For about 40 years, 640 Grand Avenue was an Irish pub. First it was Dooley McCluskey's, then O'Sullivan's. Since July 2 the same address has been Carlsbad Village Books, with Marla's Coffee sharing the space. The shelves hold new and used books, gifts, board games and crafts, and the store is open seven days a week.
The Carlsbad Village Association said the changeover took half a year of cleaning, painting, designing and stocking before opening day.
Between May and July, the Village also gained a neighborhood grocery store and a board-game cafe. All three sell the kind of thing you'd use on an ordinary Tuesday. Meanwhile the busiest corner downtown may become seven condos. Put together, 2026 is the year the Village added the most for the people who already live within walking distance.
A grocery store on Roosevelt Street
Barons Market opened at 2800 Roosevelt Street early this summer. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a soft opening on June 25 was set aside for neighbors, and the doors opened to everyone at the end of the month. It's the Poway-based, family-owned chain's first Carlsbad store and its 10th overall: six in San Diego County, four in Riverside County. Barons was founded in 1993.
The leasing company's own wording explains why this one matters. In a news release quoted by the Union-Tribune, Urban Property Group said the store strengthens Carlsbad Village's "daily-needs retail core" and is part of an ongoing revitalization plan for the neighborhood. "Daily needs" means the weekly shop, the hot soup on the way home, the forgotten ingredient.
Barons put it the same way. Senior vice president Rachel Shemirani told the Union-Tribune that residents want a neighborhood grocery store, and that the company had "wanted to open a store in this area for years." The store has a shaded patio landscaped with succulents, which Urban Property Group described as "designed as a gathering place."
So for blocks near Roosevelt, a quick grocery run no longer has to start with the car. And Roosevelt is in line for more attention. The city's Village lighting project, still in design, proposes pedestrian and tree-light upgrades on Roosevelt Street from Carlsbad Village Drive to Beech. It also covers State Street from Oak to Beech, Madison Street from Oak to Grand, and Washington Street from Carlsbad Village Drive to Oak. The City of Carlsbad says construction could begin as soon as late 2026.
Saturday night, with dice
After dark, the newest option is The Boarding Home, a board-game cafe and game store at Village Faire, 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Suite 103. Co-founders Matthew Young, Evelyn Avanesian and Anthony Boyajian held their grand opening on Saturday, May 23. A ribbon-cutting the day before drew Councilmembers Melanie Burkholder and Kevin Shin, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, and staff from the offices of state Sen. Catherine Blakespear and U.S. Rep. Mike Levin.
The cafe sells local pastries, tea and coffee, and a wall of games lets you try something new without buying a box first. Boyajian told The Coast News the goal was to "bring together a community around gaming, elevate the experience and overall lower the barrier to entry to play."
The local reaction in that same Coast News story fits the year's pattern. A nearby resident told The Coast News that weekend options for creative activities outside bars are hard to find.
Burkholder told the paper that "a lot of people want to come here to live, work and play, but we don't have a lot of good clean fun options." Both comments come from people with a stake in the town, and both talk about the Village as a place to live.
Board games also show up a few blocks away on the shelves at Carlsbad Village Books. Within a couple of months, two different businesses decided that an evening at the table was worth stocking for.
The corner still waiting on a decision
The same pull toward residents is playing out at the most visible corner in the Village. The northwest corner of State Street and Carlsbad Village Drive holds the Crackheads and Choice Juicery shipping containers. They sit in a plaza with plank decks, artificial turf and outdoor seating at what the Union-Tribune calls one of the busiest intersections downtown.
A proposal called Carlsbad Village Square would replace the containers with a four-story mixed-use building. Here's where it stands, according to the Union-Tribune's August 7 report:
- The site: 0.17 acres. In 2018 the City Council denied an earlier plan for five condos, citing incompatibility with the surrounding one- and two-story buildings.
- The revised plan: submitted in March 2025, with seven condos and ground-floor retail. One condo would be deed-restricted for a low-income household.
- Parking: the site is within a half mile of the Carlsbad Village Coaster Station, so state law allows all parking to be waived. The applicant still plans nine resident spaces, eight of them in four garages with hydraulic lifts that stack one car over another.
- The vote so far: the Planning Commission recommended approval 6–1. Commissioner Kiley Fitzgerald voted no, citing the lack of parking for people with disabilities.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade. Some residents told the commission it would hurt the Village's "quaint atmosphere," while other commissioners said current state housing law leaves the city little choice.
On September 26, FOX 5 San Diego reported the project was headed to the City Council. As of the Council's October 6 meeting, it hadn't appeared on an agenda. For now, the containers are still serving.
If the Council approves it, seven households would live above a ground-floor shop at State and Carlsbad Village Drive, a short walk from Barons, the bookstore and the Coaster.
Getting there is changing too
More errands mean more short trips, and the city has been adding curb space. On October 9 the City of Carlsbad said 11 parking spaces had recently been added on State Street, Oak Avenue and streets near the beach. Sixteen more are planned starting in spring 2027, including on Grand Avenue between the Tyler Street alley and Jefferson Street. That stretch of Grand leads toward the new bookstore at 640 Grand.
The fall calendar runs through Village Faire
The same courtyard where The Boarding Home opened hosts much of the season. Here's what's on the calendar from now through mid-December:
- New Village Arts, As You Like It: October 16 through November 29 at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center, 2787 State Street. Opening night is October 24.
- Halloween in the Village: Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trick-or-treating runs across the Village, with activities at the Boys & Girls Clubs and a costume contest at Village Faire.
- Small Business Saturday: November 28, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Carlsbad Village Association is planning gift-card drawings and a scavenger hunt at Village Faire, 300 Carlsbad Village Drive.
- 41st Annual Rotary Holiday Tree Lighting: December 6, 2 to 4:30 p.m., at the Village Faire entrance.
- Tis the Season Holiday Open House: December 12, noon to 3 p.m., listed by Village Faire.
This will be the first holiday season for all three of this year's newcomers. The Small Business Saturday drawings take place in the same center as The Boarding Home, and Carlsbad Village Books and Barons are short walks away on Grand and Roosevelt.
If you own near Grand, Roosevelt or State and want to talk through what a new grocery around the corner, or a possible four-story building at State and Carlsbad Village Drive, means for your block, Travis Chatwin at Beach and Sun Homes is happy to sit down with you. Schedule a Call.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
