Laguna Niguel / South Orange County
Laguna Niguel has at least seven grocery stores spread across its main arterials rather than one cluster: Ralphs Fresh Fare at The Center at Rancho Niguel on Crown Valley Parkway, Albertsons at Laguna Niguel Plaza and Pavilions on Alicia Parkway, Sprouts at Plaza de La Paz on La Paz Road, Trader Joe's at Ocean Ranch Village on Golden Lantern, and Whole Foods on Aliso Creek Road, with a Smart & Final at 30252 Crown Valley Parkway. The Center at Rancho Niguel (360,000 SF) and Plaza de La Paz (293,540 SF) are the two large centers with a deep shop mix, while Laguna Niguel Plaza (101,143 SF) is smaller, and most shop tenants on its owner's list occupy 900 to 4,400 SF. A service or food user that wants weekly grocery trips next door has a real choice of landlords here.
Population
64,139
Median HHI
$140,452
Median age
47.6
Homeownership
67.4%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Crown Valley Parkway · Alicia Parkway · La Paz Road · Pacific Coast Highway · Niguel Road
Specific shopping centers in Laguna Niguel that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
28231–28301 Crown Valley Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Nordstrom Rack, Ralphs Fresh Fare, CVS, Regency Cinemas, BevMo!
Size: 360,000 SF
Dominant community center pulling from Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, and Mission Viejo. Mix includes Starbucks, SusieCakes, Snooze A.M. Eatery, Chick-fil-A, Handel's Homemade Ice Cream, and Faucets N Fixtures. Top of the South County co-tenancy ladder.
29941 Alicia Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Albertsons, CVS
Size: 101,143 SF
Albertsons/CVS-anchored daily-needs center. The most pragmatic grocery-anchored co-tenancy in the city for service retail.
30262–30272 Crown Valley Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Planet Fitness, Smart & Final, The UPS Store
Size: 23,315 SF
Daily-needs and value-grocery mix at the south end of Crown Valley. Fitness already in place via Planet Fitness.
30202–30272 Crown Valley Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: junior-box anchor opportunity
Retail box-anchor opportunity at the south Crown Valley node. Reads better for larger-format users than first-gen small shops.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Laguna Niguel rents. These are publicly visible grocery-anchored retail space businesses currently trading in the market.
Ralphs Fresh Fare (The Center at Rancho Niguel)
28231 Crown Valley Parkway, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Grocery anchor of the 360,000 SF Center at Rancho Niguel, per the center's own directory and About page. Co-anchors in the directory include Nordstrom Rack, CVS Pharmacy, BevMo! and Regency Director's Cut Cinema. Inline shops include Starbucks, SusieCakes, Snooze An A.M. Eatery, Jamba Juice, Supercuts, The Lash Lounge, Mint Dental and The UPS Store.
Albertsons (Laguna Niguel Plaza)
29941 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Albertsons' own locator lists this store as Albertsons Alicia & Niguel, with a pharmacy and DriveUp & Go pickup. First Washington Realty's portfolio page for Laguna Niguel Plaza gives 101,143 SF of GLA, with Albertsons at 42,100 SF, CVS at 15,000 SF and KinderCare at 9,600 SF. Shop tenants listed there include Massage Envy (2,542 SF), Starbucks Coffee (2,150 SF), Fantastic Sams (1,200 SF), H&R Block (1,400 SF) and Pacific Island Dental (900 SF).
Sprouts Farmers Market (Plaza de La Paz)
27271 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Sprouts' own store page places it in the Plaza de Paz Shopping Center. NewMark Merrill's property page for Plaza de La Paz gives 293,540 SF with Sprouts, Home Depot and CVS Pharmacy as anchors, and names shop tenants including Chipotle, McDonald's, FedEx Office, Sally Beauty, H&R Block and Blaze Pizza.
Pavilions
27320 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Full-service supermarket with a pharmacy and Starbucks cafe, per Pavilions' own store page. The name of the center it sits in was not confirmed.
Trader Joe's (Ocean Ranch Village)
32351 Street of the Golden Lantern, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Trader Joe's store 103, which its locator names the Ocean Ranch store. Shea Properties' page for Ocean Ranch Village gives 247,589 SF across a Laguna Niguel side and a Dana Point side; Trader Joe's is on the Laguna Niguel side and Ralphs and CVS are on the Dana Point side. Laguna Niguel side shops include Peet's Coffee & Tea, Chipotle, Nekter Juice Bar, Hammer + Nails, Sports Clips and Sea Country Dental.
Whole Foods Market
23932 Aliso Creek Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Confirmed on Whole Foods' own store page. On Aliso Creek Road. The center name was not confirmed.
Smart & Final
30252 Crown Valley Parkway, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Smart & Final store 943, per the store data on Smart & Final's own site. The address is in the range the catalog gives for Crown Valley Mall; the center's name was not confirmed on an owner page.
01
Anchor size and zoning district: Table 4.1 in Municipal Code Section 9-1-42 treats supermarkets as retail stores. Under 30,000 sq ft they are permitted in CN, CC and MU-TC; from 30,000 to 60,000 sq ft they need a use permit in CN and are permitted in CC; over 60,000 sq ft they are prohibited in CN and need a use permit in CC. Check the zoning map for your center before assuming a replacement grocer or junior box can go in by right.
02
Shop-space uses next to the grocer: in the same table, restaurants without alcohol and retail food are permitted in CN and CC, but restaurants selling alcohol need a minor use permit, drive-thrus need a use permit, and operating outside 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. needs a minor use permit. Barber, beauty, nail and tanning salons need a minor use permit in every commercial district, while medical and dental offices under 5,000 sq ft of aggregate floor area in one building are permitted in CN and CC.
03
Parking math: Section 9-1-66 (Table 6.5) sets 1 space per 200 sq ft for general retail including supermarkets, 10 per 1,000 sq ft for restaurants up to 4,000 sq ft, 6 per 1,000 sq ft for medical and dental, and 3 spaces per station for beauty salons. A center with 400 or more spaces and three or more use types can take up to a 25% shared-parking discount; a smaller neighborhood center has to apply for a site development permit under Section 9-1-62 to go below the table.
04
Laguna Niguel Plaza (29941 Alicia Parkway): First Washington Realty's page lists Albertsons at 42,100 SF of the center's 101,143 SF, which is past the 30,000 sq ft line in Table 4.1. Leasing there runs through First Washington; ask for the Albertsons lease's use restrictions and any exclusives (the shop roster already includes Massage Envy, Fantastic Sams, a dental office and Starbucks) before you pick a use.
05
The Center at Rancho Niguel (28231 Crown Valley Parkway): the center's leasing page sends inquiries to SRS and posts no available suites, so request the current site plan and the Ralphs Fresh Fare co-tenancy and exclusive list directly. The directory already lists Garbo's Hair Salon, Kenneth Brown Salon, Supercuts, Pardon My French Nail Bar, The Finest Nails and The Lash Lounge, so exclusives are the first thing to clear for a beauty user.
06
Plaza de La Paz (La Paz Road): NewMark Merrill manages the 293,540 SF center anchored by Sprouts, Home Depot and CVS and lists its own leasing contact. Sprouts' site calls the same property Plaza de Paz Shopping Center, so use the owner's name and the parcel address when you pull zoning and records.
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.