ANGRY PETE'S EXITS SANTEE LAKES

By Mike Allen

December 6, 2024 (Santee) --Another concession vendor bites the dust at Santee Lakes No. 4.

Angry Pete’s exercised its option not to renew its lease at the scenic decked outpost in the middle of the park last month,  then closed down its window effective Dec.1.

On his Facebook page, Angry Pete’s owner Pete Harbison said his business and himself were stretched too thin to keep the outlet going.

“The hard truth is that like many businesses, we've faced a challenging and rough road. The ever-increasing food and labor costs have made it harder and harder to maintain our business at a break-even level. We don't want to get rich, but we do need to at least break even,” Harbison said. “On top of that, despite pouring all of my time, energy and finances into staying open, I've had to face the reality that I’ve left very little for my own family—in both time & security.”

He added, “The demand for our pizzas between all of our locations, the amount of prep space we have, refrigeration space we have, and qualified staff we have, they're all simply inadequate to be able to continue operations at this many locations.”

Harbison's contract with Padre Dam was amended in January 2024; Padre Dam Municipal Water District agreed to waive a profit-sharing component for two years.  This year, according to Padre, Harbison and the Water District agreed to part ways. 

Angry Pete’s, which still has two restaurants in San Diego and two others within two Little Miss Breweries, began operating at the park in late 2022, following the exit of the Tin Fish, which lasted at the spot for about a year.

Melissa McChesney, spokeswoman for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District that operates Santee Lakes, said the water district will put out a request for interview notice this month to find a new vendor and hope to find a replacement by the spring of next year.

The Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, the formal name of the area’s biggest tourist attraction, was recently named the Large Park of the Year for the fifth time by the Outdoor Hospitality Industry. The 190-acre park with seven lakes gets some 760,000 visitors annually. It is a totally self-sustaining entity that receives no funds from the water district or any taxpayer subsidies.

Correction: An earlier version of this article cited a  SanDiegoville quote from Harbison indicating he would face a 78% rent increase in January. Cory Kading, director of Parks and Recreation for Santee Lakes, has since advised ECM that this was inaccurate.