In late August, a regular showed up at Sweetfin in One Paseo and found it "completely shut down." The counter was gone. So was the wallpaper and nearly everything else inside. The exterior sign was still up, and both Sweetfin's website and One Paseo's still listed the restaurant as open. Sweetfin had opened at 3705 Paseo Place in July 2019, a few months after the development welcomed its first tenants, and its whole menu was gluten-free. Commenters online were especially sorry to lose it as a gluten-free option.
On Aug. 31, about a week after that report, Goop Kitchen opened a short walk away at 3745 Paseo Place. Its menu is also entirely gluten-free, cooked without seed oils, refined sugars or corn.
That timing shows how Carmel Valley's two big town centers work. One Paseo and Del Mar Highlands Town Center face each other across Del Mar Heights Road, and both keep changing tenants. When a spot opens up, it tends to go to another menu built around juice, greens, protein or a short ingredient list. The restaurants change. The slot stays.
Almost none of the founding names remain
The SanDiegoVille report on Sweetfin's closure is the clearest account of how much One Paseo has changed since 2019. Before construction ended, the center announced four marquee restaurants: Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry's International Smoke, Tocaya Organica, Sweetfin and Ways & Means Oyster House. None of them is there now.
Here's how each one left, in order:
- Ways & Means Oyster House never opened its planned One Paseo restaurant.
- International Smoke opened in 2019 with 6,200 square feet and 228 seats. It closed in February 2022, and MINA Group blamed the slowdown during the pandemic.
- Tocaya Organica was reported closed in September 2024, which ended its run in San Diego County.
- Harland Brewing was not one of the four announced names, but its tasting room opened in 2019. It ran for about six years and closed in fall 2025, when the brewery shifted its focus to larger projects.
- Sweetfin closed in August 2026 after more than seven years.
The same report says the turnover doesn't mean One Paseo's dining is failing. Most departures have been replaced, and several early tenants are still going strong. North Italia, Shake Shack, Parakeet Cafe, Salt & Straw, The Butchery and Nick's Del Mar are all still open. Nick's took over the old International Smoke space for South of Nick's Mexican Kitchen + Bar. URBN Pizza and CAVA are open too.
Each opening fills the slot the last one left
The more recent openings are where the pattern shows. Postino WineCafé opened in 2024 in about 2,400 square feet with a patio facing the central gathering area. Jan's Health Bar followed in 2025 with its first San Diego County location. The Huntington Beach business dates to 1972 and serves smoothies, sandwiches, salads and wraps.
Goop Kitchen took over the former Tender Greens space, one of One Paseo's early tenants. Gwyneth Paltrow started Goop Kitchen in 2021 for delivery and takeout only. The brand runs 16 kitchens in California and three in New York, and the Carmel Valley location is its first dine-in restaurant. The patio has black-and-white scalloped umbrellas. The menu covers salads, bowls, wraps, soups, pizza and pasta. The Union-Tribune's opening coverage named the Brentwood Chicken Salad as a bestseller, and the gluten-free pizza list includes a pepperoni pie called Pepperoni Potts. It's open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and takeout and delivery are still available.
What Sweetfin's room becomes next hasn't been announced.
Joe & the Juice crossed the street
The tenant that best shows how the two centers trade places is Joe & the Juice. It was one of One Paseo's founding tenants in 2019. In June 2026 it opened again across Del Mar Heights Road, at 3435 Del Mar Heights Road, #9, on the upper level of Del Mar Highlands Town Center. It's the Copenhagen brand's third San Diego location. The menu runs to pressed sandwiches like the Tunacado, juices like the Hydration Station, and smoothies made with Lion's Mane, Irish sea moss and collagen.
Del Mar Highlands has been adding the same kind of tenant. The center recently welcomed Perspire Sauna Studio and CorePower Yoga. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue held a luau-themed grand opening next to Ike's Love and Sandwiches, at 3545 Del Mar Heights Road, Suite C7. Not every move went one direction. Icekimo closed its Del Mar Highlands shop this spring, and its owner pointed to high operating costs.
At the Valley Centre Drive end of the neighborhood, Pure Green opened in August 2026 at Piazza Carmel, 3830 Valley Centre Drive, Suite 706.
What's still coming to the Sky Deck and Brewer's Deck
Del Mar Highlands has three projects in progress, and each is at a different stage as of early October.
- Lobster Lab was announced for the Sky Deck at 12841 El Camino Real, Suite 200. A Sky Deck event listing promoted its opening for Thursday, July 23, with lobster rolls and seafood staples. We haven't found any report since then confirming the opening, so call ahead before you plan dinner around it.
- Seabørn Cocktails is set to take over the old Boochcraft taproom at 12841 El Camino Real, Ste 302. The San Diego brand makes agave wine-based margaritas at 7% ABV, sweetened with cane sugar and monk fruit. As of a Sept. 3 report, the center's website still listed it as coming soon, with hours not yet announced.
- Wanderlust Creamery was planned for a spot by the Pop Jet fountain as of July, with no opening date given.
Seabørn's low-ABV, cane-sugar margaritas fit the same health-focused pattern, now in cocktail form.
The fall calendar on both sides of the road
None of the tenant changes have touched the fall events. The busiest stretch is the second half of October, when both centers, Piazza Carmel and the Sunday market all have something on.
Every Sunday. The Carmel Valley Farmers Market runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 3710 Del Mar Heights Road, with local vendors, produce and live music.
Saturday, Oct. 10. One Paseo's free Moonlight Cinema shows Hocus Pocus on The Lawn from 5 to 8 p.m. One Paseo also has live music on Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31, plus family yoga on Oct. 11.
Saturday, Oct. 17. Piazza Carmel's Halloween Spooktacular runs from noon to 3 p.m., with children's entertainment and trick-or-treating.
Starting Oct. 18. One Paseo's holiday mini photo sessions run on select dates through Dec. 6 and cost $325. The KREWE eyewear pop-up is also open at One Paseo for a limited time.
Friday, Oct. 30. One Paseo hosts a free Trunk or Treat with the San Diego Police Department from 3 to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31. Del Mar Highlands has two events. Party at the Pop Jet with Kathryn the Grape runs from 10 to 11 a.m. and is free. The center's Halloween trick-or-treating and character meet-and-greets run from 4 to 6 p.m. The Harvest at the Highlands fall photo displays stay up through Nov. 11.
You can plan Halloween weekend across both centers. Trunk or Treat at One Paseo on Friday afternoon, the Pop Jet party Saturday morning, then trick-or-treating at Del Mar Highlands Saturday at 4 p.m. Lunch at Goop Kitchen fits between the last two, and it's open until 9 p.m. if dinner works better.
Our team at Shay Realtors keeps up with the tenant changes on both sides of Del Mar Heights Road because the shops and restaurants within walking distance are part of how Carmel Valley homes are valued. If you'd like a local read on what's opening near your street, schedule a free neighborhood consultation with us.
