Nick & G's Is Dark Until November. Rancho Santa Fe Village's Newest Tables Are in Its Oldest Buildings.

Nick & G's planned to close in mid-October for a full renovation and menu overhaul, with a reopening set for November. Most Village restaurant news from the past year follows the same pattern. A resident takes over a historic room, keeps its walls and changes the menu. Paseo moved into the Village's first schoolhouse. Rancho Sandwich and Creamery opened in a spare conference room of a bank building under the clock tower. Nick & G's sits in a 1920s house built for one of Rancho Santa Fe's earliest families, and it is now getting its biggest change in nearly a decade.

The pause is a good moment to look at how the Village's restaurant map has filled in, and at what the old buildings have to do with it.

The Corner of Paseo Delicias and La Granada

The Nick & G's building at 6106 Paseo Delicias is a Lilian Rice design from the 1920s. It was first home to the Millar family, one of the earliest Rancho Santa Fe families, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in late September. It housed Delicias restaurant for 24 years and was briefly Ponsaty's. Then local resident Sandra DiCicco-Bonar of the Grand Restaurant Group opened Nick & G's there in 2017 and named it after her children, Nicolas and Gianina.

Gianina Pickens, the "G," is now chief operating officer of the Grand Restaurant Group. She told the Union-Tribune the goal was to "honor what our guests have always loved about Nick & G's while creating something fresh for the next chapter." Chef and partner Alex Carballo has joined Pickens on the renovation. His résumé spans 20 years in San Diego kitchens, including Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, Fox Point Farms and the opening of The Crosby Club.

The new interior, developed with Rachael Lorraine Harris and Michael Soriano, takes its cues from the Amalfi Coast, with yellows, oranges and blues and nature-inspired patterns. Plans call for:

• A large olive tree at the center of the dining room, ringed by new custom banquettes and tables
• A new wine cellar that looks through to a lighter bar and lounge, plus a view into the kitchen
• A patio planted with greenery under a wave-shaped shade canopy
• A garden-style back courtyard with water features

The menu is getting smaller and more focused, built around coastal Italian-Americana dishes, handmade pasta, seafood and local produce. Some current favorites will stay.

"You should feel like you're taken away someplace else. In Rancho Santa Fe you already get that amongst the trees and beautiful Spanish architecture… to enter the restaurant you will see and feel the difference, feel the warmth and nature."

Alex Carballo, speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune

The restaurant hasn't announced a reopening date beyond November. It says updates will be posted at nickandgs.com and on its Instagram, @nickandgs.

A Schoolhouse, Then a Bistro, Now Paseo

Paseo is a few doors down at 6024 Paseo Delicias. Its building carries a plaque marking local landmark status. It was the first Rancho Santa Fe School, and its first graduation, in 1924, had one student.

Jennifer Fields, a local resident who moved to Rancho Santa Fe in 2019, was a regular at the Rancho Santa Fe Bistro. Its owner, Mozy Jahanguiri, had run the space for 12 years, and before that it was the Pantry. He learned that Fields had 24 years in hospitality, including a decade at the Bellagio, and asked whether she would take over when he retired. She became the owner on Nov. 1, 2025, according to the Union-Tribune's December report.

The renovation shows how this kind of handoff tends to go. Fields put more than $800,000 into the interior. The brick and exposed wood beams stayed. The Bistro's wine racks and cabinetry came out to make room for more tables. Roxy Najafian of Plantology, a Rancho Santa Fe business, redid the patio landscaping using the historic pots already on site. The restaurant's own site now describes a seasonal California menu with a sushi and omakase bar.

Fields didn't stop at one room. Paseo Pizza & Gelato, also hers, opened next door in Unit D and held grand-opening events Sept. 25 and 26. It serves 18 signature pies, build-your-own pizzas, rotating gelato and craft beer brewed in-house. One operator now runs two neighboring storefronts in a single historic address. With Nick & G's closed, that block is where the Village's dinner crowd is most likely to end up.

A Bank Conference Room Under the Clock Tower

The newest daytime option took the longest to open. Rancho Sandwich and Creamery is at 6110 El Tordo, in the building at the corner of El Tordo and La Granada under the clock tower. When it opened, a new pharmacy was under construction across the street.

Owner Chris Miller, a Rancho Santa Fe resident, owns the building and runs a private investment firm. The shop took over a conference room in the corner of his bank building that wasn't getting much use. He had no restaurant experience. He told the Union-Tribune that getting permits from six county and state entities took a year, and the work included a new plumbing system. He said owning the building helped significantly.

That year of permitting helps explain why each of the past year's openings came from someone already tied to the property. Paseo went to a regular who was asked to take over. The sandwich shop went into a room its owner already controlled. Nick & G's is being redesigned by the family group that has run it since 2017.

At Rancho Sandwich and Creamery, more than 100 people a day came through within the first week of its soft opening, with no marketing beyond a sign and balloons. The sandwiches use Boar's Head meats and O'Brien's bread, and several are named for Miller's five daughters. The early best seller was the East County Native, a French roll with OvenGold turkey, provolone, bacon and avocado. The pineapple Dole Whip soft serve sold out every couple of days. Murals by Carmel Valley's Hanna's Murals include one that reads "Ice cream fixes everything."

Where the Village Eats Until November

Hours change as new places settle in, so it's worth checking each restaurant's own channels before heading over. Rancho Sandwich and Creamery takes online orders through its Square site.

The Rooms That Haven't Changed Hands

Some Village dining rooms have stayed in the same hands. Mille Fleurs celebrated its 40th anniversary in January 2025 with owner Bertrand Hug and executive chef Harrison Axelrod. The Union-Tribune's anniversary profile described a seasonal menu that still includes escargots, lobster bisque, duck confit, black cod and rack of lamb.

The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe runs Lilian's, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a European-style café offering espresso and pastries. Thyme in the Ranch, Caffe Positano and Rancho Roasters round out the list Carballo gave when describing the Village's current choices.

Carballo says he welcomes the added competition. "I like the energy when there's more…it gives people a little more variety and a reason to go into Rancho Santa Fe, and we're in the heart of it," he told the Union-Tribune.

Saturday Night at La Flecha House

The Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society's Fandango Street Party takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, at La Flecha House. Details as reported by the Union-Tribune:

1. When: Saturday, Oct. 24, 5 to 8 p.m.
2. Where: La Flecha House, 6036 La Flecha
3. Food and drink: A full taco bar, margaritas, wine and beer
4. Music: Harmony Grove Band
5. Tickets: $35 for members, $45 for non-members, $20 for children 12 and under, $50 at the door

Advance tickets are available on the Historical Society's Fandango page. The next morning, Oct. 25, the Village Church hosts a free family Trunk-or-Treat from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in its playground parking lot at 6225 Paseo Delicias.

Our team at Polly Rogers & Associates has watched Village buildings like these pass from one steward to the next for more than four decades, and we follow each change closely. If you own property in the Covenant and want to understand how Village activity like this fits into your own plans, we'd welcome the conversation. Request a Complimentary Market Consultation.