Several closures headline recent business news in La Jolla, while three new businesses prepare to settle in.
Here’s a look at the latest.
Goodbye Peet’s Coffee, hello Cala La Jolla Cafe
With one coffee shop closing, another is set to take its place.
Peet’s Coffee at 7910 Girard Ave. closed Jan. 30 amid corporate restructuring in which several other locations of the chain also shut down.
A sign at the former location of Peet’s Coffee in La Jolla announces the shop’s closure, which was effective Jan. 30. (Noah Lyons)
Peet’s, whose parent company was acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper in an $18 billion deal in August, had occupied the space in La Jolla’s Arcade Building since 2017.
Replacing Peet’s there is Cala La Jolla Cafe, which is aiming for an April opening, according to La Jolla Realtor Amy de Leon.
De Leon said the new coffee shop is sorting out its menu of coffee, matcha, eats and treats and hopes to have local musicians perform on certain dates. This marks its first brick-and-mortar shop.
For additional updates, visit @calalajolla on Instagram.
Two Rooms gallery closes
Three years after it opened, Two Rooms gallery at 5560 La Jolla Blvd. closed Feb. 21.
Two Rooms opened in January 2023 and hosted its inaugural exhibition, “Stone Soup,” in March that year. The show, featuring nine artists from the San Diego and Tijuana area, was one of 15 projects the gallery hosted.
Two Rooms gallery on the second floor at 5560 La Jolla Blvd. closed Feb. 21. (Roy Porello)
Founder Lizzie Zelter, who characterized the closure as “going on hiatus,” reflected on the store’s tenure, saying in a statement that Two Rooms “became an external framework for me to learn from, operating as a brick-and-mortar alter ego.”
“I used Two Rooms as an excuse to ask strangers in San Diego and Tijuana for studio visits, to give myself something to search for,” Zelter said. “It connected me to special souls whom I otherwise would have never met. It allowed me to get inside artists’ minds and see the world in new ways.”
Red O restaurant on the way out
Red O, a Mexican restaurant that had celebrity chef Rick Bayless as its culinary director when it opened in 2017 across La Jolla Village Drive from the Westfield UTC mall, plans to close Monday, April 20.
According to a required layoff notice the restaurant sent to the state Employment Development Department, it will be letting go its entire staff of 91 employees and permanently closing the restaurant due to the expiration of its lease.
The non-renewal of the lease coincides with plans by Red O’s landlord, the Irvine Co., to redo the western portion of The Plaza campus where the restaurant is located. Construction, which involves tearing down two 1980s-era office buildings to make room for hundreds of apartments, is expected to start this spring. The firm has said construction of the new buildings could take three years to complete.
“We are deeply grateful to the community for its unwavering support and extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated employees, valued investors and trusted vendor partners who have been part of this journey,” said Red O owner and Chief Executive Rick Teasta. “We look forward to continuing to welcome our guests at our other Red O locations” in Newport Beach, Santa Monica and Westlake Village.
Face Foundrié nears opening
An all-inclusive facial bar is set to open its first San Diego location this month at 7855 Girard Ave. in La Jolla.
Face Foundrié, locally owned and operated by Monika Garratt, seeks to make skin care “approachable, efficient and results-driven,” with professional facial, lash, brow and skin services.
Facials will be offered in 40- and 50-minute formats, along with other services including chemical peels, LED light therapy and waxing. Professional skin care products also will be available.
“Face Foundrié embodies the skin care experience I spent years searching for,” Garratt said in a statement. “Bringing this concept to La Jolla felt like a natural fit because it aligns with my personal skin care journey and my belief that professional, results-driven care should be accessible and easy to maintain.”
Ahead of the opening, Face Foundrié will hold a series of pop-up events throughout the La Jolla area. Garratt said she hopes to expand the business to Del Mar, Point Loma and Mission Valley in the future.
For more details, visit @monika.facefoundrie on Instagram.
Planted by Roam grand opening set for March 7
Planted by Roam, a sister company of La Jolla’s Roam Homeware, recently had a soft opening and is set to host a grand-opening event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the store at 945 Pearl St. The festivities will include food, drinks, a DJ and giveaways.
Planted by Roam, a sister company of Roam Homeware, offers plants and planters at the former location of Ogden’s Cleaners at 945 Pearl St. (Noah Lyons)
Planted by Roam offers “a curated collection of globally sourced planters and distinctive plants from around the world,” according to co-owners Elyse Clark and Trevor Longmore, who also own Roam Homeware.
Their goal is to combine thoughtful design with elevated landscape services, they said.
Planted by Roam replaces Ogden’s Cleaners, which closed in 2024.
To learn more about the new store, visit @plantedbyroam on Instagram. Its website, plantedbyroam.com, is expected to launch soon.
Dora Ristorante offers menu inspired by ‘The Recipe’
As part of its culinary relationship with La Jolla Playhouse, the nearby Dora Ristorante is serving a three-course pre-theater dinner menu that playhouse ticket-holders can book before an evening show.
Dora is offering a menu inspired by the playhouse’s “The Recipe,” a play about famed TV chef and cookbook author Julia Child. The production continues through Sunday, March 29.
The meal is designed to be served and eaten in 80 to 90 minutes before making the walk across Theatre District Drive to the playhouse.
Chef Accursio Lota studied Child’s cookbooks and landed on four appetizers, four entrees and three desserts.
Among “The Recipe” menu options are vichyssoise, inspired by Child’s potato-leek soup; insalata nizzarda vegetariana (an Italian twist on Child’s Nicoise salad made with green beans, white anchovies, cherry tomatoes and egg); classic coq au vin; a gelato twist on Child’s crepes suzette; and for an extra charge at market price, her classic Beef Bourgignon, a short rib in Chianti wine sauce with winter vegetable stew.
The prix-fixe three-course menu is priced at $65, with optional add-ons plus beverages. A two-glass wine flight also is available for $27. For reservations, visit doralajolla.com/pretheater.
— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Pam Kragen contributed to this report.
La Jolla Business Roundup is published monthly by the La Jolla Light. Send your business news to staff writer Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com. ♦