Pizza Cassette is getting out of the beer garden and into the thick of Pacific Beach. The wood-fired pop-up that has held down the food slot at The Gärten in Bay Park is taking over a brick-and-mortar spot on Garnet Avenue, aiming for an early 2026 debut. The new restaurant is set up as a casual sit-down operation, with counter ordering, food runners, and roughly 60 to 80 indoor seats, while sticking with the shop’s New York-meets-Italian pies. Neighbors along Garnet are being told to look for first service in the first few months of next year.
Owner James “Jimmy” Terwilliger landed the space at 1459 Garnet Avenue after nearly two years of scouting the neighborhood. Plans call for those 60 to 80 seats inside and a possible patio carved out of the back parking lot. Instead of the wood-burning rig Pizza Cassette uses at The Gärten, the Pacific Beach kitchen will rely on an Italian electric oven, since open-flame permits in the area are far tougher to secure. The setup will keep the same format that fans already know: order at the counter, then wait for runners to drop pies at the table. Initial hours are expected to lean toward afternoons and weekends, according to San Diego Magazine.
From The Gärten To Garnet
Pizza Cassette first found its lane as the lone permanent food vendor inside The Gärten, the Bay Park biergarten that opened in 2022 and links up Deft Brewing, Lost Cause Meadery and Oddish Wine in a shared outdoor space. That collaborative setup, with drinks from three producers and one dedicated food operation, let Pizza Cassette quietly build a loyal following. Eater San Diego covered The Gärten’s opening, and Pizza Cassette’s own site lists its Banks Street address and current hours at the Bay Park venue on Pizza Cassette.
Scratch-Made Menu And Dough
Terwilliger leans hard into doing things the slow way. He grinds his own sausage, roasts and brines the pastrami in-house, and told San Diego Magazine, “We make every single thing, besides the salami and the cheese, from scratch.” The dough skews Neapolitan-inspired, made with a mix of half double-zero and half Type 1 flour and a shorter fermentation that creates a puffy, airy interior with a crunchy exterior. That level of tinkering, combined with the house-made meats, is what built the cult status Terwilliger is hoping will follow him straight onto Garnet.
What This Means For Garnet
Garnet Avenue has had a choppy year, with longtime spots closing out and new players testing the waters in what owners describe as an expensive stretch for restaurants. Times of San Diego recently detailed rising vacancies, along with higher labor and rent costs that have tightened the squeeze on Pacific Beach operators. If Pizza Cassette can turn its Gärten buzz into steady weekday dinner traffic, it could hint that Garnet’s wave of turnover is finally giving way to a new wave of long-term tenants.
Doors at 1459 Garnet Avenue are still projected to open in early 2026, bringing Pacific Beach a new sit-down pizza option that pairs chef-driven technique with counter-service convenience. Terwilliger has said this move could be the first step toward larger projects if the Pacific Beach model clicks.
