Todos Santos Plaza's Next Restaurants Are Already Open Somewhere Else
"OPENING END OF OCTOBER."
That banner went up at the corner of Grant and Salvio, and Claycord reported it on October 1. It gives no day and no year. Neighbors who have watched that corner since 2024 will understand why that matters.
Look past the banner, though, and the three storefronts changing hands around Todos Santos Plaza this year have one thing in common. Each new tenant already runs a restaurant somewhere else. Blast & Brew has a location in Atascadero. Sultan's Kebab runs restaurants in Danville, Pleasanton, Livermore and Campbell. Chaiwala Shop came to Concord after Fremont and Clovis. Two of the three can be tried today, one on Salvio Street and one in Danville.
The Grant and Salvio corner was E.J. Phair Brewing Company's home for 22 years, which is why it still registers as a gathering place for many people downtown. Blast & Brew has been lined up to replace it for a long time. Bay Area Telegraph points to a July 2024 menu from the company's Atascadero location that listed Concord with "GRAND OPENING SUMMER 2024." That window passed. By December 2025, the outlet's food critic was still reporting uncertainty about when the restaurant would open.
Since early October there are more concrete signs. Along with the banner, Blast & Brew's Concord page reads "COMING Fall 2026." The company also runs a Concord careers page with openings for managers, bartenders, cooks and pizza artisans. That points to a restaurant getting staffed, though it still doesn't set a date.
As of the Telegraph's October 3 update, no opening day or hours had been posted for Concord. As this post goes up, we're in the window the banner promised. The next real milestone is doors actually opening.
Blast & Brew calls itself an American eatery and tap house. Its website highlights from-scratch comfort food and a self-pour setup with more than 26 rotating craft beers and wines. The menu includes burgers, a crispy chicken sandwich, a Bavarian pretzel and a Philly cheesesteak. There's no Concord-specific menu yet, so the website is the best preview for now.
| Storefront | Who had the space before | Where the operator already runs | Status in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blast & Brew, Grant and Salvio corner | E.J. Phair Brewing Company, 22 years | Atascadero | "COMING Fall 2026"; banner says end of October, no date set |
| Sultan's Kebab, former Lima space | Lima, empty more than a year | Danville, Pleasanton, Livermore, Campbell; Saratoga planned | "COMING SOON" on its own site; no date announced |
| Chaiwala Shop, 2008 Salvio St | Cinnaholic | Fremont, Clovis | Open, reported August 11 |
All three are expansions. Two have taken over spaces that sat with a promised replacement but no opening day for a long stretch. One of them has already arrived.
The former Lima restaurant faces the plaza and had been empty for more than a year when Bay Area Telegraph reported in September that Sultan's Kebab was preparing to move in. The restaurant's own site lists the Concord location at 2151 Salvio St and still labels it "COMING SOON," with no hours posted.
The timing hasn't firmed up. In early September, published reports suggested the restaurant could be ready in two to three months, which put a likely debut sometime this fall. The Telegraph added that this depends on construction and permitting staying on schedule. The plan includes a patio, which counts for a lot at a spot overlooking one of the city's busiest public gathering places.
Sultan's Kebab is the easiest of the three to preview. It's a locally grown group with a Danville restaurant at 480 San Ramon Valley Boulevard, plus locations in Pleasanton, Livermore and downtown Campbell. A Saratoga location is also planned, which would bring the group to six Bay Area restaurants once Concord and Saratoga both open. For many people in Contra Costa County, as the Telegraph put it, Sultan's Kebab "will not be a new name."
Chaiwala Shop is the arrival you can visit today. It opened at 2008 Salvio Street, right across from Todos Santos Plaza, in the former Cinnaholic storefront at The Shops at Todos Santos, according to Bay Area Telegraph's August report. It's the company's third California cafe, after Fremont and Clovis. The business describes itself as a modern take on the traditional Indian chai shop, a casual place to stop for a hot drink, a snack and conversation.
The hot chai list is long. It includes ginger, cardamom, masala, saffron, fennel, rose, chocolate, paan and tulsi. Kadak chai is the stronger, more intensely brewed option, and blends include ginger-cardamom, ginger-masala and kadak-ginger. The menu also has Indian street-food-style snacks and vegetarian dishes.
Chaiwala shows how this pattern works out on the plaza. The cafe opened at its first two locations, and then its third one opened on Salvio. Blast & Brew and Sultan's Kebab are on the same path, just a few steps behind.
The storefronts are changing, but the plaza's regular schedule isn't. That gives you a steady routine to build around while the new places open. Here's a simple way to try all three between now and early December:
Last year's tree lighting looked out on two empty storefronts at the Grant and Salvio corner and in the former Lima space. This year, both have tenants who already run restaurants elsewhere, and their opening timelines are listed in the table above.
Our office is on Salvio Street too, so we keep an eye on these storefronts along with you. If downtown's changes have you thinking about your own next step in Concord, whether that's staying close to the plaza, downsizing nearby, or helping a parent find a place within walking distance of Todos Santos, the team at Realm Real Estate is glad to talk it through over chai. Let's Connect.
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