"This isn't goodbye forever, just a pause as we prepare for what's next." That was how the owners of The Country Club put it in May, as reported by Back Bay Buzz, when they announced that their 21-and-over restaurant on East 17th Street would close and come back as a family-friendly venue.
The rest of 2026 on East 17th Street has moved the same way. The businesses closing this year leaned toward evenings out for adults. The businesses arriving lean toward a lunch counter, a reformer class, a sandwich and, eventually, a grocery run. The strip is becoming a place you stop on a Tuesday afternoon as easily as on a Saturday night.
The A-Frame Building Goes All-Ages
The Country Club building has a long history on 17th Street. According to Back Bay Buzz, it was the Pierce Street Annex for decades, one of Orange County's oldest drinking and entertainment spots. The remodel into The Country Club kept the building's A-frame roofline. The restaurant was known for its scratch kitchen, craft cocktails, live music and a strict 21-and-over door policy, and its last service was Sunday, May 10.
The ownership team gave Back Bay Buzz its reason. The historic liquor license that limited guests to adults no longer fit its plans, so the venue is moving to an all-ages license. As of late October, the restaurant's own website still says "Closed" and doesn't name the new concept or give an opening date.
The Country Club and Playa Mesa both came from Mario Marovic and Andrew Gabriel through their Newport Beach company, the Lounge Group. Wild Goose, the group's third spot on 17th Street, is still open. For now it's the one Lounge Group room on the street that's still serving.
One Sister Restaurant Closed, and a Family Restaurant Takes Its Place
Playa Mesa at 428 E. 17th St. closed after eight years. The owners announced it on Aug. 1 and didn't give a reason, the Orange County Register reported. In a 2018 review, the Register's food critic praised its menudo, tres leches, cocktails and pork chop al pastor.
Less than four weeks later, the space had a new tenant lined up. The Orange County Business Journal reported on Aug. 27 that Zov's will open its fifth Orange County location at 428 E. 17th St., with an opening scheduled for late 2026. Chef Zov Karamardian founded the Mediterranean restaurant in 1987, and three generations of the Karamardian family now run it. It has locations in Tustin, Irvine, Newport Coast and San Clemente.
Late 2026 starts next month, but no firm date has been announced. The Business Journal also noted that Zov's Tustin flagship at the Enderle Center will stay open while that center is torn down and rebuilt as Campo on 17th.
A 65-Year Run Ends Because the Building Sold
Not every change on the strip came down to a business decision. Some came from the property owner. Baycrest Caps & Corks Bottleshop at 333 E. 17th St. closed March 31 after a new property owner declined to continue its lease, the Daily Pilot reported. The family that ran it had offered to pay more.
"There's no hard feelings on my end. We didn't own it."
That's how co-owner Bryan Nye described it to the Daily Pilot. The shop's roots go back to 1952, when the original owners opened across the street, and the current family took over in 1998. According to the Daily Pilot, it carried a rotating selection of high-end spirits, wine and craft beer. Neighbors stopped in to talk about the news, and dogs pulled their owners inside for the treats kept behind the counter.
Baycrest is a reminder that the strip's look depends on who owns the buildings as much as on who signs the leases. A neighborhood bottleshop ran there for more than six decades, and that ended with a change in ownership. The space at 333 E. 17th St. doesn't have a publicly announced replacement yet.
Address by Address, the Same Direction
Lay the 2026 changes out by address, and the pattern is easier to see.
| Address | What was there | What's there now or next | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140 E. 17th St. | T-Shirts Warehouse | Erewhon, its first Orange County store | Targeted for 2027 |
| 154 E. 17th St. | Santa Monica Seafood | Bear Flag Fish Co. | Listed as open on the company's homepage |
| 270 E. 17th St. | Not reported | BODYROK, 18 reformers | Opening set for Oct. 24 |
| 299 E. 17th St. | Not reported | Sourdough & Co. | Marked coming soon |
| Former Pierce Street Annex building | The Country Club, 21+ | Unnamed all-ages concept | Closed for conversion |
| 333 E. 17th St. | Baycrest Caps & Corks | No announced tenant | Vacant |
| 428 E. 17th St. | Playa Mesa | Zov's | Opening slated for late 2026 |
Look at the new arrivals: a seafood counter, a fitness studio, a fast-casual sandwich chain, a family-run Mediterranean restaurant and a grocery store. None of them depends on a late-night crowd, and all of them work at lunchtime.
BODYROK, at 270 E. 17th St., is a 2,704-square-foot studio with 18 reformers. It set its opening for Saturday, Oct. 24, after a city ribbon-cutting on Oct. 22.
Bear Flag Fish Co. took over the former Santa Monica Seafood space at 154 E. 17th St. Its homepage lists the Costa Mesa location as open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Its menu runs to fish tacos, burritos, poke bowls, seafood plates and sushi rolls. Another page on the company's site still calls the Costa Mesa location "coming soon," so call ahead before your first visit.
Sourdough & Co.'s own location page lists 299 E. 17th St. and says "coming soon," with no date.
Erewhon Is the Anchor, and It's Still About a Year Away
The biggest name on the list is also the furthest off. In April, the Orange County Business Journal reported that Erewhon's first Orange County store would take 20,092 square feet in the former T-Shirts Warehouse building at 140 E. 17th St., slated to open in September 2027. In May, the Register reported the same September 2027 target. By its Aug. 4 story on Playa Mesa, the Register was describing the opening as "sometime in 2027."
So for now, think of Erewhon as a 2027 event with a soft month attached. Once it opens, a grocery store will anchor the west end of the strip, the kind of business people visit several times a week.
This Week, a New Café at Lions Park
The same all-day thinking shows up a short drive from 17th Street, at a city park. Café Mesa is a newly built 1,100-square-foot café in Lions Park, and the city scheduled its ribbon-cutting for Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11:30 a.m. on the Lions Park Event Lawn, 1845 Park Avenue.
Neat Coffee, which has served Costa Mesa from its Pomona Avenue storefront since 2015, runs the café under a three-year agreement that can be extended for another three years, the Daily Pilot reported in February. The buildout was paid for with $1.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and $1.1 million from the city's capital improvement fund.
Every coffee order there also helps fund the libraries. Under the arrangement the Daily Pilot described, Neat Coffee gives 3% of gross revenue to the city. Half of that goes to OC Public Libraries for programs at the Donald Dungan and Mesa Verde libraries. The city keeps the other half for upkeep of those libraries and the Lions Park civic center, which includes the Norma Hartzog Community Center and the Downtown Recreation and Aquatics centers. Owner Ally Garvin's proposal included below-market prices and discounts for seniors and library-card holders.
Here's an Eastside day you can plan around what's open or scheduled to be open by now:
- Morning class at BODYROK, 270 E. 17th St., which set its opening for Oct. 24.
- Coffee at Café Mesa in Lions Park, or at Neat Coffee's original Pomona Avenue shop, which is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Fish tacos or a poke bowl at Bear Flag Fish Co., 154 E. 17th St., after confirming the day's hours.
- Dinner at Wild Goose, still the Lounge Group's working room on 17th Street.
Zov's, Sourdough & Co. and The Country Club's new concept could each add a stop before the end of the year or into next. Erewhon's opening would cover the grocery run.
If you'd like to talk through how a busier, all-day 17th Street might show up in the value of a nearby home, the Swardstrom Group team follows Costa Mesa's Eastside block by block, and we're glad to put together a home valuation whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
