Fountain Valley / Central Orange County
The drive-thru operators we could confirm are on Warner Avenue, Talbert Avenue and Magnolia Street rather than in the Brookhurst Street grocery centers: Taco Bell at 9925 Warner and 11291 Talbert, and Dutch Bros at 9067 Warner and 17954 Magnolia, all list drive-thru service. Brookhurst Street holds the larger sit-down and bank spaces, such as Mimi's Cafe on a 7,000 sq ft pad at Fountain Valley Promenade and Stonefire Grill, Islands and Navy Federal Credit Union in 6,000 to 6,500 sq ft spaces at Callens Corner. In-N-Out's store list has no Fountain Valley restaurant (its nearest are at 18062 Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach and 3211 Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa), and Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane's show no Fountain Valley location, so those brands would be new to the city.
Population
56,258
Median HHI
$115,237
Median age
44.4
Homeownership
64.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Brookhurst Street · Magnolia Street · Warner Avenue · Talbert Avenue · Edinger Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Fountain Valley that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
NWC Brookhurst Street and Ellis Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: Ralphs, T.J. Maxx, Mimi's Cafe
First Washington Realty-owned community center on Brookhurst. Daily-needs grocery and value-tier soft goods anchor steady weekly traffic.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Fountain Valley rents. These are publicly visible retail pad space businesses currently trading in the market.
Taco Bell (Warner Avenue)
9925 Warner Avenue, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Taco Bell's city page lists drive-thru, late-night hours and breakfast.
Taco Bell (Talbert Avenue)
11291 Talbert Avenue, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
The second Fountain Valley Taco Bell, also listed with a drive-thru. Taco Bell writes the address as '11291 Talbert'.
Dutch Bros Coffee (Warner Avenue)
9067 Warner Avenue, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Drive-thru and pickup window per Dutch Bros' city page.
Dutch Bros Coffee (Magnolia Street)
17954 Magnolia Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Drive-thru and pickup window per Dutch Bros' city page.
Wendy's
17940 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
The only Fountain Valley restaurant on Wendy's city page, which writes the street as 'Brookhurst Ave'. The page does not say whether this store has a drive-thru.
Mimi's Cafe (Fountain Valley Promenade pad)
Fountain Valley Promenade, 18279-18461 Brookhurst Street (pad C1), Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Sit-down restaurant on a 7,000 sq ft pad on First Washington Realty's tenant list for the Ralphs anchored center.
Chipotle Mexican Grill and The Habit Burger Grill (17150 Brookhurst)
17150 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Both brands list this address. Chipotle's store page shows in-store pickup and delivery only, with no Chipotlane pickup lane, and the city's other Chipotle at 18951 Brookhurst shows the same.
Navy Federal Credit Union (Callens Corner)
18709 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
In 6,000 sq ft (space 100) on EDENS' directory. The same center lists Stonefire Grill (6,500 sq ft, 18727 Brookhurst), Islands Fine Burger (6,000 sq ft, 18621 Brookhurst) and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union (5,330 sq ft).
01
Drive-thru needs a CUP, and only in two zones: Table 2-6 in FVMC 21.10.030 lists 'Drive-in and drive-through sales' as a conditional use in C1 and C2 and not allowed in CP, CM or M1. Section 21.10.060(c) separately requires a CUP for any restaurant with a drive-thru or with exterior amplified sound such as an ordering speaker. The FY 2025-26 fee schedule sets a full CUP at $4,017, and 21.30.030(h) requires public notice under state law whenever a drive-through goes to a permit decision.
02
Pad layout under FVMC 21.30.030: a queuing lane at least 150 feet long and 12 feet wide that cannot block parking spaces or traffic lanes, space for four cars ahead of the menu board, aisles at least 12 feet wide with a 10-foot inside radius, aisle entrances at least 50 feet from an intersection and 25 feet from a neighboring curb cut, curbing and landscaping between the lane and the center's circulation, headlight screening, and a six-foot wall with a five-foot landscape strip where the pad adjoins residential property. On a small outparcel the 150-foot lane usually decides the building footprint.
03
A new pad building also needs a precise plan of design: FVMC 21.44.030 requires one for any proposed structure outside the R-1 zone, it is heard by the Planning Commission after a public hearing, it must be filed before building permits, and 21.44.040(a)(2) lets it run concurrently with the CUP. The fee schedule prices it at $3,914 for projects under 3,500 sq ft and $5,459 above that.
04
Traffic impact fee: under FVMC 21.26.070 the fee schedule charges $2.51 per sq ft for a restaurant with drive-thru against $0.44 for other commercial space, and $5.02 against $0.88 inside the Fountain Valley Crossings Specific Plan area. A 2,500 sq ft drive-thru pays about $6,275 citywide, or $12,550 in the specific plan area, versus about $1,100 for the same building without the lane.
05
Parking under Table 3-3 (FVMC 21.22.040): 1 space per 250 sq ft for a small format restaurant (50 seats or fewer), 1 per 200 for large format, 1 per 300 for banks and financial services, and 1 per 250 plus 3 per bay for service stations. A drive-thru restaurant in a shopping center can credit half of the cars its lane holds, counted at one car per 20 feet. Banks and financial services are permitted by right in CP, C1 and C2 (CUP in CM), and ATMs are permitted in every commercial and manufacturing zone, so a bank pad avoids the drive-thru CUP path unless it adds a drive-up lane, which Planning may treat as drive-through sales.
06
Traffic counts: Caltrans' 2023 AADT data puts Interstate 405 at 114,700 to 126,700 vehicles a day at the Brookhurst Street interchange, 109,000 to 114,700 at Warner Avenue and 126,700 to 159,500 at Euclid Street. Caltrans does not count Brookhurst, Magnolia or Warner themselves, and we found no city count, so ask the landlord where any arterial count in its brochure comes from before it goes into a sales forecast.
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.