Lana, a new luxury-meets-coastal-comfort restaurant, will open in late spring in Solana Beach.
Taking over the former California Pizza Kitchen space in the Beachwalk shopping center, Lana is the creation of restaurant industry veterans Travis LeGrand and North County resident Mark Wheadon, with menu consultation by local chef/restaurateur Jason McLeod. The restaurant’s executive chef will be Chris Ruhl, most recently of Cellar Hand in Hillcrest and previously a sous chef for Juniper & Ivy and Trust Restaurant Group.
LeGrand has opened 10 restaurants over the years, including Cucina Urbana, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Park and Rec and Waypoint Public. Wheadon has been in the hotel industry for more than 25 years, including properties in Miami, Beverly Hills and Sundance, Utah. He’s also experienced in the wine industry and is creating Lana’s wine program.
Lana is being designed by Workind Studio with a central bar, two dining areas, a lounge and outdoor dining patio at 437 South Highway 101, Solana Beach. Visit lanasb.com.
Rustic Root opens in Solana Beach: RMD Group has opened a second location of its longtime Gaslamp Quarter restaurant-bar concept Rustic Root in the Sandbox Building in Solana Beach. It’s open for dinner Wednesdays-Sundays with weekend brunch service. The new location opened Jan. 31 at 343 S. Highway 101, Suite 100, Solana Beach. Visit rusticrootsd.com.
Better Buzz opens in Poway: The San Diego-born coffee roaster/café chain Better Buzz will open a new location Friday in Poway. As an opening-day promotion, the first 200 guests in line will get a reusable cup with any purchase. The new shop will also offer a Poway-exclusive menu item called The Peach Cobbler Best Drink Ever, made with peach and vanilla cold cream and cinnamon streusel. The restaurant’s grand opening ceremony is from 5 to 8 a.m. Friday at 12612 Poway Road, Poway. betterbuzzcoffee.com
Taco Stand opens in Oceanside: Another locally-born company, The Taco Stand, opened its latest location in Oceanside in January. Founded in La Jolla in 2013 by Julian Hakim and Aram Baloyan of Shōwa Hospitality, the Baja California-style taqueria chain has 15 locations in the Southwest, including six in San Diego County. The new location is at 1722 S. Coast Highway in the former North County Times building complex in Oceanside. Visit letstaco.com.
Burger Bench opens in Vista: This Escondido-based restaurant company opened its second location in downtown Vista in mid-February. Burger Bench serves gourmet burgers, chicken sandwiches, tots and beer. It opens daily at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and dinner. The Vista location, which has taken over the old When Pigs Fly barbecue location at 230 Main St., does not at present offer breakfast like the Escondido location. burgerbench.com
Valle to ring in spring with wine dinner: Valle, chef Roberto Alcocer’s Michelin-starred contemporary Mexican restaurant in downtown Oceanside, will host its inaugural Ring-In-Spring dining event on March 20. The four-course tasting menu will celebrate the spring equinox and it will showcase new spring wines from Baja California, including Alcocer’s own natural sparkling wine Champú. The wine-pairings dinner, with reservations that evening beginning at 6 p.m., will be $220 per person. Proceeds will benefit the Fundacion Tijuana Sin Hambre, a nonprofit that provides meals to the hungry and food insecure in Baja California. Alcocer is a Baja native and was recently named a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: California. For reservations, visit valleoceanside.com.
