Ask a longtime resident where to eat in Calabasas and the answer used to be a shrug toward The Commons and a specific booth at Sagebrush Cantina. That shortlist is being rewritten this summer, and the interesting part is not the number of openings. It is the geography. Nearly every notable arrival of the past six months is landing on one of three addresses: Calabasas Road in Old Town, 4799 Commons Way at The Commons, or a quieter stretch of Las Virgenes.
Read the openings as a group and a pattern shows up. Operators are clustering around foot traffic that already exists, taking over spaces from tenants who left, and betting that a walkable Old Town plus a mid-construction Commons can carry a heavier dining calendar than either has held before.
The Old Town Bet, Anchored By An Empty Corner
The most consequential move is happening at 23538 Calabasas Road, the former Mulholland space across from Sagebrush Cantina. Jon & Vinny's has announced they will be moving into the old Mulholland location, which closed in October, with a spokesperson saying the chain was still waiting on some permit approvals. The team is currently hiring for all positions at the new location, and applications route through 818-444-6494 or jonandvinnys.com/jobs.
For context on what that means for the block: this is the same Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo whose original Fairfax café has been booked solid since it opened in 2015, and whose restaurants sit in Fairfax, Brentwood, Slauson, Beverly Hills and Studio City. Calabasas is the first Conejo-adjacent address on that list. A Westside operator choosing Old Town over a second Westside build is worth noticing.
They are not arriving to an empty street. The Old Town streetscape was rebuilt several years ago, and the block picked up two more tenants this spring. The Library Calabasas and KittyBird Blooms both opened in Old Town Calabasas at 23504 Calabasas Road according to the March 2026 mayor's newsletter, which is the same civic address that hosts the Saturday farmers market. The Old Town Calabasas Farmers Market runs Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 23504 Calabasas Rd.
If you have not been through in a few weeks, the working shortlist on that stretch now reads: The Mulholland (yes, still there under that concept name on the guides even after the address change), Yume Sushi's second location, Sagebrush Cantina, the incoming Jon & Vinny's, and the new retail at 23504.
The Commons Is Doing Two Things At Once
The Commons is the other pole, and it is running an unusual play: adding tenants while under construction.
| Address | What's There | Opened / Status |
|---|---|---|
| 4799 Commons Way | Superba Food + Bread | Opened March 28, 2025 |
| 4799 Commons Way, Suite I | Cheesesteaks by Matū | Opened July 14, 2026 |
| 4799 Commons Way (broader property) | New shops, restaurants, parking structure | Construction began January 2026 |
The Superba arrival set the tone. Superba Food + Bread opened at The Commons at Calabasas on Friday, March 28, with a modern design inspired by European cafes and classic American diners, building on hospitality that founder Paul Hibler and CEO Jeff Goodman of American Gonzo established since introducing the restaurant to Venice Beach in 2014. The Calabasas menu adds dishes exclusive to the location including an Egg White Frittata, Superba Hash Browns and Osetra Caviar, Bluefin Tuna Carpaccio, and a Market Vegetable Fritto Misto. A Venice operator building a Calabasas-only menu is a small tell about who they think is walking in.
Cheesesteaks by Matū is the more recent, and more specific, arrival. The team behind Matū and Matū Kai brought its 100% grass-fed Wagyu Philly Cheesesteak, made with First Light Farms beef, a custom seeded bun, Cooper Sharp cheese, grilled onions, and a long hot pepper, to a casual walk-up spot next to HiHo Cheeseburger at 4799 Commons Way, Suite I, with cheesesteaks made to order and house-made chips, open daily 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. A walk-up Wagyu cheesesteak counter next to a HiHo is a New York move. It is also, for anyone doing takeout math for a lake concert, a fifteen-minute pickup rather than a sit-down commitment.
The construction context matters if you are planning around it. The Commons is in the middle of a significant construction period; work began in January 2026, and the July through September update says construction is underway on new shops, restaurants, and a parking structure for the planned apartment homes. Existing stores and restaurants remain open, surface parking is still available, and weekend valet service is listed near SUGARFISH from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Treat SUGARFISH valet as the shortcut on Saturdays.
The Third Pole: Las Virgenes
The third address is easier to miss because it is not in either walkable core. Salsa & Beer Mexican Grill appears to have signage up at 4895 Las Virgenes Road, per Conejo Valley Guide reporting; the location was previously in the works in 2020 but never came to fruition, and owner Gabriel Huerta has said they are finishing construction and planning to open soon. Salsa & Beer has four existing locations, including one in Lake Balboa and three in North Hollywood, and it focuses on bringing the flavors of Jerez Zacatecas, Mexico, to the Los Angeles area.
Las Virgenes has not been part of the Calabasas dining conversation the way Old Town and The Commons have. A Valley operator finishing a build here suggests that is about to change, and that the corridor to the 101 is being underwritten as its own drive-up market rather than as spillover.
What This Adds Up To This Month
If you are trying to work these into an actual August calendar, the useful pairing is dinner and a concert. The July 19, August 2, and August 23 performances are free and begin at 6 p.m. Picnics are welcome at the lake concerts, subject to restrictions on glass bottles, barbecues, and heating devices. Two dates remain on the SunSets series after this week.
A few things worth planning around before you head over:
- Free park and ride shuttle runs from the Calabasas Civic Center at 100 Civic Center Way from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and pets are not allowed on shuttles with the exception of service animals.
- The City describes Calabasas Lake as private and states that it opens to the public during City-sponsored concerts. Access is tied to the date, not the season.
- Cheesesteaks by Matū closes at 7 p.m. If the concert starts at 6 p.m., picking up on the way is the play, not on the way out.
- The Commons keeps weekend valet near SUGARFISH from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the construction period.
The July 4 program has already run this year, and it was a full day. The 49th Annual Lakeside Fun Run on Saturday, July 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., ran along the greenbelts and pathways surrounding Calabasas Lake, followed by the Patriotic Pet Show at 11 a.m. with awards including Most Patriotic, Best Trick, and Best of Show, and a Splash Party from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. with swimming, music, games, prizes, and more. Mark it as the anchor date for next summer if it was not on your calendar this year.
The Read On All Of This
A restaurant landing in Calabasas is not news. Five landing in nine months, on the same three addresses, is a shape.
The Old Town cluster is the one to watch closely. A Fairfax-caliber operator taking a corner that has been dark since October changes the pull of the street. It gives the farmers market a Saturday dinner option a block away. It puts a working chef within a five-minute walk of two new retail tenants that only opened this spring. If Jon & Vinny's opens on the timeline the current hiring pace suggests, the Old Town block will read differently by fall than it has for the past decade.
The Commons is the counterweight. Superba plus Cheesesteaks by Matū, both at 4799 Commons Way, is a signal that the property is being underwritten as a dining destination during its own build-out, not despite it. When the new shops and parking structure finish, the tenant list will be denser than the one that carried the property through the last cycle.
Las Virgenes is the wildcard. One opening does not make a corridor. It does make the map three-pronged rather than two.
For residents, the practical effect is that the answer to "where should we eat" has more real options this August than it did last August, and the answer changes depending on which of the three streets you are closest to.
If you are considering a move within Calabasas, or curious how these shifts are pulling foot traffic and buyer interest across specific pockets of the city, Team Sorrentino tracks the block-by-block texture that a portal search will never surface. Book an appointment to talk through what the current map means for your address.
