Gum Tree spent nearly a decade at its downtown Manhattan Beach address before it lost the lease. It did not leave downtown. On Aug. 1 the gift and home shop reopened one block away at 1140 Highland Avenue, according to La Vista. Twelve days later, Beyond Yoga opened at 324 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, in the storefront Gum Tree had just left.
That pair of moves is the pattern for the whole year. "The turnover in downtown Manhattan Beach is unprecedented right now and we are all talking about it," Kelly Stroman, executive director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professionals Association, told MB News in July. Look at it address by address and the turnover is a series of handoffs. One tenant leaves, another moves into the same rooms, and a few businesses shift a block or two. The bigger change the city has been planning, on two city-owned parcels, is still at the question-and-answer stage.
A Chain of Handoffs on Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Highland
Nearly every new name downtown this year sits in a space someone else recently left. Here is how the pairs line up, using what local reporting and the businesses themselves have published.
| Former occupant | New occupant | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gum Tree | Beyond Yoga | 324 Manhattan Beach Blvd | Opened Aug. 13 |
| Gum Tree, prior space | Gum Tree | 1140 Highland Ave | Reopened Aug. 1 |
| Gelato & Angels | Velvet by Graham & Spencer | 308 Manhattan Beach Blvd | Open |
| Pitfire Pizza | Great White | 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd | Taking reservations |
| Rolling Hills Flower Mart | Ounce of Salt | 1016 Manhattan Ave | Open |
| Nando | Coucou | 1131 Manhattan Ave | Open |
| Kate Lester Home | Framebridge | 1014 Manhattan Ave | Coming soon |
Great White is the corner that took longest to settle. In June 2025, What Now Los Angeles traced the Venice-born all-day cafe to the former Pitfire space through a liquor license application, and no opening date was known at that point. It now takes reservations through Resy at 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd. At the Planning Commission's Aug. 12 meeting, staff put a one-year review of Great White on the calendar for summer 2027. That review is a routine step that comes after a business opens.
Velvet's own store locator lists the shop at 308 Manhattan Beach Blvd with posted hours. That puts it two doors from Beyond Yoga, which means two of the boulevard's new clothing tenants share a short stretch below Highland.
Manhattan Avenue Kept Its Makers, Mostly
Manhattan Avenue had the year's one true departure. Walstory's gallery closed at 919 Manhattan Ave on July 30, according to the gallery's own release, and reopened at 3201 Manhattan Ave in Hermosa Beach. The street's longtime pull toward small, owner-run shops held steady anyway. Ounce of Salt, a jewelry line from local designer Jen Baick, moved into the former Rolling Hills Flower Mart space. Its website now says, "My Downtown Manhattan Beach Gallery is open," at 1016 Manhattan Avenue.
Next door at 1014 Manhattan Avenue, in the former Kate Lester Home space, Framebridge's location page reads "coming soon!" MB News had reported in July that the framing shop expected to open in the fall.
A few blocks north, Coucou, a French bistro, took over the former Nando restaurant space. Eater LA lists it at 1131 North Manhattan Avenue. MB News also noted that the former Bardot Salon and Corpo Bonito spaces had been renovated into a single storefront, with no tenant announced as of July.
Metlox Is Where the Next Openings Are Concentrated
The handoffs that are still underway cluster at Metlox Plaza. Bacio di Latte, the Italian gelato shop, opened at 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd in June, as La Vista reported. Two more food tenants are headed to the same address:
- Sogno Toscano is going into the former Lemonade space at 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd #B102. The Planning Commission approved its buildout, including a small patio facing Manhattan Beach Blvd. Construction on the interior and outdoor patio had begun by Aug. 12, according to Planning Commission minutes.
- Bacari, the small-plates concept, is preparing a restaurant at 451 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Suite B110. What Now Los Angeles reported on Oct. 16, based on public filings, with no opening date given.
Drift Beach Club closed at Metlox in June. A pop-up called Local Muse used the space in early July to feature female-owned businesses. As of the July report, no tenant had been named for the former Beehive/Forma pop-up space.
Three coffee handoffs round out the list, and each one was a signed lease or a delay as of the summer reporting. Blank Street Coffee signed for the former Peet's Coffee space on Manhattan Beach Blvd. Alfred Coffee signed to take over Ocean View Cafe's space on Highland. Parakeet Cafe, headed for the former Cafe Altamura space on Highland, was described as "delayed, with no opening date available yet." Pressed Juicery and Harry's Cleaners also closed, and neither had a successor named in July.
The Larger Plan Is Still a Financing Question
All of these changes happened inside existing buildings. The project that would change the shape of downtown is still a concept. Under the name Project Pulse, the city has been studying two city-owned parcels. One is 400 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The other is Lot 3 at 1155 Morningside Drive, a surface lot since its parking structure was demolished in late 2024. MB News counts 69 spaces there, and the city's project page gives 70. The concepts shown in July included food and retail, public space and parking options.
At the City Council's Sept. 15 meeting, city staff and the design firm Gensler presented preliminary designs for 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd. These included a small two-story retail and creative-office building and a flexible pedestrian plaza. Staff asked whether to prioritize that site and whether to continue time-limited outreach to the owners of the adjacent Vons property. According to a Citizen Portal summary of the meeting, the council asked staff to come back with bond-finance details. The city's Project Pulse page describes a year of community engagement, with council direction as the next step, and presents the designs for both sites as concepts.
This holiday season, the storefront handoffs listed above are the changes visitors will see downtown.
Nov. 18, Hour by Hour
The 2026 Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 18, runs from 6 to 9 p.m. across downtown and the pier. Downtown merchants are open until 9 p.m., and restaurants serve their regular menus along with some sampling. That makes it one of the few evenings when this year's new tenants and the longtime shops are all open late at the same time. The city's posted schedule, which it marks as subject to change, works as a route:
- 5 p.m., Metlox Fountain Plaza at 13th Street and Morningside Drive. Santa's Sleigh and family pictures by Karl Meyer Photography, face painters, a balloon twister, Original Kettle Corn, hot chocolate and cookies from Mychal's Bakery, and guitarist Michael Holmes. Bacio di Latte is steps away, and the Sogno Toscano and Bacari spaces are in the same plaza.
- 6 p.m., the pier. The Manhattan Beach Middle School Choir sings, followed by the Mira Costa High School Choir at 6:30.
- 6 to 9 p.m., Highland and Manhattan avenues. Dallas Greene sings at 13th and Highland, a few doors from Gum Tree's new address. On Manhattan Avenue, The Lucky Ones Band plays at 10th Street and saxophonist Matt Kalin at 12th. All About Animals brings live reindeer to 9th Street, and Larry's Tacos sets up at 1213 Manhattan Avenue. That stretch passes Ounce of Salt and the Framebridge storefront.
- 7 p.m., pier lighting. Dickens-style carolers stroll downtown from 6:30 to 9.
The city and the Downtown Business and Professional Association put up snowflake lights and lighted street banners for the season. The Beach Cities Toy Drive, run jointly by Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, collects new, unwrapped toys at a booth in the Police/Fire station lobby during the event. The city's December calendar lists the North Manhattan Beach Holiday Stroll on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. and the Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Festival on Dec. 13, starting at 3 p.m.
Following which downtown spaces change hands, and what Project Pulse brings back to council, is part of the work at Marie Morgenstern. If you want to talk through what downtown's changes mean for your own street, Let's Connect.
