For years, Coast News columnist David Boylan rode the same route through Leucadia. He checked the surf at Beacon's, pedaled down to Daphne, coasted down the hill and came out onto Coast Highway for a block. Then he pulled into the lot at Leucadia Liquor, where a dip in the pavement held his kickstand. He described that routine in a farewell column in The Coast News published October 19. The store's owner, Kamil Mansoor, announced that he would retire at the end of October and close the store for good. He bought the store in 1992.
The closing lands in the same season the City of Encinitas expects to finish the longest-running part of the Leucadia Streetscape. The new sidewalks, roundabouts and trees on the north end of Highway 101 will open onto a different street from the one where the barricades first went up in March 2024. Some longtime places are gone or have changed hands. A small group of shops stayed open through every lane shift, and they now hold the stretch.
A Store That Outlasted the Street Around It
Leucadia Liquor had served the neighborhood for more than six decades, according to Boylan's 2024 profile of the store, which he links in his farewell. The column places its closing in a longer list of Leucadia losses Boylan has seen in his 25 years there: Captain Keno's, Chinatown, Little Moore, O'Hurley's, Sub Palace, Fulano's, Calypso, Longboard Grotto, Ducky Waddles and Karina's. Vigilucci's will soon join that list.
Both of the newest changes involve the same owner. Peeshee LLC, managed by Saeed Shahri, bought the Leucadia Liquor property in 2023. Shahri's Athena Restaurant Group, which also owns The Saloon and Shelter in Encinitas, has just bought the Leucadia Vigilucci's. The Coast News reports that a new concept will replace it. Leucadia 101 MainStreet's directory lists Vigilucci's at 530 N. Coast Highway 101. No name or opening date for the replacement concept had been announced when this went to press. Plans for the Leucadia Liquor property have not been made public either.
The 1410 N. Coast Highway 101 building also changed in the past year. Yoga 101 held its final classes there in December 2025, and the landlord, Anoop Patel, told The Coast News that he hoped to bring in a local Leucadia restaurant. Caves Wine Bar & Shop, another tenant in that building, lists itself as open at the same address.
The Finish Line Has Moved, and Moved Again
The street work in front of these businesses is Segment C West of the Leucadia Streetscape. It runs from Jupiter Street to La Costa Avenue and is being built together with a new North Coast Highway 101 storm drain system. The full Streetscape broke ground in January 2021 and costs more than $65 million. Segment C alone carries an estimated $32 million price tag, according to The Coast News. Director of Engineering Dan Nutter told the paper that after the City Council added the drainage improvements, the schedule grew by about a year and a half.
The completion target has shifted several times:
| When it was stated | Source | Stated completion |
|---|---|---|
| Original schedule | City project website, as reported by The Coast News | Summer 2025 |
| July 31, 2026 | Dan Nutter, quoted by The Coast News | October 2026 |
| August 10, 2026 | Businesses, as reported by NBC 7 | End of 2026 |
| September 17, 2026 | City of Encinitas project page | Late fall 2026 |
The City's North Highway 101 projects page was last updated September 17. It says all of the 60-inch, 66-inch and 36-inch underground storm drain pipe is in. Crews were still working on water service laterals, the water main, inlets and cleanout boxes between Jupiter and La Costa. South of La Costa, they were building the west side's new curb, gutter, sidewalk, bus pad and driveways. The City's late-fall target is the latest official date. The page still warns drivers to expect intermittent lane shifts, noise, dust and large construction vehicles, and it says access to driveways and businesses will be maintained.
When it is finished, Segment C is planned to include new roundabouts at Jupiter Street and Moorgate Road. The plans also call for wider sidewalks, designated bike lanes, new streetlights, a crosswalk and pedestrian signal at Avocado Street, benches, bike racks and hundreds of new trees. Two other segments have finished designs but no construction funding yet: Segment B, from Basil Street to Jupiter, and Segment A1, from A Street to Marcheta Street.
Who Kept the Lights On
The finished street will go first to the businesses that stayed open through the work. The Coast News reported in July that Stacy Reddell, executive director of the Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association, surveyed 20 businesses along the corridor. Over the prior year, she found average sales declines of 25% to 40%.
The paper named several of them. Leucadia Cyclery, owned by Jeff Schade, sits near Avocado Street, where heavy equipment worked about 10 feet from its storefront. Giuseppe Georgees runs the walk-up window at Sip-N-Sea, where the City later put in temporary orange barricades along the frontage. David Shapiro, co-owner of The Leucadian, said losing street parking had discouraged customers from booking events there. Tom Chu of Leucadia Donut Shoppe said many northbound customers had to drive on to La Costa Avenue to make a U-turn before they could reach his shop.
Nutter's view of the schedule was different. He told the paper the project was only about a month behind, which he called "pretty darn good" for a construction project of this size. The City's own project page asks the public to support local Leucadia businesses during construction.
The Next Work Zone Starts at La Costa
La Costa Avenue is the turnaround point Chu described, and it now has its own construction project. Work on the La Costa Avenue Pedestrian Pathway began Monday, October 26. The project adds about half a mile of 4-foot-wide pathway along the south side of La Costa Avenue between I-5 and Vulcan Avenue. It also includes a buffered bike lane, 15 ADA-compliant curb ramps, upgraded crossings and driveways, and a new section of sidewalk along North Vulcan Avenue. A SANDAG Smart Growth Incentive Program grant of about $1.2 million, awarded in December 2025, helped fund it.
For anyone using that stretch this winter, the City has published these details:
- Work is scheduled from October 26, 2026, through spring 2027.
- Crews generally work Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
- No road closures are expected.
- Pedestrian access through the work area will be restricted during certain phases, and the City asks walkers to use alternate routes when needed.
The two projects overlap. Through late fall, people heading north on the 101 may pass the last of the Segment C crews and then reach new weekday construction on La Costa.
The First Dates on the New Street
The holiday calendar starts right as the City's late-fall target comes due. Shop Small Saturday, the event most closely tied to Leucadia's storefronts, is on Saturday, November 28, from noon to 3 p.m. Encinitas 101 MainStreet's event listing says the 101 MainStreet Associations and local businesses are planning live music, sidewalk sales, local specials and limited-edition prints. The business deals currently on that page are from 2025, so this year's offers may differ.
The rest of the season on Encinitas's stretch of 101 and nearby:
- Lightscape at San Diego Botanic Garden, November 20 through January 3. This is the event's fifth year, with new installations including Airquarium, Haze Arches and Flock. Tickets start at $28 for adults and $18 for children.
- Holiday Street Fair, Sunday, November 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Encinitas 101 MainStreet lists music stages, and the lineup is subject to change.
- Shop Small Saturday, November 28, noon to 3 p.m., on both 101 corridors.
- Encinitas Holiday Parade, Saturday, December 5, at 5:30 p.m. on South Coast Highway 101 between D and J streets. This year's theme is "40 and Still Fabulous," and entry applications close November 13.
- Encinitas Ballet's Nutcracker, December 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. and December 13 at 1 p.m., at the San Dieguito Academy Performing Arts Center.
Leucadia Liquor will not be part of this holiday season, and Vigilucci's will be on its way to a new concept. The shops that stayed open through the construction, including Leucadia Cyclery, Sip-N-Sea, The Leucadian and Leucadia Donut Shoppe, will be the first to have the new sidewalks once the City finishes Segment C. More on the wider area is on our Encinitas neighborhood page. Our late-summer look at downtown 101 covers the southern end of the corridor.
If you own on or near North Coast Highway 101 and want to know what the finished Streetscape could mean for your property, Adam Loew & Associates can walk you through a discreet, data-driven review. Get your home valuation and we'll start with your block.
