Market Restaurant + Bar, the longstanding fine dining destination at 3702 Via De La Valle, closed on September 21 and is now undergoing a major renovation expected to keep the restaurant shuttered until spring 2027. Demolition is already underway, with plans calling for completely refreshed interiors, expanded dining areas and a new menu when Market returns.
"A new chapter is coming," the restaurant announced, promising "beautiful new interiors, expanded dining spaces and an exciting new menu."
The temporary closure represents the biggest physical change at Market since longtime customers Monica and Bernd Brust purchased the restaurant from acclaimed chef and founder Carl Schroeder in September 2025. At the time of the sale, the Brusts said they intended to preserve the restaurant's identity while making long needed investments in the property.
The couple were not restaurant industry outsiders. Both had more than a decade of hospitality experience before purchasing Market, Monica in Houston and Bernd in Cleveland after moving to the United States from Amsterdam. More importantly to Schroeder, they were longtime Market customers who approached him with a plan to keep the restaurant locally owned, retain its employees and continue its longstanding focus on locally sourced ingredients.
As SanDiegoVille reported when the sale was announced, Schroeder said he had not been actively looking to sell the restaurant. The Brusts' willingness to invest in the business while preserving what had made it successful ultimately convinced him to hand over the keys.
Those investments were initially described as a refreshed interior, expanded operating hours, improvements to the wine program, upgraded restrooms and enhancements to the sushi bar. The project now underway appears considerably more ambitious, with Market saying the restaurant itself will be expanded as part of the overhaul.
The closure comes during a significant transition for a restaurant that has occupied an unusually prominent place in North County's dining scene since 2006.
Schroeder opened Market after building his reputation at Arterra in the San Diego Marriott Del Mar. During his tenure, he became a three time James Beard Award semifinalist, while MARKET developed a following for seasonally driven California cuisine, tasting menus, an extensive wine program and polished service.
Market has also received recognition from the Michelin Guide and Wine Spectator and has drawn praise over the years from national and regional publications. Its reputation made the 2025 sale particularly notable because it marked the end of Schroeder's nearly two decade run at the restaurant he founded.
The restaurant had already undergone one significant makeover during the Schroeder era. Market temporarily closed in 2013 for a redesign by San Diego's Basile Studio, which added a wood fired oven, reworked the dining room and private dining space, lowered portions of the ceiling and installed more than 200 small overhead lights. That project lasted only about two weeks, making the current months long shutdown a far more extensive undertaking.
Market continued operating for roughly a year following the ownership change. Its final menu before the current closure reflected a restaurant that remained firmly in the upscale dining category, with dishes including tamarind glazed sea bass, Cabernet braised beef short ribs, Wagyu burgers, Hokkaido scallop ceviche and Pitman Farms chicken schnitzel. The restaurant offered both à la carte and prix fixe dining, while its lounge featured sushi and cocktails.
The restaurant's OpenTable listing now carries a notice confirming that Market is temporarily closed until spring 2027 and says the team plans to reveal the new interior design, expanded dining space and menu during the coming months.
The closure is therefore not being presented as the end of Market, but as an unusually long intermission for a restaurant that recently celebrated its 20th year in Del Mar.
For the Brusts, the renovation also represents the clearest indication yet of how they intend to put their own stamp on a restaurant whose legacy they promised to protect when they bought it. Rather than immediately reinventing Market after the acquisition, they operated the restaurant for approximately a year before closing the doors for the substantial investment now underway.
Exactly what the new dining room and menu will look like has not yet been revealed. Market says additional details will be announced in the coming weeks and months ahead of its planned spring 2027 reopening.
Market Restaurant + Bar is located at 3702 Via De La Valle near El Camino Real in Del Mar. For more information, visit marketdelmar.com.
Originally published on October 3, 2026. Information first reported by Karen Billing of San Diegon Union-Tribune.
