Sprouts is remodeling three stores in the next two months, adding a salad bar, made-to-order sushi rolls and poke bowls and hot entrees and sides. The grocery store’s $4 sandwich specials and fan-favorite bulk bins are staying. (Photo courtesy of Sprouts)

Sprouts is remodeling three stores in the next two months, adding a salad bar, made-to-order sushi rolls and poke bowls and hot entrees and sides. (Photo courtesy of Sprouts)

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BLKdot Coffee serves sandwiches as well as espresso drinks and its signature Vietnamese style coffee. (Courtesy of BLKdot Coffee)

BLKdot Coffee serves toasts, sandwiches, baked goods and a full line of espresso drinks as well as tea and their signature Vietnamese coffee. (Courtesy of BLKdot Coffee)

BLKdot Coffee serves latte, seen here, as well as teas, Vietnamese style coffee and other espresso drinks. The menu includes toasts, sandwiches and baked goods. (Courtesy of BLKdot Coffee)



Hak’s ready to heat meal kit is selling at LA and OC Costcos through the first week of July. It costs $30 and feeds four.

Del Taco’s Churro Dipper Shake features a churro dunked in a vanilla shake with chocolate swirls. (Courtesy of Del Taco)

Chili’s Grill & Bar’s new Boss Burger is almost a half foot tall. (Courtesy of Chili’s.)

(Foto de archivo)

Chipotle is moving its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post)



More coffee

Good news for fans of Vietnamese style coffee: BLKdot Coffee will bring a third Orange County to the Irvine Market Place in June.

The coffee shop already has branches at the Google Center in Irvine and Boat Canyon in Laguna Beach. Another is planned for the Irvine Spectrum, expected to open this summer.

“Irvine is where we got our start and we have a strong presence in the community, so it is exciting to increase our footprint in this region,” said Mai Tran, co-Founder of BLKdot Coffee. “We look forward to becoming more accessible to our many regulars and reaching new locals who are looking for a great local coffee shop.”

The shop offers full barista service, teas and signature beverages such as Sea Salt Coffee, Thai Tea Latte and the VTM Coffee which is slow dripped, Vietnamese style.

Toasts, sandwiches and baked goods are also served including chicken banh mi, croissants, bagels, muffins and scones.

Address: 13786B Jamboree Road

— Anne Valdespino, staff writer

Sprouts adds entrees

Sprouts Farmers Market is going all-in with expanded grab-and-go meals, adding a salad bar, sushi and ready-to-heat entrees and sides at several Southern California stores.

The new selections are aimed at “time-crunched shoppers,” Sprouts representative Kalia Pang told the Southern California News Group.

The remodels in Orange, Chino Hills and Riverside are among a dozen stores the Phoenix-based chain is updating this year, Pang said. Stores in Tustin, Corona and Clairemont already have unveiled the new features in their Market Corner Deli.

She assured us the bulk bins (hello, chocolate-covered pretzels), a favorite among shoppers, aren’t going anywhere in light of the store changes.

“No product or fixtures will be going away,” Pang said. The stores will be reshuffled without reducing sales floor space.

The made-to-order deli sandwiches – a popular lunchtime spot — also remain. Pang noted Sprout’s Claremont store was remodeled with a front-facing sandwich bar to “improve the customer experience.” The sandwich’s base price remains $3.99, minus any upgrades.

And about those entrees and sides. Pang said the selection would include roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, turkey meatloaf and salmon filets. Items will be priced by weight. The salad bar also is priced by weight at $7.99 per pound.

The sushi, prepared by Oumi Sushi — a division of distributor Hissho Sushi in Charlotte, N.C., will include classic rolls and poke bowls. (Sushi fans: On Wednesdays, select rolls are $5.)

The remodel in Orange is expected to finish by end of July. In Chino Hills, expect changes by May 30, and late June for Riverside.

Meal kit at Costco

In yet another nod to folks pressed for time, Costco has added a new meal kit made by Hak, a manufacturer of condiments and prepared foods. The organic, 30-minute kit launched in the Los Angeles and Orange County wholesale stores in recent weeks.

The meal was created by Hak’s founder and chef Sharone Hakman and includes a chimichurri chicken with pre-seasoned chicken thighs, garlic smashed potatoes, pan-roasted broccolini, and blistered cherry tomatoes in a lemon vinaigrette. The kit is gluten-free, paleo-friendly and feeds four.

It’s available through the first week of July for $29.99.

Chipotle moving to OC

In case you missed the big news Wednesday, May 23, Chipotle is moving to Newport Beach.

The company, born and raised in Denver, will shift its corporate headquarters to its new CEOs home base. Brian Niccol assumed the chief executive role late in 2017 and apparently is pining for his home turf.

Former Orange County Register reported Tamara Chuang, now at our sister paper the Denver Post, wrote:

The company said it will spend the next six months moving corporate staff — from finance, HR and other corporate functions — to California and Ohio. But not all of its 375 corporate employees in Denver will be offered relocation or retention packages. Restaurant employees and field operations workers are not impacted by the move.

Chuang even got a quote from a familiar name in fast food: Nancy Luna.

“This is a huge blow for Denver as they are losing a fast-casual institution,” said Luna, another former Register reporter and now a senior editor who covers Chipotle for Nation’s Restaurant News. “Coming back home to Southern California, if he even left permanently at all, serves two strategic purposes for Niccol: he has better leverage in recruiting talent from Taco Bell, which is based only a few miles away in Irvine; and more importantly, it gives the struggling brand a chance to reboot its culture in a new community.”

Carousel returns

After a nearly 3-month hiatus during construction, the Carousel at Irvine Spectrum Center will reopen near Target over Memorial Day weekend. The retail center will host a welcome back party Saturday, May 26 with treats, entertainment and free carousel rides from 10 a.m. – noon.

Churro dipper, anyone?

Del Taco customers are getting a little extra sweetness in the fast food chain’s new dessert item.

The Lake Forest chain’s Churro Dipper Shake is a vanilla shake with chocolate syrup swirls and a cinnamon-coated churro inserted as a utensil. Del Taco calls it a spoon, although it looks more like a really thick stir stick.

The concoction costs $3.99, which is a bit of a discount if you were to add a $1 churro to a $3.29 or $3.79 shake.

It joins two other promotions on the menu: Queso Loaded Nachos and Queso Loaded Fries. Both are topped with Queso Blanco. The fries feature ground beef, and the nachos come with a choice of taco meat, carne asada, or chicken.

Information: www.deltaco.com

— Fielding Buck, staff writer

Big burger, big calories

Chili’s Grill & Bar’s Boss Burger looks like somebody took an entire Texas barbecue and shoved it into a bun.

The Dallas chain’s new menu item features five meats — a half-pound beef patty, brisket, pulled pork rib meat, jalapeño sausage, and bacon — plus cheddar cheese, tomato, ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. It’s almost half a foot tall and packs 1,650 calories, according to a news release.

Other nutritional information isn’t available at Chili’s website, but if you’re asking how many FDA daily nutritional requirements it busts you probably already know in your heart.

Chili’s tested the Boss Burger in three markets in mid-April before rolling it out nationwide. It costs $14.69 at Southern California locations.

— Fielding Buck, staff writer