On Saturday, November 7, Don Perico will be pouring a drink it calls the Lucchese Margarita. The restaurant spent ten months closed so a hotel could rise where it used to stand. Across the walkway, a Texas bootmaker founded in 1883 will open its first California store, and a country band will start playing at 12:30 in the afternoon.
The city refers to the construction at First and Main as First Street Napa Phase II. The shops and restaurants beside it have spent 2026 filling their storefronts while those two seven-story buildings went up next door. For anyone who walks downtown, this means the district's daytime mix is already in place, seven or eight months before the 161-room hotel's earliest projected opening.
Phase II Is Rising Next Door
The city calls the old Kohl's block "First Street Napa Phase II." In January 2026, the City of Napa described it as the largest investment in downtown in over a decade. The project broke ground in December 2025 and calls for two buildings: a 161-room upper-upscale hotel with a restaurant, retail, a spa and ballroom space, and a 78-unit building of branded condominiums. The plan also rebuilds the Brown Street corridor from Pearl Street to First Street as a public paseo with new landscaping and public art.
The most recent detailed progress report is from summer. In July, the Napa Valley Register reported that the $300 million project was about 40% complete. Both seven-story buildings had topped out in May, and crews were enclosing the exteriors in glass, stone and metal. Kameron Klotz of developer 300 Venture Group told the Register the project could open as soon as early summer 2027 and that a new name for Phase II would be announced. Klotz also said the seventh floor of what will be Napa's tallest commercial building is "the best advertising for downtown Napa there is."
The Restaurant the Construction Moved, Then Housed
Don Perico is the clearest link between the construction site and the storefronts beside it. The Press Democrat reported in June that the restaurant has been downtown since 1994. It moved to 1106 First St. in 2014, and that site is now part of the hotel construction. Owners Marco and Berenice Castañeda reopened at 1300 First St., Suite 201, after a ten-month hiatus. It was the restaurant's second relocation.
According to the City, the developers built Don Perico a brand-new custom space immediately adjacent to its old location. The restaurant opened there at the end of June. The project that displaced it also built its new home a few steps away, and in November the restaurant serves as the anchor across the walkway from the newest tenant. The Hoedown's rain plan moves the party into Lucchese's Suite 202, "across from Don Perico."
The Year's Arrivals, Suite by Suite
In a July Q&A published by the City of Napa, Laura Sabin, who handles leasing for First Street Napa, set out the 2026 lineup. Taken together, it reads like a deliberate mix rather than a run of whoever signed first.
| Business | Where | Opened | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa Fragrance | 1252 First St., beneath the Archer Hotel | Early 2026 | Home fragrance from Jean-Charles Boisset and Ashley Pengilly, with custom scent blending |
| Flora Springs Wine Lounge | 1142 First St., Gordon Building | Early 2026 | Flora Springs wines and wine-based cocktails in a room designed around the four seasons |
| Hopscotch & Bark | Suite 335 | June | A boutique for children and their dogs from Susan Melendez of The Bennington Napa Valley |
| Don Perico | 1300 First St., Suite 201 | Late June | The longtime Mexican restaurant, back in a new space with indoor and outdoor seating |
| Nude Medical Aesthetics | Suite 252 | Early July | Non-surgical aesthetic treatments |
| BACI | Suite 221 | Mid to late July | A home and design studio from architect Taylor Silleman, sister brand to Tay & Grace |
| Lucchese Bootmaker | Suite 202 | November 7 grand opening | Handcrafted boots and leather goods, in the brand's first and only California store |
Two of these took over spaces that already had a history. The Press Democrat reported that Flora Springs Wine Lounge moved into the former Chateau Buena Vista tasting room at 1142 First Street. Both are Boisset projects, reimagined by Gina Gallo-Boisset and Jean-Charles Boisset. In August, Sonoma Magazine listed wines by the glass from $13, flights from $40 to $125, and cocktails at $17 or $19, alongside caviar, cheese and charcuterie.
Napa Fragrance is the one tenant on the list built entirely around a sit-down activity. Its experience page lists a custom room-spray session from $65 per guest and a candle-and-spray session from $175 per guest.
The Q&A also explains the reasoning behind the list. Sabin described the goal as inviting visitors "to extend their experience into a full day downtown, beyond the wineries." The lineup she described pairs local owners with national names and covers restaurants, retail, wellness and hands-on experiences. A boot fitting, a fragrance session and a long margarita lunch each keep someone downtown for hours, which is what a hotel next door will need from the block outside its doors.
Saturday, November 7, Hour by Hour
The Harvest Hoedown is free and open to all ages. It is the formal opening for Lucchese and the first district-wide event to feature the full 2026 tenant roster. Visit Napa Valley's listing gives the schedule:
- 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Billy Williams Band, plus Wine Country Aerials
- 12:30 to 5 p.m.: flower head wreaths and bouquets by Paula
- 1 to 4 p.m.: face painting
- About 2 p.m.: first Harvest Raffle drawing
- 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.: line dancing with Rachel
- 3 to 5 p.m.: North Forty
- About 4 p.m.: final raffle drawing
- 5 to 8 p.m.: after-show at Tonewood & Courage with New Rivertown Ramblers
The raffle prize is a $1,000 Lucchese gift card, and all proceeds go to Community Action of Napa Valley. Local wineries will be pouring. First Street Napa's own announcement names Mayacamas, Flora Springs Wine Lounge, Hestan Napa and House of Brown, along with Western-style sliders from Deuce's Market and complimentary embroidery at Lucchese with select purchases. If it rains, the event moves indoors to Suites 231 and 251 around Heat Wave Fitness Studios, and into Suite 202.
What the Walkway Looks Like Next
The Hoedown starts downtown's busiest stretch of the year, and the district's newest tenants will be open for all of it. The Downtown Napa Association calendar runs as follows:
- November 27, 6 p.m.: the tree lighting at Veterans Memorial Park, Third and Main, with hot chocolate, cookies and youth entertainment
- December 5, 5 p.m.: the 61st Christmas Parade, routed along Second, Brown and Third streets
- December 12: Holiday Shop, Sip & Stroll, hosted with First Street Napa
- Tuesdays through December 22, 8 a.m. to noon: the Napa Farmers Market's Tuesday market at 1100 West Street, while the Saturday market runs year-round
The pedestrian pathway is also due for changes. In July, Sabin said furniture selection and design were in their final stages. The plan calls for seating areas for outdoor lunches and casual meetings, better lighting, and greenery along the "artist alley" pathway and around the fire pit.
Further along First Street, toward the Oxbow, the district now has an overhead marker. The illuminated "THE OXBOW" gateway sign went up this summer. The Downtown Napa Property and Business Improvement District paid the full $150,000, with no General Fund money involved. It's the same corridor that leads to the Oxbow Public Market's guest-chef kitchen.
The City is already planning for the people all of this will bring. In August, it reported that downtown's four garages, surface lots and street parking were near peak capacity. It named 1210 West Street as the preferred site for a future garage with an estimated 390 to 460 net new spaces. The City stressed that the selection does not approve construction, funding or a property purchase.
Klotz has also pointed across the street. Napa County recently declared the former Carithers department store building, directly opposite Phase II, surplus property. "We'd love to see more progress, however that comes," he told the Register.
We follow changes like these closely across Napa City. If you want to talk through how projects like First Street Napa Phase II affect a property you own or are considering, Jeff & Casey Bounsall are glad to walk the block with you. Work With Us.
