On the last weekend of August, people heading to the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival parked near the new In-N-Out at The Canopy, about half a mile from the festival. They found the drive-thru still closed and posted about it online. The Orange County Register summed it up: "They were six days early."
In-N-Out opened on Friday morning, September 4, as the first tenant at The Canopy at Great Park. Six weeks later it is still the only one open. The rest of the center comes in pieces, and the order matters for anyone living nearby. Destination dining comes first. The grocery store, the second phase's parking lot and the pedestrian bridge from the park's trails are all on later timelines. Until they arrive, the Great Park itself still sets the weekly rhythm, and most of its cultural buildings close Monday through Wednesday.
What is open on Great Park Boulevard today
The drive-thru is at 7900 Great Park Blvd. The Register lists its hours as 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The tenant page on The Canopy's own site labels In-N-Out "NOW OPEN!" but still shows its hours as "Coming soon," and the homepage still describes the center as coming in late 2026.
That gap between one open drive-thru and a whole planned center is the story. The developer, ALMQUIST, is building about 90,000 square feet of retail and food space across 12 acres. According to the Orange County Business Journal, nearly 20 tenants are in the works. The Irvine Standard places the site next to the park's tennis courts. The city's Great Park development news page calls The Canopy the first project of its kind for the Great Park neighborhood.
The grocery anchor's date has already moved once
T&T Supermarket was the first business announced for The Canopy, back at the 2025 groundbreaking. It will fill 34,000 square feet with the Canadian grocer's first Orange County store. In April 2025, T&T's company release set the opening for "Winter 2026." The Register's September 4 story says T&T plans to open "in the spring," without naming a year. For now, the safest plan is a spring opening with no confirmed date.
The rest of the lineup follows a similar timeline. The OCBJ reports that ALMQUIST expects the remaining businesses to open in phases from late 2026 through early 2027.
| Tenant | What's planned | Stated timing |
|---|---|---|
| In-N-Out Burger | Drive-thru, first tenant | Open since Sept. 4, 2026 |
| T&T Supermarket | 34,000-square-foot Asian grocery, first in Orange County | "Winter 2026" in the 2025 release; "in the spring" per the Register, Sept. 2026 |
| Shootz | Hawaiian-inspired street food | Late 2026 or early 2027 |
| H&H Bagels | New York bagel shop, first Orange County location | Phased, late 2026 to early 2027 |
| Osen Urban Table | Handroll-focused spinoff of Irvine's Izakaya Osen | Phased, late 2026 to early 2027 |
| Philz Coffee, The Taco Stand, Chicha San Chen, JJANG Yakiniku and Social House | Coffee, Tijuana-style tacos, Taiwanese tea, tabletop grill | Phased, late 2026 to early 2027 |
| McConnell's Fine Ice Creams, Palmetto Superfoods, Baba's Hot Chicken | Announced Sept. 4, 2026 | Phased, late 2026 to early 2027 |
| Brooks Running, La Jolla Cosmetic, Sol Studio, Free People Movement, Rylee + Cru, Solestage, Sunfeel | Retail, fitness and a medical spa; Brooks's first California store | Phased, late 2026 to early 2027 |
The tenants themselves have said who they're planning for. Michael Dancel, a Shootz co-founder, told the Irvine Standard that his team is "looking forward to catering to families bringing their kids for soccer practice and hosting a lot of baby showers and birthday parties." In other words, The Canopy is being built around the sports fields and park visits.
The second parking lot, Hangar 10 and the footbridge come later
The city's September 2026 Great Park projects report shows how much of The Canopy is still under construction. The Canopy 2 Site Improvements project, a joint effort with Almquist, covers demolition, grading, utilities, a roadway, a dedicated parking lot, four retail buildings and an extension of Hornet Drive into the retail site. Work started in March and is expected to finish by winter 2027/28. In September, crews were focused on building the parking lot.
Hangar 10, which the report calls the food and beverage hub at The Canopy, comes after that. The project turns a former base-era aircraft hangar into a single-story building for shops, restaurants and recreation on a 9,571-square-foot lot. Construction is set to begin in December, with completion expected by summer 2027.
On foot, the center's link to the park is still in the works. The Bosque Bridge will be the first in the city's network of park pedestrian and bicycle crossings. It is meant to provide a grade-separated route between the Bosque Trail network and The Canopy and Hangar 10 sites. The September report still lists it under design projects, with construction expected in summer 2026. Nearby, the Bosque Enhancement project is replacing landscaping between Cadence and Benchmark and adding a new playground.
Several other projects are also due next year:
- Parking Lots 6 and 7 connector along Marine Way, so drivers looking for more parking no longer have to exit onto Marine Way or make a U-turn. Expected by spring 2027.
- Thirty more shade structures by the soccer fields, play areas and Championship Row. Work starts in November and should wrap by summer 2027.
- The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, the first museum to break ground in the Cultural Terrace, with a collection of more than 40 aircraft. It is set to open in spring 2027.
Until then, the park runs on a Thursday-to-Sunday schedule
The general park grounds are open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Most of the park's signature attractions keep a shorter week, though, and that schedule shapes a fall weekend more than The Canopy does yet.
The Great Park Balloon flies Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. It is closed Monday through Wednesday. Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children. Flights depend on the weather, and the city suggests calling the Visitors Center for current flight information.
The arts buildings keep similar hours. The free Great Park Gallery is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its fall exhibit, Grrrl Germs: Punk feminism goes viral, 1991–2026, runs through November 29. Hangar 244 is also free and keeps the same hours, but it can close for private rentals or larger city events. Great Park Studio is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The rest of the park keeps longer hours:
- Kids Rock has misting shade, climbing rocks and tunnels, and keeps the park's general hours.
- Sports Complex drop-in soccer runs daily from 6 a.m. to dusk when fields are not reserved. Tennis drop-in runs 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and sand volleyball 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Great Park Ice offers daily public skating. Its site lists $21 admission and $8 skate rental, with session times posted on its schedule.
Many old routines no longer apply. The Certified Farmers Market left the Great Park on November 10, 2024. It now runs at Stonegate Elementary on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The dates still ahead this fall
These events on the Great Park Live calendar and the city's own schedule fall in the weeks after this post goes up:
- Friday, October 23: Rise Against, with Alkaline Trio and Teen Mortgage, at Great Park Live.
- Saturday, October 24: ektaa Diwali Fest at Great Park Live. The same afternoon, the city's Monster Splash runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, 4601 Walnut Ave., with pool-deck trick-or-treating and an inflatable obstacle course.
- Friday, October 30: Halloween Movie Night at Great Park Live.
- Saturday, November 7: Dial Up Festival at Great Park Live. The same morning, Love Irvine's Citywide Serve Day starts with a 7:30 a.m. kickoff at Woodbridge Village Center and runs from 8 a.m. to noon.
On every one of those dates, the closest open spot at The Canopy is still the In-N-Out at 7900 Great Park Blvd, open until 1 a.m. or later. The coffee, bagels and groceries are still on their way.
If you live near the park and want to know how The Canopy's opening schedule might matter for your own plans in 2027, from parking to the new trail connection, I'm always glad to talk it through. Let's Connect with Alondra Guevara.
