The Disneyland Resort this evening shared first-look concept art of several new locations coming to its Downtown Disney shopping and dining district.
Among the reveals, a quick service restaurant will join Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaytán's Paseo, now under construction in the former Catal space. Tiendita ("little shop") will offer Mexican street food staples to complement the full-service dining at Paseo upstairs and the bar service outside at Céntrico.
Update: Patina Restaurant Group said Wednesday that Paseo, Céntrico and Tiendita are scheduled to open this spring.
"Tiendita is the perfect accompaniment to the previously announced Paseo and Céntrico by Chef Carlos Gaytán. This final piece completes his vision for bringing his Mexican influence and vibrant flavors to Orange County and the Downtown Disney District," Patina Vice President Frank Moreno said. "Mexican culture embraces spending time with family and friends sharing a delicious meal together. Tiendita will offer guests an expedited dining choice, while the experience remains true to this ethos and authenticity."
Menu items at Tiendita will include esquites, tacos al pastor, and arroz con leche. [End update]
In addition, Disneyland said that design work is underway on a new two-story, permanent home for Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney. The new Earl of Sandwich location will include the popular sandwich shop on the ground level, with a table service gastropub upstairs. In the meantime, a pop-up location for Earl of Sandwich will open near the Star Wars Trading Post later this year, after its temporary location in the old La Brea Bakery building closes to make way for construction of Downtown Disney's installation of Porto's Bakery.
Disney also shared concept art for the Din Tai Fung restaurant now under construction near the Disneyland Hotel for opening later this year.
The resort also released a first look at the concept art for Parkside Market, a collection of three concepts from Levy Restaurants: the Korean-themed Seoul Sister, GG's Chicken Shop, and Sip & Sonder, a coffee shop with "Caribbean inspired bites."
The market also will include a second-story bar.
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It makes you wonder thecolonel, what type of guest is Disney courting with these additions. For a while there, it looked like Disney was trying to lure more non-park/resort guests to Downtown Disney. After all, why would Disney want guests from inside the parks to leave just to eat lunch or dinner (that was the long-established role of CityWalk before Universal improved their in-park food programs). That means eateries in DD should be appealing to guests not staying at the resorts or spending time in the parks. So these places should have some exclusivity to them that would naturally lead to higher prices. However, they would still need to be accessible from a cost perspective given that just getting to them has an upcharge, unless Disney is going to allow for parking validation that was discontinued years ago.
I'm sure Disney has plenty of data on guests that visit Downtown Disney, but the increasing focus on restaurants and bars makes you wonder if they have a handle on what Downtown Disney should be moving forward - Stand-alone entertainment complex or extension of the on-site experience for park and resort guests.
It's hard to ascertain exactly what Disneyland's vision is without knowing the puzzle pieces that the resort will put on the table if it gets the DisneylandForward approval.
But let's not forget about the Anaheim Convention Center one block down the street. I suspect that Disneyland wants Downtown Disney to pull more of those convention visitors away from the nearby GardenWalk. A DTF, a Porto's, and the stuff from Gaytan could help.
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Expensive, expensive, expensive. Gosh, if the food in Downtown Disney is wildly expensive, maybe more people will eat in the park?
Or maybe normal people will stop visiting because they can't afford it.