While Don Perico was closed for ten months, some of its regulars tried to recreate its salsa verde at home. According to the Napa Valley Register, a few fans "even photographed pallets of ingredients arriving at the restaurant in hopes of reverse-engineering the recipe."
The ingredients were going to 1300 First St., Suite 201, the former Buckhorn Grill space near Deuces Market. Don Perico reopened there on July 15. It had to leave its old location to make room for Phase II of First Street Napa, the seven-story hotel and residence project now going up on the block next door. The move is the clearest example of a shift in downtown Napa this fall. Dwight Murray Plaza is under construction until 2027, and the original First Street Napa complex across the street now does much of the work the plaza used to do. It holds a restaurant that lost its home, a group of shops opened by local owners, and on Halloween, the family festival.
The Block That Went Quiet, Then Went Up
Phase II covers about 2.85 acres. The site is bounded by Coombs, Brown, First, and Pearl streets and takes in the former Kohl's and Town Center site, Dwight Murray Plaza, and several city-owned parking parcels. The approved plan allows up to 161 hotel rooms, 78 for-sale branded residences, and roughly 30,000 square feet of retail and food space.
The buildings came down in stages. The Press Democrat reported demolition underway in September 2025. The City of Napa reported in January 2026 that the project had broken ground the month before, with heavy foundation work and temporary street closures underway. The San Francisco Chronicle named Jax White Mule Diner, Napa Noodles, and Don Perico among the merchants displaced.
Since then the project has grown quickly. A Napa Valley Register report, republished by Hotel Online on July 20, described two seven-story buildings that will make it Napa's tallest commercial building. Both topped out in May, and construction was about 40% complete by midsummer. The estimated cost is $300 million. Kameron Klotz of developer 300 Venture Group said crews are on site six days a week and that the project could open "as soon as early summer 2027" under a new name that has not yet been announced.
The plan's public spaces are tied to the project itself. A 2024 City Council plan calls for replacing Dwight Murray Plaza with a new public plaza of equivalent size on the project parcel. The city's project notice describes rebuilding Brown Street from Pearl to First as a public paseo. Until then, downtown has a gap where its central gathering space used to be, and this fall's activity has settled around it.
Where the Restaurant Landed
Don Perico's return explains why the complex across the street matters. Owners Marco and Berenice Castañeda looked for a space that would let them keep their staff together. According to the Register, about 93% of employees came back when the doors reopened.
The new space has a larger kitchen and an espresso machine. The menu adds aguachile, birria tacos, and more plant-based dishes. The birria began as a staff meal until the bartender started offering it to guests at the bar. The fajitas are back, and so is the salsa verde. The restaurant now takes reservations through Resy and still seats walk-ins when tables are open. Happy hour continues, and a $15 locals' lunch with a beverage is planned.
"Napa is a small town. Locals are our base, and we don't want them to feel alienated using a new technology." Marissa Castañeda, speaking to the Napa Valley Register
The Suites That Filled in Around It
Don Perico was not the only arrival. In a business overview the City of Napa posted on July 29, the property's leasing side listed this year's new First Street tenants. Most of them are from Napa or from within the valley.
| Business | Address | Opened | Who is behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa Fragrance | 1252 First St., under the Archer Hotel | February | Jean-Charles Boisset and Ashley Pengilly |
| Flora Springs Wine Lounge | 1142 First St., Gordon Building | February | Gina Gallo-Boisset and Jean-Charles Boisset |
| Hopscotch & Bark | 1300 First St., Suite 335 | June | Susan Melendez of The Bennington Napa Valley |
| Don Perico | 1300 First St., Suite 201 | July 15 | Marco and Berenice Castañeda |
| Nude Medical Aesthetics | 1300 First St., Suite 252 | Early July | Not named in the overview |
| BACI | 1300 First St., Suite 221 | Aug. 25, per the Register | Architect Taylor Silleman |
| Napa Valley 1839 FC pop-up | 1300 First St., Suite 325 | Oct. 15 | Club founder Arik Housley |
Two of these suit people who live here more than people visiting. Hopscotch & Bark is a boutique for children and their dogs. The city's overview says the idea came from Melendez's sister, a veterinarian. BACI is a home and design studio and the sister brand of Tay & Grace. The Register dates its opening to Aug. 25, a few weeks later than the city's estimate.
The newest tenant is the most local of all. According to the club's press release, the Napa Valley 1839 FC pop-up opened Oct. 15 next to Hopscotch & Bark and across from Green Polish, and it is expected to stay through the end of January. It sells jerseys, including the club's annual cause kit, plus scarves and beanies. It also pours the club's branded IPA and wines from sponsors Whitehall Lane, Century Oak, and 1467 Wines. Until now, supporters could buy gear only online or at the stadium on match days.
The complex is also changing its public spaces. In the same city overview, leasing staff described new seating, lighting, and greenery along the "artist alley" pathway and around the fire pit. They said the aim was "a true community space."
One Shop Leaving While Others Arrive
Businesses leave the complex too. Riza Plants opened at First Street Napa in October 2020 and will close its shop in Suite 355 on Friday, Nov. 13. Its closing sale started Oct. 14. The business is staying in the valley. Founder Alyssa Piombo told the Register that it will reopen in November as Riza Indoor Plant Maintenance and Design Studio, serving wineries, hotels, and businesses, with workshops and event rentals continuing. For anyone who has put off repotting the fiddle-leaf fig, the sale runs about three more weeks.
Halloween and Día de los Muertos, Block by Block
The fall calendar follows the same pattern. With the plaza fenced off, the Register's Halloween guide places downtown's events at the river, along First and Main, and inside the complex at 1300 First St. Here is the downtown portion, in order:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 5:45–7 p.m. The Napa County Bicycle Coalition leads a free Spooky Community Bike Ride past some of the city's most decorated houses, starting at Fuller Park, 560 Jefferson St. Helmets are required, children must ride without training wheels, and registration is requested.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 10:30 a.m. The Napa Witches Paddle sets out from the Main Street Dock, 700 Main St., and paddles to the Oxbow Preserve and back. Check-in opens at 9:45 a.m., and spectators can watch from the riverfront.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 6–7 p.m. The 30-piece Napa Hometown Band plays a free Halloween concert at The Garden by Tannery Bend Beerworks, 1500 First St., including "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and Danny Elfman selections.
- Oct. 27–Nov. 2. The Napa County Library invites contributions of photos, written stories, or memories to its Day of the Dead altar.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Hometown Halloween offers trick-or-treating at more than 100 downtown businesses with black and orange balloons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley host pumpkin painting, face painting, and seasonal drinks at First Street Napa until 3 p.m. The Napa County Historical Society hands out candy at its "haunted" Goodman Library, 1219 First St.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, afternoon and evening. Bonita Bonita, 1207 Coombs St., runs a 21-and-over Spookeasy with a Día de los Muertos ofrenda from 1 to 5 p.m. Napa Music Hall, 1030 Main St., hosts Blood Orange Liqueur and Hella Doubtful at 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 3–8 p.m. Napa's Día de los Muertos celebration returns to Veterans Memorial Park at Third and Main with altars, art, music, dance, and food.
The family festival on Oct. 31 runs at 1300 First St. Don Perico, Hopscotch & Bark, and the 1839 FC pop-up share that address, and Riza Plants will be two weeks from closing. The Register notes that calendar details can change, so check each organizer's page before heading out.
What Comes After the Fence
The next change may come from across the street. In June, Napa County supervisors declared the 51,457-square-foot former Carithers department store building surplus property, the first step toward selling it, according to the Press Democrat. The building sits directly across from Phase II, and Klotz said in July that he would "love to see more progress, however that comes."
According to the City of Napa, when Phase II opens it will bring the replacement plaza and the Brown Street paseo along with the hotel. Until then, downtown's public space this fall and winter is in the courtyard at 1300 First St., the riverfront at the Main Street Dock, and Veterans Memorial Park at Third and Main.
At The Shone Group, we follow these block-by-block changes closely, because the shape of downtown Napa affects how a home on its edges is lived in and valued. If you own near First Street and want to talk through what Phase II's opening could mean for your property, let's get started.
