan and garlic) with and without mozzarella. Additional toppings include mushrooms, roasted red peppers, eggplant and artichoke hearts, allowing you to pick and choose. Basic offers a full bar and a large variety of bottled and draft beer to wash down your pie. Go early on game days and keep your eyes peeled when trying to locate it — the converted warehouse has only an inconspicuous metal sign distinguishing it from other warehouses in the area. From MyAreaGourmet BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar Some restaurants are always looking to grow, expand, offer more and be better, but some restaurants excel at keeping things less complicated. Hospitality veteran Jon Mangini's BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar keeps things simple and stylish. BASIC has a one-page menu, featuring thin-crust brick oven pizza, a "no-nonsense" drink list and simple design elements. The 5,000 square foot restaurant and lounge inhabits a 1912 warehouse and has successfully grown since it opened in 2006. This past year has been so successful (revenue has grown from $1.8 million to over $3 million) that Mangini plans to take BASIC's signature brick oven pizza to a new chain of restaurants called URBN. "Instead of being a passing fad, our concept is so simple that it can't really go wrong or out of style. We wanted to have the 'staying power' to keep this place around as long as we can, as opposed to becoming that one place that used to be the 'it' spot in town." ~ Jon Mangini The New York Times Travel Section
“Despite the fashionable outposts, the East Village’s transformation is still a work in progress...But a few bars and late-night restaurants have already opened, and more are likely. Among the most popular is the Basic Urban Kitchen and Bar (410 10th Avenue, 619-531-8869; www.barbasic.com), which draws the flip-flop and stiletto sets until 2 a.m. on weekends. Housed in a former warehouse, it has shag rugs made from old bicycle tires, New Haven-style pizza and $5 pints of pale ale from Stone, a local microbrewery. “People said I was crazy for coming here,” said Jon Mangini, an owner of Basic, who built most of the bar with his own hands. “And here we are, a packed neighborhood bar, even if most of the neighborhood isn’t here yet.”
Edward O’Connor Copyright © 2006. Basic — San Diego Pizza & Beer Review The first in a series of reviews of places to grab a pizza and some beer here in San Diego. In this installment, I review Basic, a swanky pizza place in the Gaslamp. 410 10th Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 Basic is this very cool, spacious pizza spot downtown ... With a full bar, free pool, and great pizza toppings (mashed potato? Yes!), Basic’s very high on my list of Gaslamp places to frequent. The space is strikingly open — even when crowded, there’s plenty of room to get around in. It’s divided into two main areas, one more bar-like, and the other more restaurant-like. There’s no functional difference — they’ll come around and take your pizza and drink orders in either section. Their pizzas come in two sizes, but don’t be fooled by their names — the "small" is plenty big enough for 3 people. Their selection of toppings is fairly small, but they’ve got all of the essentials, in addition to a few surprising ones, such as the aforementioned mashed potato. The pies come out thin, floppy, and oh-so-yummy — crispy pizza fans may want to look elsewhere. The beer selection is fairly small, but anyplace with Stone Pale Ale and Guinness on tap is good in my book, and they make up for it by having a fully-stocked bar (though Erin discovered that they don’t do mojitos). I’ll have to remember to revise this review next spring — Basic is right near Petco Park, and is probably quite a bit busier during baseball season.
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BASIC
410 TENTH AVENUE, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101
T: 619.531.8869 F: 619.531.8870
 Photo Dennis Reiter  Photo Dennis Reiter  |