The Commons Is Between Chapters. Here's Where Calabasas Eats, Swims and Reads This Fall.

Marmalade Cafe was among the original tenants when The Commons opened in 1998. It closed on Aug. 2. In its farewell, the company thanked customers for letting it be part of their families' story "for the past 28 years," as The Acorn reported. The Regency Calabasas theater next to Barnes & Noble had already gone dark when groundbreaking began in February, and Fresh Brothers Pizza closed during the construction.

The new shops and restaurants replacing them aren't due until the end of the year. So this fall The Commons is in an in-between stretch. The old places have closed and the new ones haven't opened. The center's longtime tenants are carrying it, and the sit-down café and newest sushi counter in town are a short drive away.

What still runs at The Commons

The Calabasas Courier, Calabasas High School's student paper, reported on Oct. 9 that The Commons stays open through construction and keeps most of its current businesses. The Acorn's August list of who stayed reads like a list of the center's oldest tenants.

Caruso's own tenant roster for the center, updated in September, still lists Barnes & Noble, Ralphs, Polacheck's Jewelers, King's Fish House and See's Candies. For groceries, books, a box of chocolates or a fish dinner, the routine works much as it did a year ago. The two losses are a long breakfast and a movie.

Getting in has changed more than the shopping. Parts of Commons Lane are active construction zones, the Courier reported, and its story included visitor complaints about parking and traffic. The center's construction update page, posted in July, says surface parking, entrances and walkways stay available. It also says part of the drive aisle between the new buildings becomes one-way, and it lists valet Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. near Sugarfish and Polacheck's. That page covered the summer phase of work, so check the valet hours before you count on them.

Why the gap runs past the holidays

The openings won't come all at once. The City of Calabasas project page for The Commons Lane sets full completion for Fall 2027. The center's FAQ says the new shops and restaurants are meant to open before the residential building, around midway through construction. The Courier's October story repeats the same timeline as the Acorn's August one: some new stores and restaurants could open by the end of 2026, and the apartments follow in 2027.

The project is smaller than first proposed. The 2023 application called for up to 119 apartments. The revised approval in October 2024 settled on 80 units and 27,411 square feet of new commercial space, and it dropped the underground parking garages. That's roughly a dozen new storefronts. The Courier reports that plans include a pedestrian walkway, outdoor dining and more landscaping.

So far, no new restaurant has been named for those spaces. Caruso's September roster marks two retailers "Coming Soon": Design Within Reach and Rivian. The Commons' own directory already labels Rivian as open, so the two official sites disagree on that one. Neither is a place for coffee and eggs, so breakfast and lunch have to happen somewhere else for now.

The café that reopened across town

On Park Sorrento, the city filled one of those gaps. The Canyon Café inside the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center at 23400 Park Sorrento reopened with a soft opening Oct. 2 through 4, according to the City's October e.News. It's run by Giovanni Ortega, a Calabasas resident, Tennis & Swim Center member and restaurant owner. The menu has coffees, smoothies, salads, paninis, sandwiches and vegetarian options, and there are new café tables.

It isn't a walk-in café like Marmalade was. The city's notice says you need a Tennis & Swim Center membership or the drop-in rate to enter the facility and use the café. For members, the timing works well. Three days after the café reopened, the center switched to new hours on Monday, Oct. 5, after a review of how the facility is used:

• Monday through Thursday: 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Friday: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The city says the change adds an hour on both Saturday and Sunday and shifts weekday evening hours to match usage. Staff will keep watching participation and may adjust again. Fall classes are running at the center too, including an adult dance session that started Oct. 27 and runs through Dec. 15.

Sushi moved up Las Virgenes Road

The other new opening is a second location of a restaurant already tied to The Commons. Shibuya Sushi's original spot at 4774 Park Granada, near The Commons, is still open. Its second Calabasas location, near Honey Cup Coffeehouse on Las Virgenes Road, opened Oct. 19, as Conejo Valley Guide reported. It opened for takeout only, and full restaurant service was set to follow without a firm date.

Shibuya's website calls the new spot the Shibuya Annex at 5749 Las Virgenes Rd, Ste C, and confirms takeout. The Conejo Valley Guide item lists 5755 Las Virgenes Road, so look for the Honey Cup storefronts if the number throws you. Call before planning a sit-down dinner there, since dine-in may not have started yet.

The drive between them

With your errands split between Commons Way, Park Sorrento and Las Virgenes, the roads matter more this fall. Besides the work zones on Commons Lane, the City's September e.News says the West Calabasas Road roundabout work near Calabasas Road and Mureau Road continues through February 2027. Traffic there is down to one lane in each direction, and the city expects delays. That's about two months after the first new Commons storefronts are due, so the roadwork will likely outlast the gap at the center.

The library calendar until the new storefronts open

For families, the free indoor option is the Calabasas Library, and its fall calendar runs past Thanksgiving:

1. Pumpkin Patch Story Time starts Thursday, Oct. 29, and runs Thursdays through Dec. 17 in the Multi-Purpose Room. Lap-sit and toddler sessions are separate, and there's no session Nov. 26.
2. Halloween Story Time is Friday, Oct. 30, at 10 a.m. in the Amphitheater, for children of all ages.
3. Santa Paws on Sunday, Dec. 6, and Breakfast with the Grinch & Cindy Lou on Saturday, Dec. 12, are the next events on the City's special events list.

The Pumpkin Festival at Juan Bautista de Anza Park was held Oct. 18. Between Halloween and Santa Paws, the City calendar is mostly classes and story times, and those weeks overlap with the end-of-year window when the first new Commons storefronts could open.

Until those openings, a Saturday in Calabasas might look like this: Ralphs and Barnes & Noble at The Commons in the morning, coffee and a panini at the Canyon Café if you're a member, then Shibuya takeout from Las Virgenes on the way home. Caruso's project page and the City's Commons Lane page are the two places to watch for the first new tenant names.

The Commons redevelopment will add 80 apartments and new shops beside some of the city's longest-standing businesses. If you'd like to talk through how a change that close to home fits into your own plans, the Shari Schiff team is glad to help. Request your complimentary home valuation, and we'll start with what's happening on your street.