Golden Lantern runs downhill toward the harbor, and at Camino del Avion it passes a shopping center that most people treat as one place. On paper it is two. Ocean Ranch Village sits at the southern edge of Laguna Niguel where the city meets Dana Point, and the center continues south across Camino del Avion into Dana Point. Shea Properties owns both halves and describes them as two centers: about 145,200 square feet on the Laguna Niguel side and a 102,389-square-foot neighborhood center on the Dana Point side.
That line on the map now matters more than it did a year ago. Over 2026, nearly every change at Ocean Ranch Village has landed on the Laguna Niguel side, and the changes point the same way. That half is being rebuilt for longer visits. The Dana Point half still does what it has always done.
Two Centers, Split at Camino del Avion
Shea's own listing shows how the two halves divide their work. The Laguna Niguel side carries Trader Joe's, Curl Fitness, Cinépolis Luxury Theatres and Bottega Angelina. The Dana Point side is built around a Ralphs and a CVS. Shea's January announcement calls the Dana Point grocery anchor a "high-volume Ralphs Fresh Fare Supermarket."
The Dana Point directory reads like a weekday to-do list. It includes AIM Mail Center, Anthony's Shoe Repair, Celebrity Cleaners, Dana Point Animal Hospital, See's Candies, Round Table Pizza, The Habit Burger Grill, I Love Bagels and Starbucks Coffee. These are places for quick stops. Nothing in this year's news changes that side of the street.
The Laguna Niguel side is the one being rebuilt, with two steps finished this year and a third set for early 2027.
Trader Joe's Moved Deeper Into the Lot
The biggest change came on Thursday, Oct. 22. Trader Joe's Store 103 opened at 8 a.m. at its new address, 32391 Golden Lantern, and the old store at 32351 Golden Lantern closed. The Orange County Register reported that the chain more than doubled its size by leasing 14,277 square feet of the former Bed Bath & Beyond building from Shea Properties. A company representative told the paper the store would have "the same amazing Crew Members and products with a newly designed layout and bigger space." Patch reported the same address and opening time.
The move also changed where people park. Back in April, the Register noted that the new store "will sit a little deeper in the center, where more parking spreads to the west toward Curl Fitness and Bottega Angelina." Locals saw the move coming before anyone confirmed it. According to that report, employees told shoppers about a month earlier that the store was moving, but not far.
Here is how the former Bed Bath & Beyond building and the old grocery space now break down:
| Space | Before 2026 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| 32351 Golden Lantern | Trader Joe's Store 103 | Vacant, no successor announced |
| 32391 Golden Lantern | Part of the former Bed Bath & Beyond | Trader Joe's Store 103, 14,277 sq ft, opened Oct. 22 |
| Rest of the former Bed Bath & Beyond | Part of the same vacant box | Ulta Beauty, 10,000-sq-ft lease signed, opening date not announced |
Shea's August directory lists Board & Brew, Mattress Firm and Solos Pilates under the same 32391 building number, so the new store has close neighbors. That directory came out before the move and still shows Trader Joe's in its old suite, so go by the October address.
The Gym Came Back Built for Staying
The first sign of what this half of the center was becoming came in January. Shea Properties announced that Curl Fitness was open after what Curl CEO Victor Poma called "a complete ground-up transformation of the former facility." In the same release, he said the club "doubled both the training floor and sauna space and introduced coveted features like outdoor in-ground cold plunge and pool facilities overlooking the Pacific Ocean."
Curl's Laguna Niguel page lists the club at 32451 Golden Lantern, Suite 1A. It is open 24 hours Tuesday through Friday, 5 a.m. to midnight on Monday, and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. Trader Joe's new store faces the parking that spreads toward this building, so the two anchors now share the same part of the lot.
The Old Hendrix Corner Gets an All-Evening Tenant
The third step is still ahead. Hendrix, the restaurant on the Laguna Niguel and Dana Point border from the team behind Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck, closed in 2024, and its space has been empty since. The Register reported in July that Good Boy, a new restaurant from Specialty Restaurants Corporation, is slated to open there in early 2027. The space has turned over many times. Before Hendrix, the site was a Fred's Mexican Cafe and, earlier, a Chevy's. Shea gives the address as 32431 Golden Lantern, which is also the center's main address.
The way Specialty Restaurants describes the concept fits what this half of the center added in 2026. In Shea Properties' announcement, Chief Operations Officer Ryan Smith said:
"Good Boy will be a playful, steak-forward concept with a 'no veto' menu designed to offer something for everyone. It is a place where guests can settle in, connect, and find themselves lingering well into the evening."
The same release pitches Good Boy for "dinner, an after-work drink, weekend brunch, or a late-night celebration." The Register reports the menu has not been revealed and that the restaurant will serve at least brunch and dinner. Specialty Restaurants is based in Costa Mesa, and its portfolio includes Orange Hill in Orange. The Orange County Business Journal also reported the early-2027 timing. Shea says more details will come later.
Taken together, the year looks like this. A gym with an ocean-view pool opened in January. In October, a grocery store twice its old size moved deeper into the lot. Next year, a restaurant meant to keep people "lingering well into the evening" is set to open in the space that has been dark the longest. Each change gives people a reason to stay longer on the Laguna Niguel side.
Who Is Already Open on That Side
Good Boy will join restaurants that are already open. Shea's August directory lists these food tenants on the Laguna Niguel side:
- Bottega Angelina and Peet's Coffee & Tea in the 32371 building
- Yoshiharu Ramen, Golden Spoon Yogurt and Panda Express, also at 32371
- Seasurf Fish Grill and Pokeworks in the 32341 building
- Chipotle and Nekter Juice Bar at 32411
- Board & Brew at 32391, now next door to the new Trader Joe's
- Z Pizza
The same directory lists Cinépolis Luxury Theatres as an anchor on this side. With a theater, sit-down Italian at Bottega Angelina, a ramen counter and soon a steak-forward dinner spot, this half of the center now has more evening options than its neighbor across Camino del Avion.
What Is Still Dark
Some pieces are still unsettled, so it helps to know which questions don't have answers yet.
The old Trader Joe's space at 32351 Golden Lantern has no announced next tenant. The October reporting gives its address and nothing more about its future.
Ulta Beauty does not have a public opening date. The Register reported in February that Ulta signed a 10,000-square-foot lease and listed the address as 32451 Golden Lantern. That report also corrected an earlier one that had named Panda Mart as the tenant. If you search for "Ulta Laguna Niguel" today, the store page you'll find is for the existing store at the Marketplace at Laguna Niguel, 27080 Alicia Parkway, not the Ocean Ranch location.
Shea's August leasing table lists three openings. Two are small suites on the Dana Point side, 1,467 square feet at 32525 C and 1,616 square feet at 32545 C. The third is an 8,000-square-foot restaurant pad. The table doesn't say where that pad sits or what might go there.
So the Laguna Niguel side has one confirmed restaurant opening in early 2027, one signed retailer without a date, and an empty grocery space. The Dana Point side has two small suites for lease and is otherwise the same quick-errand center it has long been.
For more on how this part of south county is changing, see our summer roundup of Laguna Niguel's park changes and our fall status check on Dana Point Harbor, both a short drive down Golden Lantern.
At Swardstrom Group, we keep track of corners like Golden Lantern and Camino del Avion because neighbors ask us about them. If you have heard something about the old Trader Joe's space or Good Boy's opening, or you just want to talk about what these changes mean for your part of Laguna Niguel or Dana Point, we would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
