Almost every new place in Palm Springs this fall is opening in a space someone else left. A Sardinian family restaurant took over Mario's on Sunrise Way. A micro-bakery is moving into the storefront Over the Rainbow Desserts held for 16 years. A San Diego brunch chain is getting the former Impala ready on South Palm Canyon. A taco-and-sushi spot from Coachella is moving into an old IHOP, and a coffee chain is converting a former KFC.
Most of this season's dining news is about old addresses getting new names, and following it address by address shows which rooms have changed hands and which are still in between.
The succession, address by address
The Desert Dispatch newsletter counted one newly opened restaurant, eight announced openings and expansions, and one significant relocation in its September 28 roundup. It called the list good news after "a string of disappointing closing announcements." Here's the same news organized by whose room each newcomer is taking over, with status as of mid-October.
| Address | Who was there | Who's there now or next | Status in mid-October |
|---|---|---|---|
| 425 S. Sunrise Way | Mario's | Those Italian Cousins | Open |
| 211 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Suite C | New space beside Mr. Lyons | Bird | Open as a daytime café |
| Living Out | Alice B. | Gertie's Salon & Bar | Open, now permanent |
| 333 S. Palm Canyon Dr. | Impala | Breakfast Republic | Coming soon |
| 1775 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Suite 150 | Over the Rainbow Desserts | Con Amor, Nina y Leon | Coming soon |
| 471 S. Indian Canyon Dr. | IHOP | Sushi & Mariscos Guamúchil | Coming soon |
| 725 S. Palm Canyon Dr. | KFC | Coffee Dose | Coming soon |
| 175 N. Palm Canyon Dr. | Francesca's boutique | Clandestino indoor dining | Expansion announced |
| 1107 N. Palm Canyon Dr. | Saffron | Saffron relocating, new address not yet announced | Closed October 3 |
| Downtown | Trio | Airport location still open | Closed after nearly 17 years |
The first three rows are open now. Two of them took over rooms someone else left, and the third is new to its block.
Three places open now
Those Italian Cousins moved into the space Mario's held for years at 425 S. Sunrise Way, and kept it Italian with a narrower focus. The Palm Springs Tribune reported that it's run by cousins Maurizio Tunis and Patrick Abbate, whose family roots are in Sardinia. The menu covers ground most local Italian menus don't. It has pinse, the Roman flatbread with a lighter crust than pizza, plus mezze maniche Bolognese, ricotta-and-truffle sacchetti and short ribs with gnocchi. For dessert there are seadas, a Sardinian fried pastry filled with cheese and finished with orange zest and honey. Desert Dispatch lists lunch and dinner service Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday, so Wednesday is the day it's closed.
Bird is the only one of the three in a space without a predecessor. It's the newest project from F10 Hospitality, the local group behind Mr. Lyons, Birba and Cheeky's, and it sits right next to Mr. Lyons at 211 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite C. Bird's menu lists coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab, the Arkansas specialty roaster. The plan has always been a café by day and a wine bar at night, according to the Coachella Valley Independent. The café was open by late September. The evening wine bar is still described as the next step, so for now plan on Bird as a morning stop.
Gertie's Salon & Bar is a succession that happened during the summer break. When Alice B. at Living Out paused for the summer, Gertie's took over the space, and the Coachella Valley Independent reported that Gertie's is staying permanently. The Desert Sun reported Alice B.'s permanent closure after three years. In its own goodbye note, Alice B. said Gertie's would carry on under Living Out's management. The biscuits stayed, and you can take them home frozen. The rest of the menu leans toward craft cocktails and shareable comfort food: smoked gouda mac and cheese, shrimp cocktail and the Gertie's Burger. Gertie's site lists Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. Those hours are labeled summer hours, so check before a Monday visit as the season picks up. The site gives the address as 1122 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, while local coverage lists 1122 E. Palm Canyon Drive.
The rooms with paper still on the windows
The next group of successors has addresses and menus but no confirmed opening days. Listed by how soon each has said to expect it:
- Breakfast Republic, 333 S. Palm Canyon Drive. The San Diego-based brunch chain is taking over the space formerly occupied by Impala, the Coachella Valley Independent reported in May, and it already runs a Palm Desert location. Its menu includes Oreo pancakes, shrimp and grits and breakfast jambalaya. The company's locations page still listed Palm Springs as "coming soon" in mid-October, against a reported October target.
- Con Amor, Nina y Leon, 1775 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 150. This micro-bakery is known for weekly pastry boxes with fig-and-olive cake and raspberry-chocolate tarts. It's opening its first storefront in Over the Rainbow's former space. A late-September opening was reported, and until the doors open, the boxes are still available to order through its website.
- Sushi & Mariscos Guamúchil, 471 S. Indian Canyon Drive. This is the second location for the Coachella restaurant known for mariscos, aguachiles, seafood towers and Mexican-style sushi rolls, and it's going into the former IHOP. The owners told Desert Dispatch they planned to open in early November.
- Coffee Dose, 725 S. Palm Canyon Drive. The Orange County café chain is converting the former KFC building. Its locations page says "Coming Soon," and the reported target has slipped to December 2026.
Three more have no date yet. One More Bite Dumpling House is preparing a spot at the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way, next to El Patron. It would be downtown's first restaurant dedicated to dumplings and dim sum. Big Juice, the valley-based juice and smoothie company already in Cathedral City and La Quinta, appears to be heading to the Thompson Palm Springs at 414 N. Palm Canyon Drive. Clandestino is expanding into the former Francesca's boutique at 175 N. Palm Canyon Drive to add indoor dining next to its patio. That would give it more year-round seating without leaving its downtown corner.
Clandestino's expansion is the same pattern on a small scale. Even an established restaurant that wants to grow is doing it by taking over the room next door.
The two rooms still in between
The last two rows of the table are established places whose rooms emptied this year, and their stories are still unfinished.
Trio closed its downtown restaurant after nearly 17 years, The Desert Sun reported in August. The restaurant called itself "Where Palm Springs Eats," and its airport location is still operating, according to the Coachella Valley Independent.
Saffron Restaurant and Lounge is the other open question, though the restaurant itself is moving rather than going away. Saffron's site says its last night at 1107 N. Palm Canyon Drive was Saturday, October 3, and that it's temporarily closed while it relocates. It had opened on North Palm Canyon in 2024. The Coachella Valley Independent reported plans for a larger location with a new menu and covered parking. The new address hasn't been announced. For now, Saffron is a restaurant looking for its next room.
Over the Rainbow shows how quickly a gap can close. The Desert Sun listed the 16-year dessert shop among its midyear closures on June 30. By mid-September, a local bakery had already claimed the storefront.
One date that won't move
Opening dates slip, but one event on the fall calendar is fixed. The Scoop Ice Cream Festival returns to Downtown Park on Sunday, November 1, from noon to 4 p.m., after its Palm Springs debut last year. More than 20 local ice cream, gelato and paleta makers have signed up. The $38.25 ticket covers 10 two-ounce tastings plus entertainment and activities, and proceeds go to the LGBTQ+ Center's Community Food Bank, according to the Coachella Valley Independent. Tickets are sold through Scoop's Palm Springs page.
If Guamúchil keeps its early-November target, it could open the same week. By then, three more of the table's "coming soon" rows may have switched to open, and Trio's downtown space will still be the one to watch.
If you live near one of these corners and want to know what your home is worth this season, Hearken Real Estate is glad to help. Ask for a Free Home Valuation, and we'll start with your street.
