ENCINITAS, Calif. — A restaurant in Encinitas is aiming to re-open its doors this summer after a fire destroyed the popular eatery back in 2019.

Peace Pies, a Bohemian-style café with a locally sourced menu of raw, vegan, gluten-free and soy-free dishes, was one of several businesses on the corner of North Coast Highway 101 and Daphne Street that were affected by the fire.

A spokesperson for Peace Pies said that based on the local fire department’s investigation, the origin of the fire was a neighboring unit; however, the exact cause in unknown.

The owner of Peace Pies, JP Alfred, said he began selling his raw and vegan creations at farmer’s markets in 2007. Fast forward 16 years — a brick and mortar location was opened in Mission Beach, followed by another restaurant further up the coast in Encinitas.

“We lost 10 years worth of work overnight,” Alfred said while updating the community in February, about three and a half years after the incident forced the business to close the North County location. The building suffered major fire damage as seen in the photos below.

Alfred said the community has asked, time and time again, what’s the status on Peace Pies Encinitas? The popular demand for this raw, vegan café may not come as a surprise since many consider Encinitas to be a mecca for health and wellness.

The good news is a new location is in the process of being rebuilt.

“The [new] location is beautiful,” said Alfred. “Part of the charm and lure of our old Encinitas location…it had a certain atmosphere to it that people loved. Instead of trying to recreate something that once was, this new journey is going to be like none other Peace Pies in the community. The space will be bright and beautiful and clean. It will represent the food that we serve on daily basis.”

With permits, licenses and building costs stacking up, Peace Pies is looking to the community for support. According to the café owner, Peace Pies has never been a financially driven business.

“When we have a good week, we put it into the business,” said Alfred. “I base our success on relationships that we have with our customers, our day to day process in which we are able to co-create recipes amongst individuals that we love and want to be around. It’s really important to enjoy who we’re with and that shows in the food.”

As his team works to get the new Peace Pies up and running, a fundraising campaign has been launched to help support those efforts. Donations for the reopening of Peace Pies Encinitas can be made here.

Alfred said he has the greatest gratitude to everyone who has come into his café over the years and have helped support the message of raw food culture. He also gave praise to his staff who he says continually inspires him.

“There’s nothing else I would rather be doing,” said Alfred. “And it’s all because of the support from our community and for that we love you. Much love.”