The storefront at Elena Avenue and Avenue I has been dark long enough that most people walk past without seeing it. It used to be a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. For the past stretch it has been the one blank space on a corner that otherwise stays busy all day. On Thursday, December 3, it will sit at the edge of the Riviera Village Holiday Stroll, where Avenue I is closed to cars from Catalina to Elena from 5 to 9 p.m.
According to Easy Reader's October 7 A La Carte column, that storefront is set to become a Mickey's Deli. Mickey's started in Hermosa Beach in 1953. And it fits a wider pattern this fall: the businesses changing around Riviera Village are South Bay operators moving a few miles, some into the village and some out of it.
The corner and the deli taking it
Mickey's calls itself an Italian deli, market and liquor store, and it has been part of Hermosa Beach since the early 1950s. It already runs two locations: the original at 101 Hermosa Avenue and a Redondo shop at 2716 Artesia Boulevard in North Redondo. The Riviera Village site would make three, and it's the first one in South Redondo.
In his column, Easy Reader's Richard Foss pointed out that this part of town already has plenty of Italian-American food and pizza. He still predicted the deli would draw a crowd quickly, because "Mickey's is a name to conjure with." That's the logic of a short-distance move. A deli with seventy-plus years in the next town over doesn't have to introduce itself on Avenue I. Many people who walk past that corner already know the sandwich.
Location makes the change easy to see. The Stroll's car-free zone covers S. Catalina Avenue from Avenue I to S. Elena, plus Avenue I from Catalina to Elena. The Jolly Maker's Market sets up on Avenue I. Anyone browsing that market will end up at the Elena end of the block, facing the storefront that's about to change hands.
The tavern that remodeled and stayed
One block over, on the same streets the Stroll closes, the fall's other change went the other direction. A long-running tenant invested in its space instead of leaving it.
Hennessey's Tavern at 1712 S. Catalina Avenue closed for a kitchen remodel that Easy Reader said would upgrade and enlarge the kitchen. The column set the reopening ceremony for Thursday, October 8. The Hennessey's Redondo Beach page now lists the location as open daily from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Put Hennessey's next to the Mickey's corner and you get a picture of how the village is changing. The anchor on Catalina has a bigger kitchen than it had last holiday season. The empty spot on Avenue I is going to a deli with deep South Bay roots. Neither change brings in an operator the neighborhood has to get to know from scratch.
A Riviera Village bakery opens a second shop in Palos Verdes
The same short-distance pattern also runs outward. The couple behind the Little French Bakery in Riviera Village has opened Lunelle in Palos Verdes Estates, at 2201 Palos Verdes Drive West #1, in the building with Lunada Market & Deli.
Easy Reader said the pastries at Lunelle are the same as at the village shop, "excellent and traditionally French." That makes the new shop more useful to locals than most second locations. If you live up the hill, you can get the Riviera Village croissant without parking in the triangle lot. If you live in the village, you have a second option on mornings when the line at home runs long. The column also had a practical tip. Outdoor-dining umbrellas almost completely hide Lunelle's sign, so park and look around on foot until you find it.
So a village bakery has grown a few miles south, and a Hermosa deli is coming a few miles in. Riviera Village is both exporting and importing this fall, and every operator involved is from close by.
Southeast Redondo's PCH picks up two neighbors
The pattern holds just outside the village on Pacific Coast Highway, where two newcomers opened within a block of each other. Easy Reader listed both in its October roundup.
- Thai House Kitchen, 1914 S. PCH. An offshoot of Baramee in San Pedro, with the same pan-Thai menu in a more pared-back dining room. The parent restaurant is in San Pedro, just down the coast, so this is another short-distance move.
- Gravewave Coffee, 1808 S. PCH. A goth-themed coffeehouse, and a permanent one, not a Halloween pop-up. Foss went in expecting The Cure or The Damned on the speakers and found the room quiet instead. That makes it a usable spot for a laptop morning.
Neither business is inside the Stroll footprint. Both are close enough to include on a Stroll evening if you're coming from the PCH side: Thai before the Stroll, or a coffee on the way to S. Catalina.
Planning the night of December 3
The Riviera Village Association's Stroll page lays out the evening, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m.:
- Stores stay open late and serve refreshments while you shop
- The Jolly Maker's Market on Avenue I
- A carousel and interactive attractions for kids and adults
- Santa and the Grinch, plus photo booths and large lighted holiday lettering for card photos
- The association suggests booking dinner ahead
For parking, the association points to the metered "triangle parking lot" between Avenida Del Norte and S. Elena Street, plus metered spots on streets that stay open. Meters take coins or credit cards. The car-free blocks are the center of the village, so come in from the edges. From the Elena side, your first stop is the soon-to-be Mickey's corner. From the Catalina side, it's Hennessey's.
Here's a sequence that uses what's new. Start at the Avenue I market. Walk toward Elena and pass the deli corner. Turn onto S. Catalina toward Hennessey's for dinner. If the evening runs late, head over to S. PCH, where Gravewave Coffee is at 1808.
Other South Bay holiday dates
If you plan your holiday weekends around the beach cities, two other confirmed dates surround the Stroll:
- Hermosa for the Holidays, November 21 and 22. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days. Hermosa Beach's November 2026 calendar lists both days, and the city's event listing includes a community concert and a tree-lighting ceremony.
- Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks, Sunday, December 13. The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Pier, according to the event's official site.
For a weekend of dining near the water, Easy Reader's column found one more short-distance arrival on the Redondo Boardwalk. South Bay Sushi Club works out of an unmarked door next to Scholb Brewing at 160 International Boardwalk. When the door is open, it's serving. Hours are set at 1 to 8 p.m. on weekends, but one weekend this fall it sold out early both days and closed before 6 p.m. If you're planning a Saturday at the pier, go early.
If you own near Riviera Village, the changes on Avenue I, S. Catalina and S. PCH are the kind of street-level detail that affects how a home nearby gets presented and valued. To talk through what this fall's changes mean for your block, Sam & Rudi can walk the village with you. Schedule a Private Consultation.
