"This corner is dead and I want to bring it back to life." Majid Mehdi said that to the Escondido Times-Advocate in September. He and his wife, Laurie, had just bought the empty storefronts at Grand Avenue and Maple Street, next to Maple Street Plaza.
Most people downtown know the buildings he means. They know the old 150 Grand dining room, the dark windows beside it, and the arch over Maple Street. The ownership change is new, and so is the plan for those windows. The private buildout is only one piece, though. Whether the corner actually comes back also depends on a city roundabout with no start date and an apartment building approved for the parking lot behind the plaza. Those three projects run on separate schedules, and only the owners have published a projected finish.
The Coast News reported that in August, the Mehdis and a partner bought six buildings along Grand Avenue between Maple Street and Broadway. The purchase covers 126 W. Grand Avenue, home of the French bakery and café A Delight of France, plus 138 to 158 W. Grand Avenue, which includes several vacant storefronts. The Times-Advocate identified the partner only as an investor friend named Ahmed and reported that the Delight of France building is part of his share.
The plaza was not part of the sale. Maple Street Plaza is public right-of-way, directly across Valley Parkway from City Hall and the California Center for the Arts.
Here is what the owners have said publicly:
No tenants have been named. Mehdi described an "aggressive" building program that would finish in a year to 18 months. Counting from that September 9 interview, the window runs from about September 2027 to March 2028.
The address means something because of who got there first. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that 150 Grand opened near Grand and Maple in 1993, before the arts center did. Founders Cyril and Vicki Lucas sold it to chef Carlton Greenawalt and his wife in 2004, and Mark and Faith Missler bought it in 2006. The Misslers closed it on July 20, 2009, ahead of their five-year lease expiring at the end of that month, saying the recession had made a steady profit hard to reach.
So 150 Grand has been closed for more than 17 years. Carol Rogers, a board member of the Escondido Downtown Business Association, listed what downtown businesses have dealt with in that time: the 2000s downturn, the pandemic, the slowdown during Grand Avenue construction, and last year's tariffs. She told The Coast News that Mehdi "understands the ups and downs on the street over the last few decades," and that he is contacting restaurants and working with the city on what's allowed.
City Hall supports the plan. Councilmember Christian Garcia said the city, the owners and local leaders are "exploring ways to enhance our community by providing shopping and entertainment businesses for our residents to enjoy." Mehdi said Mayor Dane White has even offered to help with some of the construction.
The Grand Avenue Vision Project has rebuilt this corner's surroundings in stages, and Maple Street is where the stages meet. The city's preliminary capital improvement budget says Phase II, from Maple Street to Juniper Street, was completed in May 2025. That phase added roundabouts at Broadway and Kalmia. The Coast News pointed out that the storefronts next to the plaza now have wider sidewalks suited to more outdoor seating.
The next phase starts right at this corner. It runs from Maple Street to Escondido Boulevard and includes a roundabout at Grand and Maple. The city budget sets aside money for Phase III over the five fiscal years from 2026/27 through 2030/31 but gives no construction start or finish date. In January, The Coast News reported that the city was still waiting on delayed SANDAG funding for the Grand and Maple roundabout. Updates are posted on the city's Grand Avenue Vision Project page.
The new owners have already seen what construction does to the businesses next to it. Rogers counted the Vision Project slowdown among the setbacks Grand Avenue merchants have absorbed. With no date set for the roundabout, nobody knows yet whether the new restaurants will open before construction starts at their door, during it or after.
The third project is on the lot north of the plaza. On January 28, the Escondido City Council voted 4-1 to approve The Maple, a five-story, 128-unit building at 137 W. Valley Parkway. The site is a 115-space parking lot next to Maple Plaza, across the street from City Hall, and the city has owned the land since the 1960s. The developer, Kingsbarn Realty, will build 113 parking spaces, even though the site's distance from the North County Transit Center means state law doesn't require any.
Details that matter to anyone who uses the plaza:
Item | What the approval includes |
|---|---|
Plaza features | The trellis and some other plaza features will be moved or adjusted by several feet |
Ground floor | No commercial spaces in the building |
Alley | A public art alley program, with murals around the base of the building |
Parking money | $1.8 million of the sale price must be reinvested in parking |
According to the city staff recommendation, the project would provide "the density necessary to activate Grand Avenue, and the businesses along it." At the same meeting, a representative of Filippi's Pizza Grotto Escondido said the restaurant had relied on the lot for 55 years and brought a petition signed by 120 people. Mayor White said he would like to use the sale money to start a downtown parking structure. No parking structure has been committed or scheduled, and no construction timeline for The Maple has been made public.
Mehdi has acknowledged the parking question. "There will be a little difficulty with the parking but it's OK," he told the Times-Advocate. "I think people will park a few blocks away to come to their favorite spots."
Project | Status | Published timeline |
|---|---|---|
Storefront buildout, 126 to 158 W. Grand | Purchased in August; no tenants named | One year to 18 months from September 2026 |
Grand and Maple roundabout, Phase III | Funded in the five-year budget; SANDAG money reported delayed as of January | None |
The Maple, 137 W. Valley Parkway | Approved January 28 | None |
The buildout is the only project with a projected finish, and it depends on work it doesn't control. A restaurant could open at 150 Grand while the intersection outside is still waiting to be rebuilt and while the lot behind the plaza is under construction.
The storefronts are still empty, but the blocks around them have plenty going on before the holidays. Cruisin' Grand's 2026 season ended September 25.
Two weekly stops are also close by. The Escondido Arts Partnership runs a certified farmers market every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. until sundown on Juniper Street between Grand Avenue and Valley Parkway, at Heritage Garden Park. The Escondido Public Library at 239 S. Kalmia St. reopened to the public on August 3 after renovations that added study rooms, new gathering areas and a Teen Space.
A Delight of France, the popular French bakery, breakfast and lunch spot at 126 W. Grand, is the one business in the purchase that The Coast News described as operating rather than vacant.
If you own on or near downtown Grand Avenue and want to know how the storefront plans, the roundabout and The Maple could change your block, Ken Follis & Sharon Robinson Group follows these projects closely and is happy to talk them through with you. Contact Us.
Want to see more? Browse all of Ken Follis & Sharon Robinson Group's properties for sale.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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