Walk the Wharf on a Saturday in July and the arithmetic is strange. On one side of the construction fence, Wind & Sea still serves the same window seats it has since 1972. On the other side, the pavement where Harpoon Henry's, El Torito, and Harbor Grill stood for fifty years is open sky. Longtime buildings housing community mainstays along the boardwalk such as Harpoon Henry's, El Torito and Harbor Grill have been reduced to rubble during recent demolition to make room for more than 100,000 square feet of new waterfront restaurants, shops and public space.
Here is the thesis for the summer, and the reason to actually leave the house on a weeknight this year: the Dana Point most residents carry around in their heads is currently split across two locations. Part of it is still on the Wharf, running out the clock on Phase 3. The rest of it moved uphill onto Pacific Coast Highway, or into a slightly bigger version of itself two doors down. This is the last summer both halves will be visible at once.
The April 30 closures, and where those operators actually went
Four Wharf tenants shut their harbor doors on the same day this spring. Two of them are gone. Two of them are effectively still open, if you know where to look.
- The Brig closed its harbor location on April 30, 2026. Phase 5 of the commercial core is expected to redevelop the pad it sat on. Phase 5, which includes expanding the parking footprint and redeveloping the area currently occupied by The Brig and Harbor Pizza, is likely to begin in mid-2027.
- Beach Harbor Pizza closed after eleven years. Beach Harbor Pizza closed after eleven years under owner Mario Bahena and is looking for a new Dana Point storefront. Worth watching if you cared about that window.
- Village Market closed the same day.
- Bella Bazaar closed the harbor storefront but did not close the business. Bella Bazaar is still selling from its local warehouse and online.
- Harpoon Henry's closed the prior August after Kalez and Bob Mardian, who also run Wind & Sea, made the call to consolidate.
- Frisby Cellars is the outlier and the good news. Josh Frisby stayed on the Wharf and moved into the former Waterman's Restaurant space, which is materially bigger than the old room. Josh Frisby stayed on the Wharf but moved into the former Waterman's Restaurant, which gave the winery a larger footprint, a proper outdoor patio, beers on tap, more food, and room for private tastings and vintage releases. If you have not been in since the move, it reads like a different business.
What's still open on the Wharf this summer
The construction is real, but so is the fact that the harbor was phased specifically so it never closes. Shops, restaurants, whale watching, sport fishing, Catalina Express, the boardwalk, and boater docks all remain accessible, and the new parking structure offers four hours of free parking.
Still pouring, cooking, and running trips through the Phase 3 build:
- Wind & Sea and Jon's Fish Market, the two anchors most residents default to.
- Proud Mary's, Turks, and Gemmell's, all confirmed staying through Phase 3.
- Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, plus Catalina Express departures.
- Frisby Cellars in the new Waterman's footprint.
- A limited pop-up called Smoke on the Water, a partnership with Delanya's Smokin' Hot Texas BBQ, added by Dana Point Harbor Partners specifically to give the Wharf a summer draw while Mariner's Village is fenced.
The Saturday Dana Point Farmers Market also continues at La Plaza Park, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which is a useful anchor for a slow weekend morning that does not require paying for harbor parking.
The quieter story is uphill on PCH
The most interesting new table in town this year is not at the harbor. It is on Pacific Coast Highway in the old Doheny Cafe space.
The White Rooster opened January 16, 2026 in the former Doheny Cafe space on Pacific Coast Highway. Chef Michael Campbell, who was chef de cuisine at The Loft at Montage before running Pacific Pearl Café in San Juan Capistrano and opening Capas at River Street Marketplace, took the space for a comfort-driven breakfast, brunch, and dinner concept. The résumé matters because it tracks the same South County corridor most residents already eat along. He co-founded Portland's Sustainable Seafood Summit, which means his sourcing questions get answered in a serious way. And he is publicly a Doheny surfer, so the restaurant is oriented to the crowd that already lives here rather than the hotel guests down the hill.
Read those two facts together and you get a specific answer to the question every resident is quietly asking this summer: when the Wharf gets loud and dusty, is there somewhere in Dana Point that still feels like Dana Point? The White Rooster is the current answer.
A resident's summer calendar, ranked by how quickly it fills up
The concerts and festivals are the easy part of the summer. The harder part is knowing which ones the rest of the town has already circled.
| Date | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 27 | Coastal Cowgirl Festival | Dana Point Harbor | Free, line dancing, western vendors |
| Sundays July 12 – Aug 16 | Dana Point Free Concerts in the Park | Sea Terrace Park, 2:30–6 p.m. | Food trucks, blankets or low chairs, no glass |
| Thursdays July 9 – Sept 3 | OC Parks Summer Concert Series | Rotates; Dana Point stops close the series at Bluff Park / Salt Creek Beach | Free, all ages, free parking, music at 6 |
| Sept 11–13 | Ocean Institute Maritime Festival | Dana Point Harbor | Tall ships, cannon battles, mermaid programs, beer gardens |
| Sept 25–27 | Ohana Festival | Doheny State Beach | Ticketed, 35+ acts across three stages |
Two calendar notes worth pulling out of the table.
The Dana Point stops this year are the closers. Free, all ages, free parking, and food vendors on site. If you are within walking distance of Salt Creek, these are two of the easiest evenings on the calendar. The Strand access walk back down after the show is the part most residents skip and shouldn't.
The Doheny Surf & Art Festival on June 20 is the one locals routinely underbook because they assume the parking will be impossible. The 2026 vendor slots are already full, which tells you something about the trajectory of this one. Read that as demand data.
Movies in the Park is also running its usual rotation this year, with screenings at Dana Crest Park, Sunset Park, and Sea Terrace Park through June.
Why this specific summer matters more than last summer
Here is the piece that gets lost in the "harbor is under construction, sorry" framing. The Phase 3 site work is not cosmetic. It is a full replacement of the 1971 boardwalk buildings, elevated for sea-level rise, with the boardwalk itself set to more than double in length.
The waterfront boardwalk will more than double in size, eventually creating a continuous walkable path from Doheny State Beach all the way to Baby Beach, one of the longest walkable waterfront promenades on the West Coast.
Meaning: the picture in your head of the seven low buildings, the sea lions under the pilings, the gulls on the pizza-window railing, is currently being converted into a memory in real time. Seven new waterfront buildings are targeted for completion by end of 2026. The most visible active construction in early 2026 is Mariner's Village, Phase 3 of the commercial core. Located between Dana Wharf and Casitas Way, this phase includes seven new commercial buildings with waterfront restaurants, retail, rooftop decks, outdoor event spaces, fire pits, and public green areas. Construction fencing went up in August 2025, and completion is targeted for the end of 2026.
The specific thing to do about it this summer: walk the Wharf side of the harbor before Labor Day. Order at the Wind & Sea window. Sit outside at the new Frisby. Take the boardwalk as far as it currently goes and note where the fence starts, because the next time you take that same walk, the fence will be somewhere else and so will the coastline you remember.
If you want the finished version, the marina is targeted for 2027 and the two new hotels along with the expanded boardwalk are expected to be in place for the 2028 Olympic sailing events. The marina is projected to reach full completion in 2027. The two new hotels and the expanded boardwalk are expected to be in place in time for the 2028 Olympics, when Dana Point hosts international sailing events. That is the "after." This summer is the overlap.
If you own in Dana Point and you are curious what the harbor transition is doing to the block you actually live on, or if you just want a second set of eyes on the market as the finish lines get closer, Tom Bertog has been working South Orange County since 1989. Call Tom for a personal market consultation.
