The Shops at Mission Viejo's newest addition this Christmas was meant to be an open-air village of restaurants and shops. In March 2025, the Orange County Business Journal reported that the mall planned 50,000 square feet of new retail and dining space and expected to open it in 2026, in time for the holiday shopping season. A November 2025 follow-up from the same paper put the site on the mall's southeast corner, between Old Navy and the Macy's women's store.
The holiday season is here, and one tenant is on track for it. North Italia's own Mission Viejo page lists its opening as 12/16. That gives it nine days of the 2026 Santa season, which runs Nov. 6 to Dec. 24. Until the village gets going, the dated holiday events are at the mall's Santa set, at Civic Center Plaza, and at a community center on Veterans Way that has hosted the same craft boutique for 55 years.
Where the Village Stands in Late October
The project has been underway for a while. In that November 2025 report, the Business Journal described the space as under construction. By September 2026, a Simon Property Group spokesperson had given the Orange County Register a split timeline. North Italia comes in late 2026, and Gus's BBQ, Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar and Blue Bottle Coffee follow in early 2027.
| Tenant | Timing as of the September 2026 report |
|---|---|
| North Italia | Late 2026; its own page lists 12/16 |
| Gus's BBQ | Early 2027 |
| Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar | Early 2027 |
| Blue Bottle Coffee | Early 2027 |
The tenant list has also changed over time. The March 2025 announcement named North Italia and Pacific Catch as incoming restaurants, along with a two-level Arhaus. By October 2025, the Register reported that the new wing would bring North Italia and Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar to the open-air village. Pacific Catch and Arhaus aren't in the September 2026 lineup the Register published.
For anyone planning holiday meals around the mall, the practical version is simple. This year the new village is a single restaurant. The rest of the lineup arrives after New Year's.
Why the Mall Is Betting on Restaurants
The village is part of a pattern across Orange County. The same Register report noted that U.S. department store sales were virtually flat through the first eight months of 2026, up about 0.2% year over year. Total retail and food service sales rose 5.2% over the same stretch. Malls are now asking restaurants to bring in some of the traffic department stores used to deliver.
The visit numbers show where Mission Viejo sits in that shift. The Register cited Placer.ai estimates of how much August 2026 visits changed from a year earlier:
| Center | Change in August 2026 visits |
|---|---|
| Brea Mall | +30.4% |
| Irvine Spectrum | +14.8% |
| South Coast Plaza | +6.3% |
| Fashion Island | +6% |
| The Shops at Mission Viejo | +1.2% |
Placer.ai can't separate dining visits from other trips, and it can't prove cause and effect, so these numbers don't credit any one restaurant. They do give a baseline, though. Brea Mall, which grew fastest, has already finished an exterior dining build-out, and its North Italia opened in April 2026. Mission Viejo is roughly a season behind on the same plan, and its version opens with one restaurant.
North Italia's senior director of marketing, DJ Duporte, explained the reasoning to the Register:
"Whether someone comes for dinner and stays to shop or comes to shop and decides to grab a meal, the best properties create that natural connection."
The mall added smaller food draws earlier in 2026. CHAGEE Modern Teahouse held its grand-opening weekend Feb. 6–8, as Lariat News reported. The village is the larger bet, and this season covers only its first step.
What Opens on Dec. 16
North Italia lists its address as 555 The Shops at Mission Viejo, Suite 1100, with a phone number of (949) 534-8042. The page shows the date as "12/16" without a year. The Register's "late 2026" timing is what places it in this December.
On the calendar, Dec. 16 is a Wednesday, and it falls late in the season. Mall Santa has been there for 40 days by then. Opening night falls on a Santa's Workshop evening at Civic Center Plaza, and only two workshop nights come after it, Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th. A North Italia dinner fits that last week. It can't anchor anything earlier.
Until Then, the Season Runs on Dated Events
The holiday season has a full schedule well before the village's first restaurant opens. Most of it is run by the city and the Mission Viejo Activities Committee at two addresses a short drive apart, plus the mall's Santa set.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 6 – Dec. 24 | Santa Photo Experience | The Shops at Mission Viejo | Santa's full season at the mall |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 8:30 a.m. | Veterans Day ceremony | Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way | Speakers, music, Marine Color Guard, rifle salute, outdoor reception |
| Sat., Nov. 21, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | 55th annual Gifts & Goodies Holiday Boutique | Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center | More than 80 crafters, free admission |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Santa's Arrival & Lighting Ceremony | Civic Center Plaza, 200 Civic Center Drive | Crafts, games, petting zoo, entertainment; Santa arrives by fire engine and the holiday lights go on at 6 p.m. |
| Nov. 29 – Dec. 20 | Letters to Santa | Santa's Village, Civic Center Plaza | Drop-off for children's letters |
| Wed., Sat. and Sun., Dec. 2 – 20, 6 – 8 p.m. | Santa's Workshop | Santa's Village, Civic Center Plaza | Evening visits on three nights a week |
| Dec. 5–6 and 12–13, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Nordstrom Santa sessions | Nordstrom, The Shops at Mission Viejo | Free for Nordstrom cardmembers with two digital downloads; $40 for non-cardmembers |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 5 – 8:30 p.m. | Light the Lake | Lake Mission Viejo | Holiday music, family activities, annual boat parade |
| Wed., Dec. 16 | North Italia opens | 555 The Shops at Mission Viejo, Suite 1100 | First tenant in the new village |
The Gifts & Goodies boutique stands out in that list. It is on its 55th year at the same community center, and the village is still waiting on its first restaurant. Mall Santa starts Nov. 6, more than three weeks before Santa's fire-engine arrival at Civic Center Plaza, so a mall photo and a Civic Center visit don't have to fall on the same weekend.
Saturday, Dec. 5, Is the Busiest Day of the Season
One Saturday collects more of the calendar than any other day. On Dec. 5, three Santa-related events and the lake's biggest night of the year all fall between late morning and evening.
- 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nordstrom's first Santa session runs inside the mall, and Simon's Santa Photo Experience is also open that day.
- 5 to 8:30 p.m. Light the Lake brings holiday music, family activities and the annual boat parade to Lake Mission Viejo.
- 6 to 8 p.m. Santa's Workshop opens its first Saturday night at Santa's Village in Civic Center Plaza.
Light the Lake comes with an access detail. The Lake Mission Viejo Association describes the lake as a private homeowners association. Guests must be hosted by a member, and members must arrive before their guests. For anyone without a member to go with, the Civic Center Plaza workshop and the mall's Santa sets are open that evening.
The next weekend, Dec. 12–13, brings back Nordstrom's sessions without the lake event. It's the quieter choice for families who want the Nordstrom photo without the Dec. 5 crowds.
The Rest of the Village Arrives in Early 2027
The season ends Dec. 24, when mall Santa's run finishes, and North Italia will be the only part of the village that is open. Gus's BBQ, Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar and Blue Bottle Coffee are set for early 2027, according to the Simon spokesperson quoted in the Register. North Italia opens Dec. 16, eight days before Christmas, and the other tenants follow in the first months of the new year.
For this holiday season, the reliable addresses are 24932 Veterans Way on Nov. 11 and Nov. 21, 200 Civic Center Drive from Nov. 29 through Dec. 20, and the mall's Santa sets from Nov. 6 through Dec. 24. North Italia's first dinners on Dec. 16 are the new village's only part of the 2026 holidays.
The McGuire Team follows openings like the Mission Viejo village the same way we follow the market, by tracking dates, addresses and what changes from one season to the next. If you'd like to talk about what the mall's next phase could mean for nearby streets, or about timing a move around the 2027 calendar, Contact Us.
