A Michelin-recognized San Diego chef known for his wood-smoking chops is teaming up with the group behind some of North County's most established restaurants to bring a new barbecue concept into a space that has spent over a decade serving French-influenced fine dining. Chef Andrew “Drew” Bent is partnering with Grand Restaurant Group on Bangers Barbecue, which plans to move into the current Bellamy's restaurant space at 417 West Grand Avenue in Escondido.
The concept was first revealed in a San Diego Union-Tribune feature about Bent's smoking approach, and according to WhatNow, Bangers Barbecue plans to use the current Bellamy's space once the transition is complete. Bellamy's remains open during the changeover, with Grand Restaurant Group continuing to operate the restaurant in the meantime. No confirmed menu or exact opening date has been announced for Bangers Barbecue, and additional concept and ownership details have not yet been released.
Bent is no stranger to acclaim in San Diego's dining scene. He served as executive chef and partner at Lola 55 in the East Village from the taqueria's opening in August 2018 until his departure in August 2022, a run during which the restaurant earned a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand award, according to SanDiegoVille. He also gained national television exposure in spring 2021 when he won an episode of Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay while leading the Lola 55 kitchen, the outlet reported.
A Fine-Dining Pedigree Behind the Smoker
Bent's résumé reaches well beyond San Diego. His training includes a 2017 apprenticeship at René Redzepi's Noma Mexico pop-up in Tulum, stints at Enrique Olvera's Criollo in Oaxaca and Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, plus earlier work in local kitchens including Searsucker, Puesto and Carnitas' Snack Shack, per the same outlet's more recent reporting. He is a graduate of the Art Institute of California in San Diego.
Since leaving Lola 55, Bent has previously operated barbecue concepts under the Papalito and Papalo names. Papalito opened at Little Thief in North Park in 2022, drawing influences from Northern Mexico and the American Southwest. He later ran Papalo inside Modbom Cocktails in the East Village before the concept moved to the former Boss Bird Kitchen space in downtown La Mesa in November 2023. Papalo closed that downtown La Mesa location in 2024, per WhatNow, and a planned Papalo location in South Park did not move forward.
Following the La Mesa closure, Bent shifted his focus to short-term residencies and catering, and he has continued consulting, special events and barbecue pop-ups since then. Papalo itself was described as Sonoran barbecue, a style Bent says he conceived during a 2022 drive through northern Mexico. According to A Gringo In Mexico, Bent blends wood-smoked meats with regional desert herbs and mesquite smoke, drawing on culinary traditions spanning Northern Mexico, Arizona and West Texas, and he has said he coined the term himself after finding no prior references to Sonoran barbecue.
Grand Restaurant Group's North County Footprint
On the Bangers Barbecue project, Bent is teaming up with chef and consultant Alex Carballo, who joined Grand Restaurant Group as Chef Partner in September 2025. Carballo has taken charge of culinary direction across the group's portfolio, including guiding the December 2025 launch of Nómada in Carlsbad and revitalizing Alejandra's Cantina, according to San Diego Magazine. Before that role, Carballo spent five years as general manager and executive chef at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in North County and served as culinary director for Fox Point Farms' zero-waste restaurant Haven Farm + Table, earning a spot on Restaurant Hospitality Magazine's “12 to Watch in 2012” list.
Grand Restaurant Group has been led by CEO Sandra DiCicco since its founding in November 2012. The company's San Diego County dining portfolio includes Nick & G's in Rancho Santa Fe, Nómada in Carlsbad and, for now, Bellamy's in Escondido, per The Org. Bellamy's has operated at 417 West Grand Avenue since 2012 as the group's original venue, building a reputation as a North County fine-dining destination with French-influenced California cuisine mentored by Master Chef of France Patrick Ponsaty, one of only two certified French Master Chefs working in San Diego County at the time, according to San Diego Magazine.
A Farm-to-Table Legacy and a Revitalized Corridor
Throughout its run, Bellamy's leaned on North County farm-to-table sourcing, including mushrooms from Mountain Meadow Mushrooms in Escondido and goat cheese from a Valley Center farm, signatures associated with former executive chef Jonathan Freyberg's menus. The planned shift from white-tablecloth French dining to casual barbecue also lands amid a broader push to reshape the Grand Avenue corridor. Downtown Escondido completed Phase II of its Grand Avenue Vision Project in June 2025, using $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to widen sidewalks, permanently expand outdoor dining space and calm traffic, according to the City of Escondido — a revitalization plan that originated from merchant requests back in 2015.
For now, the timeline for Bangers Barbecue remains unclear. Bellamy's continues to serve diners at the West Grand Avenue address while the partnership between Bent, Carballo and DiCicco's Grand Restaurant Group works out the finer points of the new concept, and no opening date or finalized menu has been made public.
