The Downtown Lighting Ceremony starts at 5 p.m. this year, on Friday, Nov. 27, in Downtown City Park. That's half an hour earlier than in past years. City Park itself has also changed since last year's ceremony. A tavern now faces the park in a corner space that has had three names in about a year. A bookshop on 12th Street now has a coffee counter that opens at 7 a.m. The Paso Robles Inn on Spring Street has been redoing its restaurants one room at a time. Between the cafe's 7 a.m. opening and the tavern's 11 p.m. Friday close, the park's edges now have something open for most of ceremony day.
Earlier than the old bandstand time
For years, the Downtown Lighting Ceremony started at 5:30 p.m., with Mrs. Claus and other costumed characters gathering at the City Park bandstand. That's how Paso Robles Daily News described it in its 2016 and 2019 coverage. The Downtown Paso Robles Main Street Association put a note in capital letters on this year's event page: "NOTE THE NEW TIME – Starts at 5 pm in the City Park!" The Daily News also lists the ceremony from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The program is the familiar one. There's candlelight caroling, coffee and cocoa, greetings from City officials, and appearances by Mrs. Claus, the Elves and Mr. Ginch. Admission is free. The Main Street office takes questions at 805-238-4103.
With the earlier start, the ceremony ends by 6:30 p.m., which leaves the rest of Friday evening open. The park's edges have more to fill it with this year than they did a year ago.
The 12th Street corner, under its third name
The space at 835 12th St. faces City Park. For years it was La Cosecha Bar and Restaurant. S'Aranella opened there in 2025 and closed in July. On Sept. 26, it reopened as Richie's Tavern, according to The San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Rich Secchiaroli has been connected to this corner for a while. The Tribune reports that he became a co-owner of the spot 12 years ago as an investing partner in La Cosecha, and that he is now the sole owner. He and his wife, Tracy, run Richie's together. The menu comes from his mother's cooking from his childhood in Buffalo, New York. It includes Mama Josephine's Sunday sauce, a slow-simmered meat sauce with meatballs, pork ribs and rigatoni that's served only on Sundays, along with pasta e fagioli, stuffed peppers, skillet-roasted chicken and fried bologna sandwiches. The bar seats 13. Martinis come with a sidecar of the shaker so you can keep refilling, and the house G&T is served in a 24-ounce goblet with rosemary, juniper and blood orange.
Secchiaroli explained what he wants the room to be in his interview with the Tribune:
"I think Richie's Tavern will be a place where people can come out and really socialize and enjoy an evening of community, where we break bread together."
The tavern's posted hours line up well with the holiday calendar. Richie's is open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The lighting ceremony is on a Friday and the Christmas Light Parade is on a Saturday, so both fall on its late nights. It's closed Monday and Tuesday.
A 7 a.m. counter at the other end of the day
Richie's covers the evening. The morning is now covered at 945 12th St., Suite D. Carla Cary bought the space next to Spare Time Books in 2025. It used to be Once Again Alterations, and she built Narrative Coffee there, connected to the bookshop through two custom Dutch doors decorated with knights she found at thrift stores. That's according to the Tribune's report on the cafe. Cary and her best friend Clio Bruns bought Spare Time Books in 2023, and Cary is now the sole owner.
The room is painted forest green, with a counter set in stone and star lights hanging from the ceiling. The menu covers the classic espresso drinks and ceremonial-grade matcha, and Cary hopes to add drinking chocolate. New Times SLO reports that the beans are roasted locally by Slake Coffee, and that Counterpoint Coffee helped Cary develop her barista skills and refine the menu.
For locals, the most useful detail is the drip-coffee token. Customers buy a small bag of tokens, each good for a drip coffee at 50 cents off the regular price, and use a separate line that skips the espresso queue. Cary told the Tribune she designed it so a long line of espresso orders or visitors wouldn't keep locals away from their own coffee shop. Downtown in December, that separate line could matter on the busiest mornings.
Narrative scheduled its grand opening for Saturday, Oct. 17, and announced daily hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with longer hours planned.
Spring Street and 11th fill in the other sides
Across the park, the Paso Robles Inn at 1103 Spring St. has been rebuilding its dining in stages. Cattlemen's Bar opened there in February, according to Paso Robles Daily News. It's a Charlie Palmer concept with shareable bar food, salads, handhelds, steaks and signature cocktails. New Times SLO listed its hours as 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Inn's former Steakhouse is next. It's becoming The Pass by Charlie Palmer, which the hotel's dining page bills as "Paso's Next Great Table." Edible San Luis Obispo describes it as a modern tavern built around Morro Bay seafood, seasonal locally farmed dishes, and meat.
A block over, Al Chile! opened in March at 834 11th St. It's a family-owned Mexican restaurant serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas and house-made salsas, according to Paso Robles Daily News.
The park's day, by the clock
Put together, these businesses cover most of a day around the park. Here's how ceremony day, Friday, Nov. 27, lines up based on each business's published hours:
| Time | Where | What's posted |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Narrative Coffee, 945 12th St., Suite D | Announced daily opening; separate drip-coffee token line |
| 11:30 a.m. | Richie's Tavern, 835 12th St. | Doors open for lunch on Fridays |
| 4 p.m. | Cattlemen's Bar, 1103 Spring St. | Bar opens; 11 p.m. close on Fridays |
| 5 p.m. | Downtown City Park | Lighting ceremony begins at the new time |
| 6:30 p.m. | Downtown City Park | Ceremony ends; Holiday Songbook in hand |
| 11 p.m. | Richie's Tavern and Cattlemen's Bar | Friday closing time at both |
Eight days between the lights and the parade
The ceremony also starts a week of shopping. Main Street hands out its Holiday Songbook at the ceremony, and it includes a Holiday Blackout Bingo card for downtown shoppers. Play starts Saturday, Nov. 28, which is Shop Small Saturday, and the prize is a shopping spree in Downtown Paso Robles. Play runs through Dec. 5, the same day as the Christmas Light Parade.
After that, the season moves outward from the park:
- Friday, Nov. 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Downtown Lighting Ceremony in City Park.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, through Saturday, Dec. 5. Holiday Blackout Bingo at downtown shops.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 to 8 p.m. Christmas Light Parade in Downtown Paso Robles.
- Friday, Dec. 11, through Sunday, Dec. 13. The Mid-State Fair Winter Indoor Market at 2198 Riverside Ave., with local craft and artisan vendors and free admission and parking.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 6 to 9 p.m. The Vine Street Christmas Victorian Showcase on Vine Street between 8th and 21st Streets.
The parade on Dec. 5 also ends the bingo week, so the last day of play is the busiest night downtown. It's a Saturday, so Richie's Tavern and Cattlemen's Bar both keep their 11 p.m. Saturday hours.
Downtown's changes this year say a lot about how this town treats its gathering places, and that kind of knowledge matters as much as acreage when you're deciding what a property is worth. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of City Park, or you'd like to talk through how downtown's changes might affect a property you already own, Michele Smith would be glad to walk the blocks with you. Request a Confidential Consultation.
