Centro & Storico, which has a Tustin location, opened a second location at 208 E. Chapman Avenue, in a building on the Orange Plaza.
That kind of opening is not unusual this year. It is the pattern.
Walk the four blocks around the Circle right now, in the quiet that follows Labor Day weekend, and you can count the businesses that opened in 2026 on two hands. What is worth noticing is not the count. It is who showed up and what they bring to the neighborhood.
The Businesses in the Old Buildings
Centro & Storico's Orange location serves breakfast, lunch and dinner out of the same building. The panini are built on focaccia baked in house, and the wine and beer list runs through Pozzuoli Family Winery, the family label behind the restaurant itself.
A block over on N. Olive Street, Bluestone Lane opened its first Orange County location inside a weathered corrugated tin building. The Australian-style café brand has locations across the country.
Right on the Circle itself, Paradis Ice Cream opened at 30 Plaza Square, a Danish-inspired shop that churns its ice cream on site rather than trucking it in. Two blocks north on N. Orange Street, Culinary Dropout took a larger footprint, combining lunch, dinner, weekend brunch and a happy hour.
And on Glassell, Oak & Poppy opened its first Orange County studio and third location overall, run by a team that has worked together for more than two decades and has pierced clients recognizable enough that the shop's opening made it into regional coverage. A handcrafted hat shop, Garrahan Hat Company, is coming to Old Towne, according to Old Towne's own community site.
| Business | Address | Location detail |
|---|---|---|
| Centro & Storico Café | 208 E. Chapman Ave | Second location after its Tustin original |
| Bluestone Lane | 114 N. Olive St | Their first Orange County spot, inside an aging tin-clad building |
| Paradis Ice Cream | 30 Plaza Square | Ice cream churned on site |
| Culinary Dropout | 191 N. Orange St | A full bar and brunch build-out in a historic block |
| Oak & Poppy | Old Towne Plaza district | First OC location and third overall for a 20-year team |
These are restaurants and shops in existing storefronts around the Circle, giving the Plaza a varied mix.
How the Old Buildings Shape the Storefronts
Old Towne Orange holds the largest Nationally Registered Historic District in California, a designation the city itself points to as the defining fact of the neighborhood. That status comes with real constraints on what can go into these storefronts and how. A building with tin siding from a century ago cannot be gutted and reconfigured the way a strip mall unit can. A restaurant that wants a drive-thru lane is not going to find one on Chapman Avenue.
The building stock shapes the storefronts available to businesses: smaller footprints, foot traffic and a building's existing character. Those features are part of the setting for 2026's new arrivals.
The Saturday That Doesn't Move
While storefronts change hands, one fixture on the calendar has not budged in fifteen years. The Orange Home Grown Farmers and Artisans Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of Cypress and Palm, on land Chapman University donates for the purpose. The market started as a backyard conversation between two friends in 2009, spent two years working through the paperwork to become a nonprofit, and now marks its 15th year running the Saturday market in 2026.
That kind of stability matters more than any single new restaurant. It is the one weekly constant that residents can plan around regardless of what is happening two blocks away on Glassell, and it is a useful reminder that Old Towne's identity was never only about what opens. It is also about what simply keeps showing up.
What Closes the Circle This Fall
The three-day rush of Labor Day weekend, when the Orange International Street Fair took over Chapman and Glassell for its 53rd year under the theme "Circle the World," is over. What is left on the calendar is smaller in scale but still worth building a Saturday or a Thursday around.
Two dates are locked in:
- Treats in the Streets, Thursday, October 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. The city has approved a full Plaza closure from 1 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. that day, with Chapman Avenue closed from Lemon Street to Grand Street and Glassell Street closed from Almond Avenue to Maple Avenue. Permit parking restrictions in the surrounding blocks are suspended for the day, which is worth knowing if you or a guest is planning to park nearby that afternoon.
- The Christmas Market and Tree Lighting, Sunday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the tree lighting and Christmas program running from 5:15 to 7 p.m.
Both events are produced by Orange Plaza Traditions, the organization that took over production of the Street Fair, Treats in the Streets and the Christmas Market this year. Everything else on the calendar, including whether Garrahan Hat Company has its doors open by the holidays, will happen in the space between those two anchor dates.
The Circle's Real News This Year
The story of Old Towne Orange in 2026 is not that a lot of things opened. Plenty of Orange County business districts can say the same. It is that this year's arrivals include restaurants and shops in the district's historic storefronts. That is a signal about where the neighborhood's identity is heading, and it shows up in the tenant mix a full season before it shows up anywhere else.
The next storefront to open on Glassell or Chapman will tell you the same thing the last five did. Watch how it uses the building.
Arbor Real Estate keeps an eye on shifts like these because they say as much about a neighborhood's direction as any single sale does. If you want to talk about what is changing around the Orange Plaza, or anywhere else in Coastal Orange County, Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
