Fullerton / North Orange County
South Harbor Boulevard at Orangethorpe Avenue is Fullerton's main pad cluster. NewMark Merrill's April 2026 brochure for the 249,019 sq ft, Costco anchored Fullerton Town Center shows In-N-Out (4,200 sq ft), Chick-fil-A (4,319), Panera Bread (4,589), Jack in the Box (2,260) and Taco Bell (2,100) plus a multi-tenant building with The Habit and Chipotle, and Raising Cane's is nearby at 201 W. Orangethorpe. Amerige Heights Town Center on West Malvern is the second cluster, with separately owned McDonald's, KFC, Islands and Tesoro parcels on Regency's site plan. Imperial Highway (State Route 90) along the north edge carries 47,100 to 48,200 vehicles a day at Harbor Boulevard in Caltrans' 2023 counts and already has a Starbucks drive-thru, a Jack in the Box and a Wendy's.
Population
140,968
Median HHI
$104,286
Median age
36.9
Homeownership
51.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Harbor Boulevard · Commonwealth Avenue · Chapman Avenue · Malvern Avenue · Imperial Highway
Specific shopping centers in Fullerton that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
1100 S. Harbor Boulevard (Harbor Boulevard at Orangethorpe Avenue)
Anchors / key tenants: Costco, Ross, AMC
Community center in south Fullerton at Harbor and Orangethorpe, managed by NewMark Merrill. Daily-needs and service retail oriented around resident frequency. The center had an Amazon Fresh, and Amazon announced in January 2026 that it would close all of its Amazon Fresh stores, so confirm the status of that box.
1889–2291 W. Malvern Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: Target, Albertsons, Ross, Barnes & Noble
Regency Centers-owned retail core of the 293-acre Amerige Heights master-planned community (1,365 homes). Mix includes Bath & Body Works, Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks, Menchie's, Starbucks, McDonald's. The strongest national co-tenancy in Fullerton.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Fullerton rents. These are publicly visible retail pad space businesses currently trading in the market.
In-N-Out Burger (Fullerton, store 77)
1180 S. Harbor Boulevard, Fullerton, CA 92832
The only In-N-Out in Fullerton on the company's store list, with a drive-thru and dining room, a September 1992 open date and drive-thru hours to 1:00 a.m. NewMark Merrill's April 2026 brochure for Fullerton Town Center shows In-N-Out in 4,200 sq ft (space R).
Chick-fil-A Fullerton
151 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832
The one Fullerton restaurant on Chick-fil-A's city page, which lists drive-thru, dine-in and carry-out. The Fullerton Town Center brochure shows Chick-fil-A in 4,319 sq ft (space I).
The Habit Burger Grill and Chipotle (Fullerton Town Center shop pad)
101 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832
Habit lists Suite A-104 at this address and Chipotle's 'Harbor and Orangethorpe' store uses the same street number. The brochure shows Habit (2,484 sq ft), Verizon Wireless (4,542), Jersey Mike's (1,294) and Chipotle (2,200) together in the N building. Chipotle's page lists in-store pickup and delivery only, with no Chipotlane.
Raising Cane's (W Orangethorpe Ave)
201 W. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832
The only Fullerton restaurant on Raising Cane's city page. The page does not say which center it is in.
Taco Bell (five Fullerton drive-thrus)
131 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832
Taco Bell's city page lists five Fullerton restaurants, all with drive-thru: 131 E. Orangethorpe, 301 E. Commonwealth, 3000 Yorba Linda Blvd, 2750 W. Orangethorpe and 1889 W. Malvern (the low end of Amerige Heights Town Center's address range). The Fullerton Town Center brochure shows a 2,100 sq ft Taco Bell (space S) but does not give its street number.
Jack in the Box (four Fullerton restaurants)
235 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832
Jack in the Box's city page lists 235 E. Orangethorpe, 2315 W. Orangethorpe, 751 N. Placentia and 439 E. Imperial Highway. The Fullerton Town Center brochure shows a 2,260 sq ft Jack in the Box (space E).
Amerige Heights Town Center pads (McDonald's, KFC, Islands, Tesoro)
1889-2291 W. Malvern Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92833
Regency Centers' tenant table shows McDonald's (L), KFC (K), Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks (S) and a Tesoro station (T) as separately owned parcels around Regency's 96,942 sq ft Albertsons anchored portion, with Target also on its own parcel.
Starbucks (Imperial & Harbor)
147 E. Imperial Highway, Fullerton, CA 92835
One of five Fullerton Starbucks with a drive-thru on the brand's locator; Wendy's only Fullerton restaurant is also on Imperial, at 2810 E. Imperial Highway.
01
No separate drive-thru permit on the books: FMC 15.30.030.2(A)(19) and 15.30.030.3(A)(23) permit a restaurant without on-site alcohol or entertainment by right in G-C and C-3, and the code mentions drive-through restaurants only to exclude them from the downtown Restaurant Overlay District (15.67.010(E)). We found no drive-through use category, queue length or stacking standard in Chapters 15.04, 15.30, 15.47, 15.55, 15.56, 15.70 or 15.71, so a new pad is reviewed through site plan review under 15.30.045 and 15.47.020(A) and (B). Get Planning to confirm in writing that no CUP applies to the lane and how it will set queue length.
02
Site plan type: under 15.47.025 a site plan is minor only when the project is CEQA-exempt and needs no discretionary action such as a CUP, variance or minor exception, and major when it is not CEQA-exempt and does need a discretionary action. A pad that needs a parking minor exception under 15.30.060(D)(2) therefore moves off the minor track, so plan the site to meet the parking table outright if schedule matters.
03
Parking for a sit-down pad: Table 15.30.060(A) requires 1 space per 100 sq ft for any eating establishment with 13 or more seats, and 1 per 250 (minimum six) for fast food or take-out with 12 seats or fewer. A 4,319 sq ft pad the size of the Town Center's Chick-fil-A needs 44 spaces with 13 or more seats and 18 with 12 or fewer. Section 15.30.060(D)(1) adds up every use on a site, and a joint use reduction takes a shared parking analysis and a minor exception under (D)(2).
04
Speaker boxes and late hours: FMC 15.90.030(B) (Ord. 3350, 2025) limits noise from commercial activity in G-C and C-3 to 65 dBA (5-minute) and 70 dBA (1-minute) from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. at the property line, and 15.90.030(C) applies the stricter residential limits (45 dBA interior, 50 dBA exterior at night) at any school, hospital, elder care facility or religious institution nearby. In-N-Out's Fullerton drive-thru runs to 1:00 a.m., so a late-night user should test its ordering speaker against these numbers.
05
Banks and fuel: a financial institution is permitted by right in O-P, G-C and C-3 and needs a CUP in C-M. A service station or car wash needs a CUP and, under 15.30.040(D), must sit at the intersection of two arterial-width highways or a freeway and an arterial, unless it is accessory to a department store, membership warehouse or hotel, in which case the director can approve it administratively (15.30.040(D)(2)).
06
Center-specific items: the Fullerton Town Center brochure shows a 6,000 sq ft space available (J5, second level), a 'future 310 unit multi-family development' on the site plan and a 44,449 sq ft Amazon Fresh box (L); ask NewMark Merrill how the housing affects pad access, circulation and parking, and whether the Amazon Fresh box is still occupied. At Amerige Heights, the pads belong to separate owners, so any new drive-thru or pad change there means working through the reciprocal easement with Regency, Target and the pad owners. Regency listed space Q03 (1,900 sq ft) as available soon.
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.