A brand new French-inspired oyster and champagne concept, Ophelia’s Raw Bar, is getting ready to debut later this year in North Park at 4594 30th Street.
This is the latest concept from Brandon Zanavich, the founder of The Friendly, along with his longtime friend and coworker Joey Quinton. The duo is opening the new oyster and champagne concept in the space adjacent to the original Friendly, in the former home of Gluten Free Baking Company, according to SanDiegoVille. Customers can expect fresh-shucked oysters, caviar, tinned fish, French champagne, and more when it opens this summer.
Zanavich has made a name for himself through The Friendly, which was launched in early 2018 and has expanded to four locations throughout San Diego. The popularity of the brand has been widely credited to delicious pizza and the popularity of its now-iconic Dirty Flat Top cheeseburger. On the other hand, Quinton is a Maryland native who was previously part of the opening team at San Diego’s popular Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy. Together they will open the new concept in a few months. Ophelia’s Raw Bar is named after Quinton’s daughter, who also happens to be Zanavich’s goddaughter.
“Since I was eight years old, my neighbor would leave a bushel of oysters on the back step from time to time,” Quinton tells SanDiegoVille. “My first job was a dishwasher at a fine dining restaurant, and great thing about being a dishwasher in Maryland, you’re also the oyster shucker. After working at various restaurants through school I finally landed at Phillip’s Seafood. Eventually, I became a chef and opened multiple locations and crab decks. It seems surreal that I now have my own oyster named after my daughter, Ophelia’s Pearls, that are now being sold all around San Diego.”
