"Since opening in 1989, Pacifica Del Mar has been more than just a restaurant. It has been a gathering place, a tradition, and a part of the fabric of Del Mar and North County for nearly four decades." The restaurant posted that on May 15, along with a request: "we hope you will visit us one last time before we close our doors."
Pacifica plans to close in December. Three blocks south, Honor Bar opened in September on the lot where Bully's stood for 48 years. Those two addresses are the oldest dining names on Camino Del Mar, and they are turning over within the same few months. Both replacements were picked by owners and operators who wanted something different on the corner. From now through December, the old Village and the new one are both open for business, and the fall racing season falls right in that window.
The Bully's site took almost a decade to fill
Bully's closed in 2017 after a 48-year run. The building at 1404 Camino Del Mar, with its well-known white brick facade, was torn down completely, and the new restaurant went up from the ground over a long construction period. The Union-Tribune reported in early September that Honor Bar Del Mar had opened, almost 10 years after Bully's served its last meal.
The operator is Hillstone Restaurant Group, which also runs Houston's, Gulfstream in Newport Beach and Rutherford Grill in Napa. Del Mar joins Honor Bar locations in Beverly Hills, Dallas, Montecito and Palm Beach. The group describes the concept as "small in size but big in spirit," with a menu built on shareable snacks and sandwiches.
If you're going this week, two details matter. The U-T lists hours as 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and parking is reached from the alley off 13th Street, not from Camino Del Mar.
Honor Bar shows how the Village's dining addresses change hands now. A local institution closes, the site goes quiet for years, and a restaurant group with locations in several states rebuilds it. Del Mar Plaza is now going through the same process, on a faster schedule and by the landlord's choice.
Del Mar Plaza is choosing its next tenants
Pacifica opened in 1989 as one of the first businesses in the newly built Del Mar Plaza, at the corner of Camino Del Mar and 15th Street. It got through recessions, the pandemic and a 2016 sale, when longtime owners Kipp Downing and Jacquee Renna-Downing sold it to Sangiv Chopra. The sugar-spiced salmon has been on the menu since opening day. The restaurant says several team members have worked there for more than 30 years.
Pacifica didn't decide to leave. Plaza representatives told The Coast News they chose not to renew the lease. Property manager Tamara Failla said the Plaza "periodically evaluate[s] our tenant mix and long-term vision for the property" and had "chosen to move forward with a new restaurant operator whose concept aligns with our goals for the future of Del Mar Plaza."
The Plaza hasn't officially named that operator. On May 22, SanDiegoVille reported that Water Grill, from King's Seafood Company, was slated to take over the space. The same story said Water Grill had not yet publicly announced plans for Del Mar.
Pacifica's space at 1555 Camino Del Mar is one of several Plaza spaces that have changed this year. Here is the suite-by-suite record for 2026:
- Suite 107, Valley Farm Market. A grocer with a butcher counter, seafood, produce and prepared foods. It held a joint grand opening on Jan. 10.
- Suite 106, High Marea. Baja-inspired fast-casual food next door, opened the same day.
- Suite 304, Desserts By Clément. Pastries and coffee in the former Paris en Rose space, open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The Plaza announced it was officially open by June 29, although the online directory still says "Coming Soon."
- Former Pacifica Breeze Cafe, La La Land Café. Pacifica's casual breakfast-and-coffee sibling closed in late April. The Plaza's August 11 announcement calls La La Land Café "wildly popular" and says construction and opening dates "have not yet been determined."
- Pacifica Del Mar. Open through December.
Together, the list describes a Plaza now built around daily errands and casual stops: a grocery run, a pastry, a quick Baja lunch. The ocean-view seafood room that once anchored the property is the last 1989 tenant on the list, and it has a closing date.
The blocks in between filled in first
Queenstown Del Mar opened May 21 at 1435 Camino Del Mar, in the former WestBrew space between the Plaza and Honor Bar. The menu is New Zealand-influenced, with daily service and weekend brunch. Like Honor Bar, it is one location of a larger restaurant group, and like Honor Bar it took over a space a local business had left.
Walk the corridor from 13th Street to 15th Street today and you pass three 2026 openings and one closing date. Outside the Village, Del Mar's dining calendar is changing too. Market Restaurant & Sushi Lounge on Via de la Valle closed Sept. 21 for a remodel and expects to reopen in spring 2027. If Market was your usual holiday reservation, it won't be available this season.
The window between now and December
The Coast News notes that Pacifica has long drawn crowds from the Del Mar Racetrack, along with weeknight regulars and people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and weddings. That makes this fall's racing season Pacifica's last. Here is the local calendar in order, with the closing in mind:
- Now through Oct. 31: Pumpkin Station in the Fairgrounds' East Parking Lot. Admission and parking are free, and rides are ticketed separately.
- Oct. 17 and 18: Fall Home/Garden Show in O'Brien Hall, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
- Nov. 6: Opening Day of the Bing Crosby Season at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
- Nov. 14: Uncorked wine festival at the track.
- Nov. 26: Thanksgiving racing.
- Nov. 29: Closing Day of the meet.
- Dec. 11: Opening night of Coastal Christmas at the Fairgrounds, with a holiday light trail, skating and a market. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m.
The coverage so far places Pacifica's closing only in December. If an anniversary dinner, a post-race table or one more plate of sugar-spiced salmon is on your list, book it in November instead of waiting for a farewell announcement that might come on short notice. Honor Bar and Queenstown will still be open on Camino Del Mar after the meet ends. Pacifica's ocean-view room at the corner of 15th Street will not.
Corner turnovers like these shape how buyers see the blocks around them, and Del Mar Plaza is clearly choosing its tenants with that in mind. If you want to know how this year's changes along Camino Del Mar affect your home's position, The Joseph Realty Team can walk you through it block by block. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
