Yorba Linda / North Orange County
Yorba Linda's restaurants gather at two places. The corner of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway has Yorba Linda Town Center, a 125,000 sq ft shopping and dining center anchored by Bristol Farms that opened in April 2019, with Chili's nearby at 18380 Yorba Linda Boulevard and In-N-Out at 18181 Imperial Highway. On the east side, Savi Ranch, which Wikipedia describes as the city's main commercial district, has Chick-fil-A's drive-thru at 22450 Old Canal Road, and Del Taco is at 19701 Esperanza Road. Because every restaurant in a Yorba Linda commercial zone needs a conditional use permit, second-generation space that still has a valid restaurant CUP is the first thing to ask a landlord about.
Population
67,170
Median HHI
$157,582
Median age
44.9
Homeownership
83%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Yorba Linda Boulevard · Imperial Highway · Savi Ranch Parkway · La Palma Avenue · Lakeview Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Yorba Linda that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
Yorba Linda Boulevard at Imperial Highway
Anchors / key tenants: Bristol Farms, Edwards Cinemas
Size: 125,000 SF
Upscale 125,000 SF entertainment, restaurant, and service center on the city's most prominent corner. Bristol Farms-anchored specialty grocery serves the affluent Yorba Linda household ($152k HHI, 83% homeownership). Open-space commons drives lingering visit pattern.
22999 Savi Ranch Parkway
Anchors / key tenants: Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Best Buy, Michaels, Ashley HomeStore
Size: 160,773 SF
Yorba Linda's commercial hub — Costco/Sprouts-anchored regional center with home, electronics, and craft category co-tenancy. Casual dining (Keno's, Moreno's).
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Yorba Linda rents. These are publicly visible restaurant space businesses currently trading in the market.
Chili's Grill & Bar
18380 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda, CA 92886
Full-service chain with a bar, on Chili's own Yorba Linda page, which lists alcohol to go. It is on the same stretch of Yorba Linda Boulevard as Bristol Farms (18421) at the Imperial Highway corner, but no directory confirmed it is inside Yorba Linda Town Center.
Chick-fil-A Yorba Linda
22450 Old Canal Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92887
Drive-thru restaurant per Chick-fil-A's own page, on the Savi Ranch side of the city.
In-N-Out Burger (store 373)
18181 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda, CA 92886
Drive-thru and dining room per In-N-Out's own location data, opened December 2021, near the Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway corner.
Del Taco
19701 Esperanza Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92886
The Yorba Linda store on Del Taco's own locator.
01
Every restaurant needs a CUP: Yorba Linda Zoning Code Table 18.12-1 (Section 18.12.050) lists 'Restaurant' as conditional in the C-O, C-N and C-G zones. Under the Chapter 18.04 definition, a food use counts as a restaurant once 25% or more of its floor area, including outdoor dining, is seating; below that it is 'retail food', which is permitted by right in C-N and C-G. CUPs are heard by the Planning Commission (Section 18.36.230).
02
A CUP runs with the land but can die: Section 18.36.280 says a CUP runs with the land and survives a change of ownership, which helps a second-generation deal. But Section 18.36.270.A.1 lets the Planning Commission terminate one when the use has been inoperative for six consecutive months, and a new CUP lapses after one year if the use has not started (Section 18.36.255). Confirm when the last restaurant closed and ask Planning whether the existing CUP still covers your concept.
03
Alcohol and entertainment: 'Alcoholic beverage sales, accessory' is conditional in C-N and C-G and not allowed in C-O, a bar or cocktail lounge is conditional only in C-G, and live entertainment is conditional in C-N and C-G (Table 18.12-1). Fold these into the restaurant CUP rather than filing later. California ABC issues Type 41 (beer and wine) and Type 47 (general) eating place licenses, both of which require a bona fide eating place with a kitchen and real meal sales and Responsible Beverage Service certification for servers and managers.
04
Patio: Section 18.12.070.C requires all uses to operate inside a fully enclosed building, and restaurant outdoor dining areas need a Planning Commission CUP. Outdoor seats also count toward the 25% seating test, so a patio can turn a by-right retail food use into a restaurant that needs a CUP.
05
Parking: Table 18.22-1 parks restaurants at 1 space per 100 sq ft with a 10-space minimum per establishment, and retail food at 1 per 200. Mixed occupancies in a shopping center over 25,000 sq ft are parked at 5 spaces per 1,000 sq ft (Section 18.22.030.A.5), which is why a restaurant is easier to add inside a larger center than on a small pad. A drive-thru needs its own CUP in all three commercial zones.
06
Grease, health and CUP costs: Yorba Linda Water District runs a FOG permit program for food service establishments, with a $270 initial permit and application fee, $270 a year to renew and $340 per non-compliance occurrence (effective July 1, 2025), and requires restaurants to store grease for pickup by permitted recyclers. OC Health Care Agency Plan Check must approve plans before construction, and the health permit is released after final inspection. The City's CUP filing instructions (last modified July 24, 2023) list a $4,293 initial deposit billed at $295 an hour, 20 plan sets for commercial projects, and a Priority Project WQMP for restaurants where the development's land area is 5,000 sq ft or more.
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.