Holey Grail's storefront at 4803 E. 2nd St. has been dark since early February. Its next tenant is a gelato company that two Milanese brothers started in São Paulo in 2011. Four blocks east, a Balboa Island sweet shop that dates to 1945 hopes to be open in a former waxing studio in time for the Christmas Parade.
That's how Second Street has been changing in 2026. Storefronts are clearing out and then passing to businesses with a name already behind them. Most of those businesses have moved slowly and on purpose. One planned to open last Thanksgiving and waited until summer. Another held its building for six years before serving a meal. The street changes, but storefronts rarely sit empty for long, and each new arrival steps into a space people on Second Street already know.
The handoffs, address by address
Here is where each storefront stands in late October.
| Address | Previous occupant | Current or incoming | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4708 E. 2nd St. | Aroma di Roma | CoffeeDrunk | Open since summer 2026 |
| 4716 E. Second St. | Adjacent space | Colossus, expanded into a full restaurant | Restaurant opened July 2026 |
| 4803 E. 2nd St. | Holey Grail | Bacio di Latte | Announced, no opening date |
| 5262 E. Second St. | Natraj | Mandala Spice & Grill | Announced, no opening date |
| 5269 E. 2nd St. | European Wax Center | Sugar 'N Spice | Targeting first week of December |
| 5354 E. 2nd St. | Historic building, renovated | South of Nick's | Opened June 2026 |
Most of the activity is in two stretches. One is the 4700 and 4800 blocks at the west end, and the other is the 5200 block toward the middle of the business district. The west end has seen the biggest change so far.
The west end grew from businesses already on the block
CoffeeDrunk's Belmont Shore shop at 4708 E. 2nd St. is a takeover of the former Aroma di Roma, a deal that Longbeachize says the company made in 2025. According to that report, owners Matthew and Breezy Church first planned to open around Thanksgiving. They pushed the date back and spent the extra time on varied seating and textures, so this location works more as a social space than their other shops do. Longbeachize reported it officially open on July 6, 2026. The brand's flagship is on 4th Street, and it also has shops in Bixby Knolls and Cal Heights.
Two doors away, at 4716 E. Second St., Colossus has grown in place. Owner Kristin Colazas Rodriguez is a nationally recognized baker known on the street for seasonal pastries and whole grain bread. She expanded into the space next door, adding a full dining room, a breakfast and lunch menu, and a dinner menu. The Press-Telegram reported in late August that the restaurant side had opened the month before, which puts it in July. The ribbon-cutting on Aug. 27 also marked five years on Second Street. The bakery still sells loaves like the jalapeño cheese levain.
Neither change brought a new name to the block. CoffeeDrunk was already a Long Beach business, and Colossus was already on Second Street. The next west-end opening comes from much farther away.
Bacio di Latte brings gelato to 4803
Bacio di Latte has the former Holey Grail space. As Longbeachize reported on Oct. 16, brothers Edoardo and Luigi Tonolli founded the chain in 2011 on Rua Oscar Freire in São Paulo, after traveling through Italy to study traditional gelato recipes. The case will hold more than 20 flavors, including Pistacchio, Giandujotto, Cioccolato Belga and Nutellina. No opening date has been announced.
That's eight months between a closure and a named successor. Holey Grail had come to Long Beach in 2024 as an outpost of a taro donut maker from Kauai. Like that tenant, the incoming one brings a reputation built somewhere else.
Two new tenants in the 5200 block
The 5200 block has two announced arrivals a few doors apart.
Mandala Spice & Grill is moving into the former Natraj at 5262 E. Second St. It's a Nepali-Indian fusion restaurant, and an early dish from the kitchen is chicken sekuwa. The Oct. 16 report gave no opening date. The same restaurant has appeared under two names, Mandala Spice & Grill and Mandala Grill & Spice.
Sugar 'N Spice is taking the former European Wax Center at 5269 E. 2nd St. Its roots go back to Dot & Bob Candies, opened on Balboa Island in 1945 and renamed Sugar 'N Spice in 1959. The menu will include its hand-dipped frozen bananas, classic scoop ice cream and sundaes. On Second Street, the shop's Balboa Bar will be sold as the Belmont Bar. Heather Kern, who heads the Belmont Shore Business Association, told Longbeachize that "we love that Balboa Bars are becoming Belmont Bars, starting a whole new tradition right here in Belmont Shore."
Owner Mysa Tran told What Now Los Angeles the target is the first week of December, depending on permits and construction. She and co-owner Khe Lam said Belmont Shore reminded them of Balboa Island, pointing to its coastal setting, community spirit and locally owned businesses.
With Bacio di Latte at the west end, Sugar 'N Spice in the 5200 block and Colossus still baking at 4716, Second Street will soon have three dessert options spread across the district.
South of Nick's, six years in the making
The 5354 E. 2nd St. opening shows how long a Second Street handoff can take. South of Nick's is the upscale Mexican offshoot of Nick's Restaurant, whose company already runs Nick's on 2nd in Belmont Shore. Per Longbeachize, the company secured the building six years before opening and announced its renovation of the historic building four years before. It opened in June 2026. The plan was dinner only for the first week, starting at 4 p.m. each day, with lunch and dinner beginning June 29.
Longbeachize noted that the opening makes Belmont Shore a center for elevated Mexican food, alongside Viaje and Zarape to the west. Like the other changes this year, it came from a company already established on the street, and it took years.
The calendar between now and the parade
Most of the new arrivals land in the weeks around the street's biggest night. Here's what's ahead, per the Belmont Shore Business Association events calendar:
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 4 to 6 p.m. Trick-or-Treat on 2nd Street. Participating businesses put a jack-o'-lantern sign in the window.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 a.m. to about 10 p.m. Small Business Saturday, Shop the Shore, with free parking all day across the district's 28 blocks of businesses.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 to 9 p.m. The 42nd Annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade. It runs every year on the first Saturday in December and includes more than a dozen local marching bands, about 100 entries, and floats designed by Long Beach businesses and associations. Entries head west along East Second Street.
If Sugar 'N Spice hits its target, the parade will be one of its first nights open. The 2026 parade route will pass a CoffeeDrunk, a Colossus dining room and a South of Nick's that weren't open for the 2025 parade.
If you'd like to talk through how Second Street's changes affect a home you own or are considering nearby, Denos Amarantos is glad to share what he's seeing. Let's Connect.
