Two summers ago, an IB weekend meant a walk on the pier, a beer at the Plank, and whatever was happening at Veterans Park. The half-mile between Palm and the sand still anchors the town, but the specific businesses and events on it have shifted enough that a longtime resident's default Saturday loop is genuinely different in 2026 than it was in 2023.
This is a guide for people who already live here. The pier restaurant changed hands. Pier South has two new dining rooms. Portwood is about to break ground on a splashpad. And the estuary is piloting a program that will change how people walk dogs at the south end of Seacoast. Here is where those pieces sit for the summer.
The pier restaurant has new ownership
For roughly a quarter century, walking to the end of the pier meant the Tin Fish. That is over. The Tin Fish has been a staple on the pier for about 25 years, but a few weeks ago, the restaurant changed hands and is now Imperial Beach Kitchen, an Asian-inspired restaurant with a variety of dishes.
The owner is David Gwak, originally from Korea, who attended culinary school in Nam Hae at 18 and learned to make Korean, Japanese, and Chinese dishes. Before IB, he came to San Diego in 2016 and opened three restaurants on Convoy Street, focused on sushi, Korean barbecue, and Korean hot pot.
The menu keeps some Tin Fish holdovers but pushes in a different direction. There are four varieties of Korean ramen including Buldak Cheese; rolls with lobster, bulgogi, spicy pork, and chicken teriyaki; and rice bowls like Soy Salmon, Bulgogi Beef, and Spicy Pork. Fish and chips and fish and shrimp combos are still on offer, and tacos are a new addition, with shrimp and fish options.
Practical details for locals: Imperial Beach Kitchen is at the end of the pier, 910 Seacoast Drive, open every day 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. If your weekend rhythm involved a Tin Fish stop, it needs updating.
Pier South added two dining rooms last spring
The other pier-adjacent change happened at the resort. Two new dining concepts opened in Imperial Beach at Pier South Resort on May 23, and hotel guests and locals alike are invited to dine at the oceanfront spaces.
Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, founded by Sami Ladeki in 1989 with the first location opening in La Jolla, serves family-friendly dishes including a grilled balsamic chicken salad, an array of pizzas, and their signature messy sundae. The second room is Roppongi Asian Bistro, a fusion of Pacific Rim and Californian cuisine.
Hours are different enough to matter for planning: Roppongi at Pier South serves dinner daily from 5 to 10 p.m., and Sammy's at Pier South serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you need a 7 a.m. breakfast on a Sunday within walking distance of the sand, that is a new option in town.
A weekend-only bakery that is worth planning around
Millport, at the corner of 13th and Donax, is not new, but its schedule was quietly rebuilt in a way that catches even neighbors off guard.
- Open Saturday and Sunday only, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until sold out
- Limited amounts prepared daily to reduce food wasted
- Working in 2026 toward zero food waste
- Coffee poured is Visitor Coffee, roasted in National City by owners Will and Seth, both Imperial Beach natives
- The pastry counter is entirely gluten-free: huge chewy cookies, moist bundt cakes, and cakes described as some of the best gluten-free cakes you've tasted
- The bakery is now taking custom cake orders; inquire at 619.884.8096
If you have not been in a while, the practical shift is this: showing up at 1:45 on a Sunday is not the same as showing up at 9:15. Come early is not a suggestion.
What is actually happening at Portwood this summer
The programming at Portwood Pier Plaza is heavier than a lot of residents realize. Here is the shape of it for June and July, plus the capital project on the horizon.
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| June 20–21, 2026 | 23rd Annual Father's Day Powwow by the Sea | Imperial Beach Pier Plaza |
| July 4, 2026 | 4th of July Celebration, 9:00 pm | Portwood Pier Plaza, 900–914 Seacoast Dr |
| July 18, 2026 | Sun & Sea Festival, Masters sand carving competition | Portwood Pier Plaza |
| Late 2026 | New splashpad, fresh landscaping, lighting, artwork, and seating | Portwood Pier Plaza |
The Sun & Sea Festival is worth flagging in particular because it was not a given this year. The Imperial Beach Sun & Sea Festival was canceled for 2025. Its return on July 18 is the reason to plan around that Saturday rather than treat it like any other beach day. Top sandcastle artists rapidly sculpt structures complete with staircases, ramparts, and flying buttresses in a six-hour building period, and the planning and design for these ephemeral palaces can take months. Bring the folding chair.
The late-2026 splashpad is the piece that changes the plaza long-term. A permanent water play feature at Portwood, paired with new seating and shade, tilts the plaza from an event venue that is mostly empty on weekdays into something closer to a daily-use park. Worth watching if you live in the walkshed and care about foot traffic on Seacoast.
Beyond Portwood, Veterans Park continues to host its own summer programming. Art in the Park, the city's sixth annual, transformed Veterans Park into a gallery walk on June 6, filled with paintings, handmade jewelry, mosaics, and interactive activities designed to connect residents with local art.
A quieter change at the estuary
The other thing to know before Labor Day sits at the south end of town, not the pier. This summer, visitors and their four-legged companions will have a new way to support wildlife at the beach, as U.S. Fish & Wildlife, San Diego Bird Alliance, and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve launch a BARK Rangers program at the beach and dune habitat.
If you walk a dog on the south end regularly, the details of how BARK Rangers is implemented will shape what off-leash and on-leash zones look like this season. It is the kind of thing that gets no press outside the local paper and then becomes the reason a park ranger flags you on a Sunday morning walk. Worth reading up on before your first summer dune walk with the dog.
The reserve also has a new fellow worth knowing. Johnny Bear Contreras joined the TRNERR team as a fellow this spring, a recognized public artist, sculptor, and community leader of the San Pasqual Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
Why this matters if you already live here
The pattern behind all of these updates is that IB's summer weekend gravity has become more concentrated on the Seacoast corridor than it used to be. New ownership at the end of the pier, two new dining rooms at Pier South, a returning festival at Portwood, a splashpad coming to the same plaza, and a dog program at the estuary that anchors the other end of the same street. Five separate pieces of news, all on the same half-mile.
For residents that means two things in practice. First, the "default" Saturday route through town is worth actually re-planning this year instead of running it on muscle memory. Second, the block around Portwood is going to look different by winter, and if you are on Seacoast, Encino, Elder, or one of the courts off Palm west of the 5, the everyday experience of your street is about to get a little busier and a little more designed. That is neither good nor bad on its own. It is just the shape of things worth knowing about the place where you already live.
If you have questions about how the changes on Seacoast are being reflected in what nearby homes are selling and renting for, or if you are thinking through a longer-term decision about the property you already own here, Edna Mitchell is happy to talk. Get Your Home Valuation, or call to discuss your move.
