"Since COVID, we have not had anything," Maya Fezzani, owner of LeVant Dessert, told The Almanac in July. She described Friday nights in downtown Menlo Park as a "ghost town." She said this on July 24, the first night of Fourth Fridays, while hundreds of people walked down Santa Cruz Avenue and shops stayed open late.
That night gets at what has happened downtown this year. The city spent the spring changing rules to fill vacant storefronts. A new nonprofit spent the summer filling the sidewalks instead, and its results are easier to see. The next one is Friday, October 23, and it's the last date the organizers have posted.
On June 23, the Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously to allow more kinds of businesses on Santa Cruz Avenue. Salons, spas and similar personal-service businesses can now open on the ground floor without a conditional use permit. Before, they were generally limited to upper floors. Gyms and arcades, which were previously prohibited, can now apply for use permits that go before the Planning Commission. The rules took effect immediately.
The bank provision has a ceiling that leaves little room. Financial institutions can now seek permits on the street, but their total is capped at 30,000 square feet. Existing banks already take up roughly 28,000. That leaves space for about one more small branch on all of Santa Cruz Avenue.
The request came from Windy Hill Ventures, which owns the recently renovated building at 870 Santa Cruz Ave. Public records show the company paid the city at least $57,658 in staff time between November 2024 and March 2025 to process its application. Councilmember Drew Combs said at the meeting that the 2012 El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan "has been almost a complete failure as it relates to actually revitalizing Santa Cruz Avenue."
In June, The Almanac described the storefront at 714 Santa Cruz as vacant and reported that Windy Hill had trouble leasing 870. A larger space opened up the same week. At 635 Santa Cruz, Left Bank Brasserie served its last dinner on June 23. Left Bank had 150 seats and 28 years downtown. With it gone, Bistro Vida is the only French restaurant left in downtown Menlo Park. One of the permit applications filed since then is just off Santa Cruz Avenue. An August 24 Planning Commission agenda listed a proposed private fitness studio of 6,134 square feet at 550 Ravenswood Ave.
Filling a storefront takes leases, build-outs and sometimes permit hearings, so a zoning change shows up slowly. The crowds that came back on Friday nights this summer came from somewhere else.
Fourth Fridays is run by the Downtown Menlo Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2025 by Marnie Foody, Ben Eiref, Paul Charrette and Laura Melahn. The idea is simple. On one Friday a month, from 6 to 9 p.m., musicians play at spots up and down Santa Cruz Avenue and merchants keep their doors open. Before the pandemic, the city held a summer block party that closed part of the street to cars, and Fourth Fridays is meant to bring that kind of evening back.
The first night gave a measurable result. Gallery House stayed open three hours later than usual. Steve Shpall, a photographer with the gallery, said it might see only a couple of visitors on a typical day. More than 30 came in during the first hour of music. One of the fund's organizers reported during the evening that Bistro Vida and Roma were both full. Mademoiselle Colette, Feldman's Books and Gitane also kept late hours, and balloon artist Steve Koehler worked the sidewalk in front of Cheeky Monkey Toys.
The second night went ahead on August 28. InMenlo's next-day recap described music and full restaurant patios, and The Song Gardeners played between Camper and Amici's. September 25 was announced with Clint Baker and the All Stars at the Cafe Borrone plaza and an artist talk by Edna Acri at The Main Gallery at 5:30 p.m.
Look at where the stages are. Two of them use bank frontages, at the Wells Fargo entrance and in the corridor by Chase Bank. Those uses take up some of the street's best corners and stay quiet after closing time. On a Fourth Friday, those corners have music.
The series page lists Friday, October 23, from 6 to 9 p.m., with bands at the 600 block and Cafe Borrone plazas and more music along Santa Cruz Avenue. Every set is listed as family-friendly. Here is the lineup as posted on October 1:
| Stage | Where to find it | Performer | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaza Stage | Center of the 600 block plaza | Pinki Martini | 6–9 p.m. |
| Borrone Plaza | Cafe Borrone and British Bankers Club plaza, 1010 El Camino Real | Clint Baker & The All Stars | 6–9 p.m. |
| Evelyn Stage | Near Camper, in front of Design Matters | TBA | 6–9 p.m. |
| Crane Stage | Outside Mademoiselle Colette, near Roma | TBA | 6–9 p.m. |
| Chestnut Stage | Wells Fargo entrance at Santa Cruz and Chestnut | TBA | 6–9 p.m. |
| Kids Stage | Corridor near Chase Bank, Aveda, SusieCakes and Cheeky Monkey | Steven Koehler, balloon artist | 6–8 p.m. |
| Gallery House | Inside, 826 Santa Cruz Ave. | Rick Sanders | 6–9 p.m. |
| Gitane | Inside the clothing store, 855 Santa Cruz Ave. | TBA | 6–9 p.m. |
| Feldman's Books | Inside, 1075 Curtis St. | TBA | 6–9 p.m. |
Five of the nine spots still list a performer as TBA, so check the page again closer to the date. The Kids Stage ends an hour before everything else. Families with younger children can start in the Chase corridor and then walk toward the 600 block plaza for the last hour.
October 23 isn't the only thing happening downtown that weekend. The next morning, the city holds its free Halloween Hoopla, using the same street for something different. Here is the week in order:
Friday night is organized by merchants and the nonprofit. Saturday morning is organized by the city. Both use the same blocks, about fifteen hours apart.
The Plaza Stage sits in a space the city is still building. The 600 block plaza covers part of the eastbound side of Santa Cruz Avenue between Curtis and Doyle streets. According to a July 14 update to the City Council work plan, furniture has been installed, the plaza had a soft opening on May 31, and the city expected proposals from architectural consultants for the full build-out in late July. That report didn't set a construction budget or schedule.
For now, the plaza and the music series are being worked out side by side. The city has an early concept with space for public uses and events, and Fourth Fridays already puts a stage there. The series page lists no date after October 23 and doesn't say whether the series will continue into winter. The fourth Friday in November is November 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
Empty storefronts affect more than foot traffic. They also shape how a downtown looks to anyone deciding whether to put money there. If you own property near Santa Cruz Avenue and want to know how this year's downtown changes may affect its value, the Anagnostou Team can give you a confidential review that takes into account what is happening on the street right now.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
Compass
1377 El Camino Real
Menlo Park CA, 94025
Panos Anagnostou
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