When did you last drive somewhere in Costa Mesa for a restaurant that had no other reason to be on your route? This year it would have been hard to do. From June through September, nearly every food and coffee opening in the city went into an address that already had its own following. The new places opened as a second stall inside a mercado, a standalone kitchen at The CAMP, a café inside a jewelry store at South Coast Plaza, and a family restaurant moving into a 17th Street storefront that another local team ran for eight years.
The map didn't get bigger. It got deeper. That changes what a free Saturday morning looks like, and it changes which errands come with a good meal attached.
Mercado González Keeps Adding to the Same Roof
Mercado González opened on Nov. 17, 2023, as a Northgate González Market project that put groceries under the same roof as 20 Mexican food stalls and a full-service restaurant and bar. Almost three years later, the market at 2300 Harbor Blvd. is still filling in its own floor plan.
In July, the family that owns Northgate González opened Cenaduría Doña Tere in the stall that used to hold Chiva Torta. The menu draws on the home cooking of family matriarch Doña Tere González. Two months later, on Sept. 24, Casa Libre held its grand opening near the market's main entrance.
Casa Libre is a roastery and bean market for coffee grown in Mexico. Beans are roasted on site, so you can taste regions like Chiapas and Veracruz side by side. Opening selections included coffee from Doña Duglas Molina and her family at El Cielo farm in Villa Corzo, Chiapas, plus beans from small farms near Motozintla and Huatusco. The drinks menu includes the El Jaguar Latte, made with a corn, cacao and chile syrup, and the pastry case comes from Pastelería González, with canela rolls, almond croissants and colibrí galletas. The doors open at 6 a.m. daily.
The partnership behind it is deeply rooted in Orange County. Natalie Taormina and Jeremy Creighton are two of the original founders of Common Room Roasters, and in 2022 they launched Freelance Coffee Project in Newport Beach. Their partners are the González family, who opened the first Northgate Market in Anaheim in 1980 in a converted liquor store.
"Our families have known each other for years. Both our grandfathers were business entrepreneurs back in the day in Anaheim. We built our businesses side by side."
That is how the mercado has grown. Each new counter comes from the family or from people the family has known for generations, and each one is added to a building that already brings in grocery shoppers several times a week.
The CAMP Gets a Restaurant That Came Home
A few minutes west on Bristol Street, the same pattern played out in SoBECA. Maleza is a modern Mexican kitchen and mezcal bar that started inside Drift Palm Springs. In September it opened its first standalone restaurant at The CAMP, 2937 Bristol St. Its owner, TMC Hospitality, is based in Irvine. TMC Hospitality co-founder and CEO Philip Bates described the move this way in Whatnow: "Opening a standalone location in Orange County, where so much of our team is rooted, feels like the right next chapter."
Executive Chef Marco Arreguín grew up in Santa Ana. He was Chef de Cuisine at Taco Maria, where his work helped lay the groundwork for the restaurant's Michelin star in 2019. The dinner menu runs from crudo to large-format plates. Two early picks are the Masa Cornbread, made with Oaxacan green masa, smoked butter and salsa macha, and a Branzino Veracruzana with Castelvetrano olives and cilantro rice. The ipe patio connects to The CAMP's shared picnic tables and high-tops, which Maleza guests can use.
Maleza's site now lists it as open, with these hours:
- Lunch, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Dinner, Wednesday and Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.
- Dinner, Friday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.
- Bar, Sunday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Maleza is part of a bigger year for the district. In April, The CAMP's ownership said more than 20 new small businesses would join its SoBECA portfolio in 2026, calling it the most significant single year of openings in the district's history. That growth is coming through existing courtyards, not new buildings. The same announcement frames the expansion around preserving character and reusing underused space.
South Coast Plaza Fills From the Inside
South Coast Plaza followed the same pattern, often inside stores you might already visit. Here is where the new spots are, as of early October 2026:
- Tiny's Burger, Level 1 near Carousel Court, opened June 15 with chef Sang Yoon and chef Nanor Harboyan behind the menu.
- Café Collegium, Level 1 in the Macy's Home Store Wing, is a café from the footwear brand Collegium and was open by late July.
- Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud is now serving inside Tiffany & Co., run by Boulud's Dinex Group. The Daily Pilot covered its breakfast and tea service on Oct. 2.
- Joe & The Juice, Level 1 in the Crate & Barrel Wing, is marked new in the plaza directory.
- CHAGEE, inside Collage Culinary Experience at Bloomingdale's, Level 1, is also marked new.
- HEYTEA, Level 1 Carousel Court, is still listed as coming soon, with no date posted.
Three of these six sit inside an anchor store: Macy's Home, Tiffany & Co. and Bloomingdale's. The plaza grew its dining by putting kitchens in space that already gets steady foot traffic.
Two Closures, and Only One Already Spoken For
This year also had two departures, and they show the same pattern from the other side.
Playa Mesa served its last meal on Aug. 1 after eight years at 428 E. 17th St. Founders Mario Marovic and Andrew Gabriel ran it through their Lounge Group hospitality company. Within four weeks, the space had its next tenant. Zov's, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant chef Zov Karamardian founded in 1987, announced a fifth Orange County location there, scheduled for late 2026. Three generations of the Karamardian family now run the business. It already operates in Tustin, Irvine, Newport Coast and San Clemente, where it opened earlier this year. The September Register roundup of upcoming openings gave the same late-2026 timing and no specific date.
Yard House set Sept. 13 as the last day at its Triangle Square location after nearly 27 years. According to the Register, the lease ended and the restaurant chose not to renew. In July, the property was still considering potential tenants. No replacement had been named publicly as of early October.
The contrast says something about where Costa Mesa's momentum is right now. A 17th Street storefront went from one Orange County operator to another in under a month. The Triangle Square space, outside the clusters that have been adding tenants all year, is still waiting.
Where Each Change Sits
| Address you already know | What changed in 2026 | Status in early October |
|---|---|---|
| Mercado González, 2300 Harbor Blvd. | Cenaduría Doña Tere, Casa Libre | Both open |
| The CAMP, 2937 Bristol St. | Maleza | Open, Wednesday through Sunday |
| South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St. | Tiny's Burger, Café Collegium, Blue Box Café, Joe & The Juice, CHAGEE | Open or marked new |
| South Coast Plaza, Carousel Court | HEYTEA | Coming soon |
| 428 E. 17th St. | Playa Mesa closed Aug. 1, Zov's next | Zov's planned for late 2026 |
| Triangle Square | Yard House departed | No tenant announced |
Read it top to bottom and you have a fall routine built entirely from familiar stops. Start with a 6 a.m. single-origin pour at Casa Libre before the grocery run. Have Saturday lunch on Maleza's patio at The CAMP. Make an afternoon errand at the plaza an excuse for tea at Blue Box Café. Then watch 17th Street for the Zov's opening date as the year winds down.
If a storefront changing hands on your block has you wondering how new tenants and a busier commercial district affect the homes nearby, I'm glad to walk through what I'm seeing in Costa Mesa and across Orange County. Reach out to Marie Morgenstern whenever you'd like to talk. Let's Connect.
