Two summers ago, a Thursday evening at City Center Bishop Ranch looked different: office workers from the Chevron campus across Bollinger Canyon Road headed home in the early evening, a few families lingered near the fountain, and the plaza settled into the quiet of a shopping center that closes its restaurants on the same schedule as its retail. This August, that same Thursday looks different again. On August 20, food trucks and roughly ten local artists will set up at Dougherty Station Community Arts Center for the season's next Third Thursday Arts & Eats, while across town at Alexander Square, a Turkish restaurant with a built-in jazz stage and an Indian restaurant with two Michelin-recognized chefs are both doing steady weeknight business.
These changes unfolded over roughly fourteen months: the city added a monthly event, and four restaurant groups brought new concepts to San Ramon. Together, they have made the local calendar busier.
The City Moved First
Third Thursday Arts & Eats is new, not a rebrand of something that already existed. The City of San Ramon launched it in May 2026, running the third Thursday of every month from May through October, from 5 to 9 p.m., at Dougherty Station Community Arts Center on Bollinger Canyon Road. The format is specific: roughly ten local artists selling original work and handmade goods, eight rotating food trucks, live acoustic music, and pop-up tables from partners like Dougherty Station Library and the Diablo Valley College San Ramon campus.
Adam Chow, the city's Recreation Supervisor, framed the launch as a chance to give residents a monthly reason to gather around art, food, and each other in a relaxed outdoor setting. What's notable is the timing. Meyhouse opened at Alexander Square with a jazz program of its own that same month. A city event and a restaurant opening both added new options for San Ramon evenings within weeks of each other.
Four Restaurants, Different Concepts
The restaurant side of this story didn't happen in one announcement. It built in waves across 2025 and 2026, with different concepts arriving over that period.
| Restaurant | Cuisine | What the opening tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Alora Social | Coastal Mediterranean | Opened March 2025 in the 7,000-square-foot former Chow space, the San Francisco-based Alora group's first expansion beyond its original Embarcadero location |
| KHAKI Indian Bar and Canteen | Regional Indian (Bihar, Kerala, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Delhi) | Opened summer 2025 in the exact unit Curry Up Now vacated, led by Chefs Sujan and Pujan Sarkar, both Michelin-recognized |
| Meyhouse | Turkish, mesquite-fired meat and seafood | Opened spring 2026 in a 5,200-square-foot space, the third location and first East Bay outpost for co-founders Koray Altinsoy and Omer Artun |
| Rico Rico Taco | Mexico City-style tacos | An Oakland taqueria that took over the former C Casa spot, targeting a February 2026 opening and still in soft-opening mode as of this past May |
Alora Social went first, and it was a real bet: a San Francisco group with one location on the Embarcadero decided its second restaurant, ever, would go to a suburban shopping center in the East Bay. KHAKI followed with Michelin pedigree in a market that doesn't usually see that level of chef credential outside San Francisco or the South Bay. Meyhouse then leased space large enough to build a dedicated stage, bringing to San Ramon live jazz programming used at its founders' restaurants in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Rico Rico Taco adds a different concept: the Oakland taqueria, known for handmade tortillas and spit-roasted al pastor, is part of the San Ramon restaurant mix.
Recurring Events at Alexander Square
Alexander Square, the plaza at the center of City Center Bishop Ranch, has two recurring draws: a farmers market that has run every Saturday since the complex opened, and a Smooth Jazz series that returned to the square in July with pianist David Benoit performing on July 18.
Meyhouse has a live jazz program, and its San Ramon space was designed around a stage that can host dinner shows for up to 80 guests. Alexander Square also hosts an outdoor concert series. Meyhouse's program and the concert series are separate parts of the plaza's music offerings.
The Saturday Constant
Everything above describes what changed. The San Ramon Farmers Market is what didn't. It runs every Saturday on Alexander Square, with market dates confirmed for August 8 and August 15 this month alone. It was there before Alora Social, before KHAKI, before the city ever floated the idea of a Third Thursday series at Dougherty Station.
The farmers market remains a regular part of Alexander Square's calendar. The new restaurants and the Third Thursday series add other dining and event options in San Ramon.
What This Looks Like on Your Calendar This Month
If you already live in San Ramon, here's the practical version of everything above:
- August 8 and August 15, the farmers market runs on Alexander Square at City Center Bishop Ranch, continuing its regular Saturday schedule.
- August 20, Third Thursday Arts & Eats returns to Dougherty Station Community Arts Center from 5 to 9 p.m., with local artists, eight rotating food trucks, and live acoustic music.
- Weeknights, Meyhouse's jazz stage and KHAKI's regional Indian menu are both running full service at Alexander Square, with KHAKI drawing on preparations from Bihar and Kerala that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere in the East Bay.
- Weekends, Alora Social's patio handles the brunch and cocktail crowd that made its San Francisco original a destination.
- Watch for it, Rico Rico Taco was still in soft-opening mode as of this past May, with signage up and a paused online ordering page, so its handmade tortillas and spit-roasted al pastor may already be a regular option by the time you read this.
The Part That Doesn't Show Up on a Calendar
A calendar tells you what's happening. It doesn't capture the character of San Ramon's local scene: a Saturday farmers market, a jazz series, and restaurants with distinct dining concepts. Together, they add variety to the area's dining and events mix.
At The Bermudez Team, we track this kind of local momentum the same way we track comps, because they tell the same story from different angles. Restaurant openings and city events add another dimension to the local picture, alongside comparable sales that help show what homes here are worth. If you're curious what that means for your own property, reach out to Frank Bermudez and the team for a conversation, or get your free home valuation whenever you're ready to see the number for yourself.
