At 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, the Town Tree Lighting at Veterans Park wraps up. Half an hour later, nearby on Gilead Road, 760 Craft Works plans to dim its lights for a new Friday-night program built around vinyl records and a tinned fish menu. On the same stretch, a French bakery has been pulling croissants out of the oven since mid-October. A wine bar that spent two decades at Birkdale Village is putting the finishing touches on its new space.
For years, the town's holiday events took place downtown, but downtown had little to keep people there once an event ended. This December is the first season that looks different, and the reason is a short row of addresses on Gilead Road.
The Holbrook, 18 months in
Lake Norman Publications reported on Oct. 23 that the "long-awaited openings" of two businesses in The Holbrook at Town Center had arrived, more than 18 months after the development opened. Until now, the only tenant there was B & Co Hair Salon, which opened about a year ago.
Cocotte came first. The artisan French bakery and gourmet market, which also has a Cornelius location, soft-opened on Monday, Oct. 12, at 111 Gilead Road. The menu covers handmade croissants, baguettes, fresh breads, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and lattes. Lake Norman Publications noted that choices could be limited during the first weeks. For now, Cocotte is open Monday and Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's closed on Tuesdays.
The Corkscrew Wine Shoppe & Bar is the return many longtime Lake Norman residents will recognize. It was a fixture at Birkdale Village for about 20 years before the original location closed at the end of 2022. It's now finishing its new home in The Holbrook, and no opening date had been announced as of late October. When it opens, it will offer 30 to 40 wines by the glass, hundreds of retail bottles, craft beer, cocktails, an upscale bourbon list, and small plates such as charcuterie boards and flatbreads. Both Cocotte and The Corkscrew bring patio dining to downtown.
Across the street at 100 Gilead Road, 760 Craft Works is adding to the taproom it already runs. A craft cocktail program was set to launch in late October. After that comes Night Swim, a 21-and-older experience on Friday and Saturday nights from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. It features dim lighting, vinyl listening sessions, signature cocktails, and tinned fish and caviar service. The concept comes from General Manager Layton Cross and co-owner Alyssa Ramsey. During regular hours, the taproom stays family-friendly, serving house-brewed beer, wine, THC beverages and non-alcoholic options. No first-night date for Night Swim has been announced, so check with 760 Craft Works before planning around it.
These three businesses keep different hours, and together they cover the times the town's December events don't. That timing is the main reason this season looks different.
How the town calendar lines up with Gilead Road
Huntersville's holiday events center on Veterans Park, 201 Huntersville-Concord Road, and all of them are free. Huntersville Today's holiday roundup lists the schedule, which comes from the town's own event page.
Friday, Dec. 4: Town Tree Lighting, 6 to 8 p.m. The tree is lit at 6:30, with live entertainment. Cocotte will have closed hours earlier, so this evening belongs to 760 Craft Works. If Night Swim has launched by then, its 8:30 p.m. start comes 30 minutes after the event ends. Families with children can visit the taproom earlier in the evening, during regular hours.
Saturday, Dec. 5: Holidays in Huntersville, 3 to 8 p.m. The afternoon festival offers free children's rides, artisan ice sculptures, stage performances by local groups, carolers, face painting, balloon twisters and roaming holiday characters. The festival opens exactly when Cocotte's posted hours end, so lunch or a late-morning pastry at 111 Gilead Road leads straight into the festival.
Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 10 to 12: Santa's Village, 5 to 8 p.m. It takes place inside the American Legion Post 321 building. The town says reservations will open closer to the date for families who want to skip the wait, and walk-ups are welcome.
Thursday, Dec. 31: A Huntersville New Year's, 9 p.m. to midnight. It's held at Holbrook Park and 760 CraftWorks. This is the clearest sign of how the downtown is changing. The town's New Year's Eve event now includes a business on Gilead Road as one of its venues.
Saturday, Dec. 5 is the busiest day of the season
Huntersville doesn't hold its own Christmas parade. The North Mecklenburg Holiday Parade starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, on Main Street in Davidson, about six miles north. Birkdale Village also hosts Breakfast with Santa that morning. All of that makes Dec. 5 the most crowded date on the north Mecklenburg holiday calendar. Here's how the day runs from morning to night:
- 8:30 to 10:45 a.m. Breakfast with Santa at Red Rocks Cafe in Birkdale Village. Tickets weren't on sale when the event page was last updated.
- 1 p.m. The North Mecklenburg Holiday Parade on Main Street in Davidson. Details are on the Town of Davidson's parade page.
- 3 to 8 p.m. Holidays in Huntersville at Veterans Park.
- 8:30 p.m. Night Swim at 760 Craft Works, for guests 21 and older, if the program is running by then.
The last two stops are both in downtown Huntersville, and together they run from 3 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.
Parking and road closures for Dec. 4 and 5
Downtown's limited parking matters most on these two nights. According to the town's event page, as summarized by Huntersville Today:
- Closed from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, and from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5: Main Street from Huntersville-Concord Road to Bigham Street, and Maxwell Street from Huntersville-Concord Road to Huntersville ARP Church.
- Public parking: the Town Center parking garage at 105 Gilead Road, Huntersville Elementary at 200 Gilead Road, and the downtown greenway trailhead at 102 Gilead Road.
- Accessible parking: reserved at Town Hall, 14704 N. Old Statesville Road.
All three public lots are on Gilead Road, the same street as Cocotte at 111 and 760 Craft Works at 100. Details can change as December gets closer, so check the town's Holidays in Huntersville page before you go. Questions about town events go to Huntersville Parks and Recreation at 704-766-2220.
Birkdale starts two weeks earlier
Huntersville's other holiday center gets going before downtown does. Birkdale Village holds its lighting on Nov. 21 from 2 to 7 p.m., with a parade at 4:30 and the tree lighting at 6. Birkdale on Ice opens the same day in The Plaza and runs through Jan. 10, with 75-minute skating sessions. Tickets weren't available yet when the rink page was posted in mid-October. Santa's Cottage opens Nov. 22 between Anthropologie and Lululemon. It runs Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., through Dec. 24. On Sunday, Dec. 6, at 4:30 p.m., Birkdale Village and Chabad of Lake Norman host a menorah lighting at The Grove, across from Regal.
Until 2022, Birkdale also had The Corkscrew. When the wine bar reopens on Gilead Road, a longtime Birkdale business will be part of downtown's holiday season instead.
What comes next on Gilead Road
The current openings are the first wave. Lake Norman Publications reports that the food truck Dumpling Girls plans to open a restaurant next to The Holbrook. Next door to that, Pint and Page, a bookstore combined with a biergarten and café, intends to open. Neither has announced a timeline.
The bigger project is the former town hall. In January, Lake Norman Publications reported that a developer it didn't name had offered $1.44 million for the building, with a proposal to use 75% of it for food or beverage. By the Oct. 23 update, the plan was a food, beverage and specialty retail destination, with construction scheduled to start in 2027. A parking garage planned over the Town Hall parking lot is expected to encourage more downtown investment.
The tree lighting will return to Veterans Park next December. If those projects keep moving, more restaurants and shops will be open nearby when it does.
If you're going downtown this December and are curious how Gilead Road's new businesses fit into Huntersville's future, I'm always glad to talk it over. I enjoy hearing what neighbors are noticing as downtown fills in. Kendall Jane Hunt is happy to listen. Let's Connect.
