Rodeo 39 Public Market

Opened in mid-2020 – almost certainly the most challenging time for restaurants in a century – Rodeo 39 Public Market is unquestionably the Voltron of fast casual food and drinks. Launching strong and remaining compelling despite significant changes in its tenants, it has emerged as a true destination in its own right, and a major reason to visit Stanton. (Smaller versions called Rodeo River Street and Rodeo 72 have since opened in San Juan Capistrano and Whittier, respectively.)

At full capacity, Rodeo 39 has around 25 vendors spread across three major categories: restaurants, fashion/personal care, and broader shopping. It was originally a food hall where you could find a lobster roll and a beer, Laotian barbecue, mochi donuts, Hawaiian sandwiches, and ice cream; some of the early tenants remain and continue to thrill guests, while others have exited and been replaced – generally, if not perfectly. On a mid-March 2026 visit, the food hall had more vacancies than we’d ever recalled previously, though most of the spaces were occupied by either established or recent tenants.

Notable early success stories include Shootz, which still serves butter Kimchi-sauced jumbo shrimp and chicken cutlets with Hawaiian sides. PhoHolic, a particularly good Vietnamese restaurant specializing in pho, continues to occupy a location immediately outside the main hall, and routinely generates very long lines during peak hours.

Some of the noteworthy departed vendors include Bestea Bar, which made beautifully colorful and multi-layered boba drinks, and its successor Kozan Tea House, which ambitiously opened in multiple Rodeo locations before closing all of them. Buenos Migos served tacos and noteworthy ube horchatas; Banh Xeo Boys offered Vietnamese crepes and pandan horchata; and Oi Asian Fusion won us with jicama tacos and creme caramel desserts. HiroNori Ramen, a popular local Japanese ramen chain, launched and then closed a glass-enclosed mini concept called Nandomo – their black garlic ramen was really exceptional, but the confined, counter-style traditional ramen shop seating was an odd fit for the market; Karai Hand Roll Bar x Ramen subsequently opened and closed in the same space. Steel Pan Pizza, a locally rare Detroit-style pizza shop, left a major hole in the Orange County pizza scene when it departed Rodeo 39 in spring 2025. Fika Fika Creamery sold a wide variety of homemade ice creams in colorful waffle cones, followed by the comparatively mediocre Remicone, which left the food hall in favor of a standalone Irvine location.