"To go to a place [with] this amazing, amazing view and … share a table to see it." That is how Alexandra Corsi, a La Jolla Parks & Beaches board member, described the purpose of the new second picnic grove at Scripps Park, as lajolla.ca reported on Oct. 28. The grove is small, and it is finished. Most of this season's La Jolla news follows the same rule. Projects paid for by a family, a club or a restaurant owner, and kept to a modest size, opened this fall. Projects that involve a sewer main, a road guardrail or a grant-funded streetscape now carry 2027 dates, and the one waiting on a coastal permit has no start date.
That split decides where the holidays will happen this year. Here is how it plays out across town, and the dates to keep between now and mid-December.
A Grove Built by Donors, Four Years After the First
The new grove sits at the center of Scripps Park's western edge, next to the first one. It uses the same GraniteCrete surface, a blend of decomposed granite and a binder, and adds two picnic tables, a charcoal grill and trash cans.
The first grove opened in 2022. It was funded mainly by the family of the late Selma Malk, a longtime resident of La Valencia Hotel who was fond of the park. Corsi, who managed both projects, called that first grove "a very big success" and said its popularity led the Malk family to fund a second. Donors for the new grove include Ann Lipschitz and Brian Malk, LJP&B President Ann Dynes, board member Rev Tim Seery, Corsi, the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla and the LJP&B general fund. The City of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department donated the grill and one of the benches.
The city's part was a grill and a bench. Neighbors paid for, planned and finished everything else. That model is the reason the grove is ready for Thanksgiving week.
One Block of Avenida de la Playa, Running on Two Clocks
The same pattern shows up on the La Jolla Shores business strip.
Shio held its grand opening on Oct. 24 at 2259 Avenida de la Playa, in the space that used to house Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters and Galaxy Taco. It is the second restaurant from Eugene and Peter Kim, who opened Takaramono Sushi in the Village two years ago. Peter Kim told lajolla.ca that Shio is "larger and more extensive" than Takaramono, with a full kitchen and bar and room for "a wider range of gatherings." He called it "an evolution of what we've built at Takaramono." For the holidays, that matters in a practical way. The Shores now has a Japanese dining room that can seat a group, a few blocks from the sand.
Casa Del Lobo opened at 2246 Avenida de la Playa on Aug. 18. It serves coffee, matcha and locally made pastries and sells handcrafted Mexican ceramics. Co-owner Christine Silver told the La Jolla Light the aim was a warm, design-forward neighborhood space. A morning coffee and a small gift from the same counter suits December well.
Down the street, Laureate Park runs on the city's schedule. The pocket park along Avenida de la Playa, between El Paseo Grande and Paseo del Ocaso, has been fenced off since late September. The La Jolla Light reported on Oct. 26 that the closure comes from damage to a sewer main at Sewer Pump Station 27. City spokeswoman Jennifer McBride said there is no ongoing spill. Sewage did reach the surface on July 10, and crews contained it and cleaned the area, and McBride said "crews conduct daily checks at the site to verify it remains dry and secured."
The next step is a proper bypass pump. The city expects repairs to be done in January, but the cost and the cause are still unknown, and the park will likely stay closed into early 2027. Parking near the park is affected too. As of late October, cones blocked several stretches of 90-minute street parking along the park, and spaces on El Paseo Grande and Paseo del Ocaso were fenced off as a staging area for construction equipment. Part of the Avenida de la Playa sidewalk was also taped off. Terry Kraszewski, who runs the nearby Ocean Girl apparel and gift shop, told the Light she hopes "the park will be restored in good condition for the neighborhood to enjoy once again."
If you plan to drive to the Shores for a holiday dinner or a gift stop, expect fewer close-in spaces on these blocks than usual.
The Projects Waiting on 2027 or Later
Laureate Park has company. None of La Jolla's larger public-space projects will be finished by New Year's.
| Project | Who is carrying it | Latest stated timing |
|---|---|---|
| Laureate Park sewer repair | City of San Diego | Repairs expected in January; park likely closed into early 2027 |
| Torrey Pines Road guardrail, Prospect Place to Coast Walk | City of San Diego, with Palm Engineering | Started Oct. 6; projected through March 2027 |
| Girard Avenue streetscape | La Jolla Community Foundation | "Early part of 2027," exact start uncertain |
| Promenade de la Playa, phase one | La Jolla Shores supporters | June update: about $150,000 raised, construction-change permit still being secured |
The Torrey Pines Road guardrail is the one most residents will run into before the holidays. The project replaces the long-standing K-rail with about 420 feet of metal bridge rail. It also replaces the sidewalk, curb and gutter, relocates utilities, and repaves and restripes that section of road. Under the city-approved traffic control plan, work runs from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. The northern westbound lane closes during some of that night work. The northbound bike lane is closed for the whole project. When the sidewalk closes, pedestrians use a protected path behind temporary K-rail on the south side of the road, open around the clock, and reach it through the crossings at Prospect Place and the mid-block crossing between Amalfi Street and Princess Street. These details come from the La Jolla Light's Sept. 24 report. If you drive home from a late holiday dinner on a weeknight, plan for a narrower westbound road. If you ride north on Torrey Pines Road, plan another route until spring.
The Girard Avenue streetscape is also a donor-led effort. It slipped because grant requirements forced another bid process. Organizers now say it will start "in the early part of 2027," per the La Jolla Light. Girard will look the same for the parade as it does today.
Promenade de la Playa shows the outside conditions that hold a project up. The most recent public update, a June La Jolla Light report, said supporters had raised about $150,000 for phase one and were still securing a construction-change permit. The project also faced an 11-space replacement-parking requirement. A city code amendment could change that, but it would still need Coastal Commission certification. That report gave no start date.
Grant rules, a second bid and a coastal permit stand between these two projects and a groundbreaking, and the Scripps Park grove never had to clear any of those.
Fay Avenue's December Openings Are Forecasts
Two Fay Avenue businesses are aiming for December. Both dates are targets.
Mavi Mediterranean has been announced for 7536 Fay Ave., with a reported expected opening of Wednesday, Dec. 2. Manager Selin Bashelvaci told the La Jolla Light that permitting, design, staffing and training were still underway as of late September.
Balanced Fitness & Health closed its 7680 Girard Ave. location in mid-August. Owner Rodrigo Iglesias told lajolla.ca that a move to 7825 Fay Ave. was already planned, with a mid-December opening goal, and that current memberships are frozen until the new site opens.
Both openings depend on the same final steps that decide any tenant build-out, so treat the dates as targets until the doors open.
The Calendar Runs on Schedule
Volunteers, venues and organizers run the season's events, and those dates are set.
- Friday, Nov. 6, 4 p.m. First Friday Art Walk in the Village, per the La Jolla Village event calendar.
- Monday, Nov. 9, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Birch Aquarium's Perspectives Lecture, "Vision for a Thriving Ocean." Reservations are required.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 8:15 to 10:30 a.m. The Turkey Trot at Life Time, 1055 Wall St., which the listing calls Life Time La Jolla's third annual coastal 5K.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. Holiday Market at The Flower Pot Cafe and Bakery.
- Sunday, Dec. 6. The 70th La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival, themed "A Village Christmas: Celebrating 70 Years of Holiday Tradition." The organizer's event listing gives a 1 p.m. start. The route runs north on Girard from Kline, west on Prospect, and ends at the La Jolla Recreation Center, where the festival runs from 1 to 5 p.m. The KPBS event listing adds the Village Christmas Market and "Sounds by the Sea" performances during the afternoon.
- Tuesday, Dec. 15. The Children's Pool beach closes to public access for harbor seal pupping season. The closure runs Dec. 15 through May 15 every year, per the city. If you like to walk down to the sand there, the first half of December is your last chance until mid-May.
Put the pieces together and you get a working holiday map. The Scripps Park groves are open for a picnic with a view, Shio and Casa Del Lobo are open on Avenida de la Playa, and the parade follows the same Girard and Prospect route as always. Parking near Laureate Park will be tight, and weeknight drives on Torrey Pines Road will be slower after 7 p.m.
I keep track of what's opening, what's fenced off and what's running late on these blocks all year, because it affects how a street feels to the people who live on it. If the 2027 timelines for Laureate Park, the Girard streetscape or the Torrey Pines Road corridor touch a home you own or are thinking about, Connie Sundstrom is glad to talk through the details with you. Work With Connie.
