Chris Miller owns the bank building on the corner of El Tordo and La Granada, and one corner of it held a conference room that rarely got used. He had never worked in food. This summer he turned that room into Rancho Sandwich and Creamery. He told the Union-Tribune that after a soft opening with nothing but a sign and a bunch of balloons, more than 100 people were coming through every day. His explanation was simple: "We needed this for so long."
That shop matters more this fall than it did in June. Nick & G's, the restaurant in the Lilian Rice building at Paseo Delicias and La Granada, closes in mid-October for a full renovation and plans to reopen in November. For years, closing a sit-down restaurant on that corner would have left a real hole in the Village. This October it leaves a smaller one, because over the past year the blocks around it have filled with places that serve the hours between coffee and a reservation.
The Corner Building Takes a Few Weeks Off
The building has a long history. It went up in the 1920s as the home of the Millar family, one of the earliest families in Rancho Santa Fe. It housed Delicias for 24 years and was briefly Ponsaty's. Then local resident Sandra DiCicco-Bonar of the Grand Restaurant Group opened Nick & G's there in 2017, naming it after her children, Nicolas and Gianina.
The renovation comes just before the restaurant's 10th anniversary, and it is a full rework, not a fresh coat of paint. Chef and partner Alex Carballo describes a brighter design inspired by the Amalfi Coast, in yellows, oranges and blues. Plans include a large olive tree in the middle of the dining room, all-new custom banquettes, and a new wine cellar that guests will see through on the way to a lighter bar and lounge. The patio gets a wave-shaped shade canopy, and the back courtyard is being redone as a garden with water features.
The menu is changing too. Carballo is cutting it down to a tighter list of coastal Italian-American dishes built on handmade pasta, seafood and local produce. Some current favorites will stay. No exact reopening date has been announced. The restaurant posts updates at nickandgs.com and on Instagram at @nickandgs.
What Covers the Hours in Between
Between them, the two newest food spots in the Village are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. They sit about a block apart, and they cover very different parts of the day.
| Spot | Address | Hours | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Sandwich and Creamery | 6110 El Tordo | Mon–Sat, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. | Breakfast, lunch, soft serve |
| Paseo Pizza and Gelato | 6024 Paseo Delicias, Unit D | Daily, noon–9 p.m. | Lunch, dinner, gelato |
| Nick & G's | 6106 Paseo Delicias | Closed from mid-October | Reopening in November |
Rancho Sandwich and Creamery sits under the clock tower. For breakfast there are avocado toast, breakfast burritos, muffins and bagels. Lunch is sandwiches made with Boar's Head meats on O'Brien's bread. Several sandwiches are named for Miller's five daughters, including Chloe's Chicken Chipotle and AK's Special, which is pastrami and provolone. The early best seller was the East County Native: turkey, provolone, bacon and avocado on a French roll. Among the soft-serve flavors is a pineapple Dole Whip, which Miller says sells out every couple of days. Getting the shop open took a year of permits from six county and state agencies, plus a new plumbing system. That helps explain why a simple grab-and-go counter took so long to appear in the Village.
Paseo Pizza and Gelato covers the evening. Owner Jennifer Fields opened it next door to Paseo, the restaurant she opened last fall in the former Rancho Santa Fe Bistro space. The menu has build-your-own pizzas and 18 signature pies. The namesake Paseo comes with Grande mozzarella, imported burrata, crispy prosciutto and arugula. Gelato flavors rotate, and the shop brews its own craft beer. The grand opening was Sept. 25 and 26, so this is its first full month.
Next door, in the same building, Make Me Up RSF opened in Suite I, with a grand opening on Aug. 27. So the 6024 Paseo Delicias address now holds a makeup bar, a pizza shop and Paseo, all along one stretch of sidewalk.
The Chef Who Wants More Places Nearby
You might expect a restaurant to worry about new places opening around it while it sits closed for a month. Carballo says the opposite. He listed the Village's current options himself: Paseo, Paseo Pizza & Gelato, Rancho Sandwich and Creamery, Mille Fleurs, Lilian's, the café at The Inn, Thyme in the Ranch, Caffe Positano and Rancho Roasters. Then he explained why he counts that as good news for Nick & G's:
"I like the energy when there's more…it gives people a little more variety and a reason to go into Rancho Santa Fe, and we're in the heart of it."
His bet is that more choices bring more people into the Village, and a busier Village helps the restaurant on its busiest corner. The sandwich shop shows the same idea working at a smaller scale. Miller planned for a busy fall once school started, because the shop is within walking distance of R. Roger Rowe School. Something is still being built across the street. As of the June report, the new pharmacy building on that corner was under construction. No opening date has been announced since.
A Fall Calendar on the Same Few Blocks
October's events take place within a short walk of these counters. That makes the Nick & G's closure easy to plan around: a sandwich before an afternoon event, or pizza after an evening one.
- Oct. 2 to Nov. 20: Cityscapes at the Library. The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild is showing work at the Library, with a reception on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 13, 3 p.m.: Garden Club centennial tree planting. The Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club was founded in 1926 and is marking its 100th year. The RSF Association Public Works Department will plant a California oak at the Lilian Rice statue in North Village Park, 17025 Avenida de Acacias. Afterward, a member potluck starts in the Secret Garden around 3:45 p.m. The ceremony is open to everyone, and the club asks guests to RSVP.
- Oct. 22, 10:30 a.m.: Elizabeth St. John at the Library. This Library Guild fundraiser costs $30, which includes a book. Registration is required.
- Oct. 24, 5 to 8 p.m.: Fandango Street Party. The Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society is hosting at La Flecha House, 6036 La Flecha. Expect a full taco bar, margaritas, wine and beer, and live music from Harmony Grove Band. Advance tickets are $35 for members, $45 for nonmembers and $20 for children 12 and under. Tickets at the door are $50. Tickets are sold at ranchosantafehistoricalsociety.org/fandango.
The oak planting may be the event that lasts longest. It puts a new tree next to the statue of the architect who designed the building Nick & G's is renovating.
Across the Covenant, Another Dining Room Nears Opening
The Village isn't the only place with a kitchen in transition. The Rancho Santa Fe Association's clubhouse and restaurant renovation at the Golf Club is getting ready for a fall opening. Chief Administrative Officer Dominique Albrecht says the work has moved past wood rot and plumbing repairs into flooring, wall finishes and restroom tile. The new kitchen has received a temporary certificate of occupancy from the county, so staff can start prepping and training. The snack bar is getting an upgraded kitchen, upgraded restrooms and a bigger patio, including a small upper deck, with work aimed at finishing by the end of the year.
On Oct. 1, the Association board approved $850,000 for a new paver plaza at the club entrance. The golf club is paying the full cost. The plaza will be 10 to 12 feet wider than the current entrance and will connect the clubhouse, the players' clubhouse and pro shop, and the snack bar, with two new oak trees framing the view of the course. Director of agronomy Tom Huesgen is aiming to finish by the first week of February 2027. He says the main risk is the super El Niño expected this winter, and he warned there will be some access problems during construction.
So between now and February, two of the Covenant's best-known dining rooms are being rebuilt. Meanwhile, a converted conference room and a new pizza counter on Paseo Delicias stay open six and seven days a week.
If you live near the Village and want to know what all this new activity means for the homes around it, I'm happy to share what I'm seeing on these streets. Lisa Hadzicki has worked with Rancho Santa Fe families for more than two decades. Let's talk about your next move.
