At the end of September, two writers from The Linda Vista Update drove to the old Mission Valley mall to try a restaurant on its second day open. They had not been back since a movie at the AMC some months before. They described coming up the steps from the parking garage and being surprised by how far the work had gone. The area in front of the theater was covered in artificial grass, with groups of seats, umbrellas and cornhole boards. Some people were walking dogs, and some were simply sitting.
That patch of grass is now the Oasis, and it is where nearly every event on The Valley's holiday calendar takes place. This is the property's first December under its new name. The holiday program happens outdoors on open ground, and most of it is free to walk into. That gives Mission Valley a December gathering place it has never had, at the opposite end of the valley from the ticketed bowl games at Snapdragon Stadium.
A 1981 Mall Turns Its Center Into Open Ground
The center at 1640 Camino Del Rio North was built in 1981 and covers about 1.1 million square feet. Westfield sold it in 2023 to Lowe Real Estate and Real Capital Solutions. Renovation is set to continue into 2027, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The new name became official at a ribbon cutting on October 9. Mayor Todd Gloria and Councilmember Stephen Whitburn spoke, and the day included an Aztec blessing and a Taste of the Valley. In the owners' announcement, Lowe Senior Vice President Todd Majcher said the plan would "preserve and build on The Valley's distinctive character and generational importance in the community, including its expansive open-air setting and mid-century-inspired architecture."
The design puts that open-air setting at the center. A May release from Lowe calls the central plaza the property's largest new open space. It describes an open meadow, tables, lounge areas, and restaurants with open-air bars and counter seating along the edges, all meant to host events. A second arrival plaza near Nordstrom Rack and Bloomingdale's Outlet adds another lawn, shaded seating and firepit lounges, with Cava, Tender Greens, Pesto and Mendocino Farms around it.
The release describes walkable plazas. The holiday calendar is what puts them to use.
December on the Oasis
Almost everything The Valley has scheduled for the season happens on or near the central lawn by AMC Theatres:
- Santa Photos, November 27 through December 24. Santa sits at the Oasis near AMC Theatres and Yard House. The center also lists sensory-friendly and pet-photo sessions on select dates.
- Holiday Vintage Market with Exchange SD, December 5 and 6. Both days run 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., set up from Nordstrom Rack toward NOVO Brazil. The market benefits One Warm Coat.
- Holiday Collective Market, December 12. This one is free, 1 to 6 p.m., on the Oasis lawn near AMC Theatres.
- Breakfast with Santa, December 19. It runs Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m.
Two of these are markets held outdoors, and the free one is set entirely on the lawn.
The Kitchens Around the Grass
The restaurants arriving at The Valley are mostly arranged around the same lawn, so they and the holiday calendar overlap.
EM Coffee House opened first, on April 14, near the Hot Topic store. It is owned by local restaurateur Nick Truong and serves Vietnamese phin-drip coffee and matcha.
The Stand opened Monday, September 28. It is a 200-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar near AMC with the tagline "American Classics Redefined." The Linda Vista Update writers described outdoor seating with umbrellas on the edge of the turf, a full bar by the entrance, and a large order counter in back.
Philz Coffee and Bacio di Latte now appear in The Valley's directory as operating. Bacio di Latte is a Milanese small-batch gelato shop that already has locations in Del Mar and La Jolla.
More are on the way. The Union-Tribune reported that the owners of Encuentro Café in Old Town planned a second, Venezuelan location here that would sell picnic baskets for the center lawn. The same report said Pepper Lunch, the Tokyo-born teppanyaki chain where diners cook their own food on a hot plate, was set for November, and that Oakberry Acai would come this fall. The longer plan also lists Dick's House of Sport for the former Macy's, plus Round1, Kura Sushi and Candeeland, an indoor playground for children.
A restaurant that sells picnic baskets for a lawn assumes people will stay and sit. The first holiday season is a test of that assumption.
Farther East, a Bowl Week With Two Kickoffs
Farther east along the river, December at Snapdragon Stadium runs on tickets and kickoff times. San Diego State Football plays at home on Saturday, November 14, at 6:30 p.m.
After that, the stadium hosts two bowl games five days apart:
- SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl, Wednesday, December 23, 4:30 p.m. The stadium's announcement reads, "The SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl is back!" This will be the game's 13th edition.
- 47th Annual Holiday Bowl, Monday, December 28, 2 p.m. Pacific.
Those are two weekday games during the holiday week, in the same valley as Santa Photos and the markets, and the Poinsettia Bowl falls the day before Santa's last day at the Oasis. For anyone in the valley, the stadium and the lawn are the two fixed points of the season. One sells tickets. The other mostly asks people to show up.
The Quiet Route Between Them
Between the shopping center and the stadium, the river is the low-key option. SDSU's River Park has a 2-mile hiking and biking loop, open now, that connects with the Ben and Nikki Clay San Diego River Trail. The park also has multiuse fields, courts and a playground.
One new crossing is still under construction. Work on the Fenton Parkway Bridge began September 16, 2026, and SDSU lists fall 2027 for completion. The bridge will cross the river and connect Fenton Parkway with Camino Del Rio North. Riverwalk is on a similar timeline. Its website lists retail for fall 2027 and homes for early 2028.
So the bridge, Riverwalk's shops and the last of The Valley's renovation are all 2027 projects. This December, the places that are ready are the Oasis lawn with its markets, the river loop, and the stadium on its two bowl nights.
The Valley's new lawn is the kind of change we follow closely at Jeff Davidson Group, because a shared public space like this is part of how a neighborhood feels to the people who live there. If you are thinking about how Mission Valley's changes affect your own plans, we are happy to talk them through. Contact Us.
