Leucadia's North 101 Is Nearly Finished, and One Block Already Looks Different

In February, Jeff Schade hung a six-foot sign on a piece of construction equipment parked about 10 feet from the door of Leucadia Cyclery, and he left it up. He told The Coast News that the tractor "did not start its engine for three weeks and sat in front of Avocado Street with no movement."

That sign stands for the past two and a half years on North Coast Highway 101 between Jupiter Street and La Costa Avenue. The city now expects the street work to finish in late fall 2026. The street that opens back up will have a different set of businesses on it. One block is changing owners all at once, and two of its oldest tenants are leaving in the same season. The shops that stayed open through the barricades are now the longest-running businesses left on this part of the highway.

What is finishing between Jupiter and La Costa

The current phase is Leucadia Streetscape Segment C West, built together with a new storm drain system under the same pavement. Crews started in March 2024. The city's project page, last updated September 17, says all of the big 60-inch, 66-inch and 36-inch storm drain pipe is in the ground. Crews are still working on drain inlets, water service lines and the water main from Jupiter to La Costa. South of La Costa Avenue, on the west side of the highway, they are building new curb, gutter, sidewalk, bus pads and driveways.

Segment C was first scheduled to finish by summer 2025. When the City Council added the drainage work, the schedule grew by about a year and a half, Director of Engineering Dan Nutter told The Coast News. In July the city was aiming for October. The latest official target is late fall.

Once the barricades are gone, this mile is set to get:

1. New roundabouts at Jupiter Street and Moorgate Road
2. A pedestrian signal and crosswalk at Avocado Street
3. Wider sidewalks and dedicated bike lanes
4. New streetlights, benches and bike racks
5. Hundreds of new trees

Segment C is budgeted at about $32 million. The full Streetscape runs 2.5 miles, broke ground in January 2021 and costs more than $65 million in total. The middle of the corridor will stay as it is for now. Segment B, from Basil Street to Jupiter Street, and Segment A1, from A Street to Marcheta Street, have finished preliminary design but have no construction funding yet. So the new streetscape will begin at Jupiter, and from there to Basil the highway will look the way it does today.

One owner, two addresses, one block

Two of the oldest businesses on this stretch sit almost side by side, and as of this fall both are tied to the same owner.

Peeshee LLC bought the Leucadia Liquor property in November 2023 for $4.45 million. The building is about 3,563 square feet and had been marketed as a redevelopment opportunity. Saeid "Tony" Shahri manages Peeshee, and he also manages Athena Restaurant Group, the company formed on August 4 that is taking over the Vigilucci's business next door, SanDiegoVille reported in late August. A transfer of the restaurant's full liquor license to Athena went pending on August 25.

Shahri told SanDiegoVille the company would move to a new concept rather than keep operating as Vigilucci's. "We're still early in the process and aren't ready to share concept details, name, or timeline publicly yet," he said. Nothing public yet says what will go into the Leucadia Liquor building. The Vigilucci's restaurants on State Street in Carlsbad Village and on Carlsbad Boulevard are not part of the sale.

The Coast News "Lick the Plate" columnist wrote a farewell to Leucadia Liquor on October 19. He remembered the store's missing-letter sign and described his usual morning loop: check the surf at Beacon's, ride down to Daphne, roll down the hill onto Coast Highway, and park his bike in front of the store. The same column says Vigilucci's will "soon" make way for something new. The store's last day was set for the end of October, just weeks before the street out front is due to be finished.

The stretch that stayed open

The July Coast News story named the businesses that stayed open through the construction. Most sit inside the Segment C work zone, so they are the first places the finished street will lead to:

• Leucadia Cyclery, Jeff Schade's shop near Avocado Street. He added flashing red bike lights to warn southbound drivers about the narrowed lane and put LED lights along his eaves on a dark block.
• The Leucadian Bar, co-owned by David Shapiro. Shapiro said losing street parking made customers less willing to book events there.
• Leucadia Donut Shoppe, owned by Tom Chu. Chu said many northbound customers had to drive on to La Costa Avenue and U-turn to reach him.
• Sip-N-Sea, Giuseppe Georgees's walk-up window.
• Surfhouse Hotel and Coffee Coffee, both co-owned by Nikolas Harth.

Stacy Reddell, executive director of the Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association, surveyed 20 businesses on the corridor. She found that over the year before the July report, their sales fell by an average of 25 to 40 percent. In August, NBC 7 reported similar access problems at Leucadia Cyclery and The Leucadian. Several owners told The Coast News they support the project and want it done as quickly as possible. Schade said he hopes the city will hold a community celebration at the end to bring customers back.

"I would like to see a clear path to the end of the game."

Jeff Schade, Leucadia Cyclery, to The Coast News

Nutter told the paper the city planned signs pointing pedestrians to designated crossings and showing drivers where U-turns are allowed. He also said the city would hold community meetings with Leucadia 101 MainStreet through the final months of construction. Until the Moorgate and Jupiter roundabouts open, the U-turn at La Costa is still how northbound drivers reach the west-side shops.

Getting to the sand from the north end

The beach route changed this fall too. Grandview Beach access closed after a section of bluff just north of the staircase failed early on September 18. The city fenced off the entry and cited concern about more failures within 300 feet north and south of the stairs. California State Parks maintains the area north of the staircase. On September 21, city spokesperson Jessica Gilera told The Coast News there was no estimate for reopening and pointed beachgoers to Beacon's or Ponto. NBC 7's September 25 report still listed the access as closed with no reopening date.

For people on the north end, that makes Beacon's the closest way down to the water in Encinitas. Beacon's sits a few blocks west of the highway, on the same streets the Lick the Plate columnist rides each morning before heading down to Coast Highway.

The weeks the barricades come down

If late fall holds, the street should be done right as the holiday calendar starts. Most of the scheduled dates are downtown or inland. North 101 is in between, with fewer of its old regulars and, for now, no completion celebration on the calendar.

• Every Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Leucadia Farmers Market at Oak Crest Middle School, 675 Balour Drive.
• November 20 through January 3. Lightscape at San Diego Botanic Garden.
• Sunday, November 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Holiday Street Fair, listed on the Encinitas 101 calendar.
• Saturday, November 28, noon to 3 p.m. Shop Small Saturday, also on the Encinitas 101 calendar.
• Saturday, December 5, 5:30 p.m. The city's Holiday Parade on South Coast Highway 101 between D and J streets, with the theme "40 and Still Fabulous."

Leucadia Cyclery, The Leucadian, Leucadia Donut Shoppe, Sip-N-Sea, Coffee Coffee and Surfhouse are all between Jupiter and La Costa, on the part of the highway that is about to be rebuilt.

Kathleen follows this corridor block by block, from the new roundabouts to the next tenants at 530 and 640. If you own near the highway and would like a quiet read on where your property stands now that the Segment C work is wrapping up, Kathleen Gelcich can prepare a private home valuation for you.