A mural inside Rancho Sandwich and Creamery reads "Ice cream fixes everything." The shop sits on the corner of El Tordo and La Granada, under the clock tower. It opened this summer with nothing but a sign out front and a bunch of balloons, and owner Chris Miller said more than 100 people were already coming through every day. In June that looked like a nice addition to the village. By mid-October it carries a lot more of the load.
Starting this month, the two biggest sit-down kitchens in Rancho Santa Fe will be closed at the same time. For as long as both stay closed, a café-and-dinner day in the village depends on a group of places that are all less than a year old.
Two anchors are closed at once
Nick & G's, at 6106 Paseo Delicias, closes in mid-October for a full renovation and a new menu, and plans to reopen in November. The building has a long history. It's the Lilian Rice building at the corner of Paseo Delicias and La Granada, built in the 1920s as the home of the Millar family. Delicias ran there for 24 years and Ponsaty's had it briefly before Sandra DiCicco-Bonar of the Grand Restaurant Group opened Nick & G's in 2017.
The Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club clubhouse is the other closure. In December 2025, a U-T story put the grand reopening in August. The September 7 update moved that to "a fall opening." At a September 3 briefing, Association planning director Maryam Babaki said the new kitchen was close to ready for service once the fire department signed off, and flooring and patio tile were going in. When we checked, the Association's Golf Club page still listed the Ranch Clubhouse Restaurant as "Closed for Renovations." The Association describes the club as private and open to homeowners within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant.
Neither closure is a setback. Both are reinvestments with set timelines. Still, from mid-October until the clubhouse sets a reopening date, both kitchens will be out of service. Alex Carballo, the new chef and partner at Nick & G's, named the places that carry the village in the meantime:
"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 list includes Paseo, the new 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. Three of the names on it opened within the past eleven months.
One address, four openings in a year
Most of the new activity is at 6024 Paseo Delicias. In the past year, four new businesses have opened at that one address.
- Paseo, Suite C. Jennifer Fields took ownership of the former Rancho Santa Fe Bistro on November 1, 2025, and renamed it Paseo. "This is what I was meant to do," she told the U-T.
- Paseo Pizza and Gelato, Unit D. This is Fields' second concept, next door to Paseo. The menu has 18 signature pies and a build-your-own option. The namesake Paseo pie comes with Grande mozzarella, imported burrata, crispy prosciutto, arugula and a balsamic glaze. Gelato flavors rotate, and the shop brews its own craft beer. It's open seven days a week, noon to 9 p.m.
- Havyn, Suite G. Owner Christina Peng's fragrance studio and boutique held its grand opening on April 4. Customers can smell scents in person and make their own candles.
- Make Me Up RSF, Suite I. Delorine Jackson, Gina Resch and Shirley Slee co-own this makeup bar, which held its grand opening on August 27. Resch said the goal was to give locals another reason to stay and shop in the village.
The pizza shop's hours matter most this season. Nick & G's is closed, and the clubhouse restaurant is closed to the Covenant homeowners it normally serves. That makes Paseo Pizza and Gelato the newest village kitchen serving dinner every night of the week. You can see the menu and order online at paseopizzarsf.com.
The corner under the clock tower
Rancho Sandwich and Creamery covers the morning and lunch side, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 6110 El Tordo. Miller lives in Rancho Santa Fe, owns the building and runs a private investment firm. He had no restaurant experience. The shop took over an underused conference room in his bank building, and it took a year to get permits from six county and state agencies, including approval for a new plumbing system.
The menu is easy to learn. Sandwiches use Boar's Head meats and O'Brien's bread, with chicken chipotle and pastrami-and-provolone options. The top seller has been the East County Native: turkey, provolone, bacon and avocado on a French roll. Miller's own favorite is the Miller's Delight, turkey and cheddar on sourdough with blueberry preserves. The pineapple Dole Whip soft serve sells out every couple of days. Breakfast includes avocado toast, breakfast burritos, muffins and bagels. Online ordering is at rancho-sandwich-creamery.square.site.
Across the street is the new Rancho Santa Fe Pharmacy building. The U-T reported in August 2025 that construction had finally started on the pharmacy's move from one corner of El Tordo to another. In June 2026, the U-T's story on the sandwich shop still called it under construction. We haven't found a reported opening date in either story.
A calendar built around the open counters
The village's fall calendar fits around the businesses that are open, and several of the dates fall during the weeks Nick & G's is closed. Here they are in order:
- Sunday, Oct. 11, 4 to 7 p.m. River Valley Fest at La Valle Coastal Club celebrates the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy's 40th anniversary.
- Tuesday, Oct. 13, 3 p.m. The Garden Club and the RSF Association hold a Centennial California oak planting at North Village Park. The ceremony is at 17025 Avenida de Acacias by the Lilian Rice Statue, followed by a potluck at the Secret Garden.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Village Church hosts a Red Cross blood drive at its Fellowship Center, 6225 Paseo Delicias.
- Monday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to noon. DreamKeepers Project's "A Morning of Coffee, Food & Friends" at La Valle Coastal Club includes a cooking demonstration by a guest chef from Paseo RSF.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 9 p.m. Horizon Church holds its Harvest Festival at 6365 El Apajo, with free games and carnival rides.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11, 5 to 9 p.m. The Vision of Children Foundation's "Gathered in Gratitude" dinner takes place at Mille Fleurs, 6009 Paseo Delicias.
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild holds a reception for its "Cityscapes" exhibit, which runs October 2 through November 20 at the Rancho Santa Fe Library, 17040 Avenida de Acacias.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m. The Garden Club's Holiday Brunch at the Secret Garden features ISA-certified arborist Wes Marshburn.
Three of these events are on Avenida de Acacias, within a short walk of both El Tordo and 6024 Paseo Delicias. On the oak-planting afternoon or the night of the art reception, the closest places to eat before or after are the newer counters. The Garden Club's resale shop, Bloom Again, also has its entrance on La Granada and now has a new manager, longtime volunteer Mikki Kristola, who took over after Liz Lovelace retired.
What comes back in November
When Nick & G's reopens, it will look quite different. Carballo worked on the design with Rachael Lorraine Harris and Michael Soriano, and they took their cues from the Amalfi Coast. The plan calls for a large olive tree in the middle of the dining room, new custom banquettes, and a new wine cellar that lets diners see through to a lighter bar and lounge. Diners will also be able to see into the kitchen. Outside, the patio gets a wave-shaped shade canopy, and the back courtyard is being redone as a garden with water features. The menu will be smaller and focused on coastal Italian-Americana dishes, handmade pasta and seafood, and some current favorites will stay. You can follow reopening news at nickandgs.com.
The clubhouse will reopen with a new lobby entrance and a more open restaurant built around a central circular bar. Golf Club staff have already moved back into their offices, so the temporary trailers will soon be removed. Once both reopen, the village will have its two anchor kitchens back plus the counters that opened over the past year. The places that held things together this fall will still be there: Paseo Pizza and Gelato on Paseo Delicias and Rancho Sandwich and Creamery under the clock tower.
The village is changing quickly this year. If you're thinking about a sale or a move-up purchase and want to know how these changes affect the way a Covenant home is presented to buyers, Peter Heines can walk you through it. Book a Consultation.
