La Verne's Fall Splits Between Foothill Boulevard's New Counters and D Street's Three Fixed Dates

Every business that opened in La Verne this fall has a Foothill Boulevard or Arrow Highway address. Grocery Outlet, FedEx Office, Los Jarritos, Zata, Sí Roma and Larios Meat Market all sit within a few blocks of the city's main east-west corridor. Over the same weeks, Old Town reported one temporary closure and no new storefronts. Downtown's fall comes from somewhere else. Three Saturdays at Mainiero Square, plus a set of sidewalk plaques that grows by ten each December, are what bring people to D Street between now and the holidays.

That split also tells you when to go where. Foothill is where the new places are worth trying any weeknight. D Street is worth keeping open on your calendar for specific dates.

What Opened on Foothill, Block by Block

Most of the openings are clustered at the west end of the corridor, around The Commons at La Verne. Grocery Outlet held its grand opening on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 1504 Foothill Blvd. The celebration had been pushed back after mandatory evacuations during the Weymouth battery fire. The store is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. In the same center, Zata Healthy Mediterranean Food is open at 1548 Foothill Blvd., near Vons.

A short drive east, the newest sit-down option is Los Jarritos Cafe Y Cocina in La Verne Plaza at 2080 Foothill Blvd. La Verne Daily News reported it officially open by late September.

The last column is worded carefully on purpose. FedEx Office opened in August with three employees. Store manager Jonathan Greene told La Verne Daily News that the Oct. 13 grand opening will include giveaways and a raffle for a free 3-by-5-foot banner. That makes next Tuesday the day to stop in if you have something to print or ship. Sí Roma, an Italian street-sandwich shop, announced a grand-opening event for Saturday, Aug. 1. Larios Meat Market on Arrow Highway announced a Sept. 12 celebration with music and free tacos. Both events were announced ahead of time, and no follow-up coverage has confirmed how either one went. Calling ahead is a sensible step before you make a special trip.

The Exits Are Spread Across Both Streets

The corridor is losing businesses too. I.V. Juice Bar at 2320 Foothill Blvd. announced it would close permanently on Oct. 4 after five years. That date has passed, but no report since has confirmed the closure. The Carl's Jr. at 1400 Foothill Blvd. has caution tape across its drive-thru, covered doors and windows, and signs reading "Store is closed," with no explanation posted.

In Old Town, Aoki Japanese Sushi is temporarily closed, according to a notice on its front doors. The notice mentions a "February-March opening," though the wording leaves the timing unclear. As of early October, that is the most recent storefront news from downtown. Old Town has seen no openings to set against it, which is why the rest of its fall depends on the calendar.

Three Saturdays at Mainiero Square

The square at D Street and Third Street hosts every major Old Town event this season. The Oct. 31, Nov. 21 and Dec. 5 dates all fall on Saturdays, so the season builds in roughly three-week steps.

1. Halloween Trick-or-Treat in Old Town, Saturday, Oct. 31, 1 to 4 p.m. The city describes it as a candy walk that local merchants host each Halloween. La Verne Daily News' fall roundup lists it as free and family-oriented.
2. Route 66 Centennial Car Show, Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city calendar lists the 10 a.m. start, and La Verne Daily News gives the 4 p.m. end time. Neither source has named an organizer or a detailed program yet, so expect more information closer to the date.
3. Holiday Stroll and Walk of Honor unveiling, Saturday, Dec. 5. The Oct. 5 City Council agenda asked for approval of partnership agreements for both events. That vote has not been confirmed in the sources available, so treat the date as planned for now.

The agenda preview notes that the Holiday Stroll is now organized by the Old Town La Verne Business Association. It also says both organizing groups are covering their own event costs. The city is being asked for about $1,792.50 in staff time for the stroll and about $4,050 for the plaque installation. No 2026 schedule has been published. Last year's city listing for the Dec. 13, 2025 stroll ran from noon to 7 p.m. It included a craft fair from noon, Santa photos from 3 to 5 p.m., and live music and a tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. Old Town businesses and restaurants also stayed open late with free refreshments and deals. A separate local event listing gave a 6 p.m. end time, so even last year's hours differed by source. This year's details may not match.

The Part of Old Town That Grows Every December

The Walk of Honor is the reason the Dec. 5 date matters beyond one evening. The program places commemorative pavers along D Street. Each one carries a QR code that links to the honoree's biography. Former mayor Don Kendrick came up with the idea. Craig Walters, who chairs the Old Town La Verne Business Improvement District Advisory Board, helped build it, and a six-member community committee picked the first class.

The first ten plaques were dedicated during the Dec. 13, 2025 Holiday Stroll at Mainiero Square. They honor Jon Blickenstaff, Harvey M. Case, Glenn Davis, Marlou and Norm Faustini, Dan Harden, Delia Heredia, Mike Montes Morales, Dr. Peggy Deal Redman, John Marion Roynon and Dave Zylstra. At that dedication, organizers said they planned to add ten plaques a year and were forming a nonprofit to keep the program going. The Dec. 5 unveiling would be the first time they follow through on that plan. Ten more plaques would double the walk.

The 2026 honorees have not been announced. The program's honorees page still shows the "2025 Honorees" roster. Anyone hoping to see a particular name added will learn it there or at the unveiling. The plaques themselves stay in the sidewalk long after the craft fair packs up, so the walk can be done on any ordinary afternoon.

Filling the Weeks Between the Big Dates

The three Mainiero Square dates leave gaps, and a few smaller events fall inside them. The La Verne Historical Society leads a Kuns Park Square Walking Tour on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at Kuns Park, 1660 Bonita Ave. That puts a walk through local history one week before the Halloween candy walk. The La Verne Heritage Harvest Pumpkin Patch runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at Heritage Park, 5001 Via de Mansion, which gives October weekends something away from both corridors.

Why Downtown Is Waiting on Plans, Not Openings

Old Town's quiet fall for storefronts sits alongside a lot of planning on paper. The same Oct. 5 agenda asked the council to fill a vacant public seat on the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District board. That five-member body was created to help pay for infrastructure tied to development in the Old Town La Verne Specific Plan area and the Metro A Line extension. Ten residents applied, and Mayor Tim Hepburn and Councilmember Steve Johnson recommended Steven Wagner. Metro describes La Verne/Fairplex Station as sitting across Arrow Highway from Fairplex and next to Old Town.

For now, the planning is moving faster than the storefronts. A board that finances Old Town infrastructure is filling its seats, and the station is in place. The new businesses, meanwhile, keep signing leases on Foothill. The next council meeting is Monday, Oct. 19, with the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Confirmation of the Dec. 5 events, if it has not already come, would most likely appear in council records around then.

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