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the week, and weekend brunch as well.” Bendel expects Bloom to have 85 to 90 seats for dining, as well as an open kitchen through which patrons can watch their meals being prepared. The new restaurant will also have a “great
wine list, great cocktail program, craft beer,” he said. “I’ve been looking around in San Juan for probably about a year and a half, maybe longer, for the right opportunity,” Bendel said. “I found a few things that I thought were going to work, but it just didn’t end up panning out. This became available when Starbucks closed down during the pandemic.” San Juan Capistrano is an up-andcoming town with a good balance of both longtime and new restaurants, he said. “There’s a lot of new development going on,” Bendel said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of exciting things happening, from what I’ve heard, for a long time to come.” As for where the name Bloom came from, Bendel points out it fits in with the names of his other restaurants. “We wanted to stick with the plant/ tree/flower (theme) as a consistent brand of all the restaurants. When we were going through hundreds of different name opportunities, we were looking at the history of San Juan and trying to incorporate something about San Juan into the name,” Bendel said. “When we were reading, there was a quote about the blooming of all the flowers on all the hillside and the natives using the mustard flowers as a trail to get back to the historic Mission. When I read the word ‘bloom,’ it just kind of popped.”
The groundbreaking ceremony featured a ceremonial blessing and remarks from representatives of the local Native American community, including by longtime Los Rios Street resident Stephen Rios. Rios said Almquist approached his family at the onset of the project to talk about plans for the center, and eventually reached out to residents in the neighborhood. “Not everybody was on board with the project, needless to say, but what we learned quickly from Dan is that he had a plan that was well thought-out, that he was sincere about his presentation,” Rios said. “He was sensitive to our concerns. He was willing to back off if it was necessary to do that, but we kept going forward, and the meetings just grew and expanded—and we learned to believe that Dan had a vision that would help develop this neighborhood.” Rios said he and other Los Rios Historic District residents would learn to adjust to and accommodate expected impacts from River Street Marketplace. Jerry Nieblas, another Los Rios resident with deep ties to the area, said the region’s ancestors would approve of the project because of the “honorable person” Almquist is. “I didn’t trust him in the beginning
when I got a call inviting me to the table. I thought, what is he up to?” Nieblas said. “But it was amazing. He welcomed me to the table. I started right out telling him I don’t like progress, and that stands. But I was willing to hear what he had to say if he’d be willing to hear what I had to say.” Mayor Derek Reeve said he is excited about the direction the community is going, and River Street Marketplace is an important investment for the area. Having local Native Americans at the ceremony was meaningful, he said. “This land isn’t your typical location in the city. This means a lot to a lot of people,” Reeve said. “The political process might have been a little feisty at times, but that’s because of this particular piece of land that we’re sitting on.” River Street Marketplace won’t just be another new development, but rather somewhere residents can gather, Reeve said. In addition to River Street Marketplace and Zoomars, Almquist also owns Capistrano Plaza—which houses the restaurants Ramen Shack and Hennessey’s Tavern—and is putting together another project that could build new housing and retail space on Forster Street, as well as a new performing arts center to replace the existing Camino Real Playhouse.
TOP NEWS SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO SHOULD KNOW THIS WEEK
Restaurateur Wants to Revamp Former Starbucks Property into New Restaurant BY COLLIN BREAUX
For a long time, the former Starbucks property at the corner of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano in downtown San Juan Capistrano has gone unoccupied after the coffee chain closed that shop—leaving many in the community wondering what would become of the space. An answer has now emerged. Local restaurateur Russ Bendel and his business partners are planning to open a new restaurant called Bloom at that location, by the end of the year. Bendel lives in San Juan Capistrano and currently owns Vine Restaurant & Bar in San Clemente and Ironwood in Laguna Hills, among other restaurants in Orange County. “What we’re doing right now is our design phase. Our vision for Bloom is to put in some Bi-Fold windows around the whole perimeter of the building, so that way it has that open-air feel when the
weather’s appropriate,” Bendel said. “It’s going to be similar to our other restaurants. It’s going to be a chef-driven, wine country-inspired concept.” Bloom will be across the street from Mission San Juan Capistrano, and next door to FKN Bread. The downtown area is gradually becoming a foodie hub, as a number of well-received restaurants have recently opened in the corridor, including Heritage Barbecue and Ramen Shack. Executive Chef and Partner Jared Cook will join Bendel on his new venture, and he already works with Bendel at Vine. Cook will put together a “pretty different menu” for Bloom— “stuff he’s never done at any of the other restaurants before,” Bendel said. “He wants to really focus on learning more about San Juan Capistrano, what the demographic here would enjoy, making (it) a neighborhood place,” Bendel said. “We’ll be doing dinner every day of
Local restaurateur Russ Bendel is looking to open a new downtown restaurant called Bloom, which will serve what he calls “wine country” cuisine. Photo: Courtesy of Heather Paris-Ybarra, A Single Shot Photography
Developer Dan Almquist Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for River Street Marketplace BY COLLIN BREAUX
An agrarian-themed and pedestrian-oriented commercial village known as River Street Marketplace is coming in the near future to the Los Rios Historic District—an arrival heralded by project developer Dan Almquist. Almquist held a ceremony at the project site to usher in and celebrate the new area on Feb. 16 that was attended by his business partners, city officials, and local residents. Along with restaurant and retail space, River Street Marketplace will also have green space and walkways for pedestrian use. The project is next to Zoomars at River Street Ranch, a petting zoo that Almquist also owns. “There’s so much emotion and so many different feelings with standing here and seeing this project start after six years,” Almquist said. “It was April of 2015 that we went under contract with the Itos to purchase this piece of property.” River Street Marketplace is currently under construction and mostly a dirt site for now. The project is expected to The Capistrano Dispatch February 25-March 10, 2022
Developer Dan Almquist speaks about the coming retail and community center in the Los Rios Historic District. Photo: Collin Breaux
be completed in spring 2023. The center can become a spot where people get together, Almquist said. “San Juan (Capistrano) is such a special place, and it has been a long time—and, at times, a bit of a hard process,” Almquist said.“San Juan, I’m so grateful that we call it our home. This project, in a small way, became something that unified us.” Page 3
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