The husband-and-wife team behind Anaheim's Poppy & Seed is expanding into OCVIBE, with plans to open a barbecue stall called Poppy & Park and a breakfast-and-brunch spot called Little Poppy inside the development's planned Katella Commons market hall. Michael and Kwini Reed, who live in La Habra, expect to open both concepts in spring 2027.
The announcement came at a Visit Anaheim Reconnect event on October 29, as reported by the Orange County Register. According to the Register, OCVIBE approached the Reeds about the concepts, and Kwini Reed said the company reached out early, with the couple reconnecting about a couple of months before the announcement. She said the pair had kept the concepts in reserve and that the partnership felt ideal.
Katella Commons is a planned 50,000-square-foot, two-story market hall near Honda Center, according to OCVIBE, which says the hall will feature 21 chef-driven kitchens and six bar and lounge concepts when it opens in early 2027. The Register reports that the Reeds will each run one stall on a different floor of the building, and that the couple chose to expand with two smaller concepts because the stall format made the move more manageable.
What's on the Menu
Poppy & Park is the couple's barbecue concept. The chef has reportedly been experimenting with smoked dishes at Poppy & Seed for two to three years. Little Poppy, meanwhile, will feature popular dishes pulled from the Reeds' Los Angeles restaurant Poppy + Rose, and the station's report notes it will open early to serve office workers and residents, though its exact hours are still being determined.
Roots at Poppy & Seed
Michael Reed is executive chef and co-owner of Poppy & Seed, with Kwini Reed serving as co-owner, according to the restaurant's own team page on poppyandseedoc.com. The site notes that Michael Reed has worked in kitchens in New York and Los Angeles and that Poppy & Seed carries a Michelin Guide recommendation. Poppy & Seed opened at the Anaheim Packing District in March 2021, according to Eater LA, following the couple's earlier restaurant Poppy + Rose, which opened in Los Angeles's Fashion District in 2014.
The restaurant serves seasonal American cooking using ingredients from its own garden, and Michael Reed is a James Beard Best Chef West nominee. Per the Register, Poppy & Seed recently signed another five-year lease in Anaheim, suggesting the OCVIBE stalls will supplement rather than replace the original restaurant.
Inside the Growing OCVIBE District
OCVIBE is a 100-acre mixed-use entertainment district around Honda Center in Anaheim, according to the Register. OCVIBE's first phase is expected to open in early 2027 and includes Katella Commons and a concert hall. Separately, OCVIBE describes itself as the 100-acre mixed-use development transforming the area surrounding Honda Center, with its first phase set to include a public plaza, a concert hall and new offices at The Weave, according to NBC Los Angeles, which reports the full project is expected to be completed in 2033.
OCVIBE describes its culinary partnership model as a turnkey, partnership-driven framework designed to remove many of the financial and operational barriers to restaurant ownership. The Los Angeles Times has reported that Katella Commons is assembling culinary partners from Los Angeles and Orange County, including a Mexitalian concept from husband-and-wife chefs Danielle Duran Zecca and Alessandro Zecca, known for Amiga Amore. The district has also drawn bigger names beyond the market hall: the Orange County Register reported that chef Roy Choi plans to open a second location of his restaurant Best Friend at OCVIBE in fall 2027, marking the first restaurant announced for the district's signature collection outside Katella Commons.
