Fast-Casual Mendocino Farms Arrives in Carlsbad

Newly minted in Carlsbad is Mendocino Farms, which just opened a new outpost inside The Square at Bressi Ranch. Founded in downtown Los Angeles by husband-and-wife team Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen, the brand now has 27 locations in California including existing eateries in La Jolla and Del Mar. Another, slated for early 2020, is headed for downtown San Diego.

The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will service the community of Carlsbad and other surrounding neighborhoods, joining other familiar names like Bird Rock Coffee Roasters and Richard Walker’s Pancake House in the North County complex. Known for building kid-friendly spaces, Mendocino Farms has installed an indoor kid’s corner with a chalkboard wall and a patio stocked with a foosball table and corn hole.

Open daily for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the fast-casual eatery offers a seasonal menu of gourmet sandwiches and salads; the summer lineup includes Gayle’s BBQ Chicken Salad with roasted chicken breast, black bean, roasted corn and jicama succotash, and cabbage and kale slaw dressed with barbecue sauce and buttermilk ranch and the Peachy Keen Chicken Club with roasted chicken breast, nitrate-free Applewood smoked bacon, havarti, Mama Lil’s Peppers, and Scarborough Farm’s arugula on a toasted pretzel roll with peach honey mustard.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo