All summer, two names stood for the next phase of Rancho Mirage dining. One was Cotino Bay Beach, Dining, Shops, the waterfront town center inside Storyliving by Disney's Cotino community. The other was The Capital Grille, going into a long-dark building on Highway 111. Both now give spring 2027 as their opening target. That leaves November and December to places residents already know. Sunnylands Center & Gardens sets the weekday schedule, a Friday market fills the end of the week, and Saturday nights belong to the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater and The Show at Agua Caliente.
Two Openings, One New Date
Here is where both projects stand as of October 2026.
| Cotino Bay Beach, Dining, Shops | The Capital Grille | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Off Monterey Avenue between Gerald Ford and Frank Sinatra drives | 71959 Highway 111, the former Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine site |
| Earlier target | Fall 2026 | No public date |
| Current target | Spring 2027 | Spring 2027 |
| Latest signal | New tenants announced Aug. 6, 2026 | Hiring managers and chefs; liquor-license application pending |
Disney first set a fall 2026 opening for Cotino Bay in its October 2025 announcement of the Artisan Club. The Artisan Club and Parr House are amenities for Cotino residents and members. The public town center is a separate project. The Aug. 6, 2026 tenant announcement moved the target to spring 2027 and added six names.
The tenant list draws heavily on businesses the Coachella Valley already knows. SottoSopra comes from the team behind SottoVoce Cafe in Palm Desert and Palm Springs and plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, with dishes like ossobuco and risotto giallo. La Dolce Piccola Gelateria is a family-owned Palm Desert gelato shop. Mojave Flea Trading Post already runs stores in Palm Springs and Yucca Valley and stocks work from makers in the Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree and beyond. Asada Cantina + Kitchen comes from San Clemente and plans to serve lunch and dinner daily. Mila's Kitchen, led by native Hawaiian Chef Charles Akau IV, and Sunglass Hut appear on Disney's current page. Big Juice, Elevare, Artigiano and On the Mark Fine Foods & Provisions round out the roster.
The public will be able to reach the lagoon with a ticket, but the terms have not been set. Disney's Cotino Bay page describes a Crystal Lagoons-powered beach with ticketed public access, and the August release says admission details will come later.
The Capital Grille went from rumor to confirmation in September. GPS Business Insider reported on Sept. 24, 2026, that the Darden-owned steakhouse is recruiting managers and chefs and has a pending liquor-license application for 71959 Highway 111. A company spokesperson told the outlet, "We've received outstanding support from the city and expect to open by Spring 2027." The same article noted that the Highway 111 building had been dark for several years, and that the Costa Mesa restaurant at South Coast Plaza is one of only two Capital Grilles in California.
Neither project adds anything to a Rancho Mirage evening this year, so the season's schedule comes from older institutions.
Sunnylands Runs the Weekdays
Sunnylands Center & Gardens reopened on Wednesday, Sept. 9, after its summer break. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The new part is the program schedule that starts the first week of November and gives each weekday a fixed slot:
- Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 4 to 28: ticketed birding tours on the estate at 8:45 a.m., listed only for November 2026.
- Thursdays from Nov. 5: free 60-minute guided bird walks in the gardens at 8:45 a.m., led by an experienced birder, running through May 27, 2027. No reservations needed, and parking and admission are free.
- Fridays: the Rancho Mirage Certified Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., October through May at Rancho Mirage Community Park, 71560 San Jacinto Drive, with yoga at 10 a.m.
- Saturdays from Nov. 7: free Tai Chi in the Gardens at 9:30 a.m., continuing through April 24, 2027.
Every item on that list is a morning program that repeats each week, and the two free Sunnylands series run well past the spring 2027 target for the new openings. Sunnylands' events calendar is the place to check before any visit. The Thursday walk is the easiest to fit in. It costs nothing, needs no reservation, and finishes early enough to get to the Friday market the next morning without planning around anything.
The One New Table on Highway 111
Only one recent opening on the Highway 111 corridor is serving now. The Desert Sun photographed California Bistro in early March 2026 as a recent opening on Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. Its own site lists breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
That makes California Bistro this season's newest restaurant on the corridor. The bigger arrivals people have been waiting for are at least a season away, and one of them is going into a building that has sat empty for years.
Evenings, in Date Order
After sunset, two venues carry most of the schedule. Desert Theatricals stages its season at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater. The Show sits inside Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage at Bob Hope Drive and Ramon Road. The Rancho Mirage Library adds a few smaller nights. Here is the calendar from November through New Year's Eve:
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Chris Tucker at The Show.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Kool & The Gang at The Show.
- Nov. 21 and 22: youth theater performances of Disney's The Lion King JR. at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, listed on the library calendar.
- Dec. 3: the RMWF Writers Series with Dr. Joshua Mezrich in the library's Community Room.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: The Band Perry at The Show.
- Friday, Dec. 11: Violent Femmes at The Show.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Cool Yule with Nat & Ella from Desert Theatricals at the Amphitheater. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7.
- Friday, Dec. 18: LeAnn Rimes at The Show.
- Thursday, Dec. 31: KC and the Sunshine Band with Village People at The Show.
Dec. 12 offers the most in a single day. It is a Saturday, so the morning can start with Tai Chi at Sunnylands at 9:30 and end at the Amphitheater gates at 6 p.m. Seasonal listings move, so The Show's schedule and the Desert Theatricals site have the latest details before you buy tickets.
What Spring Will Settle
The coming months will answer a few open questions. Cotino Bay has not yet set its beach admission, and Disney has said more tenants will be announced. The Capital Grille's liquor license was still pending when GPS Business Insider reported in September. Both carry the same spring 2027 target, and Sunnylands' free Thursday bird walks are scheduled to run until May 27, 2027.
As Rancho Mirage's waterfront and Highway 111 openings get closer, Craig follows how each new arrival changes daily life in the neighborhoods around it. To talk about what spring 2027 could mean for a home near Cotino or along the Highway 111 corridor, request a private consultation with Craig Chorpenning.
