Mille Fleurs restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe cuts back on lunch service due to lack of parking

Due to the persisting parking problems in the village, Mille Fleurs will close for lunch two of the four days of the week the restaurant has been open for lunch.

Owner Bertrand Hug, who has run the restaurant for the last 30 years in Rancho Santa Fe, said he is fed up.“I’m closing for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday because there is absolutely no business,” said a frustrated Hug. “Nobody can park in the village.” Hug said he is frustrated by the lack of movement on a solution proposed last summer after a meeting with village merchants and representatives from the Rancho Santa Fe Association, Rancho Santa Fe Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol. In August, the RSF Association board approved 42 new two-hour timed spaces in the village and forwarded its request to the county. The green curbs were slated for high priority areas along Avenida de Acacias, 19 spaces in front of Thyme in the Ranch, Mille Fleurs and Union Bank, 15 spaces on La Granada, and an additional eight spaces on the stretch of La Granada near John Matty Co. and Rancho Santa Fe Flowers & Gifts.

“Nothing has happened,” Hug said of the project. “There’s no parking on the street. Zero.” Hug said he had been used to serving 70 to 80 lunches on weekdays but now he is down to a “measly” 10 to 20. He said it is upsetting to him to close and he feels bad that the “ridiculous” parking situation is affecting business not just for himself but for the rest of the village merchants. Hug said he would like to see more parking created as promised and that enforcement on existing timed spaces be stepped up.

RSF Association Manager Bill Overton said the Association is working on the issue. “The parking issue continues to be a priority for the Association and Village Revitalization Committee. It is a very complex matter that is taking time to research, strategize and resolve. We will meet soon with staff, consultants and representatives from the county to address our village parking challenges,” Overton said. “We are certainly concerned with any negative impact that Rancho Santa Fe’s historic parking challenges may have on village businesses, and we are working hard to find a long-term solution.” The restaurant remains open for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Dinner is served seven days a week. For more information, visit millefleurs.com.