Irvine shakes things up with late-night eatery options

Even with the plethora of restaurants to feed the guests and residents of Irvine, there is still one thing the hungry cannot always find in this city — a late-night snack.

But select restaurants of Alton Square have answered the calls of customers-in-need with Late Night Eats.

The temporary marketing strategy will keep Chronic Tacos, Mooyah Burgers, Pizza:90 and Juice It Up! open until midnight Thursdays to Sundays through the Labor Day weekend.

Tim Gorman, owner of Alton Square’s Chronic Tacos, has seen the distress of customers walking toward the locked doors of this restaurant as he and his staff closed at 9 p.m.

“There’s definitely those looks of disappointment you see when they pull the handle and find that we’re no longer open for the day,” Gorman said. “Hopefully, we’ll see less of those faces soon.”

Gorman pitched the idea to keep Chronic Tacos open late to the Irvine Company in February.

The company determines the operating hours for businesses located on its property. The hours vary depending on the lease, but at Alton Square, closing time was 9 p.m.

The city does not regulate how late restaurants stay open. Gorman said many restaurants in Irvine traditionally close at 9 p.m. based on the type of clientele they serve and the hours they are typically in demand.

Gorman knew the Chronic Tacos franchise would be sponsoring Live Nation’s summer concerts at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine and thought it would make sense to provide concertgoers with a place to eat after the shows.

When thinking of the idea to stay open late, Gorman decided to ask the owners of neighboring restaurants Mooyah Burgers, Pizza:90 and Juice It Up! if they’d like to join in the late night fun. He was thrilled when they agreed and ecstatic when the Irvine Company was supportive of his pitch.

“Tim of Chronic Tacos approached us and we thought it was a great idea to involve more restaurants at the center,” Chief Marketing Officer for Irvine Company Retail Properties Easther Liu said. “This is the perfect opportunity to provide some terrific late night dining options in Irvine, something we hope will resonate with the community.”

If the late-night closing time attracts a mass amount of customers, Gorman hopes that his restaurant can keep its new closing time past Labor Day weekend.

“A late night is all about indulgence,” Gorman said. “It’s not a Monday afternoon with a salad. If it’s a Friday or Saturday night after a long week, you deserve to splurge.”