The corner of Grant and Salvio has one of the best views in downtown Concord. It looks straight across Todos Santos Plaza and is a short walk from Concord BART and several downtown parking garages. For most of the past two years, its two restaurant spaces have sat empty.
That is about to change, and the replacements share a style. The new businesses around the plaza open in the morning, close late, and are built for stopping in. Look at the posted hours and menus of the three plaza businesses in the news since August and you can see the plaza's dining shifting toward the daytime.
Two empty spaces at 2151 Salvio
Both incoming restaurants are reported at the same address, 2151 Salvio Street. That's the corner building at Salvio Pacheco Square, and the published reports don't give suite numbers. Each one is taking over a space with a long local history.
Chef John Marquez opened Lima, his Peruvian restaurant, at Salvio Pacheco Square in late 2016. It served ceviche, seafood and cocktails for nearly nine years before closing on December 31, 2024. The East Bay Times called it upscale.
Next door, E.J. Phair Brewing Company ran its brewpub at the corner for 22 years, according to Bay Area Telegraph food critic Richard Eber.
Here is how the corner and the storefront across the street stand as of early October 2026:
| Business | Address | Previous tenant | Posted hours | Status, early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaiwala Shop | 2008 Salvio St. | Cinnaholic | 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Sun–Thu, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Fri–Sat | Open |
| Sultan's Kebab | 2151 Salvio St. | Lima | 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily, planned | Coming soon, no firm date |
| Blast & Brew | 2151 Salvio St., Grant and Salvio | E.J. Phair Brewing Company | Not yet announced | Banner says "end of October" |
None of the three is set up mainly as a sit-down dinner restaurant. The two restaurants with posted hours are open 11 to 12 hours a day.
Chaiwala Shop is already open
The first sign of the shift is open now, directly across from the plaza. Chaiwala Shop opened at 2008 Salvio Street in the former Cinnaholic storefront at The Shops at Todos Santos. Cinnaholic had served customizable vegan cinnamon rolls there starting in 2019.
Concord is Chaiwala Shop's third California location, after Fremont and Clovis. The business describes itself as a modern version of the traditional Indian chai shop, a casual place to stop for a hot drink, a snack and conversation.
The chai list is long. Hot flavors include ginger, cardamom, masala, saffron, fennel, rose, chocolate, paan and tulsi. Kadak chai is a stronger, more intensely brewed milk tea. Kullad chai, served in a traditional-style clay cup, is the shop's signature. The clay cup also shows up in its kullad pizzas.
The food menu is mostly vegetarian:
- Paneer pizza, Mumbai-style vegetable sandwiches and tandoori paneer sandwiches
- Several versions of Maggi noodles
- Bun maska, a soft bun served with butter, plus cheese chutney buns
- Peri-peri fries and corn masala
- Filter coffee, cold coffee, masala lemonade and kala khatta for anyone skipping chai
The posted hours run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Bay Area Telegraph notes that hours may change while the shop is new. Those hours cover a Tuesday farmers market morning, a lunch break and an after-dinner walk around the plaza.
Sultan's Kebab is moving into the former Lima space
The Lima space is getting a much more casual tenant. Sultan's Kebab grills halal, Turkish-style kebabs over charcoal and serves them with fresh bread, rice or garlic-feta fries. Its existing locations also serve shawarma, kofte, falafel, mezze, Turkish breads and baklava.
Many people in Contra Costa County already know the name. The Danville location at 480 San Ramon Valley Boulevard opened in 2017, a larger Livermore restaurant followed in 2023, and the group also runs restaurants in Pleasanton and downtown Campbell. Owner Fatih Ulas describes the restaurant as a tribute to his late father, Sultan Ulas, whose cooking and Turkish heritage inspired it.
Ulas told the East Bay Times the Concord location will have "a beautiful patio and will be vibrant." It plans to open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offer both dine-in and catering. A patio facing the plaza puts outdoor seating at the spot where people pass through all day.
On timing, the East Bay Times reported on August 26 that Sultan's Kebab expected to open within two to three months. That points to roughly late October through late November. As of Bay Area Telegraph's September 2 report, no firm date had been announced.
Blast & Brew has an "end of October" banner
The second space at 2151 Salvio has been waiting longer. Beyond the Creek first reported Blast & Brew's Concord plans in August 2024. In July 2024, a menu from the company's Atascadero location listed Concord with "GRAND OPENING SUMMER 2024." That date passed without an opening.
The latest sign came on October 1. Claycord published a photo of a storefront banner reading "OPENING END OF OCTOBER." The banner doesn't give a specific day or a year. As of October 3, no opening day or hours had been announced for Concord. The company does have a Concord careers page listing jobs from management and bartenders to cooks and pizza artisans. That suggests a staffed opening is planned, though it doesn't set a date.
Blast & Brew calls itself an American eatery and tap house. Its website highlights scratch-made comfort food and a self-pour beer setup with more than 26 rotating craft beers and wines. Dishes at its other locations include burgers, a crispy chicken sandwich, a Bavarian pretzel and a Philly cheesesteak. A Concord menu hadn't been published as of the October 3 report.
A self-pour tap wall is designed for groups that stop in, pour a few different beers and leave when they're ready. That fits the same pattern as a chai counter and a kebab shop open 12 hours a day.
The plaza calendar keeps people coming downtown
These businesses chose the plaza because of the people the plaza draws. Todos Santos Plaza hosts farmers markets, concerts, festivals and other community events throughout the year. Here are the confirmed dates for this fall:
- Thursday evening farmers market, final night October 8. The Thursday market runs 4 to 8 p.m., and its 2026 season started June 4. The Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association lists no Thursday dates after October 8.
- Tuesday farmers market, year-round. It runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday through fall and winter. The City of Concord hosts it with the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association. One Visit Concord events page lists a 9 a.m. start, but the market operator's schedule says 10 a.m.
- Tree Lighting & Mayor's Sing-Along, Friday, December 4. The City of Concord's free holiday event runs 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the plaza.
The Thursday evening market ends this week, and the year-round Tuesday market runs during the day. Chaiwala Shop's posted hours already overlap the Tuesday market. If Sultan's Kebab opens within its reported window and keeps its planned 10 a.m. start, it would serve those Tuesday crowds too. If both restaurants at 2151 Salvio open on their current timelines, the tree lighting on December 4 could be the first big plaza evening in a long time with every space on that corner open.
A new restaurant on Clayton Road
The changes reach past the plaza. Bag O' Crab is a California seafood-boil restaurant serving crab, lobster, shrimp, crawfish and other shellfish. It is converting the former New Lim's Garden building at 4340 Clayton Road, near Bel Air Drive. New Lim's Garden closed in 2024, and the building was an Arby's before that. The new sign went up in early July. As of Bay Area Telegraph's July 5 report, the building was still under major renovation and no opening date had been announced.
At the plaza, the next milestones are Blast & Brew's late-October banner date and Sultan's Kebab's window, which runs into November. Chaiwala Shop is already serving kullad chai across the street at 2008 Salvio.
Downtown Concord changes block by block, and the Wendy Moore Real Estate Team follows those changes closely. If you're curious how the new businesses around Todos Santos Plaza fit into your own plans, whether you're staying put, rightsizing or thinking about a next move, we'd be glad to talk it over with you. Contact Us.
