Artigiano has never opened a store in the United States. Not in Los Angeles, not in Scottsdale, not in any of the markets that usually get first crack at a growing international brand. Its debut is happening on Gerald Ford Drive, inside a town center that most Rancho Mirage residents have only seen through a chain-link fence.
That detail matters more than it looks like it should. A coffee brand's first American location is a small, specific vote of confidence, and the fact that it landed here instead of somewhere with more foot traffic on paper says something about how the north side of the city is being read by the people deciding where to plant a flag. For years, the retail center of gravity in Rancho Mirage has sat along Highway 111, between The River and the Omni. This fall, for the first time, it does not.
What Cotino Bay Is Actually Bringing In
The public-facing piece of the Cotino development is called Cotino Bay Beach, Dining and Shops, the town center attached to the 618-acre Storyliving by Disney community off Gerald Ford Drive, between Monterey Avenue and Bob Hope Drive. The first four tenants confirmed for opening were Elevare, On the Mark Fine Foods & Provisions, Khaga Yoga, and Artigiano. In August, Storyliving by Disney signed leases with six more: Asada Cantina + Kitchen, Mojave Flea Trading Post, SottoSopra, Big Juice, It Refills, and La Dolce Piccola Gelateria.
| Tenant | What it is |
|---|---|
| Elevare | 8,000-square-foot waterfront restaurant with American cuisine, operated by Oak View Group |
| On the Mark Fine Foods & Provisions | Expanded market, more than twice the size of its Palm Springs original, with sit-down seating and both produce and meat counters |
| Artigiano | First U.S. location for the Canadian coffee brand |
| Khaga Yoga | Wellness studio |
| Asada Cantina + Kitchen | Restaurant |
| Mojave Flea Trading Post | Retail |
| SottoSopra | Retail |
| Big Juice | Food and beverage |
| It Refills | Retail |
| La Dolce Piccola Gelateria | Dessert |
Most residents have heard this is a fall 2026 opening, and most of the coverage through the summer said the same thing. But Storyliving by Disney's own August 7 announcement, the one that added the six new tenants, listed the first phase of dining, retail, and gathering spaces as scheduled for spring 2027. Future phases will add more dining and retail along with a hotel. If you have been planning a Thanksgiving visit around a lagoon-side dinner, the developer's most recent public statement points to a later target than the one that has been circulating.
The Private Side Already Opened. This Part Hasn't.
Some of the confusion about timing comes from the fact that a piece of Cotino has been open and operating for almost a year. The Artisan Club, the residents-only club at the heart of the community, opened October 24, 2025. Membership runs a $20,000 initiation fee plus $11,000 to $19,000 in annual dues, and it comes with dining at Architects Fork and Plot Twist, plus access to the private beach and the Parr House. The 24-acre lagoon itself, built with Crystal Lagoons technology, has been filled and in use by early residents for months.
That is the part behind the gate. The town center is the part anyone can walk into, whether or not you live inside Cotino, and it is the piece that has not opened yet. The distinction is worth holding onto, because the two timelines get flattened together in casual conversation. One neighborhood has had a functioning lagoon and club for almost a year. The rest of Rancho Mirage is still waiting on the sidewalk.
The Older Corridor Isn't Standing Still Either
None of this is happening because Highway 111 has gone quiet. The opposite is true, and the changes there are worth knowing before you assume your regular Friday reservation is still available.
Fleming's Steakhouse at The River has permanently closed and taken down its website. The location opened in November 2001, when that shopping center first came online, which makes this the end of a quarter-century run at one of Rancho Mirage's most reliable reservations. Anyone who has defaulted to that corner for a special occasion for the better part of two decades will need a new plan, and the neighboring restaurants and patios are likely to see more traffic as those Friday nights redistribute.
At the same time, the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa added something new. Executive chef Jose Lopez, who has been with the Omni for almost three decades, launched Double Date in March 2026. The concept leans California-meets-Italy, with dishes like Campanelle al Limone built around asparagus and roasted tomatoes, and a name that nods to the Coachella Valley's history as a date-growing region. It is open nightly for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m., with live entertainment five nights a week, Wednesday through Sunday, a heavier programming schedule than most desert resort restaurants attempt on a weeknight.
Further down 111, the long-vacant pad at 71959 CA-111, formerly Roy's Hawaiian Fusion until it closed in 2021, has more than a dozen construction documents on file for conversion into a 9,260-square-foot fine dining restaurant with 275 seats and a 316-guest occupancy limit. That is a serious buildout for a site that has sat empty for five years, and it suggests whoever is behind it believes Rancho Mirage's dinner crowd is still growing even before Cotino's town center takes its first reservation.
The Fall Calendar Has Its Own Fixed Points
Two dates on the civic and cultural calendar frame how residents will actually experience this stretch. Sunnylands Center & Gardens closes every summer and reopens on a set date each year. For 2026, that date is Wednesday, September 9, and this season's returning exhibition is Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands, alongside the usual introductory film and self-guided garden tour. The first two weeks after reopening tend to be the least crowded stretch of the season, before the winter calendar fills back in.
The Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce holds its annual State of the City address on October 21, 2026, at Agua Caliente Resort. This is the event where the city typically walks through the year's development and economic wins, and given the timing, Cotino's rollout is expected to be part of that presentation. For residents trying to get a straight answer on where the town center stands, that date is a more reliable source than a construction fence.
Two Answers Instead of One
The specific claim here is not that Rancho Mirage is adding a new attraction. It is that the map itself is splitting. For most of the last two decades, there has been one obvious answer to where you go for dinner, coffee, or a walk in this city, and that answer sat on Highway 111. This fall, and more precisely by spring 2027 once Cotino's town center actually opens its doors, there will be two.
Whether that means your regular coffee stop changes, your dinner reservation moves half a mile, or you simply have a second option for the first time in years, the practical effect is the same. The next time someone asks where to meet in Rancho Mirage, the honest answer will depend on which side of Bob Hope Drive you are starting from.
If you are trying to figure out how any of this touches your own corner of Rancho Mirage, from property values near the new town center to what a home on the older side of the corridor is actually worth this season, Team Armstrong knows this stretch of the city block by block. Contact Us.
