Bushfire Kitchen is eyeing a new restaurant at 27471 San Bernardino Ave., Suite 220, in Redlands, according to a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license application tied to the address. No opening date has been announced, and it is not yet confirmed whether the license itself has been approved.
As reported by WhatNow, the fast-casual chain identified the proposed Redlands spot in its ABC filing, though the evidence does not independently verify the application's status or what type of license was sought. California's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control maintains a public lookup tool for information on applicants and licensed businesses, but the status of this particular filing remains unconfirmed.
If it moves forward, the Redlands location would mark another addition to Bushfire Kitchen's growing footprint in the Inland Empire, according to the same report. The chain already lists restaurants in Temecula, Menifee, and Rancho Cucamonga, along with locations spread across San Diego and Orange counties, the outlet notes.
A Menu Built Around Comfort Food And Global Flavors
Bushfire Kitchen describes its approach as food made from scratch and served quickly, built around familiar dishes with flavors borrowed from different cuisines. The menu lineup includes bowls, plates, burgers, sandwiches, salads, hot sides, and empanadas, per the same report. Beer, wine, and cocktails round out the drink offerings, and the company also offers catering through its website.
On its own locations page, Bushfire Kitchen says it serves fresh, healthy comfort food with a rustic twist across Southern California, with existing restaurants listed in Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and Riverside.
Conflicting Origin Stories
WhatNow's report offers two different accounts of how Bushfire Kitchen got its start. One passage describes the company as founded in 2012 in Temecula by the late Clive Barwin, while another passage in the same article attributes its founding to two cousins, one a chef and the other an entrepreneur. The discrepancy is not resolved in the available reporting.
A Pattern Of Inland Empire Growth
The potential Redlands opening would follow a string of Southern California expansions for the chain. Bushfire Kitchen opened its fourth location in Menifee's Countryside Marketplace in November 2019, according to the Press-Enterprise. Four years later, the chain announced plans for its first San Bernardino County restaurant, set for Rancho Cucamonga's Town Center Square, as reported by the Redlands Daily Facts.
That Rancho Cucamonga location opened on Aug. 15, 2023, marking the company's San Bernardino County debut, the Daily Bulletin reported at the time. It was described as the sixth restaurant in the chain, which was founded in 2012. Around the same period, QSR Magazine reported that a Rancho Bernardo opening represented Bushfire Kitchen's third San Diego County location and 11th unit overall, with Cypress and Northridge locations slated to follow and additional sites planned for 2027 — though it's unclear whether those later openings have since materialized.
