Ggiata Delicatessen Is Coming to 17th Street in Costa Mesa: What It Means for the Neighborhood

The LA-Fication of Costa Mesa Continues

If you've spent any time on 17th Street lately, you already know Eastside Costa Mesa is going through something of a moment. Shake Shack landed at 333 East. Oak & Coal brought LA-caliber yakitori to a strip mall. And now, according to early rumblings, one of Los Angeles's most talked-about sandwich shops is set to join them.

Ggiata Delicatessen — the Jersey-inspired deli that's built a cult following across LA — is expected to open later this year in the former Baycrest Bottle Shop space at 333 East 17th Street, right next door to Oak & Coal. If it happens as planned, this will be Ggiata's seventh location overall and its first ever outside of Los Angeles.

For those of us who track what's happening in this corridor closely — because it says something about where the neighborhood is headed — this is a notable one.

Who Is Ggiata, and Why Does It Matter?

Ggiata was founded by three childhood friends from Montclair, New Jersey — Noah Holton-Raphael, Max Bahramipour, and Jack Biebel — who grew up eating at the delis of Essex County, an area they'll tell you is the unofficial deli capital of the country. The name itself is a play on passeggiata, the Italian tradition of a leisurely evening stroll to catch up with neighbors — which gives you a sense of the vibe they were going for: nostalgic, neighborhood-y, unpretentious.

The concept started small: a cloud kitchen out of a month-to-month lease in Koreatown, run without any of the founders having a traditional restaurant background. From there, it grew into a full-blown LA institution, with brick-and-mortar locations opening in:

• Melrose Hill (the original)
• West Hollywood
• Venice
• Highland Park
• Studio City
• Echo Park

Along the way, Ggiata built a reputation for hot Italian-style sandwiches that eat more like entrées than deli classics — think chicken cutlets in spicy vodka sauce, meatball parm, and the fan-favorite "Spicy P" (ham, salami, capicola, muenster, vinaigrette). The menu also leans into breakfast and salads, with a rotating dessert case of rainbow cookies and limoncello olive oil cake that regulars won't leave without.

What We Know About the Costa Mesa Location

Details are still emerging, but here's what's circulating:

• Address: 333 East 17th Street, Costa Mesa — in the space formerly occupied by Baycrest Caps + Cork Bottleshop
• Neighbors: Directly next to Oak & Coal, in the same center as Shake Shack, Tabu Shabu, and Tres Muchachos
• Timing: Expected to open later this year
• Significance: Ggiata's seventh location, and its first outside of Los Angeles County

It's worth noting this hasn't been formally confirmed by Ggiata itself yet — but a build-out in that specific unit and the timing lines up with a brand that's been opening roughly one new store a year and clearly has appetite to keep growing.

Why This Is a Real Estate Story, Not Just a Food Story

I get asked a lot why I track restaurant openings as closely as I track comps. The honest answer: where the good restaurants go, the buyers follow.

333 East 17th has quietly become one of the more telling barometers for what's happening across Eastside Costa Mesa and the broader Newport-Mesa border. A decade ago, this stretch of 17th Street was mostly local institutions and mom-and-pop shops. Now it's pulling in brands that could open anywhere in LA — and are choosing Costa Mesa first.

That matters for anyone evaluating this pocket of the market. Walkable dining density, a growing roster of destination food and retail, and proximity to both the harbor and Fashion Island are exactly the kind of fundamentals that support long-term home values in the surrounding Eastside neighborhoods. Ggiata's arrival is one more data point that this corridor is being taken seriously by operators who don't need to gamble on unproven locations.

FAQ

Where exactly is the new Ggiata location? It's expected to open at 333 East 17th Street in Costa Mesa, in the former Baycrest Bottle Shop space, next door to Oak & Coal.

Is this Ggiata's first Orange County location? Yes. If it opens as expected, it will be Ggiata's first location outside of Los Angeles County and its seventh location overall.

What does Ggiata serve? Ggiata specializes in Italian-American deli sandwiches, breakfast items, and salads, along with a rotating case of desserts like rainbow cookies and limoncello olive oil cake.

When is it expected to open? Current information points to a later-2026 opening, though an exact date hasn't been confirmed.

Why does a restaurant opening matter for the local real estate market? Restaurant and retail activity is one of the clearest early signals of neighborhood momentum. When proven, high-demand brands choose a corridor, it typically reflects — and reinforces — strong foot traffic, demographics, and long-term desirability, all of which support home values nearby.