On May 5, 2026, Irvine Company Retail announced that Whole Foods Market will open at Westcliff Plaza, the center at Westcliff Drive and Irvine Avenue. Two weeks later the OC Register reported that Whole Foods would take the Ralphs space at 1150 Irvine Ave. The paper also said Ralphs would leave the center when its lease expires "this fall." Irvine Company gave no date for the Whole Foods opening. It is now early October, so the gap between the two stores has arrived. For Newport Heights, that gap is narrower than the size of the empty storefront suggests. A supermarket is the one thing the plaza is missing. Most of the rest of a weekly errand list is still a short drive down Irvine Avenue.
What is settled, and what is still open
Here is what the public record says right now.
- Settled: Whole Foods has signed on for Westcliff Plaza. In its announcement, Irvine Company called the store a "future addition."
- Settled: The new store goes into the Ralphs space at 1150 Irvine Ave.
- Settled: The Ralphs online store directory for Newport Beach now lists a single location, Eastbluff Village at 2555 Eastbluff Dr.
- Not announced: Ralphs' exact last day at Westcliff. The only timing on record is the "this fall" lease expiration.
- Not announced: An opening date or construction schedule for Whole Foods. Neither Irvine Company nor the Register has published one.
The plaza's own landing page still talks about weekly shopping at Ralphs. That page carries no date, so it doesn't tell you whether the store is open today. Before a dedicated grocery trip, the Ralphs store directory is the quicker check.
The rest of the errand list never left
Irvine Company's announcement called Westcliff Plaza a "walkable shopping center offering a variety of everyday conveniences." Without the grocery anchor, the center's directory shows how much of that holds up on its own. Sorted by the errand each tenant covers:
Morning
- Pandor Artisan Bakery and Café, 1126A Irvine Ave
- OEB Breakfast Co., 1104 Irvine Ave
- Quick Drip, 1062 Irvine Ave
- Pressed, 1116 Irvine Ave, for juice and smoothies
Dinner without a grocery run
- Fresh Brothers, 1124 Irvine Ave
- The Chicken Shop, 1120 Irvine Ave
- Bacio di Latte, 1128 Irvine Ave, for gelato afterward
Household and paperwork
- CVS Pharmacy, 1020 Irvine Ave
- Crown Ace Hardware, 1024 Irvine Ave
- The UPS Store, 1048 Irvine Ave
- Chase Bank, 1000 Irvine Ave, and Bank of America, 1016 Irvine Ave
Appointments
- Orangetheory Fitness, 1040 Irvine Ave
- LiveMetta Pilates, 1058 Irvine Ave
- Massage Envy, 1052 Irvine Ave; Face Foundrié, 1036 Irvine Ave; Newport Nails, 1132 Irvine Ave
The center also added a tenant this year. A January 2026 announcement introduced My Sister's Closet + Well Suited, a luxury consignment boutique at 1100 Irvine Ave. So the plaza was still signing new tenants in the same year its grocer was preparing to leave.
Take away the supermarket and that list still covers coffee, a bakery, takeout dinner, hardware, a pharmacy, shipping, banking and a workout. The only item off the list is the weekly cart of groceries.
Where the weekly cart goes for now
Irvine Company's own description puts Westcliff Plaza "near popular 17th Street." During the gap, that same street carries several of the closest full-service options. Every store below is confirmed by its own store page.
| Store | Address | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Ralphs | 380 E 17th St, Costa Mesa | Has a pharmacy, according to its store page |
| Trader Joe's | 640 W 17th St, Costa Mesa | Also on 17th Street |
| Trader Joe's | 2170 Harbor Blvd., Ste. 100, Costa Mesa | Store locator labels it "Now Open!" |
| Mother's Market & Kitchen | 1890 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa | On Newport Boulevard |
| Ralphs, Eastbluff Village | 2555 Eastbluff Dr, Newport Beach | The only Newport Beach Ralphs in the chain's directory |
| Bristol Farms | 810 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach | Newport Beach location |
| Whole Foods Market | 415 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach | The existing Newport Beach store |
The table splits into two groups. Ralphs at 380 E 17th St, Trader Joe's at 640 W 17th St and Mother's Market on Newport Boulevard are all on the Costa Mesa side. Eastbluff Village, Bristol Farms on Avocado Avenue and Whole Foods on Newport Center Drive sit across the harbor in Newport Beach. If you have a Ralphs rewards habit or a standing pickup order, there are two Ralphs left to choose from. Eastbluff is the one still inside city limits, and the 17th Street store is the one with a pharmacy on its listing.
Prescriptions are the errand to sort out first
Groceries can wait a few days, but refills often can't. If your prescriptions ran through Ralphs, the chain has an online transfer page that moves refills from your current pharmacy to a new location. The page doesn't name a specific receiving store for Westcliff customers, so you pick the destination yourself. The Costa Mesa store at 380 E 17th St lists a pharmacy. If you'd like your refills to stay in the same parking lot as your coffee and hardware runs, CVS Pharmacy is at 1020 Irvine Ave in Westcliff Plaza.
Whole Foods, the second time around
The Register called the Westcliff store Whole Foods' second in Newport Beach. The first is at 415 Newport Center Dr. Until the Irvine Avenue store opens, that address is the place to try the Whole Foods products and prepared-food counters that will eventually be at Westcliff.
The lease also settled a rumor. In June 2025, a report said Erewhon had confirmed a Newport Beach store, and talk spread that Westcliff Plaza was the site. When the Register covered the Whole Foods lease in May 2026, it said the news "might end some of the speculation that an Erewhon was coming to Westcliff Plaza." The same article was mostly about Erewhon heading to Costa Mesa. Whole Foods is the grocer with a signed lease for 1150 Irvine Ave.
Irvine Avenue this October
Some of the month's plans fall right along the stretch of Irvine Avenue where the plaza sits. The city's 9th Annual Halloween Spooktacular is October 24 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Mariners Park and the VJ Community Center, 1300 Irvine Ave. The city lists it as free, with trunk-or-treat, a haunted walkthrough, carnival games, costume contests and pumpkin decorating. Food vendors listed for the event are Cathy's Cookies, Prime Philly and TK Burgers. Trunk-or-treat applications are due Friday, October 9.
The weekend before, the Environmental Nature Center holds its 50th Annual Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch on October 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1601 E. 16th Street. Admission is free, and proceeds from paid activities support ENC programs. ENC members get an early pumpkin preview on Friday, October 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. The listed food lineup includes Bluewater Grill, KEAN Coffee, Shirley's Bagels, SOHO TACO, Zaab Thai and Zov's. The center notes that more participants may be added.
Irvine Company hasn't posted an opening date for Whole Foods. Until it does, the Ralphs directory and the Register's coverage are the two places to watch for the next update on 1150 Irvine Ave.
A new grocery anchor changes how a whole stretch of Irvine Avenue gets used, and changes like that are what I follow for clients in Newport Heights. If you're curious how this shift at Westcliff Plaza fits into your own plans on the bluff, Kyle Shutts is glad to talk it through. Schedule a free consultation.
