Escondido Downtown Business Association

Visit historic downtown Escondido, a shopping, dining and entertainment destination. Grand Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, offers a pedestrian-oriented ambiance and plenty to see and do.

Culinary experiences are diverse, and many restaurants and eateries offer sidewalk dining. At the Grand Tea Room, patrons enjoy high tea on floral tea sets, and lacy tablecloths three times per day, indoors or on the pretty patio. Down the street, Cuscatlan Salvadorian Cuisine serves up pupusas, El Salvador’s national dish. Just off Grand Avenue, Sunny Side Kitchen prepares delicious breakfast and lunch fare, including grilled-to-order panini, soups, salads, bite-sized cookies, gluten-free treats and old-fashioned lemonade.

Other downtown venues include EcoVivarium Living Museum, offering animal encounters with lovable lizards, snakes and tarantulas; the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum, an action-packed venue for kids; Stone & Glass, a glassblowing studio and gift gallery; Jacked Up Brewery, a popular tasting room; and Hawthorne Country Store, carrying animal feed and homesteading supplies.

As for entertainment, look no further than the regional California Center for the Arts, Escondido, and The Ritz Theater, both world-class downtown venues. The California Center for the Arts, Escondido, draws audiences from near and far to its 1,500-seat concert hall, 400-seat theater, contemporary art museum and dance studios. Its performing arts season includes Broadway musicals, major recording artists, and San Diego Symphony concerts. The Ritz Theater on Grand Avenue, established in 1937 and now fully restored and expanded, offers live music, theater and dance events year-round.

Downtown events include the weekly Escondido Certified Farmers’ Market from 2:30-sunset Tuesdays at Juniper Street between Grand Avenue and Valley Parkway; Cruisin’ Grand, a cool classic car meet with live music Friday nights April through September; Second Saturdays – a monthly arts and culture tour;  the Tamale Festival – a celebration of the iconic food staple and other great Latin foods – (on Nov. 5 in 2022); Small Business Saturday (on Nov. 26 in 2022), an opportunity to shop locally during the holiday season; the February Chocolate Festival; and the Escondido Street Festival, held in May.

A revitalization of Escondido‘s historic downtown began in spring 2022. Wider sidewalks and expanded space for outdoor dining, overhead string lighting and diagonal parking on Grand Avenue has been part of the makeover. Future phases of the project include further sidewalk widening, traffic roundabouts to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety, as well as kiosks and public art.

Transit to downtown Escondido is easy. The SPRINTER light rail — connecting Escondido and Oceanside along the Highway 78 corridor — and Breeze bus systems have stops at the Escondido Transit Center, located about a half mile from the California Center for the Arts. For more information, visit the Escondido Downtown Business Association at downtownescondido.com or call (760) 207-6321.