One big box at The District at Tustin Legacy began as a Borders bookstore. In fall 2014 it reopened as Union Market, a food-and-retail hall of roughly 23,000 square feet designed for about 20 small incubator storefronts. Before the end of 2026, that same space is expected to hold three businesses: a Vietnamese restaurant, an upscale Chinese restaurant and a karaoke lounge.
Going from twenty small stalls to three larger tenants changes what the building is for. The incoming lineup is built around dinner and a night out, and it fits a two-year run of leasing across the center at 2437 Park Ave. that has added more places to eat and more to do after dark.
Five Arrivals, Two Months
The Orange County Register reported on Oct. 16 that The District expects five new tenants to open before the end of the year. Patrick Brady, vice president of leasing at Vestar, told the paper the additions are part of a push to expand the center's dining and entertainment offerings. The center has not announced specific opening dates, so the months below are targets.
| Tenant | What it is | Space it takes | Expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niku Sushi | All-you-can-eat sushi, sashimi and specialty rolls; already has an Anaheim location | Former RA Sushi | November |
| Jabal Coffee House | Single-origin Yemeni coffee, regional pastries baked fresh, specialty drinks | Former Vans store | November |
| Pho n Mor | Pho, rice and noodle dishes, rolls, plant-based Vietnamese fare | Former Union Market | December |
| Array 36 | Upscale pan-Chinese with Shanghainese specialties; first Orange County location | Former Union Market | December |
| Tang | Private karaoke rooms with a lounge bar | Former Union Market | December |
Jabal already operates in Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and New York, among other states. Array 36's current menu in San Gabriel gives an idea of what Tustin may get, including tableside-carved roast duck, sous vide Szechuan-style short ribs and crispy prawns. A Tustin menu has not been released yet. The karaoke lounge is "Tang" in the Register story and "Tang Tang Karaoke Bar" on the center's own homepage, so either name may show up on signage or in search.
Three of the five go into one building. The history of that building helps make sense of the lineup.
Twenty Stalls, Then Three Tenants
Union Market was designed as an incubator. It brought together about twenty small operators who opened on their own timelines and shared the hall's foot traffic. Local coverage traces how the space changed over eight years:
- Fall 2014. Union Market opens in the former Borders. Over its first few years the tenants included Portola Coffee Lab, Kettlebar, Central Bar, Drinkbar, The Kroft, Churned Creamery, Cubed Poke, Market 2 Plate and Chan's Hatch, and several of them opened after the original rollout.
- February 2015. The Register reported that several spaces were still unfinished. Planned anchors The Hatch, Taco Bandito and Roiling Boil had stalled, and tenants pointed to slow foot traffic and management disputes.
- May 2022. Central Bar and Kettlebar leave the hall.
- August 2022. The Daily Pilot reported that remaining tenants had been told they might have to move out by Aug. 31 because of litigation between the master landlord and the hall's sublessor. A legal representative for Vestar said a new concept for the space would not keep the existing subtenants.
- October 2026. The Register names Pho n Mor, Array 36 and Tang as the three businesses replacing the Union Market space.
The new plan is set up differently. An incubator hall gives many new businesses a place to start, and its success rests on a lot of them opening and thriving together. With three operators sharing the box, far fewer moving parts have to line up, and at least one of them, Array 36, already runs a restaurant in San Gabriel. Next door, both November arrivals also have existing locations: Niku in Anaheim and Jabal in several other states. The center is filling its vacancies with operators that have already run a restaurant somewhere else.
The mix inside the old hall matters too. Union Market's roster leaned toward coffee, ice cream, poke and quick counters. The three replacements are a sit-down Chinese dinner spot, a noodle house and a karaoke lounge with a bar. That is a building designed for the evening.
The Rest of the Promenade Has Been Moving the Same Way
The incoming five follow a steady run of additions. The center's homepage currently lists four tenants as now open:
- Beirut Grill, serving Levantine food
- More Yogurt, a Chinese fresh-made yogurt brand with drinks, shakes and pastries
- Mr BBQ Jr, a fast-casual tabletop Korean barbecue concept
- Tsurukawa Udon, specializing in wide, flat udon noodles plus hot and cold Japanese dishes
Before them came the 2025 group. The Orange County Business Journal reported in April 2025 that Café 86, a ube dessert-and-drink shop, had opened the month before. The same report covered The District Eatery, which serves customizable Asian bowls, and Jini Mini, a gift and beauty-products retailer. That spring the Register reported that Activate Games, an interactive gaming venue, was due to open in July 2025, with Le Macaron to follow. Both now appear in the center's directory.
The center's entertainment roster grows with each round. The directory lists AMC Tustin 14 and Bowlero, Activate Games has joined them, and Tang will add private karaoke rooms. On its homepage, the center calls itself a globally inspired "eater-tainment" destination, and the leasing over the last two years matches that description. Most of the new food is Asian or Middle Eastern: Korean barbecue, udon, ube desserts, Levantine plates, Yemeni coffee, and now pho and Shanghainese dishes.
The Errand Side Stays Put
None of this touches the large-format stores that bring most weekday traffic to Park Avenue. The directory still lists Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Lowe's, T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, Michaels and PetSmart. Familiar sit-down restaurants are still listed too, including Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Luna Rossa, Prego, Utopia European Caffe and Red Robin, along with In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A.
The weekly farmers market keeps its slot. It runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2411 Park Ave. and now accepts EBT.
So the center is splitting along time of day. Daytime shopping runs through the big boxes along the outer edge. The changes are happening on the Promenade, in spaces where people stay for dinner, a movie, bowling or a karaoke room. Jabal is the one daytime exception among the five. The Register describes it as a place to recharge between errands, which puts a coffee stop on the walk between the big-box parking and the Promenade.
What to Expect Between Now and New Year's
The order is set even though the dates are not. Niku Sushi in the former RA Sushi space and Jabal Coffee House in the former Vans store are expected first, in November. Pho n Mor, Array 36 and Tang follow in December, all in the old Union Market building.
Three openings planned for one building in the same month depend on construction schedules, so December could easily slide for one or more of them. The center's store directory and homepage are the most direct places to watch for "coming soon" changing to "now open." All five carried the "coming soon" label in mid-October.
The District opened in 2007. In under twenty years, its former Borders box has been a bookstore, a twenty-stall food hall and, by the end of this year if the schedule holds, a pho house, a Shanghainese dining room and a karaoke lounge.
Changes like these at The District affect how homes near Tustin Legacy compare with each other, and we track them street by street. If you'd like to know how the center's next chapter fits into your home's value, Monarch Home Group is glad to talk it through. Get Your Free Market Valuation.
