"It was never just a winery," the owners of Silver Vines wrote when they announced that their Grandview Avenue tasting room would close at the end of 2026. In a statement to the Arvada Press, co-owner Kristin Chayer described it as a gathering place "for birthdays and anniversaries, for first dates and last toasts, for Tuesday-night regulars who became some of our closest friends."
On Upham Street, two friends are finishing a business they built for the same reason. They looked around the historic district, saw too few third spaces, and started a bookstore with a cafe and a bar inside the Smith-Houston House.
This winter, Olde Town will lose one of its longtime places to linger and gain another. The city has also made choices this fall that support people staying downtown longer. Here is how that handoff fits on the calendar.
The December goodbye on Grandview
Silver Vines Winery opened at 7509 Grandview Avenue in December 2011, so its last month will also be its 15th anniversary. According to the Arvada Press, the owners announced the closure on Facebook on June 29 and said the Arvada location would stay open through December. The goodbye has a date. The 15th Anniversary Party runs Sunday, December 6, from 2 to 6 p.m.
The winery's Boulder tasting room has already closed. The Silver Vines homepage lists July 25, 2026, as that location's last open day, which leaves Grandview as the last tasting room still pouring.
No new tenant has been announced for 7509 Grandview. Anyone who has walked that block for the past 15 years should expect the corner to look different after New Year's, but no one has said what will go there.
The arrival still waiting on a permit
My Book Cellar is the clearest new addition to Olde Town's evenings. Owners Kim Beaumund and Kate Otto told the Arvada Press they want a hub for the community, a quiet setting where someone can read alone over tea or a book club can meet over a glass of wine.
The opening date has moved. In that Arvada Press story, Otto said the shop would open "sometime before the holidays." The paper also reported that the owners were still waiting for the city to review a permit resubmittal. The shop's own homepage now says "Coming Winter 2026" and suggests catching the owners at local book fairs in the meantime. It gives no specific date. So December 6 could be Silver Vines' last party before My Book Cellar opens, or the two could overlap for a few weeks. Neither business has said.
Until the doors open, the shop is easiest to find off Upham Street. The owners have run pop-ups at Second Saturdays and book fairs, and they planned biweekly story times at Mad Macks Brewery and Tutu School Arvada.
They have also thought about where the shop fits on the block. My Book Cellar will sell only new books, a choice the owners said is meant to complement Book Cranny, which sells new and used books nearby, and the Olde Town branch of the Jeffco Public Library. They also said they plan to stock local goods that won't overlap with what other Olde Town shops carry. Once it opens, the district will have three distinct places to find a book within a short walk.
The city is setting up the street for longer visits
A gathering place only works if people can get there and want to stay. Three decisions this fall shape that.
Parking stays free. At a September 15 study session, Arvada City Council directed staff to pause the move to paid parking in Olde Town, as the Arvada Press reported. Business owners had worried that paid parking would discourage customers. Nearby residents had worried about overflow onto their streets. Staff will now work on improving RTD's Olde Town Transit Hub garage and on general accessibility in the district. An earlier Arvada Press report quoted a city spokesperson saying implementation could come in early 2027 at the fastest. The pause has no date for returning to the idea. A middle option came up at two public meetings. Debbie Hansen, owner of La Dolce Vita Coffee Shop, suggested making the first two or four hours free, similar to Golden's approach, and one councilmember called it intriguing.
Ambassadors cover the afternoon and evening. Since October 1, Arvada's Block by Block program has placed four ambassadors in Olde Town Wednesday through Sunday, from 1 to 9:30 p.m. The Arvada Press reported their work includes litter removal, power washing, safety reporting and connecting unhoused residents with services. Those days and hours match the district's dinner, happy hour and weekend crowds.
Yukon Street is next. The Arvada Urban Renewal Authority lists its Yukon Streetscape project as not yet complete, with a 2026–2027 project year. It covers Yukon Street between Grandview Avenue and Ralston Road, with plans for new sidewalks, lighting, planters, benches and intersection changes to slow traffic. No dated schedule of closures or lane impacts has been published, so the timing of any disruption is still unknown.
Taken together, these changes mean easier parking, staff on the street into the evening, and a street built for walking slowly. That supports the businesses that depend on people lingering.
Other moves that redrew the map in 2026
The year's smaller changes follow the same pattern. Some businesses settled into historic buildings, and one left the district entirely.
- TeeLee Floral and Events moved into the former mayor's residence at 5613 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. It sells retail bouquets and home goods and hosts classes.
- 303 Ramen left its fire-damaged location at 5725 Yukon St. and reopened September 11 at 8025 Sheridan Blvd., outside the historic district.
- Olde Town Tavern at 7355 Ralston Road closed June 22 for repairs and a cosmetic refresh and reopened July 6.
TeeLee's move matches My Book Cellar's. Both are reusing historic houses rather than storefronts.
The dated calendar from Halloween into the new year
Only a few dates are confirmed. Olde Town's official events listing currently shows just one event, Trick or Treat Street. The rest of the list comes from the Arvada Center at 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., which its own visitor page describes as just up the road from Olde Town.
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30, 5–7 p.m. | Trick or Treat Street | Olde Town businesses, plus the Jaycees House on Yukon St. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween Drag Queen Storytime | Arvada Center |
| Through Sun., Nov. 1 | "Barefoot in the Park" | Arvada Center |
| Nov. 20 – Jan. 3, 2027 | "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" | Arvada Center |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 2–6 p.m. | Silver Vines 15th Anniversary Party | 7509 Grandview Ave. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | "Stories On Stage: Making Merry" | Arvada Center |
Trick or Treat Street has two new features this year, trunk-or-treating in classic and unique vehicles and a free haunted house at the Jaycees House on Yukon Street. The organizers say the haunted house welcomes all ages and has "an easy exit for the littles." The evening also includes trick-or-treating at dozens of Olde Town businesses and a costume contest.
The table leaves out the tree lighting, the holiday pop-up market and the skating rink, because no 2026 dates had been posted as of October 12. The Historic Olde Town Arvada pages still show last year's schedule, with the rink opening November 26, 2025, the tree lighting on November 29, 2025, and pop-up markets on December 6, 13 and 20, 2025. Those are 2025 dates, and no 2026 schedule had been announced. The Olde Town events page is the place to watch for it.
If you're watching how changes like these shape daily life around Grandview, Yukon and Upham, Lauren Basford follows Olde Town week to week and is glad to talk through what this season's openings, closures and street projects mean for the blocks you care about. Contact Lauren to start the conversation.
