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Trust to Open Second Butcher Shop

Trust Restaurant Group, the Hillcrest-based hospitality group founded in 2016, is taking its butcher shop, food and beverage concept to North County.

The Wise Ox Butcher & Eatery, founded in 2020 and headquartered in North Park, is opening a second location in Carlsbad, according to Trust Restaurant Group Owner and Chef Brad Wise. With 1,314 square feet of interior space and a 600-square foot patio, the spot will sell the same items as the flagship store, including restaurant quality meats, house-made sides and condiments, sandwiches, beer and wine, he said. The Carlsbad shop is scheduled to open November 2021 and will bring 15 jobs to the city.
Trust Restaurant Group’s revenue was $10 million in 2019 and $5 million in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn. The addition of the second The Wise Ox, as well as a secondary Rare Society slated to open in August in Solana Beach, will significantly impact the company’s overall financials.
Part of The Wise Ox’s success is its recurring monthly box subscription, the Ox Box.
For $125/month, members get 10 pounds of beef, chicken and pork all marinated or seasoned by Trust Restaurant Group and pre-sealed for easy storage. The inaugural The Wise Ox location has 200 members, said Wise. The expectation is that the second brick-and-mortar will produce the same numbers, if not more.

Passion Project
“The Wise Ox for us has become such a passion project – it opened right at a time when people needed what we were selling; the pandemic was in full-swing, grocery stores were still struggling with supply issues, restaurants were closed and we became a resource in a way I want to continue to be as we see ourselves out of this and get ‘back to normal’,” said Wise, whose Trust Restaurant Group currently has 150 employees. “Moving forward and as we begin to compete with restaurants that are re-opening, we want The Wise Ox to be a complement to our other projects. Theoretically I want someone to order a 45-day dry-aged bone in ribeye at Rare Society and the next day or next week be able to come into The Wise Ox and order the exact cut to take home and cook themselves. Currently we have around 200 active subscribers and are looking to grow this number as we expand our footprint beyond central San Diego.”
Added Sophia Hussain, director of operations at Trust Restaurant Group: “Coming out of the pandemic, we’ve focused as a company on reinvesting in our foundation, building up our teams and focusing on our company culture, the passion we all have for hospitality and re-investing in our people – the heart of Trust Restaurant Group. I think we’ve finally found our footing and are ready to hit the ground running.”
The Carlsbad-headquartered The Wise Ox and the Solana Beach Rare Society mark the seventh and eighth locations for Trust Restaurant Group. Other operations include Trust, Fort Oak and Cardellino.

Small, Local Businesses
The expansion of The Wise Ox is timely, said Wise.
In his opinion, small, local businesses have grown in popularity since the crisis, including the return of the butcher shop. The draw, he says, is the quality of the product as well as the sense of community and connection locals get from shopping small.
“Interacting directly with people in your own neighborhood – that’s important,” said Wise. “And COVID definitely accelerated this trend – small businesses were hit extremely hard and people came out to support and keep these local purveyors afloat.”
With that in mind, Wise is looking forward to continuing to grow the brand and possibly entering other markets outside of San Diego.
“We want to look at the landscape and grow strategically… but time will tell,” he said. “Right now, we’re focused on our recovery and re-opening of all our restaurants to 100% capacity.”

Trust Restaurant Group
FOUNDED: 2016
OWNER/CHEF: Brad Wise
HEADQUARTERS: Hillcrest
BUSINESS: Hospitality Group
REVENUE: Almost $10M in 2019, $5M in 2020 due to COVID-19
EMPLOYEES: 150
WEBSITE: www.trustrestaurantsd.com
NOTABLE: The group also opened an ice cream shop during the pandemic.
CONTACT: Info@trustrgsd.com

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