Leasing materials obtained by SanDiegoVille indicate that Goop Kitchen has signed on as one of the first restaurant tenants at UC San Diego's incoming Triton Center, a sprawling new $453 million campus village that university officials describe as the future "front door" of the La Jolla campus. The same leasing package also identifies Jeff's Beach Burgers and Intermission Café as incoming tenants, with one final retail space still available for lease.
The tenant lineup provides one of the first public glimpses into the food and beverage component of Triton Center, a transformative four-building development designed to create a true urban core for a university that has long been criticized for lacking a centralized gathering place.
For UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Triton Center represents far more than another collection of campus buildings. It is part of a broader effort that has already seen more than $7 billion invested into transforming UC San Diego from what was once a relatively isolated coastal research institution into a dense, transit-oriented university city connected by the Blue Line Trolley.
Currently nearing completion near the geographic center of campus, Triton Center spans approximately 332,000 square feet across a 10-acre site and will include a new alumni and welcome center, a student health and wellness complex, administrative offices, event facilities, gallery space, retail storefronts, and an expansive public gathering area known as Triton Plaza. According to university materials, the project is expected to become a primary hub for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors.
The scale of the project is difficult to overstate. University officials estimate that approximately 50,000 people are already on campus daily, including more than 43,000 students and over 23,000 faculty and staff. Student housing is projected to grow from approximately 22,000 residents today to more than 27,000 by 2030, while faculty and staff numbers are expected to increase as well. The nearby Blue Line Trolley station now provides direct transit access to millions of annual riders.
In other words, Goop Kitchen isn't opening another neighborhood restaurant. It's planting a flag in what may soon become one of the busiest pedestrian environments in San Diego County.
As UC San Diego continues its transformation into one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing public research universities, Triton Center appears poised to become the campus's long-awaited living room—a place where students study, visitors gather, alumni reconnect, and increasingly, where San Diegans may find themselves grabbing a Goop Bowl between meetings.
Triton Center is expected to begin opening in phases during Fall 2026 at UC San Diego's La Jolla campus. For more information, visit tritoncenter.ucsd.edu.
Originally published on June 15, 2026.
The scale of the project is difficult to overstate. University officials estimate that approximately 50,000 people are already on campus daily, including more than 43,000 students and over 23,000 faculty and staff. Student housing is projected to grow from approximately 22,000 residents today to more than 27,000 by 2030, while faculty and staff numbers are expected to increase as well. The nearby Blue Line Trolley station now provides direct transit access to millions of annual riders.
In other words, Goop Kitchen isn't opening another neighborhood restaurant. It's planting a flag in what may soon become one of the busiest pedestrian environments in San Diego County.
Founded in 2021 as an extension of Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle empire, Goop Kitchen has rapidly expanded throughout Los Angeles and Orange County by focusing on health-conscious meals built around gluten-free, dairy-free, and minimally processed ingredients. Unlike many celebrity-backed restaurant concepts that rely primarily on name recognition, Goop Kitchen has developed a substantial following for menu items like its Goop Teriyaki Bowl, Green Goddess Crunch Salad, Mediterranean Hummus Bowl, and various customizable protein-focused meals.
The culinary program is led by chef Kim Floresca, whose resume includes time at some of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, including Per Se in New York, The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, and El Bulli in Spain.
The addition of Goop Kitchen to UC San Diego is also likely to fuel further discussion about what some San Diegans have dubbed the ongoing "LA-ification" of the region's dining scene. The brand's upcoming One Paseo location already generated considerable conversation among locals, particularly as other Los Angeles imports such as Sugarfish continue expanding southward.
The culinary program is led by chef Kim Floresca, whose resume includes time at some of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, including Per Se in New York, The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, and El Bulli in Spain.
The addition of Goop Kitchen to UC San Diego is also likely to fuel further discussion about what some San Diegans have dubbed the ongoing "LA-ification" of the region's dining scene. The brand's upcoming One Paseo location already generated considerable conversation among locals, particularly as other Los Angeles imports such as Sugarfish continue expanding southward.
Joining Goop Kitchen at Triton Center will be Jeff's Beach Burgers, the casual burger concept founded by Jeff Jacobs, son of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and a part-owner of the San Diego Padres and Sacramento Kings. The restaurant first opened in La Jolla Shores in 2022 and has become known for its straightforward menu of burgers, fries, hot dogs, milkshakes, beer, and wine.
Also listed in leasing materials is Intermission Café, although few public details about that concept have yet emerged. At lease one additional restaurant or retail space measuring approximately 1,600 square feet remains available for lease.
The restaurants will sit adjacent to Triton Plaza, a large open-air gathering space envisioned as the social heart of campus. University officials have compared the concept to iconic collegiate gathering spaces such as UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza. The surrounding district will also include Jacobs Celebration Hall, a 500-person event venue, the Strauss Family Meta Gallery, expanded student health facilities, wellness programming, alumni event spaces, and administrative offices.
Also listed in leasing materials is Intermission Café, although few public details about that concept have yet emerged. At lease one additional restaurant or retail space measuring approximately 1,600 square feet remains available for lease.
The restaurants will sit adjacent to Triton Plaza, a large open-air gathering space envisioned as the social heart of campus. University officials have compared the concept to iconic collegiate gathering spaces such as UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza. The surrounding district will also include Jacobs Celebration Hall, a 500-person event venue, the Strauss Family Meta Gallery, expanded student health facilities, wellness programming, alumni event spaces, and administrative offices.
The restaurant announcements also arrive amid a broader culinary transformation taking place across UC San Diego. Just a short walk from Triton Center, Station 8 Public Market is preparing to open in summer 2026 as one of the most ambitious food hall projects ever developed on a university campus. The 20,000-square-foot destination will feature ten restaurant concepts, two full bars, a mezzanine-level dining experience, and seating for more than 300 guests. Developed by Tiger Hospitality and designed by acclaimed San Diego firm Basile Studio, Station 8 aims to serve not only students and faculty but theatergoers, visitors, and the surrounding La Jolla community.
UC San Diego's dining evolution is already underway. Last year saw the debut of Dora, the coastal Italian restaurant from world pasta champion Accursio Lota, owner of North Park's acclaimed Trattoria Cori Pastificio. Located adjacent to the university's Theatre District and La Jolla Playhouse, Dora brought handmade pastas, Sicilian-inspired cuisine, and destination dining to a part of campus that historically offered few notable culinary options.
Taken together, the arrival of Goop Kitchen, Jeff's Beach Burgers, Station 8 Public Market, Dora, and other incoming concepts signals a dramatic shift in how UC San Diego is approaching campus life. What was once viewed primarily as a commuter-friendly research university is increasingly developing into a genuine mixed-use district with restaurants, entertainment venues, public gathering spaces, cultural attractions, and transit connectivity that rival many of the region's urban neighborhoods.
The Triton Center project is strategically positioned near the Epstein Family Amphitheater, which hosts more than 300 performances annually and attracts an estimated 280,000 visitors each year. Leasing materials describe Triton Center as a destination intended to serve not only students but the broader San Diego community as well.
As UC San Diego continues its transformation into one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing public research universities, Triton Center appears poised to become the campus's long-awaited living room—a place where students study, visitors gather, alumni reconnect, and increasingly, where San Diegans may find themselves grabbing a Goop Bowl between meetings.
Triton Center is expected to begin opening in phases during Fall 2026 at UC San Diego's La Jolla campus. For more information, visit tritoncenter.ucsd.edu.
Originally published on June 15, 2026.
