Actor Dean Norris, who owns one of the oldest diners in Southern California, has expanded its business to include takeout barbecue and T-shirts.
The restaurant is the Swing Inn Cafe & BBQ in Old Town Temecula, originally opened in 1927.
Norris and local dignitaries held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the shop on Friday, Sept. 26.
Norris and his wife Bridget are longtime Temecula residents. After they acquired the restaurant in 2022, they set about expanding the business. They added dinner hours and a barbecue menu in early 2023, bringing in large smokers to handle the brisket and short ribs. Dean Norris dubbed the first one “Hank’s Tank,” after his “Breaking Bad” character Hank Schrader, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
They repurposed a building on the property for takeout. It’s currently open Wednesday through Sunday and serves a dozen sandwiches and sides as well as desserts such as pie and cobbler.
Meats such as brisket, smoked turkey, pulled pork and spare ribs are available by the pound.
It sells bottled soft drinks as well as bottles of Hank’s Schraderbrau, which was the home brew made by Norris’ character in “Breaking Bad.”
Merchandise includes orange Schraderbrau T-shirts with a Breaking Bad label.
A sign at the door announces “Breaking Bad merchandise and BBQ takeout.”
The first two letters of “Breaking” and “Bad” are boxed, another homage to the series. Walter White, the main character, was a chemistry teacher and the boxes reference the periodic table.
Norris said his next move is to convert the vacant shop next to the Swing Inn Cafe into another restaurant, which he hopes will happen next summer.
The cafe is at 29676 Old Town Front St.
Information: 951-676-2321, swinginncafe.com
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