On Thursday evenings this fall, State Street hosts two different markets at the same hour. The Downtown Los Altos Farmers' Market sets up at 200 State St. from 4 to 8 p.m. through October 29, the last day of a season that began April 30. Six weeks later, on December 10 and December 17, the downtown Holiday Market takes State Street back for the same 4-to-8 window, with live music and Santa visits.
The rest of the fall calendar follows the same pattern. Every event downtown this season is staged out front, on the sidewalks, in the shops and on Veterans Community Plaza. On November 3, in the one quiet stretch of the calendar, voters decide who gets the final say over the parking plazas behind those storefronts. Those lots are where the city's larger ideas for downtown have been proposed.
The Thursday Slot Gets a New Neighbor
The newest arrival on State Street is planned around production. Coffeebar is expected to open in early October at 170 State St., inside State Street Market, according to The Almanac's September 15 report. This is the Truckee-founded chain's fourth Peninsula cafe, after Menlo Park, Redwood City and Sunnyvale. The Almanac reports that the Los Altos location will eventually be the main pastry kitchen for every Bay Area Coffeebar. During the soft opening, pastries will come from the Menlo Park cafe. The seasonal menu currently includes a pistachio rose mocha, a marzipan latte and a yuzu caramel latte.
The opening date has already moved once. Coffeebar's own locations page still says "Coming September 2026" and lists proposed hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. A September 19 update from WhatNow describes the space as still preparing to open. As of the last day of September, the realistic expectation is a soft opening some time in October, with the larger bakery role coming later.
Around the corner on First Street, the Los Altos Town Crier reported that LUNA Mexican Kitchen expected to open at 145 First St. in early September. The chain's hours-and-locations page still lists only its Alameda and Pruneyard restaurants, so call ahead before planning a dinner there.
October Runs on Friday Nights
After the last farmers market, the October calendar moves to Fridays and stays on the street:
- Friday, October 23, 6 to 9 p.m.: The Witches & Warlocks Wine Stroll, with tastings from 16 wineries, eight bands and three "Best Dressed" prizes. Tickets are on sale now.
- Thursday, October 29, 4 to 8 p.m.: The final farmers market of the season at 200 State St.
- Friday, October 30, noon to 4 p.m.: A BOO-tiful Downtown Halloween. Trick-or-treating starts at noon, with games and activities at Veterans Community Plaza from 2 to 4 p.m.
On Wine Stroll night, the newest full-service room on Main Street is Haru Japanese Restaurant at 325 Main St. It opened May 22 in the former Bevri space and comes from the team behind Mountain View's Sushi Jin. Chef-owner Gavin Liang built the menu around gozen, a formal Japanese set meal served on a single tray. Gozen sets run $28 to $78, and an eight-piece omakase tasting at the sushi bar is $63. Liang told the Mountain View Voice he wanted something more affordable than the omakase rooms that keep opening in Santa Clara County. The restaurant seats about 100, including a parklet out front, and serves dinner daily from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
The Quiet Stretch Holds the Ballot
The calendar goes quiet after Halloween. No downtown association event is scheduled between October 30 and the Holiday Stroll on November 13. Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, falls inside that gap.
The measure on the ballot is the citizen-backed Los Altos Downtown Parking Plaza Ordinance. At its June 23 meeting, the City Council had two choices: adopt the ordinance directly or send it to voters. It chose the ballot. According to the Town Crier, the initiative requires voter approval before nearly any change can be made to city-owned parking lots. Council chambers were packed for that meeting. Both sides of the debate were on the record:
"You folks are committing three of our acres to a performing arts center, a park, which we really don't need in downtown, and a parking garage." Jon Baer, president of Friends of Los Altos
"We have a very strong organization that has indicated that they are going to sue us the moment it passes, if it passes." Vice Mayor Larry Lang
Lang said that litigation could cost the city millions in legal fees. In his view, the dispute could have been avoided if the initiative had targeted parks and performing arts centers specifically. Its current wording is broad enough to include housing, which he said puts it at odds with other provisions of law. He named YIMBY Law as the group that would sue. Baer argued that the staff report's warnings described what could happen, not what would. Lang responded that the projects themselves were also hypothetical, and the two agreed on that point.
What Sits Behind the Storefronts
The ordinance applies to the lots tucked behind the shops. Three different proposals are currently tied to those lots, and all of them are at an early stage.
A community theater. On April 8, the council voted unanimously to allocate $300,000 to hire professional fundraisers. The Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation manages the money, and a steering committee made up of the city, the foundation and the Los Altos Stage Company will help choose the fundraisers. Supporters hope to build a 160-seat, 25,000-square-foot theater with a target budget of $25 million. The site is a parking plaza behind the Main Street storefronts between First and Second streets. The Town Crier reported that no major donor had publicly stepped forward yet. City staff found that a scaled-down building would fit the budget better, and the plan is to report back to the council on fundraising progress after about a year.
Affordable housing. Parking plazas 7 and 8, between First and Third streets and Edith Avenue and State Street, are being considered for an affordable housing development. The Town Crier described that site as likely to be developed first.
A downtown park. Draft designs went to the council on February 24, 2026. The council told the design team to drop underground parking and pursue only replacement-parking options that are neutral or positive, and it named Meadow and Garden as the preferred design themes. The project site estimates a conservative timeline of four or more years: two or more years of design and two or more years of possible construction. The site also says these are preliminary concepts, not final designs, and that no construction timeline has been set.
At the April 8 meeting, council members said they wanted to start theater fundraising promptly because other development was coming downtown. Ten days before the Holiday Stroll, the November 3 vote decides whether those lots stay under council-led planning or move to a process where voters approve major changes. Neither outcome changes what happens on the street this season. The measure applies to the lots, and the events are held on the streets and in the shops.
November and December Move Back to the Street
After the election, the downtown association calendar picks up again and continues through mid-December:
- Friday, November 13, 5 to 9 p.m.: The 23rd Annual Holiday Stroll. As of the event page's September update, participating shops, restaurants and musicians were still listed as TBD.
- Saturday, November 28: Small Business Saturday.
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 8 p.m.: The Holiday Tree Celebration at Veterans Community Plaza, with student performances, trolley rides and Santa.
- Thursdays, December 10 and 17, 4 to 8 p.m.: The Holiday Market on State Street, in the same Thursday-evening slot the farmers market gives up on October 29.
By December 10, Coffeebar should be open at 170 State St., a short walk from the market stalls. The downtown park, at least four years out by the city's own conservative estimate, will still be a set of concept drawings.
If you own a home near downtown Los Altos, the plaza vote and the proposals behind it are worth following, because what gets built behind Main and State will shape the blocks around them for years. Sunaina Arora tracks these downtown decisions alongside the local sales data. If you'd like to know where your home stands before those lots change, start with an instant home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
