Doc Martin's and It's Sugar have closed their locations on the Third Street Promenade contributing to the 30% vacancy rate on the City’s flagship economic street, even as officials point to millions of dollars in revitalization investments and a wave of new tenants preparing to open their doors.
The departures add to a growing list of vacancies on a street that has struggled to regain its footing since the pandemic. The closures of the Misfit and Anthropologie prompted community debate while the replacement of the Britannia with Taco Bell has also generated significant conversation.
Anthropologie will move to a Marina del Rey location in July and the owners of The Britannia have said they will look for a new location.
Fast Food Fills the Gap
Against that backdrop, two national quick-service chains are preparing to plant flags on the Promenade — a development that local officials and business leaders are framing as a pragmatic, if imperfect, response to chronic vacancies.
Taco Bell Cantina has filed for commercial building permits to open at 318 Santa Monica Blvd. Permit filings show the project would convert 1,510 square feet of existing office space into a restaurant and bar with a mezzanine level, valued at nearly $400,000. The Cantina format serves beer, wine and frozen cocktails alongside tapas-style appetizers not found at standard locations. Roughly 60 Cantinas operate nationwide, with the Las Vegas Strip flagship generating nearly four times the average Taco Bell's sales volume.
Louisiana-based Raising Cane's has also announced plans to open its first Santa Monica location this summer at 1401 Third Street Promenade — just steps from the planned Cantina. Unlike Taco Bell, which is displacing an existing restaurant, Raising Cane's will occupy a previously empty unit.
The arrivals mark a striking reversal for a corridor that banned chain restaurants with more than 100 domestic locations in 2018, later raising that threshold to 150. Pandemic-driven vacancies prompted the council to suspend the ban in March 2023, and in August 2025 the elimination was made permanent.
Millions Committed to Recovery
City officials have put the Promenade's recovery at the center of Santa Monica's broader Realignment Plan. In March, the City Council unanimously approved an eight-point economic development package that includes a $3 million economic development fund for restaurant attraction incentives, tenant improvement assistance, and business recruitment efforts focused on downtown.
Among the package's most significant elements is the elimination of the city's $1,000-per-seat wastewater capacity fee for new and expanding restaurants — a cost that previously reached $70,000 for a 50-seat establishment before opening its doors. The city also expanded its entertainment zone program, which permits open-container alcohol consumption during designated events, from the Promenade to the broader downtown core, the Santa Monica Pier, Main Street, and Montana Avenue.
Additional measures include extended discounted parking, elimination of sidewalk dining fees, and a temporary film permit fee waiver. The council also accepted Metro grants totaling $750,000 to fund activations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, with a five-week World Cup event planned for June through July.
There are a handful of businesses planned to open on the Promenade including HQ Gastropub, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed pizzeria, and the Arte Museum, an immersive experience venue slated to open later this year. Club Studio gym is opening on the ground floor of Santa Monica Place and is taking early signups now. Sand ‘N Surf plans to reoccupy its currently vacant space on the Promenade when seismic retrofits are complete and The Moo Korean BBQ has rapidly replaced Gyu-Kaku.