Four chef-operators have committed to OCVIBE's Katella Commons, bringing the 50,000-square-foot market hall's growing culinary roster closer to its 21-kitchen capacity ahead of an early 2027 opening in Anaheim. The new partners — Don Churros Gomez, MFK | Modern Filipino Kitchen, Mojo and Pull & Roll, and Gelato Paradiso — represent distinct culinary traditions rooted in Southern California's diverse dining landscape.
The Incoming Operators
Don Churros Gomez is a third-generation, family-operated business tracing its recipe back to 1969 in Yahualica, Jalisco, Mexico, where the founders' grandfather originated the concept. Brothers Jaime and Ricky Nuñez Gomez will bring traditional thin-style churros and other authentic Mexican desserts to the market hall. Chef Henry Pineda and his wife, Panda, are reviving MFK | Modern Filipino Kitchen, the Anaheim original they launched in 2017 before losing it to a fire — making the Katella Commons location a homecoming nearly a decade in the making. Chef Guoming "Sam" Xin, known in culinary circles as the "Noodle Man," will operate two concepts under the Mojo and Pull & Roll banner, drawing on more than two decades of experience and formal certification as a Senior Noodle Technician in Beijing to deliver hand-pulled noodles and dumplings rooted in Northern Chinese tradition. Gelato Paradiso, founded in Newport Beach in 1999, rounds out the group with artisan Italian gelato made daily in small batches; approximately 80% of its ingredients are imported directly from Italy.
Operator Implications
The Katella Commons model — a chef-driven market hall with 21 kitchens and six bar and lounge concepts — reflects a broader foodservice trend toward curated multi-operator halls that function as dining destinations rather than traditional food courts. For independent operators like the Nuñez Gomez brothers or Chef Pineda, placement in a high-traffic, mixed-use district surrounding a major entertainment venue offers a platform that would otherwise require significant capital investment to replicate. Anthony Olheiser, Senior Vice President of Hospitality at OCVIBE, framed the broader vision plainly: "We're creating a new dining destination in Southern California where people will discover something new every time they visit."
The four new partners join a lineup announced earlier this summer that includes chefs from Amiga Amore, Burritos La Palma, Evil Cooks, Manaao Thai Comfort Food, and DARKROOM Restaurant and Wine Bar, among others. Celebrated chef Roy Choi is also bringing his Best Friend restaurant to the district. That breadth signals OCVIBE's intent to position Katella Commons as a restaurant-industry benchmark for chef-hall development — one that blends legacy independent operators with emerging culinary voices under a single roof. Operators and foodservice developers tracking the evolution of experiential dining formats will find the Katella Commons approach worth watching as market halls continue to proliferate across urban mixed-use projects. Katella Commons is slated to open in early 2027, following the March launch of OCVIBE's 5,000-person concert hall.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
