"That's how the Oxbow wants to be seen," Neal Harrison, Napa's economic development manager, told The Press Democrat in late August. "It's a separate district, with its own uniqueness."

He was talking about the bright white sign that now hangs over First Street at Soscol Avenue. It spells out THE OXBOW and lights up after dark. Most people will see it as wayfinding. If you shop at the market every week, it looks more like a label on a change that was already underway. Since early 2025, the counters and lots under that sign have been turning over. What's replacing them gives Napa residents reasons to return.

A Sign the District Picked for Itself

The city's own plan already included an Oxbow gateway. It was part of a package from Pasadena-based Hunt Design, on a contract of roughly $450,000, that also produced matching gateways for downtown and the Riverfront. The Oxbow Task Force, which the city set up in 2022, asked to go a different way. Its members include Oxbow Public Market founder Steve Carlin and Filippi's Pizza Grotto owner Tom Finch. "They were like, 'we want a different sign, we want to differentiate ourselves from downtown,'" Harrison said.

Carlin led the effort, and the group hired Oakland's Arrow Sign Co. According to a November 2024 staff report, they wanted a gateway with the "artistic and 'edgy'" feel of the floating-letter signs at The Barlow in Sebastopol. Funding came in August 2024: $150,000 from the Downtown Napa Property and Business Improvement District, which is paid for by an assessment on downtown and Oxbow properties. The Napa Downtown Association took on responsibility for the sign.

So the district's own business and property owners chose how it would introduce itself, and they paid for it through their own assessment. The tenant changes that follow show what they were introducing.

The Turnover at 610 First Street

Here is what changed at Oxbow Public Market from early 2025 through this summer:

The businesses that left each made their own call. Peter Granoff is putting his resources into Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco. Eiko's still runs its downtown Napa restaurant. Market general manager Sarah Gillihan thanked chef Mourad Lahlou and his team for bringing modern Moroccan street food to the valley for the first time.

The arrivals look different as a group. Johnny Doughnuts, the Bay Area shop from founder Craig Blum, took the former Napa Valley Distillery space between The Olive Press and Live Fire Pizza. It opens at 7 a.m. Sumo Dog comes from Jeffrey Lunak, a former executive chef at Morimoto Napa, and arrived through the market's chef-in-residence program. Roman Holiday Gelato opened in Suite 2 on August 24, also open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

As The Press Democrat reported, Roman Holiday's story explains a lot of the shift. Owner Elisha Smiley was a tax accountant before she spent about 20 years as a pastry chef. She took a class at the University of Gelato in Bologna, taught at the Culinary Institute of America, and opened her St. Helena shop at 1336 Oak Ave. in 2023. She describes Oxbow as a market "where she shopped herself." The larger space also let her buy a new machine, so the gelato is "freshly turned every day, for everyone to see on display." Her kid favorite is Cookie Monster, an Oreo and vanilla gelato that gets its blue color from spirulina. Janelle Ham, her new sous chef at Oxbow, put the business case simply: "A couple ice cream shops have opened, but there still isn't any gelato."

Rotation took over the anchor space C Casa left behind, about 5,000 square feet. Katie Hamilton Shaffer's Napa-based Feast it Forward backs it, and Jeff Mosher is executive chef. Martin Yan was the first resident chef when it opened in February. The format brings in a new chef every month. Someone passing through on a weekend visit sees one of those chefs. Someone who lives ten minutes away can try every one.

Across First Street, the Case Was Made Out Loud

At the market, you have to read the change in the tenant list. At Napa Yard, the beer garden and entertainment venue at 585 First St., people said it outright at a public hearing.

Napa Yard already added Oxbow Greens. It's an 18-hole outdoor mini golf course in the venue's gardens, approved by the city for owner Chris Lehman in August 2025. A round costs $15 for adults and $12 for kids 12 and under, with clubs, balls and scorecards included. The posted summer hours run from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

On July 16, the Napa Planning Commission approved a 6,400-square-foot covered roller rink at the same site. It comes from Rick Gudgel of Wheel Life Napa, who has run a winter pop-up rink at Napa Valley Expo. The public comments at that meeting could have been about the whole district:

"There's just not enough for those young people to do. There's not enough spaces for us to gather."

That was Terence Mulligan, CEO of the Napa Valley Community Foundation. Jennifer Huffman, the Napa Valley Register's business editor, spoke as a resident, not for the paper. She said Napa has done well "drawing in visitors for wine-related, adult kind of activities" and less well offering activities for kids and younger families. Commissioner Lisa Massaro grew up in Napa and said it was nice to see roller skating and mini golf come back to the city.

The rink hasn't opened. As of this writing, Wheel Life's website still says "Coming soon," and no public opening date has been announced. Once it opens, the approved hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

The Fall Calendar Is Built for People Who Come Back

The district's fall schedule favors regulars. Almost everything repeats weekly or monthly, or you sign up for a whole season:

• Through October 4: Fieldwork Napa's Oktoberfest at Oxbow Public Market, with a limited-edition stein, an Oktoberfest Lager and German-inspired food specials. No reservations needed.
• Tuesdays through November 10: Napa Yard's eight-week cornhole league starts at 6 p.m. Teams have up to three players, and the top three win cash prizes.
• Thursdays, 3 to 7 p.m.: Napa Yard's Plaza gathering with artisans, makers and live music.
• Sunday, October 4, 3 to 6 p.m.: Leadership Napa Valley's Fall Fling Mini-Golf Tournament & Social on the Napa Yard course. Four-person teams are $150 and social tickets are $25.
• Wednesdays, October 7 and November 4, 4 to 7 p.m.: Taste of Oxbow, held the first Wednesday of every month, with happy-hour specials, signature bites, hands-on activities and live local music.
• Sundays, October 11 and 18, 4 to 7 p.m.: Live music in Napa Yard's East Beer Garden, with Cincinnati Ambassadors and then Duo Sonics.

How Long This Version Lasts

Part of what makes the new Oxbow feel like a neighborhood hangout rests on a temporary permit. Napa Yard's permit runs out on December 21, 2029, and the rink's approval ends the same day, though both can be extended. Oxbow Holdings LLC owns the property. Its long-term plan is a hotel and condo redevelopment with retail and a riverfront trail, which is still in early review and likely years away.

The market is still changing, too, as The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Gillihan says a replacement for Moro has been chosen and will be announced soon, and that it "will resonate with our community and complement the market's current mix and consumer trends." Hog Island Oyster Co., which has been at the market since it opened in 2007, is expanding its oyster bar.

The sign is meant to stay, and some of what it stands for may not. For now, the Oxbow has a doughnut counter open at 7 a.m., gelato churned where you can watch, a new chef at Rotation every month, a mini golf course across the street, and a roller rink on the way.

I work mostly in northern Sonoma County, but a change like this matters to anyone who owns in Wine Country. A district's day-to-day life is part of what a home near it is worth. If you're weighing a move within Napa or Sonoma County, or wondering how changes like these affect your own property, Kellie Larson is glad to talk it through. Contact us anytime.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.