At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, the Erie Chamber of Commerce's Parade of Lights will start at Briggs Street and Maxwell Avenue and head north toward Cheesman Street. For now, the first float lines up beside a vacant 1.12-acre lot. On Sept. 22, the Town of Erie Urban Renewal Authority approved an agreement with Gaia Development to turn that corner into a 13,000-square-foot commercial building. About 5,000 square feet of it is set aside for Malbec, a full-service Argentine restaurant from the Erie-based team behind Piripi.
That corner sets the theme for the season. Almost every downtown holiday event this year takes place on Briggs Street or right next to it, and so does the next group of downtown businesses. One is close to opening, one is late, one has a new date, and one won't start construction until 2027. The holiday calendar takes you past all of them.
The Corner at Maxwell, Before and After
The town announced the Malbec project on Oct. 22. The release calls the site "a prominent southern gateway to Downtown Erie." The authority bought the property for $585,000 in 2024 and picked Gaia Development through a competitive process in April 2026. The total project is valued at $7.3 million. Malbec will take up a little more than a third of the building. The rest goes to an existing Erie retailer moving to a bigger space. The town hasn't named that business yet.
Plans include landscaping and an outdoor gathering area. Next come site planning, final design, and permitting, and construction is expected to start in 2027. So this December's parade, and probably next December's too, will still start beside an empty lot.
In the town's release, Economic Development Manager Stephanie Pitts-Nagus said the project means "taking a vacant property at an important entrance to Downtown and creating new opportunities for local businesses to invest and grow." Victoria Meyer of Gaia Development told the town that the team expects "Malbec and the retail to help bring in new visitors to the Town of Erie and uplift all our businesses."
Piripi Is Already Part of the Season
You don't have to wait for Malbec to visit this restaurant group. Its first restaurant is already one of the season's meeting points. Hugo and Victoria Meyer opened Piripi in 2020, according to 5280, which describes its menu as globally inspired with tapas. Piripi's site lists Hugo Meyer as owner and executive chef, at 615 Briggs St.
That address is where three of the season's four free carriage-ride evenings start. The We Love Erie Business Collective lists rides on Dec. 3, Dec. 10, and Dec. 17, each from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Piripi. All three are Thursdays, so they work as weeknight outings. A ride at 4:30 and an early dinner on Briggs fit easily in the same evening.
What's Actually Arriving This Winter
Three newer businesses are joining that route at different stages, with Malbec behind them in the queue. The town's September business newsletter listed Little Grove as under construction and Cor Arts as coming soon. It also said Johnny Bechamel's was getting ready for a fall 2026 opening. Here's where each one stood in late October:
| Business | Address | What it is | Latest stated timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Grove | 512 Briggs St. | Indoor/outdoor play center and coffee bar for children ages 0 to 7 | Founding-family preview Sat., Nov. 7; grand opening in November |
| Johnny Bechamel's | 656 Kattell St. | Italian-American restaurant with handmade pasta, Neo-Neapolitan-style pizza, and cocktails | "This fall," no date announced |
| Cor Arts | 365 Briggs St. | Working art studio and retail shop focused on pottery and laser-based work | "Coming Winter 2026/27" |
| Malbec | Briggs St. and Maxwell Ave. | Full-service Argentine restaurant | Construction expected to begin in 2027 |
Little Grove is the furthest along. Its booking listing describes the Nov. 7 session, from 9 to 9:45 a.m., as a chance for founding families to "explore Little Grove before we officially open." If you have young children, it's a new downtown stop that should be open in time for the carriage rides and the parade.
Johnny Bechamel's is a concept from Mamas & Papas Hospitality. 9News covered it and quoted co-owner Chef Spencer White. The restaurant's Erie page still says it is opening "this fall" and asks visitors to sign up for its newsletter for details. The restaurant hasn't confirmed an opening day. Check its newsletter before planning a parade-night dinner there.
Cor Arts is owned and run by Erie resident Jillian Jensen, according to the studio's FAQ and updates page. In mid-September, the studio's FAQ gave late fall 2026 as the target. Its homepage now says "Coming Winter 2026/27." That puts its opening after most of this year's holiday events. For now, 365 Briggs is a storefront to walk past rather than a place to shop for gifts.
Nov. 28 Is the Day Built for Shopping Downtown
The season's first downtown event is Shop Small Erie on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The first carriage rides run the same day, from noon to 2 p.m., leaving from the Coal Creek Park parking lot at 575 Kattell St. The town newsletter lists both as events supported by We Love Erie. The Coal Creek Park lot is on the same street as 656 Kattell, Johnny Bechamel's future address, so the walk from the carriage stop to Briggs passes another storefront that's on its way.
That week starts with a run. The town calendar lists The Pilgrimage Run on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Erie Community Center.
Parade Night, Hour by Hour
The Chamber's Parade of Lights page gives the event as 4 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 4, based at Downtown Historic Erie and Coal Creek Park. Front Range Landfill is the presenting sponsor. The Chamber's general special-events page lists 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., so plan around the detail page's 6:30 p.m. parade start and check again that week in case times change.
- 2 p.m. No parking on Briggs St. from Maxwell Ave. to Evans St., or on Kattell St. from Moffat St. to Cheesman St. These rules stay in place until 10 p.m.
- 4 p.m. Briggs closes from Anderson St. to Evans St., and Kattell closes from Moffat to Cheesman. Free carriage rides and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus run until 6 p.m. School choirs sing inside Orchard Community Church at 470 Briggs St., which also offers free hot chocolate, snacks, and restrooms.
- 5:45 p.m. Briggs closes completely from Perry St. to Evans St., along with every street that crosses it in that stretch. This is also the deadline for the limited accessible parking behind Orchard Community Church at Moffat St. and in the lot south of Coal Creek Park on Kattell St.
- 6 p.m. Post office access ends. Until then, the route is north on Kattell, west on Moffat, then north through the alley into the lot.
- 6:30 p.m. The parade leaves Maxwell Ave. Once it starts, no vehicles can get in or out for residents and businesses east of Briggs, and parked cars can't move until it ends.
Food vendors include JLK Kettle Corn, Deborah Ann Does Donuts, Kogler's Bakery, and Belgian Waffles. A Calvary Bible Church tent on Briggs Street also serves free hot chocolate, and the Chamber lists open skating as well. The lost-children and first-aid tents will be next to the DJ by Fox Dog Coffee on Briggs Street, which makes it an easy place for a family to agree to meet.
For parking, the Chamber points to residential streets, the Erie Methodist Church lot on Holbrook Street just west of Town Hall, and the Town Hall lot at Holbrook and Cheesman. Alleys are off-limits so first responders can get through, and so is anywhere that blocks a fire hydrant. Walkers in the parade leave the route at Cheesman and head to Coal Creek Park. Floats keep going north on Briggs to Evans Street. For questions, the Chamber lists 303-828-3440 and [email protected].
After the Parade, December Stays on Briggs
The Chamber calendar lists a Chamber Holiday Open House on Dec. 9. The Thursday carriage rides at Piripi go through Dec. 17. By then, Little Grove should be past its November grand opening, Johnny Bechamel's may or may not be open, and Cor Arts will still be getting ready for a winter opening. Right where the parade began, the corner of Briggs and Maxwell will still be empty, waiting for site plans and permits before Malbec's construction starts in 2027.
If you'd like to talk through what downtown Erie's pipeline could mean for your own plans, Chad Murray is glad to go over it with you. Schedule a consultation.
