The 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. Its most recent restaurant, The Bank Plates & Pours, closed in 2023, and the corner sat through a long refurbishment. On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, the building reopened as Gaucho Grill, according to the Press-Enterprise.
That corner sums up Old Town Temecula's 2026. This year's new businesses on Front Street moved into storefronts the neighborhood already knew. For many locals, the first real visit to these places will come during the holidays, because the Old Town Temecula Association's season calendar puts its biggest nights on these same blocks.
This year's openings all have a past
Here are this year's changes on Front Street, with each address's backstory:
- Gaucho Grill, 28645 Old Town Front St. The Downey-based Argentine steakhouse cooks meat on open-flame, wood-fired parrilla grills. Temecula is its fifth location, after Downey, Pasadena, West Covina and Buena Park. Dinner started Sept. 21, and regular lunch and dinner service began Sept. 28.
- Kulturas Latin Kitchen & Cantina, 28588 Old Town Front St., second floor. It took over the former Kalaveras space above CoinOp. Patch reported the move in mid-July 2026 and noted that the prior owners and staff stayed on. The upstairs spot keeps its regulars under a new name.
- Famous PUDN, 28676 Old Town Front St. EJ Smith's dessert business has a storefront again, right next to the Swing Inn Cafe. Patch covered the partnership with Swing Inn in July 2026. The business had closed its Murrieta storefront in 2025, so this is a return. None of these three needed a new building. A steakhouse took over a bank, a Latin kitchen replaced a cantina, and a dessert shop that lost one storefront found a new one beside the Swing Inn Cafe. The pattern started before this year. Rodeo Cafe, across the street from Gaucho Grill, opened about a year earlier in the space that used to be Rosa's Cantina. On Front Street, the new places tend to show up behind familiar doors.
Gaucho Grill's menu runs from $22 for a breaded chicken breast to $139 for a 45-ounce tomahawk ribeye. It also has burgers, sandwiches, pasta and seafood. The Press-Enterprise highlights Gaucho Bread, a sourdough baguette served with chimichurri, plus a corn pudding called Humitas Salteña, a salad called Evita and a cocktail called Mojito Fin del Mundo. Grilled entrées come with one or two sides. If the top of that menu is more than you want for a weeknight, the burgers and sandwiches are an easier way to try it.
Santa arrives on the steakhouse's block
The block matters for the holidays. Gaucho Grill's corner shares a block with The Merc, an 1890 brick building that is part of the Old Town Community Theater, and with Pennypickle's Workshop, the children's museum.
The Old Town Temecula Association's events calendar lists Santa's Arrival at Penny Pickles Workshop for Friday, Nov. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. That's the day after Thanksgiving, and it's also the first day of Shop Small Weekend in Old Town, Nov. 27 and 28. On that one evening you'll find a kids' event, a 112-year-old bank building with a new steakhouse inside, a theater housed in an 1890 building, and Rodeo Cafe across the street, all within one stretch of Front Street.
Kulturas and Famous PUDN are a short walk away at 28588 and 28676 Old Town Front St. Front Street makes the most sense on foot, and the holiday calendar keeps adding reasons to walk it.
The dates, in order
Starting from this Thursday, Oct. 29, here's the season as currently listed:
- Friday, Oct. 30, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The City of Temecula's Halloween Carnival at the Civic Center, 41000 Main St., with games, costume contests and trunk-or-treating. That's tomorrow, for anyone reading on publication day.
- Every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Temecula Farmers Market at Sixth and Front streets, presented by the City of Temecula. It runs straight through the holidays.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3. Tickets go on sale for Holiday Taste of Old Town, at $45 per person.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 6 to 9 p.m. Santa's Arrival at Penny Pickles Workshop.
- Nov. 27 and 28. Shop Small Weekend in Old Town.
- Dec. 1 through 26. A Very Temecula Christmas: Window Walk in Old Town.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Holiday Taste of Old Town, presented by the Old Town Temecula Association, rain or shine. The ticket covers bites, local wine and craft beer tastings, and live music at Old Town restaurants, tasting rooms, breweries and boutiques.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Santa's Electric Light Parade, presented by the City of Temecula. It starts at Jefferson Avenue and Del Rio Road and heads south into Old Town. The Association calendar also lists Dec. 4, but one Visit Temecula Valley roundup shows Dec. 5, so check the City's listing closer to the date.
- Dec. 10 through 12. A Very Temecula Christmas in Old Town. A Boutique Crawl runs Thursday, Dec. 10, from 2 to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 4:30 to 8 p.m. Cars, Cocoa & Carolers in Old Town.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 1 to 4 p.m. Santa Under the Tree at the Civic Center.
Fridays carry the season. Santa's Arrival, the parade and Cars, Cocoa & Carolers all land on Friday evenings, and the Saturday farmers market follows each one the next morning. The Window Walk covers most of December, so you can see the storefront displays on any night you like.
Tickets, parking, and a garage that's still on paper
Holiday Taste is the one date on this list that needs planning ahead. Tickets go on sale Nov. 3, five days after this post goes up, for an event about a month later. It's the night built around Old Town's restaurants, tasting rooms and breweries, so it's a natural way to try several Front Street spots in one evening.
For parking, the Association says free public parking is available throughout Old Town in designated public lots, while private lots may charge a fee. It publishes a free parking map worth checking before a Friday-night event. The most recent new public spaces are the Main Street lots, which the City finished in January 2025. Its capital plan calls more Old Town parking part of a long-term strategy, with other options still under study.
The next step is happening, but slowly. Valley News reported that on July 28, 2026, the Temecula City Council voted 5-0 to approve a $111,100 architectural services contract for Civic Center and Old Town parking garage work, with a three-year term. That pays for architectural services. It does not build anything, and it won't add a single space this December. Parking this season works the same way it did last year, while Front Street's restaurants are newer than before.
For the parade, the route starts at Jefferson Avenue and Del Rio Road and heads south into Old Town, so plan on Old Town being busy that Friday evening.
If you're in Temecula or Murrieta, the holidays are an easy time to try the new places on Front Street. If you're thinking about a home nearby, or about selling one, we'd be glad to share what we know about the area over coffee. Key Connections Real Estate serves southwest Riverside County in English and Spanish. Book an Appointment.
