"There's just not enough for those young people to do," Terence Mulligan, CEO of the Napa Valley Community Foundation, told the Napa Planning Commission on July 16. "There's not enough spaces for us to gather." He was speaking in support of a covered roller rink at Napa Yard. Earlier at the same meeting, Napa Valley Register business editor Jennifer Huffman made the same point in her own words. Napa has done well at "drawing in visitors for wine-related, adult kind of activities," she said, and less well with things for kids and younger families.
The commission approved the rink. In the same month, a lighted sign reading "The Oxbow" went up over First Street. Put those two July events next to each other and you get the clearest picture of the district east of the river this fall. The sign speaks to people arriving from somewhere else. Most of what opened or got scheduled behind it is set up for someone who can stop by on a Tuesday night or before work.
The $150,000 Sign Over First Street
The Oxbow Gateway Sign came out of the Oxbow Task Force. More than 20 local business representatives worked on ways to "strengthen The Oxbow as a destination," and the Downtown Napa Property and Business Improvement District put $150,000 into the result. Arrow Sign Company built it. Bill La Liberte, executive director of the Downtown Napa Association, said it belongs to the same family of gateway and wayfinding signs found around downtown, "where the goal is always both utility and beauty."
That same PBID money paid for the crosswalk art in the new bulb-outs along Second Street from Brown to School, which went in after the street was repaved. It also pays for the hanging flower baskets, which stay up through late October. Property owners recently renewed the district through 2032, so this year is the first of a seven-year term. The sign has funding behind it for years. What runs underneath it is on a much shorter clock.
Napa Yard Fills the Weeknights
Napa Yard opened at 585 First St. in 2022. It has quietly become the Oxbow's weeknight anchor. It recently added Oxbow Greens, an 18-hole mini golf course set in its gardens. A round costs $15 for adults and $12 for kids 12 and under. The course has bocce, cornhole, darts and a playground around it. The posted noon to 9 p.m. daily schedule is labeled "Summer 2026," so check fall hours before you go.
The fall calendar is built on regulars:
- Tuesdays, Sept. 15 through Nov. 10, 6 p.m.: an eight-week cornhole league with cash prizes and 15% off food and drink for players.
- Mondays, Sept. 21 through Jan. 4, 4 to 10 p.m.: the Monday Night Football Hub, where a team jersey gets you 15% off drinks.
- Sundays, Oct. 11 and Oct. 18, 4 to 7 p.m.: live music from Cincinnati Ambassadors and then Duo Sonics.
The food matches the format: a seasonal pub menu cooked over open flame, cocktails from Concordia Spirits, craft beer and wine flights. An eight-week league only fills with people who can come back seven more times, and that is a local crowd.
The Rink Is Approved, Not Open
The roller rink is the piece most people are asking about. It also has the most open questions. Rick Gudgel of Wheel Life Napa, who used to run a winter pop-up rink at Napa Valley Expo, got approval for a 6,400-square-foot covered rink at Napa Yard. Gudgel described it as a place "where children have somewhere safe to go after school or on weekends." The planned hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Commissioner Lisa Massaro, who grew up in Napa, said it was nice to see the rink and the mini golf bring that kind of activity back to the city.
When the Press Democrat reported the approval in July, it wasn't clear when the rink would open to the public. Napa Yard's public calendar still doesn't list it. The permit has an end date. Napa Yard's own permit is temporary and set to expire Dec. 21, 2029, and the rink's permit expires the same day, though both could be extended. Property owner Oxbow Holdings LLC sees the site's long-term future as a hotel and condo redevelopment with retail space and a riverfront trail. That plan is still in early review and likely years away. The Oxbow's best spot for weeknight games, in other words, is officially a placeholder. It is a well-used one with a known deadline.
Inside the Market: Doughnuts at Seven, Gelato After Dinner, One Stall Closed
Across First Street, Oxbow Public Market's 2026 additions also skew toward everyday visits. Johnny Doughnuts opened its Oxbow shop Aug. 5 at 610 and 644 First St. It serves raised and old-fashioned doughnuts, coffee and doughnuts topped with soft serve, and the Register reported prices starting at $4.95. Both of its official listings show a 7 a.m. opening. They disagree on closing time, so check before an evening run.
Roman Holiday Gelato covers the other end of the day. Owner Elisha Smiley makes gelato and sorbet from scratch with fruit from California wine country, and the market lists hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The shop was serving by late August and held its grand opening celebration on Sept. 20.
One stall closed this summer. Moro, chef Mourad Lahlou's fast-casual Moroccan counter, closed in early July after two years. General manager Sarah Gillihan said a replacement had been chosen but not yet announced. The same Chronicle report noted that Hog Island Oyster Co. is expanding its oyster bar at the market. That report gave no finish date for the expansion, and none of the sources checked for this post names Moro's successor. Fieldwork Napa's Oxbow Oktoberfest, which has run since Sept. 19, ends today.
Where the Calendar Goes From Here
The summer's biggest Oxbow event was First Thursdays in Oxbow Commons. It ran from 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of May, June and July with two bands, food trucks, downtown merchants and more than 30 nonprofits running activities for kids. La Liberte said each month drew a bigger crowd. No fall dates are listed. For the rest of the year, the Oxbow shares downtown's community calendar:
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 31 | Hometown Halloween | Oxbow and downtown districts | Trick-or-treating at 100+ businesses |
| Nov. 7, 3 to 8 p.m. | Napa Día de los Muertos | Veterans Park, Brown Street | 2026 celebration |
| Nov. 25, 6 p.m. | Napa Tree Lighting Ceremony | Veterans Park | Free, the night before Thanksgiving |
| Dec. 5, 5 p.m. | Napa Christmas Parade | Downtown | Open to marchers and spectators |
Hometown Halloween gives the best sense of scale. In 2025, 116 businesses took part and handed out an estimated 2,300 pounds of candy. The Downtown Napa Association's plan calls it a community-facing event that includes the Oxbow district. An older market page lists a different trick-or-treat date. Go with the Oct. 31 date from the association's 2026 plan.
Further out, the City supports the Napa RiverLine, a community-led plan for 4.3 miles of the Napa River from Trancas Crossing Park to Imola Avenue. A $250,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant helped fund the strategic plan, and a nonprofit was formed this year to move it forward. For now it is a vision, not a construction project. On First Street this fall, the concrete changes are the lit sign, a doughnut counter that opens at 7, a gelato shop open until 8, a cornhole league on Tuesday nights and a rink that has its approval but no posted opening date.
Owning a home near the Oxbow means the district's next few years affect your own plans: the rink's permit runs through 2029, Moro's old stall has a successor that hasn't been named publicly, and a hotel plan is still in review. Joe Brasil follows these changes block by block on both sides of the river. If you'd like to know what your home is worth with all of that in play, get a free home valuation.
