Pacifica Del Mar's Final Season at Del Mar Plaza

Del Mar Plaza opened in 1989 at Camino Del Mar and 15th Street, and Pacifica Del Mar was one of its first tenants. The restaurant closes in December 2026. That closure is one step in a year of change at the Plaza. In about ten months a specialty market, a Baja-style restaurant, a French pastry shop and a coffee-and-matcha café have all signed on or opened. Meanwhile the property's original dinner spot is on its way out, and the Plaza has picked a replacement it has not yet named. Pacifica has not published a final service date, so the closing weeks have no fixed end. That leaves the Thoroughbred Club's fall meet and the Village's holiday events as the last dates you can put on a calendar.

The Plaza chose this

The Coast News reported in June that Del Mar Plaza representatives confirmed they "chose not to renew Pacifica's lease for the upcoming year." Property manager Tamara Failla said the decision followed a review of "our tenant mix and long-term vision for the property." She told the outlet that the Plaza has "chosen to move forward with a new restaurant operator whose concept aligns with our goals for the future of Del Mar Plaza."

The restaurant announced the closure on May 15. "Since opening in 1989, Pacifica Del Mar has been more than just a restaurant," it said, calling itself "a gathering place, a tradition, and a part of the fabric of Del Mar and North County for nearly four decades."

Few tenants anywhere on Camino Del Mar have stayed that long. The Coast News noted that some dishes from opening day, such as the sugar-spiced salmon, are still on the menu. It also reported that the restaurant made it through recessions, the COVID-19 pandemic and a 2016 sale, when longtime owners Kipp Downing and Jacquee Renna-Downing sold it to Sangiv Chopra. Some staff have been there more than 30 years. After all that, the restaurant is closing because of a lease decision.

Five changes in ten months

The Plaza's owner is Brixton Capital, which describes itself as "the vertically integrated owner and operator behind Del Mar Plaza." In its August announcement, Brixton called the Plaza's recent run of leases "the property's ongoing transformation." Here is the order things happened in:

1. Late December 2025. Valley Farm Market opened a specialty grocery and butcher counter on Camino Del Mar. Third-generation owner Derek Marso opened High Marea, a Baja-style restaurant, next door, and the two held a joint grand opening on Saturday, January 10.
2. Late April 2026. Pacifica Breeze Cafe, Pacifica's separately run sister café for breakfast and coffee, closed.
3. May 15, 2026. Pacifica Del Mar announced it would close in December.
4. June 2026. Desserts By Clément opened its second San Diego shop in Suite 304, the former Paris en Rose space. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
5. August 11, 2026. Brixton announced a signed lease with La La Land Café for the former Pacifica Breeze space.

Every new tenant on that list had already built a following somewhere else. Valley Farm Market started in Spring Valley in 1956 and opened a La Jolla store in 2019, and the Del Mar store is its second market-and-restaurant combination. Chef Clément Le Déoré made his name at his Pacific Beach flagship and has a third shop planned in Vista. La La Land was founded in 2019 and has grown to more than 30 locations. Del Mar will be its first in San Diego.

Pacifica followed a different path. It began at this address in 1989 and became known here first.

The space with no tenant named yet

There are now two empty or soon-empty spaces at the Plaza. Both have new operators chosen, but only one has been named.

La La Land will take the southwest corner of the mezzanine, which Brixton describes as known for its panoramic ocean views. The lease covers 1,168 square feet indoors, with more seating and queuing space on the terrace deck. As of the August announcement, Brixton had not set a construction start or a grand opening date.

For Pacifica's own restaurant space, the Plaza told The Coast News in June that it had already chosen a new operator and would announce it "in the coming months." As of early October, no name had been released. The Pacifica Del Mar website still shows its regular weekly specials and no closing notice. The last night of service and the name of the next restaurant are both still unannounced.

Where Pacifica's last weeks fall on the calendar

With no closing date, the best way to plan is around the fixed events that fall in Pacifica's final months. The Coast News noted that the restaurant has long been a stop for racetrack visitors and a regular spot for weeknight dinners, birthdays and anniversaries. This year's late-season events fall in the same weeks as its last ones.

The fall meet is the longest stretch of the season, with racing running from November 6 through November 29. It is also the last major event that certainly ends before December begins.

Winter Taste & Sip on December 6 includes holiday activities at Del Mar Plaza and on 15th Street, the corner Pacifica has occupied since 1989. Whether Pacifica will still be open that afternoon depends on a date the restaurant hasn't shared.

The beach below the Village is already on its winter schedule. Under the City of Del Mar's beach regulations, North Beach runs from 29th Street to the Solana Beach border. Dogs may be off leash there during the off-season, which runs from the day after Labor Day through June 15. Farther south, the City started its yearly sand push on September 17 near the Beach Safety Center and Powerhouse Park and is building berms northward. Beachgoers have been asked to stay out of coned work areas.

Watch for the next announcement

The Plaza's next press release will settle more than the race meet or the tree lighting. The Plaza has said it chose Pacifica's successor for a concept that fits "the future of Del Mar Plaza," and Failla said that operator would "better serve the evolving needs of our community." Until the name comes out, the facts are limited. Pacifica is open through some part of December. La La Land is coming to the mezzanine on a schedule that hasn't been set. And the space at Camino Del Mar and 15th Street has had one tenant for nearly 37 years.

Changes like these at Del Mar Plaza can shift how buyers picture life in the Village. If you own nearby and want to know where your home stands as the Plaza changes, Kara Kay & Associates can walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation and we'll put a current number on it.