Costa Mesa / Central Orange County
East 17th Street holds the tightest grocery cluster we could confirm: Vons at 185, Sprouts at 225 and a small-format Target at 289, with DMP Properties' 17th Street CVS & Shops and Mesa Center East filling in the shop space around them. Harbor Boulevard is the second line, with Vons in the Mesa Verde Center near Adams Avenue, Target and Sprouts together at Costa Mesa Square (3030 Harbor), and Trader Joe's at 2170 Harbor. Mother's Market on Newport Boulevard and Trader Joe's on West 17th Street round out the list. Grocery stores and supermarkets are permitted by right in the C1, C2, C1-S and TC zones, so confirm the zone of the parcel first.
Population
110,330
Median HHI
$111,505
Median age
36.7
Homeownership
39.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Harbor Boulevard · Bristol Street · 17th Street · Newport Boulevard · Sunflower Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Costa Mesa that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
17th Street, eastside Costa Mesa
Anchors / key tenants: independent boutiques, dining, and specialty retail
Walkable eastside Costa Mesa shopping corridor. Tenants include Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee, Garduno's Italian, Almond Surfboards, Erin Cole bridal, and No Rest for Bridget. Strong neighborhood-and-Newport crossover.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Costa Mesa rents. These are publicly visible grocery-anchored retail space businesses currently trading in the market.
Vons (E 17th St)
185 E 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Listed on Vons' own locator. DMP Properties' page for the neighboring 17th Street CVS & Shops (171 to 179 E 17th Street, about 77,000 SF) names the center as 'anchored by CVS Pharmacy, Baja Fish Tacos and Vons (NAP)', meaning the Vons parcel is not part of DMP's property.
Sprouts Farmers Market #258
225 E 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Per Sprouts' own store page. Sits between the Vons and Target stores on the same stretch of East 17th Street.
Target (Costa Mesa 17th St)
289 E 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Per Target's store locator. DMP Properties lists Target as the major tenant of Mesa Center East (277 to 291 E 17th Street), with Burger Lounge, European Wax Center, StretchLab, Yogurtland, Juice It Up, Ai Pono Cafe, 17th Street Beauty and The Dog Spaw.
Vons (Harbor Blvd)
2701 B Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Per Vons' own locator, near Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue. The Joint Chiropractic's page places 2701 Harbor Blvd in the Mesa Verde Center shopping center, next to Starbucks and Firehouse Subs.
Target
3030 Harbor Boulevard, Suite A, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Per Target's store locator. Shares the address with the Sprouts below.
Sprouts Farmers Market #240
Costa Mesa Square Shopping Center, 3030 Harbor Boulevard, Suite D, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Sprouts' own store page names the center as Costa Mesa Square.
Trader Joe's (Costa Mesa 290)
2170 Harbor Boulevard, Suite 100, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Per Trader Joe's store locator.
Trader Joe's (Costa Mesa 35)
640 W 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Per Trader Joe's store locator. The locator gives no center name.
Mother's Market & Kitchen
1890 Newport Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Per Mother's Market's own locations page, which lists 12 stores.
01
Zone check: Table 13-30 (Municipal Code Section 13-30) lists 'Grocery stores' (row 80) and 'Supermarkets' (row 143) as permitted in C1, C2, C1-S and TC, prohibited in AP and CL, and a minor conditional use permit in the PDC zone. A small-format market can land in row 71 ('Convenience stores; mini-markets') instead, which is a conditional use permit in C1, C2, C1-S and TC and subject to Chapter IX, Article 16. Get Planning's classification of your format in writing.
02
Parking: Table 13-89 sets retail at 4 spaces per 1,000 sq ft with a minimum of 6. Shopping centers with at least 600,000 sq ft of contiguous leasable area use 5 per 1,000 for retail. Mixed-use sites that share parking are calculated under the City's shared parking procedure, and Section 13-89.5 lets the Zoning Administrator reduce required parking by minor conditional use permit where demand is shown to be lower.
03
At 17th Street CVS & Shops (171 to 179 E 17th Street), DMP Properties marks Vons as 'NAP' (not a part). Before relying on Vons for co-tenancy or parking, ask for the reciprocal easement agreement and confirm how parking and access are shared between the DMP parcels and the Vons parcel.
04
Costa Mesa Square (3030 Harbor Boulevard) already has Target in Suite A and Sprouts in Suite D. Ask the landlord for the site plan and for any grocery or food-use exclusives in those leases before you plan a food concept in the shop space.
05
Master and specific plans: Section 13-30(b), (f) and (g) say uses in planned development zones must be consistent with the adopted master plan, and sites in a specific plan area or an urban plan mixed-use overlay must also be checked against that plan's text. Ask Planning whether your parcel is covered before relying on Table 13-30 alone.
06
Three grocers (Vons, Sprouts and Target) sit between 185 and 289 E 17th Street, and Target and Sprouts share Costa Mesa Square on Harbor. A new grocer or specialty food user should study that overlap in its own sales forecast rather than assume open demand.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.