For now, the way into Sherman Library & Gardens is the gate on Dahlia Avenue. The garden says it "remains open and welcoming guests" while work continues across the grounds, and it asks visitors to look for signs pointing to the temporary entrance. Out front on Pacific Coast Highway, the old visitor center and garden shop are being taken apart. When construction is finished, that building will be the first thing you see from the street.

That swap of entrances sums up the whole project. The $17 million "Grow The Gardens" rebuild moves Sherman's food out to the highway and puts teaching where people used to eat. Until it's done, the garden on Dahlia runs mostly on ticketed events. That shapes how you use it between now and 2027.

A 1966 garden, rebuilt for the first time since 1970

Sherman opened in 1966 and was last remodeled in 1970. The garden itself says that aging setup now limits what it can do in education, the arts and caring for its plant collection. The groundbreaking was February 26, 2026, and the work is expected to take 18 months. The Daily Pilot reported that day that $16.5 million had been raised toward the $17 million goal. No newer total has been published.

The plan goes well beyond one building. Sherman's project map covers 14 sites: the Julia Argyros Bell Tower Entrance, the Curci Family Ticket Booth, a new Visitor Center, the Samueli Foundation Central Garden Walkway, the Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom Tropical Conservatory, the Janet and Walkie Ray Shade House, the Gail and Peter Ochs Tea Garden, a Community Building site, and "Crown of the Sea," a donor wall facing PCH. Most of the map involves how people get in, how they move through, and where they gather. The garden is redesigning how you arrive.

Where lunch went

Regular dining at Sherman is suspended right now. The garden's last restaurant, 608 Dahlia, was run by Chef Jessica Roy and served its final lunch on Sunday, October 26, 2025. As of this October, the garden has been without a dining room for nearly a year, and it will stay that way until the new building opens.

That building will be Hazeltine's, run by Damian Orozco, who owns the Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano. It's named for Hazeltine, daughter of the garden's namesake, Moses Hazeltine Sherman. The design brief, in the garden's words, is "a Victorian Tea House walks into a Spanish Bar." The plan is a rebuilt two-story building with its entrance on Pacific Coast Highway and a view over the refurbished Tea Garden. It will serve brunch, lunch and dinner and have a full bar.

Sherman frames the move as a return to its roots. In the early years, the Junior League of Newport Beach served light lunches to members in the Tea Garden through a window in the same visitor center and garden shop that is now being rebuilt. The food is going back to that corner, but this time with a street entrance.

Sherman's own pages don't agree on the opening date. The May announcement and the project map say late summer 2027. The visitor page says "Fall of 2027" for full dining. Treat either one as a target date.

The trade inside the walls

Executive Director Scott LaFleur explained why the restaurant is moving: "Moving the restaurant was the key to unlocking a vital education space for expanded classes, lectures, and field trips." The old dining spot inside the garden was a "restricted location," in the announcement's words. It becomes classroom space, and the restaurant moves to the street side, where it can keep its own hours.

Some of that future is already showing up. At the groundbreaking, LaFleur said classes and events would continue through construction. The fall calendar bears that out. With no café, a visit to Sherman this season is mostly built around a workshop, a talk or a show.

Fall at Sherman, by date

Regular hours stay the same, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, for both the garden and the library gallery. Under the seasonal pricing that started May 15, admission is $12 for adults, $5 for ages 4 to 17, and free for children 3 and under. Before you go, check for closures. The garden is closed to the public October 2 through 4 for the 2nd Annual Botanical Ball and again on Sunday, October 18. It's also closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

October and November also bring smaller workshops: a Succulent Pumpkin Workshop on October 16, Shinrin-yoku Sound Healing on October 21, a Botanical Soy Candle Crafting Workshop on October 29, a Fireside Sound Bath on November 17, and the Gather & Give Thanks Floral Workshop on November 25.

The Harvest Tea is the only preview of Hazeltine's on the calendar this year, and it's full. It's the last in a series that started in June. The November and December calendars show no tea dates after October 18. Sherman's event page and the Tock booking page also list different times and prices for the tea, so check with the garden directly if a spot opens up. The summer's "Dog Days of Sherman" mosaic dogs by Elizabeth Laul Healey closed September 7.

Two blocks down, the other new table

Sherman isn't the only food change on this stretch of Coast Highway. At 2931 East Coast Highway, in the space where Mayur Cuisine of India recently closed, chef-owner Michael Campbell is opening a second White Rooster. The first White Rooster opened in Dana Point in January. The Orange County Register reported in September that the Corona del Mar location is slated for late October or early November, with no specific day announced.

Campbell calls his food "Comida Californiana." The menu runs from smoked tri-tip tacos and chilaquiles to blue corn waffles, seafood and a birria burger, served at brunch, lunch, happy hour and dinner. He's also a neighbor. "When I moved next door in 2014, I quickly fell in love with the neighborhood and its iconic local gathering places," he told What Now OC.

The two projects run on very different schedules. One opens within weeks and the other is about a year out. Both point the same way, though: more of Corona del Mar's places to eat facing the highway itself.

The practical version, until 2027

• Enter on Dahlia Avenue and follow the temporary signs. Accessible parking is in the lot at Dahlia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.
• Eat before or after your visit. There's no regular dining on site.
• Check the closure notices before weekend plans, especially Sundays with private events.
• The library gallery is sometimes closed for classes or events. The garden suggests calling ahead at (949) 673-2261, ext. 304.

Trey Dewey's first Orange County home was on Bayside Drive, a few minutes from Sherman's front gate, so he's watched this corner of Corona del Mar change for years. If you're weighing a home within walking distance of the Hazeltine's site, or want to talk through how a 2027 opening on Coast Highway affects a particular block, Trey Dewey is glad to talk. Let's Connect.