On Saturday, October 10, a Grunion Gazette columnist had lunch in the old Tocaya space at 2nd & PCH and ordered a rib eye spring roll, crispy duck with garlic noodles, and coconut shrimp rolls with avocado. She wrote about it in the Press-Telegram's Business Beat column. Her account says the service was quick, the servers knew the menu, and each roll came with its own sauce.
That restaurant is Brodard, and it has been open since October 1. It also fits a pattern. Look at the new food businesses that opened or signed leases between the Los Cerritos Channel and Belmont Shore this year, and almost all of them got their start somewhere else. Several came from Orange County. They are moving into storefronts that other businesses left. The one real newcomer in the group isn't new to Long Beach at all.
Brodard came from Little Saigon with 30 years behind it
Brodard dates to 1996, when Diane Dang started it with her daughters. Today it's based in Fountain Valley, and Longbeachize describes it as one of Little Saigon's longest-running culinary landmarks. The dish it's known for is nem nuong cuon, a rice-paper roll filled with fresh herbs, vegetables, a sheet of crisp egg-roll skin, and a grilled pork patty. The Fountain Valley kitchen makes thousands of them a day. Bill Addison, the Los Angeles Times food critic, put Brodard on the paper's list of the best restaurants in California.
The Long Beach location goes by "Brodard by the Shore." It's at 6480 E. Pacific Coast Highway, No. 100, and its announced hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. According to Longbeachize, it joins a short list of traditional Vietnamese restaurants in the city that includes Sesame Dinette and Pickle Banh Mi. The rolls there follow the original recipe, with a crisp fried wrapper tucked in beside the herbs and the protein. The drink menu adds things the original isn't known for, like a red dragon fruit cocktail made with sake.
2nd & PCH had already started down this path in August
Brodard is the second business this year to open at 2nd & PCH after first building a following somewhere else. Pura Vida Miami opened August 20 at 6460 Pacific Coast Highway, No. 125, in the former Noble Rotisserie space on the side of the center that faces Marina Drive. Omer and Jennifer Horev started the wellness cafe in Miami. This is their fourth California location, after Malibu, Beverly Hills, and a Costa Mesa cafe that opened earlier this year.
The same thing happened on 2nd Street back in March. Anna's Pizza Joint opened on March 5 at 5351 E. 2nd St. Its owners also run Anna's Joint in downtown Long Beach. The shop sits right next to Domenico's, which Longbeachize calls the city's oldest pizzeria, and it's one of the few places in the area that sells pizza by the slice. That one's a Long Beach operator opening a second location. It still fits the pattern, since the owners proved the concept before signing the lease.
The empty coffee counters are getting new tenants
The coffee spaces show the pattern most clearly. Two Starbucks locations and a local cafe closed, and three different coffee businesses have announced plans for those spaces. Here is where each new arrival stands in mid-October 2026, along with the spaces Brodard, Pura Vida, and Sugar 'N Spice took over:
| Address | Previous tenant | Incoming business | Where it comes from | Status, mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6480 E. PCH, No. 100 | Tocaya | Brodard by the Shore | Fountain Valley | Open since Oct. 1 |
| 6460 PCH, No. 125 | Noble Rotisserie | Pura Vida Miami | Miami, with California cafes in Malibu, Beverly Hills, Costa Mesa | Open since Aug. 20 |
| 6324 E. PCH, Suite B, Marina Pacifica | Starbucks | IYKYK! Coffee Lab | Orange County, including Huntington Beach | No opening date announced |
| 6200 PCH, Suite B, at Loynes Drive | Local Spot | Alfred Coffee | Los Angeles chain with 20-plus locations | No opening date announced |
| 2221 Palo Verde Ave. | Starbucks | Our Spot Coffee & Goods | Long Beach pop-up | No opening date announced |
| 5269 E. 2nd St. | European Wax Center | Sugar 'N Spice | Balboa Island | Owners plan the first week of December |
IYKYK! Coffee Lab is the clearest Orange County arrival on the coffee side. Its Huntington Beach shop mixes music, art, and coffee. Longbeachize quoted Bobby Hernandez, the former owner of Recreational Coffee, praising the shop as "Family-owned. Love the owners," and saying one of its baristas made him "one of the best espressos I've had in a minute." Alfred Coffee is moving into the former Local Spot on the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Loynes Drive. It will be the chain's first Long Beach shop.
Our Spot proved itself in Long Beach
Our Spot Coffee & Goods is the one business on the list without a flagship somewhere else. It built its following in Long Beach instead. Chris and Ali McColl spent about three years running the pop-up as a series of residencies at Noble Rotisserie, Liv's, Wine on 2nd, and most recently Let's Yolk About It. Their first permanent shop will be at 2221 Palo Verde Ave., in another Starbucks that has closed.
Our Spot's first residency was at Noble Rotisserie, the same 2nd & PCH space where Pura Vida Miami now serves customers. So Our Spot followed the same path as Brodard and Pura Vida. It built a following first and signed a lease later. The only difference is that its track record came from local storefronts.
December on 2nd Street
The next Orange County arrival has a target date. Sugar 'N Spice, the Balboa Island frozen-banana shop, is coming to 5269 E. 2nd St. in the former European Wax Center. According to the Press-Telegram, the Alovis family put the business and its property up for sale in early 2024, and the deal closed later that year. The new owners, married couple Khe Lam and Mysa Tran, kept the menu and planned to expand.
Tran told the Press-Telegram that they plan to open the first week of December. She also explained why they chose the Shore. "Belmont Shore has the same classic vibe as Balboa," she said. "We like the party city energy of Second Street." The same article reports that groups of up to 50 family members sometimes drive to the Balboa shop together, and that the business now caters weddings and birthday parties.
They picked that opening week because of two December events:
- Saturday, December 5, 6 to 9 p.m. This is the 42nd annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade on 2nd Street. The Belmont Shore Business Association says the parade has about 100 entries and more than a dozen local marching bands, and organizers are asking spectators to wear lights, from glowing necklaces to light-up sweaters.
- Saturday, December 12. The Naples Boat Parade is the following weekend, according to the Press-Telegram.
The parade happens every year on the first Saturday in December, and families line 2nd Street to watch. If the owners hit their target, Sugar 'N Spice will open just in time for one of 2nd Street's busiest nights of the year. Brodard will have had about two months to settle in at 2nd & PCH by then.
Between now and parade night, Brodard and Pura Vida Miami are open at 2nd & PCH, and Anna's Pizza Joint is serving slices next to Domenico's. IYKYK, Alfred, and Our Spot still haven't announced opening dates, and those storefronts are worth checking on your next drive down PCH.
If watching these storefronts fill up has you wondering what it would be like to live within walking distance of the parade route, the Key Connections Real Estate team would be glad to help you think it through. We'll talk honestly about which homes near 2nd Street and PCH fit your budget and your plans, with no pressure and in English or Spanish. Book an Appointment whenever you're ready.
