The corner building at 28645 Old Town Front St. went up in 1914 as the First National Bank of Temecula. In 1978 it became the Bank of Mexican Food, and its last tenant, The Bank Plates & Pours, closed in 2023. On September 21 it opened again as Gaucho Grill, an Argentine steakhouse that cooks over open-flame, wood-fired parrilla grills, as The Press-Enterprise reported.
The timing matters for more than dinner plans. The same article places the restaurant on the corner of a block that also holds The Merc, an 1890 brick building that is part of the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, and Pennypickle's Workshop, the children's museum. Put this year's holiday calendars on a map and a large share of them lands on that one block. Santa arrives there. The jazz nights happen there. The theater's December musical plays a few steps away. For the first time since 2023, the building at the head of the block has its lights on for the season.
A corner with three lives before this one
Old Town turns over its storefronts slowly, so it is worth following one address over time. Here is the bank building's history as The Press-Enterprise lays it out:
- 1914: It opens as the First National Bank of Temecula.
- 1978: It becomes the Bank of Mexican Food.
- 2023: The Bank Plates & Pours, the most recent version, closes.
- September 21, 2026: After a long refurbishment, Gaucho Grill opens. The Downey-based restaurant also has locations in Pasadena, West Covina and Buena Park.
The menu covers a wide range. Prices start at $22 for a breaded chicken breast and go up to $139 for a 45-ounce tomahawk ribeye. Burgers, sandwiches, pasta and seafood fill the space between those two. Dishes worth asking for by name include the Gaucho Bread, a sourdough baguette served with chimichurri, the Humitas Salteña corn pudding, a salad called the Evita and a cocktail called the Mojito Fin del Mundo. Lunch and dinner service started September 28.
Across the street, Rodeo Cafe has been serving for about a year in the space that used to be Rosa's Cantina. That puts breakfast and lunch on one side of Front Street and a wood-fired dinner on the other, both within a few steps of Pennypickle's front door. Families planning a December Saturday around Santa's hours will find the meal before or after already taken care of on this block.
The calendar, plotted onto the block
The Old Town Temecula Association and the Old Town Temecula Community Theater each publish their own schedule. When you lay the two side by side, the north end of Front Street keeps coming up.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 12, 8 p.m. | Blue Suede Christmas starring Scot Bruce as Elvis | Community Theater |
| Thu, Nov 19, 7:30 p.m. | Jazz at The Merc: Kahlil Childs Quartet | The Merc |
| Fri, Nov 27, 6 to 9 p.m. | Santa's Arrival | Pennypickle's Workshop |
| Nov 28 to Dec 20, weekends | Santa visiting hours, Sat 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sun 1 to 4 p.m. | Pennypickle's Workshop |
| Thu, Dec 3, 5 to 8:30 p.m. | Holiday Taste of Old Town, $45 | Restaurants, tasting rooms and breweries across Old Town |
| Thu, Dec 3, 7:30 p.m. | Jazz at The Merc | The Merc |
| Fri, Dec 4, 7 p.m. | Santa's Electric Light Parade | Into Old Town along Front Street |
| Thu, Dec 10, 7:30 p.m. | A Christmas Carol, The Musical, opening night | Community Theater |
| Thu, Dec 10, 7:30 p.m. | Jazz at The Merc | The Merc |
Holiday programming at the theater starts well before Thanksgiving. Blue Suede Christmas on November 12 opens three straight nights. Stone Soul, a Motown tribute, follows on November 13 at 8 p.m., and Catch a Wave: The Beach Boys Show plays November 14 at 7 p.m. with a "Holiday Christmas surprise" in the listing. Over at The Merc, the November lineup also includes Brazilian & Latin Jazz on Friday, November 20, and two Country Live! shows on Saturday, November 21, at 7 and 9 p.m.
Holiday Taste tickets go on sale November 3. The Association describes the event as a self-guided stroll through Old Town's restaurants, tasting rooms, breweries and boutiques, rain or shine. On December 3, the jazz night at The Merc starts at 7:30 p.m., an hour before the tasting ends at 8:30. A Holiday Taste ticket and a Merc ticket can share an evening without leaving the block.
The parade arrives from the north
Santa's Electric Light Parade starts at 7 p.m. sharp on Friday, December 4, at Jefferson Avenue and Del Rio Road. According to Visit Temecula Valley's listing for the City of Temecula event, the entries travel south from there into Old Town, and viewers are told to bring blankets and chairs. The Association describes the parade as lighting up Old Town Front Street. A route coming down from Jefferson reaches the north end of Old Town before anywhere else, which is the end where Gaucho Grill, The Merc and Pennypickle's sit.
The City runs a separate event on Monday, November 30, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: the Christmas Tree Lighting at the Temecula Duck Pond & Veterans Memorial, with festive music, treats and Santa. That one is away from Old Town. It falls on the Monday after Santa's first weekend at Pennypickle's, so a family can catch both in the same week.
Tecovas fills a Front Street vacancy before the rush
Further along the street, 28601 Old Town Front St. housed the Old Town Antique Faire until it closed in July 2025. The space now belongs to Tecovas, an Austin-based Western wear brand. Its soft opening is set for Thursday, October 29, Patch reported, and a three-day grand opening follows. When Patch first reported the lease in December 2025, the target was summer 2026. The fall opening now puts the store in place just before Shop Small Weekend on November 27 and 28.
Grand opening details, according to the company's announcement as reported by Patch:
- Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Live music: Rheanna Downey
- In-store extras: complimentary refreshments, boot branding and custom hat tattooing
- Gift bags: for the first 50 shoppers each day, Friday through Sunday
The store also offers complimentary boot shines, leather personalization and hat shaping year-round. A shaped hat or a personalized leather piece makes a practical stop during the Window Walk, the self-guided tour of decorated storefronts that runs December 1 through 26.
December 10 through 13 is the busiest stretch
The season builds toward one long weekend. A Very Temecula Christmas runs December 10 to 12, and the theater's big production overlaps it almost exactly.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: The Boutique Crawl: Holiday Edition runs 2 to 8 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., A Christmas Carol, The Musical opens at the Community Theater, and Jazz at The Merc starts at the same hour.
- Friday, Dec. 11: Cars, Cocoa & Carolers runs 4:30 to 8 p.m., and A Christmas Carol plays again at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: A Christmas Carol has a 2 p.m. matinee, and Santa Under the Tree runs at the Civic Center.
- Sunday, Dec. 13: A Christmas Carol closes with a 2 p.m. matinee.
The Temecula Valley Players stage this version of A Christmas Carol, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Seats are $32 in the orchestra, $30 in the parterre and $28 in the balcony. The Thursday performance is $25 for any seat, which makes the December 10 opening the least expensive way in. Seniors 65 and over, students and military with ID get discounts on other nights. Thursday seats are not discounted further.
Parking for the north end
Any night with several events stacked on the same block will fill the closest spaces first. According to the Old Town Temecula Association's parking page, public lots are free, and the options closest to this block are:
- 1st Street lot: 137 spaces. The Association identifies it as the best choice for Old Town's north end.
- Theater and Pennypickle's lot: 44 spaces, the smallest of the four.
- Old Town Parking Garage, 28690 Mercedes St.: free, open 24/7, 378 spaces, with ChargePoint EV stations on level 3.
- Roger Epperson Memorial/2nd Street lot: 213 spaces, open 24/7.
Spaces on Old Town Front Street are time-limited, private lots may charge a fee, and the 6th Street lot closes on Saturdays for the Farmers Market. The Association also warns that large events can reserve or close lots and reroute streets. On parade night, check its event notices before you head out.
Old Town's holiday season is mostly about who is on the block, and this year that includes a restaurant in the 1914 bank building, Santa at Pennypickle's and a Christmas Carol run that lines up with the year's biggest Old Town weekend. If your own Temecula home will be part of your plans this season, whether you're hosting family between parade night and the Christmas Carol run or thinking about what next spring looks like, The Twinning Team would be glad to talk it through. Reach out to receive exclusive listings.
