The Marketplace Has a Demolition Plan. San Ramon's New Lunch Spots Moved In Anyway.

Erik's DeliCafe brought the potbelly stove when it moved. The historic local photos came too, along with the Secret Goo, the clover sprouts and the dill pickle on the side. After 37 years at 2551 San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Suite 115, the deli reopened in early September at 159 Market Place.

Its new home is The Marketplace Shopping Center. In April, a state appeals court upheld the city's approval of a plan to demolish more than 50,000 square feet of that center's commercial space and build 40 detached condo homes plus four accessory dwelling units.

Erik's is the most recent of several 2026 openings at the center. In San Ramon this year, new everyday food has mostly landed at The Marketplace. City Center Bishop Ranch, half a mile of planning away, has filled up with the prix-fixe menus, the jazz club and the holiday ice rink.

Five addresses along Market Place

If you haven't parked at The Marketplace lately, here's what has opened since the end of last year, listed by street number:

• 159 Market Place: Erik's DeliCafe. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and until 7 p.m. on Sundays. Nosh reported the temporary closure and reopening in its September 8 openings roundup.
• 164 Market Place: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. In December 2025 it still had a "coming soon" sign. Its location page now says "Now Open" and lists daily hours.
• 188 Market Place: Oke Poke. It soft-launched in July and held a grand opening on Saturday, August 1, at 11 a.m.
• 280 Market Place: El Califas Tacos. Its own San Ramon page says the soft opening is live.
• 400 Market Place: Andaman Thai. It took over the former Firehouse 37 site and takes pickup orders at this address.

That's five food businesses with five different cuisines, and none of them is a sit-down destination. They're the places you go between the bank and the library, which share the center's older side with Chase.

The ruling that cleared the plan

The redevelopment has been in the works for six years. The project first came to the city as a concept review application in 2020, and the San Ramon Planning Commission approved the project in February 2023. A neighborhood group, Citizens Against Market Place Apartment Development, or CAMPAD, sued. The group argued the project should have had a master plan, didn't fit the city's mixed-use designation, and wasn't exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

Contra Costa County Superior Court ruled for the city and the developers in 2024. The First Appellate District heard the appeal on April 23, 2026, in San Francisco and upheld that ruling. It called the master plan language in city policy "amorphous and aspirational," and it confirmed the respondents could recover most of their legal fees. The Planning Commission had already voted on December 16, 2025, to extend the project's vesting tentative map while the appeal was pending.

As of the end of September, nobody has announced when demolition or construction will start. The city's project page describes the approved scope as removing about 55,636 square feet of commercial space at 130 Market Place. The ruling settles what's allowed. It doesn't say when anything happens.

That gap in timing explains this summer. The legal question is settled, but no work has started, so the storefronts are open and new tenants keep signing.

What Erik's said about the move

Erik's CEO Brian Johnson is the son of founder Erik Johnson. He explained the move this way, as reported by The East Bay Times:

The Erik's group and the local franchisee decided that this space would provide "the best opportunity to remain in San Ramon for many years to come."

A chain with 29 locations from the Monterey Peninsula to Sacramento County picked this center for its long-term San Ramon location. The coverage doesn't say where 159 Market Place falls relative to the approved demolition footprint, and Erik's hasn't commented on the redevelopment. What's on the record is the decision itself, plus a co-owner, Jorge Gutierrez, whom the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce profiled in its 2024 community guide.

Last winter, CAMPAD pointed to the same kind of activity as reason for hope. Its December update mentioned reroofing on the older side of the center, "coming soon" signs including L&L, Andaman Thai in the old Firehouse 37 space, and a new taqueria. The update didn't name the taqueria, so it can't be confirmed as El Califas. Those signs have since turned into open restaurants.

Meanwhile at City Center

Bishop Ranch has spent 2026 building something else. Sunset Development's 585-acre district holds about one million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. President Alex Mehran Jr. has described the goal as a "10-minute lifestyle," according to The Mercury News.

City Center's additions this year show who it's built for. Meyhouse, a Turkish restaurant with a jazz club and the brand's first East Bay location, soft-opened on April 30. Rico Rico Taco, an Oakland taquería serving Mexico City-inspired street food, opened in late July in Suite 1207 next to West Elm and Fieldwork Brewing Co. Alora Social opened in mid-September. It comes from the team behind Alora, a coastal Mediterranean restaurant in San Francisco. Lil Sweet Treat is in Suite 1108.

The "Taste of City Center" restaurant week ran September 18 to 27 with more than a dozen participants. Meyhouse served a $60 three-course prix-fixe dinner, Bamboo Sushi offered a $60 four-course menu with cocktails, and the week ended with September Sips, a tasting of Livermore Valley wines.

City Center has had closures too. LB Steak closed there on June 22 after more than five years, and no replacement tenant has been announced. Dos Coyotes closed its last Bay Area restaurant, at 3191 Crow Canyon Place, on Thursday, September 24. In a goodbye post, the restaurant said, "It has been a privilege to serve this community."

The two centers do different jobs. In its December update, CAMPAD described City Center as weighted toward boutiques, recreation and fine dining, while The Marketplace has historically handled practical errands. The center has lost businesses such as Nob Hill Foods over the years. The 2026 openings fit that split. Turkish meze and live jazz went to Bollinger Canyon Road, and turkey-avocado sandwiches and plate lunches went to Market Place.

The October calendar at City Center and nearby

City Center is where most of this fall's dated events are happening:

1. Through October 4: Fieldwork's Oktoberfest at City Center, with festbier, German-inspired food, live music and a closing-day program of music and games.
2. October 15, 5 to 9 p.m.: The last 3rd Thursday Arts & Eats of the May-to-October season, outside Dougherty Station Community Arts Center.
3. October 24 and 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Forest Home Farms hosts Trick or Treat on the Farm, then Pumpkins, Gourds & Squash. Both are free Saturday "Fun on the Farm" events.
4. October 25, 2 to 3 p.m.: City Center's free Howl-O-Ween pet costume parade in Alexander Square, with treats and an obstacle course.
5. November 6, 6 to 7 p.m.: The Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Ice Rink opening ceremony, with Yamaguchi attending.

None of these events is at The Marketplace. The center has no calendar. It has a deli with a potbelly stove, a poke counter that opened in August, and a court ruling that hasn't come with a construction date yet.

Some things are still unknown. Exact opening days for L&L, El Califas and Alora Social haven't been published. No tenant has been announced for the former LB Steak or Dos Coyotes spaces, and nobody has reported what will take over Erik's old suite on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. The Marketplace will only start to change when construction begins, and as of today no start date has been set.

If you own a home near The Marketplace or Bishop Ranch, you may be wondering what an approved redevelopment that hasn't started means for your street. That depends on your specific property. McGuire Olson Real Estate follows San Ramon's projects one block at a time, from the Market Place ruling to the City Center tenant changes, and we're glad to walk through what's planned near you. Request a complimentary market consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.