East Long Beach is trading pharmacy aisles for fast-casual lines, as four chains move into a newly built restaurant block at Seventh Street and Bellflower Boulevard. California Fish Grill, The Melt, Luna Grill, and Urbane Café are taking over a smaller retail building that replaced a former CVS inside Bixby Village Plaza near California State University, Long Beach. Construction on the structure is complete, and the incoming restaurants are now focused on interior build-outs as they get ready to open.
New storefronts take shape
According to the Long Beach Post, Westar Associates has wrapped up work on the new building and tenant crews are now handling the interior finishes ahead of their debuts. The Post identifies California Fish Grill, The Melt, Luna Grill and Urbane Café as the signed tenants, noting that the additions are expected to plug fresh lunch and dinner choices into the plaza's already busy food corridor.
Developer's redesign
Westar Associates, the Newport Beach firm that owns Bixby Village Plaza, has described the redevelopment as a way to turn the former CVS site into smaller, more community friendly shop spaces. In a 2023 release, Westar Associates stated that the old CVS would be demolished and replaced with four smaller retail units, with demolition scheduled to occur before construction that kicked off in 2024. Later leasing updates from the firm confirmed the tenant lineup that is now under build-out.
What they'll serve
The Melt is bringing its signature lineup of grilled cheese sandwiches, MeltBurgers and milkshakes, and the new spot will be the chain's first Long Beach location, per The Melt. Luna Grill will add Mediterranean bowls, kabobs and salads to the mix, while California Fish Grill will focus on responsibly sourced seafood and customizable plates, according to Luna Grill and California Fish Grill. Urbane Café, which already operates elsewhere in the city, emphasizes made to order salads, bowls and sandwiches, per Urbane Café.
Where it fits in the neighborhood
The plaza's official directory lists Bixby Village Plaza at 5760 E. 7th Street, anchored by a Target and several existing restaurants. That lineup, combined with the center's close proximity to California State University, Long Beach and the nearby Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center, is expected to support steady daytime traffic for the incoming concepts. The overhaul swaps out a vacant big box footprint in favor of smaller spaces tailored to quick serve and fast casual operators.
Opening timeline
As reported by the Long Beach Post, the restaurants are slated to roll out "later this summer and into the fall" as each tenant completes its interior work. For now, signage is in place and early equipment installation is visible, with specific grand opening dates expected to be announced by the chains in the coming months.
