When did you last book a table at Pacifica Del Mar without thinking about it? For nearly 37 years the restaurant at the corner of Camino Del Mar and 15th Street was simply there. It opened in 1989 as one of the first businesses in the newly built Del Mar Plaza. It hosted racetrack crowds, weeknight regulars, birthdays, anniversaries and wedding receptions. In May the restaurant announced it would close in December, after Del Mar Plaza chose not to renew its lease.
The fall calendar matters here because it has moved. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club pushed the start of its fall meet a week later this year and put its two richest races on the final weekend of November. The Village's holiday events then pick up on the first Sunday in December. This year the town's busiest stretch of fall and Pacifica's last weeks fall in the same short window, roughly from early November through the first part of December. Anyone who wants a final dinner there is competing with that calendar.
The meet arrives later and stays shorter
The 13th Bing Crosby Season runs from Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 29, 2026. Last year's meet looked quite different. It opened Thursday, October 30, ran through Sunday, November 30, and hosted the Breeders' Cup on October 31 and November 1.
2025 Bing Crosby Season | 2026 Bing Crosby Season | |
|---|---|---|
Opening day | Thursday, October 30 | Friday, November 6 |
Closing day | Sunday, November 30 | Sunday, November 29 |
Stakes schedule | 20 stakes worth more than $3 million | 15 stakes worth $2.1 million |
Marquee event | Breeders' Cup | Hollywood Derby and Matriarch Stakes |
Racing runs Friday through Sunday each week, plus one extra card on Thanksgiving Day. Counted on the calendar, that comes to 13 race days, against last year's 16-day program. First post is 12:30 p.m. Friday cards will normally have eight races and weekend cards nine.
The later start leaves late October and the first days of November free of racing. That changes how the first half of the fall plays out. In 2025, Halloween weekend in Del Mar belonged to the Breeders' Cup. In 2026 it belongs to the Fairgrounds' seasonal events.
October is a Fairgrounds month this year
The Del Mar Fairgrounds fills the gap before the meet. Pumpkin Station runs through October 31 in the East Parking Lot. Admission and parking are free, and rides are ticketed separately. DroneArt Show: Harry Potter comes October 16 and 17, with more than 1,200 drones choreographed to music from the films. The Fall Home/Garden Show follows on October 17 and 18 at O'Brien Hall.
Three of those days overlap, October 16 through 18, and that is the busiest Fairgrounds weekend before racing starts. The weekends on either side are lighter. These are also the weeks when Pacifica is still running its usual weekly specials, menus and reservations, with no farewell notice posted. For a Plaza dinner that doesn't have to be planned around post times, October is the plain window.
November runs on the track's schedule
Once the meet opens, its schedule shapes the rest of the month. Opening weekend has two California-bred stakes at seven furlongs, each with a $100,000 purse: The Chosen Vron Stakes on Saturday, November 7 and the Betty Grable Stakes on Sunday, November 8. Uncorked: Derby Days Wine Festival comes to the track on Saturday, November 14.
The day before, the Village has an early-morning event of its own. The Del Mar Village Association's Breast Cancer Cheering Station is set for Friday, November 13, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. in downtown Del Mar Village, as the Komen 3-Day gets underway.
The last week of the meet is the busiest part of the fall calendar:
- Thursday, November 26. The Thanksgiving Family Fun Run on the Seaside Oval, then an eight-race card that starts at 11 a.m. and should be done by about 2 p.m., in DMTC's words "to allow folks plenty of time to get home to that turkey and all the fixins." The $100,000 Red Carpet Stakes for fillies and mares, at a mile and three-eighths on the turf, headlines the day.
- Friday, November 27. The Grade II, $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at a mile and a half.
- Saturday, November 28. The Grade II, $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap and the $300,000 Hollywood Derby, run at a mile and one-eighth on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
- Sunday, November 29. The $300,000 Matriarch Stakes at a flat mile on the turf, and the final day of the meet.
The FanDuel Racing Turf Festival runs across those same four days, November 26 through 29. Nine of the meet's 15 stakes are on grass. Racing secretary David Jerkens put it this way: "We've got one of the best turf courses in the country, and we put a real emphasis on it for our fall meet."
So the meet's two Grade I races, its two Grade II turf races and a holiday all fall in the same four days. Those four days come only weeks before Pacifica's announced closing month. Over the years the restaurant has been a stop for people heading to the racetrack, and Thanksgiving weekend is the last time this year's meet will send anyone its way.
What Pacifica has said, and what it hasn't
In its May 15 announcement, the restaurant called itself "a gathering place, a tradition, and a part of the fabric of Del Mar and North County for nearly four decades," and added:
"While saying goodbye is incredibly difficult, we hope you will visit us one last time before we close our doors."
Some of that history is still on the plates. The menu still includes dishes from opening day, among them the sugar-spiced salmon. Pacifica has come through recessions, the COVID-19 pandemic and a change of ownership. Longtime owners Kipp Downing and Jacquee Renna-Downing sold it to Sangiv Chopra in 2016. The restaurant has said many of its team members have worked there more than 10 years, and several more than 30.
As of early October, no exact last day of service has been published. The Coast News reported the closing month as December, without a date. The Del Mar Plaza directory still shows Pacifica with regular hours. December is the plan that was announced. Anyone counting on a specific night in December should confirm with the restaurant directly.
The Plaza's next chapter starts on the mezzanine
The Plaza's first replacement tenant isn't going into the main Pacifica room. Pacifica Breeze Cafe, the separate sibling spot that served casual breakfast and coffee, closed in late April. On August 11, Del Mar Plaza announced that its owner, Brixton Capital, had signed a lease with La La Land Café for that space. It will be the coffee and matcha brand's first San Diego location.
The café will take the southwest corner of the mezzanine, a spot known for its Pacific views. It will have 1,168 square feet indoors, with more seating and queuing space on the terrace deck. Construction start and grand opening dates have not been set. Founder and Chairman Marc Brutten said the brand has grown to more than 30 locations since it was founded in 2019.
The Plaza has said it will name a new operator for the main restaurant space in the coming months. Property manager Tamara Failla said the Plaza chose "a new restaurant operator whose concept aligns with our goals for the future of Del Mar Plaza." A May news report named a successor, but the Plaza's own August announcement covered only the café space. Until the Plaza names the restaurant operator, it remains an open question.
December's Village weekend comes first
The first Sunday in December falls while Pacifica is still expected to be open. On December 6, the Del Mar Village Association holds its Winter Taste & Sip downtown from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., with restaurant tastings, beverage stops, music and holiday activities. At 5:00 p.m. the same day, the Village holiday tree lighting takes place at the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L'Auberge Del Mar.
Five days later, on December 11, Coastal Christmas opens at the Fairgrounds. Its organizer lists a light trail, synthetic-ice skating, Santa photos, food and drink, and hours of 4 to 9 p.m.
Put together, the fall breaks into four parts. Late October has no racing. November follows the track. The weekend of December 6 brings the Village together a few blocks up Camino Del Mar from the Plaza. After that, Pacifica's lease runs out during a month with no announced end date. The Fairgrounds and Village pages are live calendars, so times and ticket details are worth checking again closer to each date.
If this fall has you thinking about how Del Mar Plaza and the Village are changing, and what that means for a home you own a few blocks away, White Label Home Collective is glad to talk it through. Schedule a private, white‑glove consultation.
