Over the past year, most of the new storefront openings in Carmel Valley went into Del Mar Highlands Town Center. Smoothie bar, Hawaiian plate lunch, sauna, yoga and lobster rolls all opened there, with a new ice cream shop setting up by the fountain. One Paseo, the center across the intersection, added far fewer names, and one of them is a restaurant format that doesn't exist anywhere else.
You can see the shift in a single business. Joe & the Juice opened at Del Mar Highlands this June, a few hundred feet from the One Paseo space where it once operated as a founding tenant.
A Founding Tenant Crosses the Street
When One Paseo opened in 2019, Joe & the Juice was one of its first tenants. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in July that the Copenhagen-born chain had come back to the neighborhood on the other side of the road. The new cafe is at 3435 Del Mar Heights Road, #9, on the Highlands' upper level. It's the brand's third location in San Diego.
The menu is the familiar one, with cold brew, iced matcha, pressed sandwiches like the Tunacado and the Spicy Caesar, and juices such as the Hydration Station, made with coconut water, spinach, ginger and olive oil. The room is bigger than a grab-and-go counter. It has a bar, booths, tables and stacks of coffee table books behind frosted pink windows, so it works as a place to sit.
That same Union-Tribune piece listed the other new arrivals at the Highlands this year, and the list is long.
The Highlands Filled Its Upper Decks and Its Fountain Plaza
Most of the Highlands' new food went up a level, onto the Sky Deck and the Brewer's Deck. The newest dessert stop sits at ground level by the Pop Jet fountain. Here's where each 2026 addition stands as of mid-October:
| Business | Where at Del Mar Highlands | Status in mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Joe & the Juice | Upper level, 3435 Del Mar Heights Rd, #9 | Opened in June |
| L&L Hawaiian Barbecue | Next to Ike's Love and Sandwiches | Open, after a luau-themed grand opening |
| Perspire Sauna Studio | In the center | Open |
| CorePower Yoga | In the center | Open |
| Lobster Lab | Sky Deck, 12841 El Camino Real, Suite 200 | Open; opening event listed for July 23 |
| Wanderlust Creamery | By the Pop Jet fountain, 12925 El Camino Real, Suite AA-1 | Center listing shows both Now Open and Coming Soon |
| Seabørn Cocktails | Brewer's Deck, 12841 El Camino Real, Suite 302 | Listed as Coming Soon |
Wanderlust Creamery is the one families at the fountain will notice first. In July the Union-Tribune described it as "in the works" next to the Pop Jet fountain. By mid-October, the center's own Wanderlust Creamery listing carried a "Now Open" image along with a "Coming Soon" label, so call ahead before planning a fountain-side cone. The Union-Tribune's phrase for it was "another ice cream place," which says the Highlands already had dessert covered before this year.
Up on the Sky Deck, Lobster Lab brings in the seafood that the center's mix of sandwiches, poke-adjacent bowls and juice didn't really offer. One floor over, on the Brewer's Deck, Seabørn Cocktails is taking the space Boochcraft used to run as a taproom. As of early September, WhatNow San Diego still called it coming soon, and the center's listing still says the same. When it does open, the Highlands will have a cocktail bar upstairs and an ice cream shop by the fountain, which means it can host both the evening crowd and the after-school crowd.
The fitness additions follow the same pattern. Perspire Sauna Studio and CorePower Yoga both opened at the Highlands this year, so there are more reasons to walk the center that have nothing to do with a meal.
One Paseo Bet on a Single Room
Across the street, One Paseo's 2026 headline was one restaurant, and nothing else in its category looks like it. Goop Kitchen opened on August 31 in the space Tender Greens used to occupy. The Union-Tribune reported that it's the brand's first dine-in restaurant anywhere. Since 2021, Goop Kitchen had run as delivery and takeout only, with 16 kitchens in California and three in New York. In other words, the first sit-down version of a brand with nearly 20 locations opened in Carmel Valley.
The whole menu is gluten-free. Dishes are made without seed oils, refined sugars, processed additives or corn. It runs from salads and bowls to soups, pastas and nine pizzas, including a Pepperoni Potts and a white pie called The Hot Bianca. The best-selling Brentwood Chicken Salad comes with grain-free "wontons," toasted quinoa and a carrot-ginger vinaigrette. Outside, the patio has black and white scalloped umbrellas. Inside, it's white and marble, with striped booths. It's open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 3745 Paseo Place, according to the Union-Tribune, and you can still order takeout or delivery.
One Paseo's second fall addition is a temporary one. KREWE, the New Orleans eyewear brand known for handcrafted sunglasses and optical frames, has a limited-time pop-up at the center. The center's calendar runs it from October 1 through December 31, 2026, so it's there for the holiday shopping season and isn't listed beyond it.
Taken together, the two centers made different moves this year. The Highlands added many everyday reasons to stop by, from a juice run to a sauna session to lobster rolls on the Sky Deck. One Paseo brought in one restaurant you can't sit down in anywhere else, plus a shop with an end date. That difference carries over into how each center is planning the rest of the fall.
The Next Two Months, Center by Center
Halloween is a good example. The two centers aren't holding one shared event. Each has its own, on back-to-back nights, so a family could go to both. The Carmel Valley Library adds a free evening concert a few days earlier, and the Highlands' fountain series continues into December. In date order:
- Tuesday, October 27, 6:30 p.m. The Friends of the Carmel Valley Library are hosting a free concert with Victoria Chen, Zen Parris and Raymond Fu at Carmel Valley Library, 3919 Townsgate Drive, per the Union-Tribune.
- Friday, October 30. One Paseo hosts Trunk or Treat with the San Diego Police Department.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 6 p.m. Trick-or-treating at Halloween at The Highlands.
- November 5, then December 3, 10 and 17. Party at the Pop Jet, the Highlands' free family series at the fountain in the lower plaza.
That fountain series lines up with this year's openings. Three of the four upcoming Party at the Pop Jet nights fall in December, right beside the Wanderlust Creamery storefront. At One Paseo, the KREWE pop-up stays open through December 31. Anyone who hasn't tried Goop Kitchen's dining room yet has about ten weeks before the year ends.
If you're keeping track of what's coming next, the empty Boochcraft space on the Brewer's Deck is the one to watch. Seabørn Cocktails has had its sign on the center's directory since June, and it's the last announced 2026 addition at either center that hasn't opened yet.
I keep up with these changes on both sides of Del Mar Heights Road because they shape how the neighborhood feels day to day, from where you meet a friend for lunch to where the kids go on Halloween. If you'd like to talk through what's changing near your street, or just compare notes on the new spots, Amy Green is always glad to hear from neighbors. Let's Connect.
