Will Walter's Reopen Before Village Venture Closes Yale Avenue?

"Expected to Reopen October 2026." That is the full headline on the Walter's Restaurant homepage today. It gives a month but no day, and nothing about a soft opening or a menu. Walter's has been a Claremont gathering place since 1957 and has been closed since the August 2024 fire. The homepage says the owners have been "restoring and refreshing Walter's while preserving the character, traditions, and hospitality our guests know and love."

October in the Village is already booked, and those dates are set: a garden night walk, an art walk, a heritage weekend, the last Friday concert, a Halloween afternoon in Lewis Park and the Village's largest street festival. The three biggest arrivals that Village regulars have been waiting for don't have dates yet. As of September 27, each one has already missed at least one of its own targets.

One Block of Yale Carries Most of the Fall's News

Much of this fall's change sits within a few hundred feet on North Yale Avenue.

The fourth storefront in this story is two blocks over. Regency's Director's Cut is going into the former Laemmle Claremont 5 at 450 West Second Street.

Three Openings, Each Past Its First Date

Walter's. In a June 14 column, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's David Allen described the 400-seat restaurant and lounge as "perhaps Claremont's signature dining spot." He wrote that it had been "under slow renovation" since the August 2024 kitchen fire, long enough to miss two Mother's Day brunches. In May, after what Allen called a long silence, the owners posted on social media that "We plan to be back summer 2026." The homepage now says October. That is a later estimate but not a more specific one. No reopening day, chef or menu announcement had surfaced by late September.

Tan Mui. Allen reported in June that two businesses were due to open side by side on Yale Avenue that summer. One was Bacio di Latte. The other was Tan Mui, in the storefront where Barbara Cheatley's gift shop operated for 45 years. The sign in its window read, "Not as fancy-looking as our neighbor, but we're also coming soon this summer!" Its neighbor opened in August. Tan Mui is listed in the Claremont Chamber directory at 215 N. Yale Ave., and the June sign is still the most recent word on its opening that this post could find.

Director's Cut. The Laemmle Claremont 5 closed in January. Its dates have moved the most:

• January: The Daily Bulletin reported the five-screen theater would reopen under Regency in May. The plan included recliners, tables, more food options, and a lineup of independent and foreign films plus some Hollywood releases.
• June: May had passed without an opening, and the target became "the end of July."
• Now: Regency's location page still says "Director's Cut Claremont (Coming Soon!)" and shows no showtimes for any date from September 27 through October 3.

All three businesses moved their targets as the work went on. Walter's has gone from summer to October, Tan Mui's summer has come and gone, and the theater has missed both May and late July.

What Has Actually Opened, and What Has Closed

Bacio di Latte hit its date. The Claremont Chamber held a grand-opening ribbon cutting at 221 N. Yale Ave. on Friday, August 21. The Wolfpacket, Claremont High School's student paper, reported on September 3 that the shop opened with 15 flavors. An employee told the paper the gelato is made fresh every morning with organic ingredients.

On the edge of the Village, The Ember Cigar and Lounge at 230 W. Foothill Blvd. held a Chamber open house and ribbon cutting on August 27.

One of the Village's oldest shops has closed. A. Kline Chocolatier, at 210 W. Second St., shut down this spring after more than 50 years. Allene Kline founded it in the 1970s. Dick and Dawn Campbell bought it when she retired in the late 1990s and kept her name on it, and Dawn Campbell owned it until it closed. The shop sits on the same block as the theater that is still "coming soon."

October's Dates Are Set

The businesses above are working on their own timelines. The organizations below have published dates, times and locations.

• Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2 and 3. California Botanic Garden brings back "Things That Go Bump in the Night," with guided walks, bug presentations, puppet shows and science exhibits.
• Saturday, Oct. 3. The Claremont Village Art Walk runs from 5 to 8 p.m. The Packing House exhibit features work by El Roble art students. Claremont Heritage also leads a guided historic Village walk that day. Reservations are required and the fee is $20.
• Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11. This is Claremont Heritage's Home Tour weekend, which marks the group's 50th anniversary and the centennial of Route 66. The Sunset Reception, sponsored by Sunset Magazine, runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Claremont Graduate University President's House. That Georgian-style house of nearly 7,000 square feet was designed by Helen Wren and completed in 1931. On Saturday there is a self-guided driving and walking tour of Claremont's stretch of Route 66, then a luncheon talk by architectural historian Alan Hess titled "Modernism on Route 66." Saturday evening brings a screening of Jake Gorst's documentary "Googie." Times and locations for the Saturday events had not been announced as of the Courier's September 24 story. The Home Tour itself, "Homes With History," opens eight homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
• Friday, Oct. 16. The last Friday Nights Live of the season, at Village Plaza, the Depot and Shelton Park. This year's series added a Depot stage and brought in a new booker.
• Saturday, Oct. 17. The city's free Halloween Spooktacular runs from 3 to 6 p.m. at Lewis Park, with games, costume contests, a sensory zone and food trucks.

The Route 66 theme ties into something new at the Village's northwest corner. A 16-foot steel Route 66 monument now stands at Foothill and Indian Hill boulevards and was dedicated on September 21. The Claremont Courier reported that the city paid $27,500, and Claremont Heritage and Discover Claremont each added $5,000.

Saturday, Oct. 24, Street by Street

The 44th annual Village Venture Arts & Crafts Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Chamber expects more than 375 artisans and crafters, and it says Village restaurants and shops will be open all day. The street closures run much longer than the festival, from about 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.:

1. First Street between Indian Hill Boulevard and College Avenue
2. Second Street between Alley 38 and Harvard Place
3. Bonita Avenue between Alley 38 and Harvard Place
4. Harvard Avenue between First Street and Fourth Street
5. Yale Avenue between First Street and part of Fourth Street

The Chamber's release adds that the Yale closure "ends south of the Walter's Restaurant Lot." That means Walter's sits right at the north end of the festival's busiest block. If the October reopening happens before the 24th, the restaurant would welcome back the Village on its most crowded day of the year. If it doesn't, the festival crowds will walk right up to its closed doors.

The day opens at 9 a.m. with the Chamber's Opening Ceremony at the Shelton Park stage, with Congresswoman Judy Chu and Mayor Jennifer Stark scheduled to attend. The Children's Costume Parade follows, led by this year's Grand Marshal, Hader Aldouri, owner of Dr. Grubb's. There are children's activities at the historic Claremont Depot and a Scarecrow Drawing Contest presented by Foothill Transit. Visitors 21 and older can use the Beer & Wine Garden on Harvard Avenue north of Bonita. Look for four selfie stations around the Village, including one at Lost Levels Arcade & Card Shop, and a BINGO card you can trade in for a prize while supplies last.

Free parking with PVTA shuttles is available at Taylor Hall, Claremont High School and CGU's ACB lot. Shuttles run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the last one leaves at 5. You can also park in the Packing House structure on First Street west of Indian Hill, or in the Metrolink lot on First Street east of College Avenue. The festival ends at 5 p.m., but the streets stay closed until about 7. Plan to wait a while if you drove into the closure area.

After the Venture

November is quieter, but a few dates are already set. Claremont Heritage's next guided Village walk is November 7, with the same reservation requirement and $20 fee. "Samella! Black as Lacquer and Iron" is on view at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art through November 15. The city lists Claremont Hills Wilderness Park hours as 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October, moving to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. in November.

For Walter's, Tan Mui and Director's Cut, the most reliable updates will come from their own pages. As of September 27, Walter's still says October and Regency still says "Coming Soon!"

The Home Tour's "Homes With History" includes an early house with a studio addition built this year and two former citrus-industry homes with basements. If those homes have you thinking about how an appraiser weighs original character against a modern addition in an older Claremont house, The Mowery Group can walk you through it. Schedule a free consultation.