Tustin / Central Orange County
The District at Tustin Legacy on Park Avenue has most of Tustin's full-service restaurants: its directory lists Lucille's, Bar Louie, Red Robin, Prego, Luna Rossa, Casa Del Sol and a long row of fast casual, all in a center that counts as a Large Retail Center under the parking code. The Tustin side of The Market Place, along El Camino Real, is a drive-through row (In-N-Out, Taco Bell, El Pollo Loco), while that center's sit-down restaurants sit on the Irvine side. Old Town Tustin works differently: inside the Downtown Commercial Core Specific Plan a restaurant replacing a retail, service or office use needs no added parking, and the City started a streetscape project with parklets on El Camino Real and Main Street in January 2026.
Population
78,981
Median HHI
$112,503
Median age
37.5
Homeownership
48.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Jamboree Road · Barranca Parkway · Newport Avenue · Red Hill Avenue · El Camino Real · Irvine Boulevard
Specific shopping centers in Tustin that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
2201–2895 Park Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: Whole Foods Market, Costco, Target, Lowe's
Size: 1,000,000 SF
Vestar's million-SF lifestyle center at Barranca/Jamboree — pulls from Tustin, Irvine, and the OC Great Park edge. Recent leasing: Jini Mini, Café 86, Activate Games, and Le Macaron. The mix also includes Nothing Bundt Cakes and Pinot's Palette.
El Camino Real, Tustin, at I-5 and Jamboree Road
Anchors / key tenants: Target, The Home Depot, Nordstrom Rack, REI
Size: 1,406,215 SF
Irvine Company's open-air regional center at I-5 and Jamboree Road, once called Tustin Market Place. It straddles Tustin and Irvine: El Camino Real addresses are in Tustin and Jamboree Road addresses are in Irvine, so confirm which city's code applies to a suite.
El Camino Real / D Street area
Anchors / key tenants: historic downtown small-format retail and dining
Walkable historic core with chef-driven dining, antiques, boutique service retail, and visitor traffic from the city's heritage events.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Tustin rents. These are publicly visible restaurant space businesses currently trading in the market.
Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
2550 Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782
Full-service barbecue restaurant, on Lucille's own locations page and on The District at Tustin Legacy's directory.
Bar Louie, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Prego Restaurant and Luna Rossa Ristorante (The District at Tustin Legacy)
The District at Tustin Legacy, Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782
Sit-down and bar-restaurant tenants on The District's own store directory, along with Casa Del Sol Cocina Mexicana, Beirut Grill, Niku Sushi, Wagyu Factory, Fast HotPot and Tang Tang Karaoke Bar. The directory gives no suite addresses.
Fast casual at The District (Mendocino Farms, Pei Wei Asian Kitchen, The Halal Guys, Ike's Love & Sandwiches, Tsurukawa Udon, Café 86, Le Macaron)
The District at Tustin Legacy, Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782
All listed on The District's directory, with Chick-fil-A (2889 Park Avenue per its own page) and In-N-Out on pads.
In-N-Out Burger, Taco Bell and El Pollo Loco (The Market Place, Tustin side)
3020, 3010 and 3002 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
Irvine Company's own store pages for The Market Place place all three on El Camino Real, next to the Starbucks drive-through at 2992. The Market Place's sit-down restaurants we checked (BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse at 13130 Jamboree Road) carry Irvine addresses, so they are outside the City of Tustin.
01
Alcohol CUP: Tustin City Code Section 9271(dd)(1) says no establishment may sell alcohol for on-site or off-site consumption without a conditional use permit approved by the Zoning Administrator, and Section 9232(b)(2) lists alcoholic beverage sales establishments as conditional in C1, subject to the Planning Commission's Guidelines for Alcoholic Beverage Sales Establishments. On-site sellers must offer food at all times (Section 9271(dd)(4)), and hours may run to 2:00 a.m. unless the City or ABC restricts them (Section 9271(dd)(3)).
02
Taking over a space with an existing alcohol CUP: under Section 9271(dd)(8) and (9), a CUP abandoned for 12 months, or a use that stopped for a year or more, can be revoked, and a CUP transferred to a new operator can be revoked if the new applicant does not sign the City's Agreement to Conditions Imposed form. Three notices of violation in 12 months or an ABC disciplinary action also count as an undue burden (Section 9271(dd)(7)). Ask the landlord for the CUP resolution and the date the last operator stopped serving.
03
ABC license type: California ABC issues Type 41 (On-Sale Beer and Wine, Eating Place) and Type 47 (On-Sale General, Eating Place) to restaurants. Both require a bona fide eating place with a kitchen and real meal sales, allow minors, and require servers and managers to be Responsible Beverage Service certified.
04
Use and parking: restaurants are permitted in C1 but drive-ins and drive-thrus are excluded (Section 9232(a)(2)(n)), and a drive-thru needs a CUP (Section 9232(b)(13)). Section 9263 Table 1 parks sit-down restaurants at 1 space per 100 sq ft and take-out at 1 per 250 sq ft, each with a minimum 7-car stacking lane for a drive-thru, while a Large Retail Center (30,000 sq ft or more) is parked at 4.5 per 1,000 as a whole. Get Planning's written call on which rate applies to your suite at The District before sizing the kitchen and dining room.
05
Patio: any Outdoor Seating Area (movable furniture) or Outdoor Dining Area needs the Community Development Director's prior written approval (Section 9277(c)), and a new Outdoor Dining Area with fixed barriers or decking goes through Design Review under Section 9272 (Section 9277(e)). A patio that serves alcohol needs the Section 9271(dd) CUP (Section 9277(c)), plus a border, fence or planters and an employee supervising it at all times (Section 9277(e)). Dining areas may run only 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., or 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. next to residential. Table 1 adds no parking for patios of 15 seats or fewer or up to 50% of indoor seating, and a restaurant in a Large Retail Center may convert up to 3 adjacent stalls to patio without replacing them.
06
Grease and health: Tustin's sewers are maintained by East Orange County Water District or Irvine Ranch Water District depending on the area. IRWD requires FOG plan review for new or modified food service establishments and a grease interceptor for new construction, a change in ownership, a change in operations, or a remodel touching under-slab plumbing, seating, kitchen area or cooking equipment, sized by drainage fixture units under California Plumbing Code Table 1014.3.6. EOCWD runs its own FOG program. OC Health Care Agency Plan Check must approve plans before construction, and the health permit is released only after final inspection.
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.