With No Café Until 2027, Sherman Gardens Runs on Its Class Calendar

For several years, lunch at Sherman Library & Gardens, on Corona del Mar's block of East Coast Highway between Dahlia and Poppy, meant 608 Dahlia, Chef Jessica Roy's garden-to-table restaurant. Newport Beach Indy reported that her lease ended in October 2025, just as Sherman's planned renovations began. A year later, Sherman's visitor page still says it plainly: "Regular dining services are not currently available on-site."

Since then the gardens have operated as a classroom, which is what the construction is for. The rebuild moves the restaurant out of the middle of the property so the Central Garden can host classes, lectures and field trips. This fall the calendar already looks like the finished version.

Why the Restaurant Is Moving to PCH

The project is called Grow the Gardens. Sherman calls it the most important revitalization in its history, and it's a $17 million effort timed to the institution's 60th year. Ground broke on February 26, 2026. The plan includes a Bell Tower Entrance, rebuilt garden areas and a new location for the restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, "allowing for the central garden area to be used primarily for educational programming," according to the announcement published by the American Public Gardens Association. Construction was expected to take 18 months.

The new restaurant is Hazeltine's, named for Moses Hazeltine Sherman's daughter. Damian Orozco will run it. He owns the Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano. It will fill a rebuilt two-story building with its entrance on Pacific Coast Highway, looking over a refurbished Tea Garden. It will serve late breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a full bar. Executive Director Scott LaFleur explained the reasoning to Newport Beach Indy:

"Moving the restaurant was the key to unlocking a vital education space for expanded classes, lectures, and field trips so Sherman can better fulfill its mission."

This change also restores something older. The early gardens had a window in the former visitor center and garden shop where the Junior League of Newport Beach served light lunches to members in the Tea Garden. That space is being entirely reconstructed as the two-story restaurant building. When Arnold Haskell built the campus between 1966 and 1974, the conservatory, central garden, gift shop, café and library all went up together on one block. The new layout keeps the café separate from the rest of the garden.

Sherman's own pages give two dates for the opening. The Hazeltine's page says late summer 2027, and the visitor page says fall 2027. Either way, regular dining service won't return inside the gates for at least the next ten months.

November, Without a Kitchen

The November calendar shows what happens when the garden has no restaurant. Sherman has filled the month with hands-on classes, evening talks and children's programs.

That's four Friday story times and nine classes or talks in one month. Most of them involve making something: soap, a centerpiece, a painting. The Thanksgiving floral workshop falls the day before the holiday, and the gardens close on Thanksgiving Day itself. Check each event page for times and pricing before you go.

The one exhibit still up is Irina Charny's "Inspired by Nature." Charny is a self-taught mosaic artist from Southern California. Her flowers, butterflies, birds and landscapes are built from glass, stone, porcelain and found objects. The show runs through November 20. It took over from summer's Dog Days of Sherman, Elizabeth Laul Healey's six oversized mosaic dogs, which closed September 7. Mosaic carried through both seasons, but the scale changed. Sherman's exhibit page describes the dogs as "touchable, huggable" sculptures placed around the grounds. Charny's pieces are intricate work made from thousands of small fragments, the kind you look at closely.

Food has come back only as an event. Sherman ran the Hazeltine's Afternoon Tea Experience as a preview of the new restaurant through the summer and fall. The last listed date was October 18, at $79 plus tax and gratuity for adults, with advance reservations required. No more teas appear on the calendar after that.

December Brings a New Holiday Event

The biggest change on Sherman's holiday calendar fits the same pattern. "Nights of 1000 Lights" has been replaced by Merry & Bright Nights, which Sherman's event page calls "an all new magical evening of lights, music, dancing, food, and sparkling HOLIDAY FUN." The evening includes Santa, a Wishing Tree, holiday crafts, a model train running through a holiday scene, Mexican food, adult drinks and a holiday dance party. It's the one time this season you can get a full meal inside the gates, and it's a ticketed event. The garden won't have regular dining again until Hazeltine's opens.

The most recent Nights of 1000 Lights schedule on Sherman's site is for the 2024 event, its 10th anniversary. Here's how the two compare.

There are as many nights as in 2024, and each one is an hour longer. Tickets cost $15 more at both member and non-member prices, and there are two entry times instead of three. The 2026 nights are December 3 through 6, 10 through 13, 17, 19, 21 and 22. The 2024 event sold out every date and time. If you plan to go, buying early makes sense.

The month starts earlier than that. Sherman's wreath-making class is December 2, the night before the first Merry & Bright evening, and Little Seedlings Story Time continues on Fridays, December 4, 11 and 18. The gardens close on Christmas Day.

Visiting During Construction

For a weekday visit this season, here's what Sherman says to expect:

• Entrance: Dahlia Avenue, with signs pointing the way. The PCH side is where the Bell Tower Entrance and restaurant building are going up.
• Closures: Some areas are fenced off and you may hear construction. Sherman posts a garden map for planning a route.
• Library gallery: Open daily 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., but it sometimes closes for classes and events. Sherman suggests calling ahead at (949) 673-2261, ext. 304.
• Hours: Gardens open daily 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Admission: Seasonal pricing since May 15, 2026 is $12 for adults and $5 for ages 4 to 17. Children 3 and under get in free. Blue Star Families and Museums for All cardholders also enter free.
• Membership: Sherman says a membership "typically pays for itself in about 3 visits." If you plan to attend Merry & Bright, the member ticket costs $20 less than the non-member one.

Since there's no café, plan any meal before or after your visit, outside the gates. The gardens close at 4 p.m.

What the Finished Block Will Look Like

When Hazeltine's opens in 2027, the block will be arranged differently. You'll enter the restaurant from Pacific Coast Highway, and it will have a Garden View Patio and Terrace over the Tea Garden. The Central Garden will be given over to the kind of programs on this November's calendar. Kirstie Acevedo, president of M.H. Sherman Company, said the design was meant "to complement our cherished home in Corona del Mar while delivering on Sherman Library & Gardens' mission focus of horticulture, education, and art," per the APGA announcement. The building takes its architectural style from what Sherman calls "Sherman Funk," a mix of Spanish, Mediterranean and other influences.

Until the restaurant opens, the garden runs on its class schedule, and Charny's last day, November 20, is the next date to note.

At Summer Perry Group, we follow projects like the Bell Tower rebuild because changes to Village blocks like this one shape how homes nearby are presented and valued. If you live near Dahlia and Poppy and wonder how the new Sherman frontage might affect your home's value, request a complimentary valuation and we'll go over it with you.