Things to Do in Downtown Celina This Fall: Events & Dining

In late August, Costco, The Home Depot and Academy Sports + Outdoors all opened on S. Preston Road within days of each other. That finished a run of 2026 openings that had been adding up along the corridor since late spring. Downtown is on a different schedule. The two development deals that will reshape Celina's square have no opening date, or they aren't required to start construction until 2028. So the square heads into fall with what it already has: a block of restaurants on Walnut Street, Lucy's on Ohio Street, and a city event calendar that runs through December 2.

That gap between the two halves of town shapes the next couple of months. Preston Road now covers the weekly list. The square is still where the town gathers, and through 2026 it does that with existing tenants and city-produced events, not new construction.

One week in August finished the Preston Road errand loop

Costco opened August 26 at 3445 S. Preston Road, at the corner of Ownsby Parkway, with a gas station on site. Community Impact reported that The Home Depot and Academy had both opened on Preston Road within the previous week. The opening came well ahead of schedule. An October 2025 Community Impact item had projected Costco construction wrapping up in late November 2026.

The big boxes landed on a stretch that had been filling in all summer.

Most of the list sits on one short run of S. Preston, between the 3200 and 3600 blocks. Costco, Academy, Chipotle and Panda Express are all within a few hundred address numbers of each other. A warehouse run, a hardware stop and a fast lunch now fit on a single stretch of road inside city limits. On the north side, Ramble Coffee House is the first business to open in the Ramble community, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The square's next buildings are on a 2028 clock

On July 14, 2026, the City of Celina and the Celina Economic Development Corporation announced Trackside Junction, a $15 million private project with Nack Development. It will add 15,000 square feet of new commercial space for retail, restaurant, office and event uses, and the project also includes residential space. The city's announcement says the project is meant to connect the historic square with Celina's growing Entertainment District by extending commercial activity along Louisiana Drive. It's also the city's first significant use of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 11 money to support a specific project. The release gives no opening date.

Mayor Ryan Tubbs put the project this way in the City of Celina release:

"Downtown is where our story began, and it's where we continue to invest in our future."

In September, the city announced a second deal. The $7.5 million agreement covers a planned two-story retail, restaurant and office building at 102 N. Ohio St. and a restaurant renovation at 313 W. Pecan St. Under the agreement, construction must begin in 2028, and completion deadlines run into 2029 and 2030.

Those deadlines mean this fall's events will happen in the downtown that already stands.

What the square already has, block by block

The newest downtown addition is LSA Burger Co. at 218 W. Walnut St., which opened August 13. Community Impact's write-up describes a menu of Texas-music-themed burgers, including the Waylon and the Chili Willie. Its address puts it on the same street as two established neighbors. Toasted Walnut Table and Market is at 304 W. Walnut St., and Summer Moon Coffee is next door at 306 W. Walnut St. That makes Walnut Street the closest thing downtown has to a dining row, a block off the square itself.

On the square, Lucy's on the Square is at 127 N. Ohio St. It's open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those hours put it in range of a Friday Night Market evening and a Saturday Halloween festival.

The downtown dining directory kept by Discover Downtown Celina lists a wider bench.

• Drinks: Heyday for cocktails, Little Wooden Penguin for beer, Valley Vines Tasting Room for wine
• Sit-down and counter meals: Mangiamo Italian Market & Deli, Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill, Tender Smokehouse, Silos in Celina, The Wick Celina
• Sweets and mornings: Granny's Bakery, Terry's Donuts, Hey Sugar Candy Store

The directory doesn't show an update date. Before building an evening around one of these spots, check its current hours.

For shopping, the directory lists Apricot Lane Boutique, Annie Jack, Buff City Soap, Celina Flowers & Gifts, Honeysuckle Rose Boutique, Terramania, William Williams Rare Jewels and Willow House Boutique.

Two downtown names from older guides are gone. The Forge 1912 at 132 N. Louisiana Drive closed in summer 2025, and Rollertown Beerworks at 412 N. Oklahoma Drive closed October 11, 2025, according to Community Impact. The Celina EDC's 2025 fold-out downtown map still shows both, so a printed copy at home is out of date.

The city calendar carries the rest of the season

With no new storefronts due on the square this year, city events supply most of the extra foot traffic. Two fall dates are already past: Oktoberfest on October 3 and the October 9 Friday Night Market. Here's what's left.

1. Wednesday, October 21, 3 to 5 p.m. The Celina Public Library hosts pumpkin painting at the Downtown Celina Pavilion, 141 N. Ohio St.
2. Saturday, October 24, 4 to 9 p.m. Beware! of the Square, the city's free Halloween festival, brings trick-or-treating, a haunted manor, a free Kid Zone, Cirque sideshows, a pumpkin decorating contest and more than 60 market vendors.
3. Friday, November 6, 6 to 9 p.m. The Friday Night Market returns to the Downtown Square with 60-plus vendors selling handmade, homemade and homegrown goods, food from downtown restaurants and food trucks, and live music from local artists. Admission is free.
4. Wednesday, December 2, 5 to 9 p.m. Christmas on the Square closes out the run, with the tree lighting scheduled for 8 p.m.

The market's food list depends on the restaurants already on the square. That's another way the businesses on Walnut and Ohio streets support the city calendar, and the calendar sends people back to them.

Getting there takes a little planning. For Beware! of the Square, the city's FAQ lists free public parking downtown, a free shuttle from Celina High School at 3455 N. Preston Road, and limited ADA parking at 111 W. Pecan St. The event page says the park-and-ride shuttles run from 4 to 10 p.m., an hour past the festival's close. On market nights, all vehicles must be off the square by 2 p.m. Organizers say road closures and downtown lot improvements can change which public parking is available, so check Life in Celina's social page for current lots.

Pairing a Preston Road errand with an evening downtown

Preston Road runs the length of both halves of this fall. The Celina High School shuttle lot at 3455 N. Preston and the Costco at 3445 S. Preston sit on the same road, at nearly the same address number, on opposite sides of town. A Saturday that starts with a Costco or Home Depot stop on the south end can finish with a parked car at the high school and a shuttle ride to Beware! of the Square on October 24.

On November 6, the timing runs the other way. Cars have to be off the square by 2 p.m., the market opens at 6, and Lucy's on the Square serves until 9 p.m. on Fridays. That leaves the afternoon for errands on S. Preston and the evening for Walnut Street, with LSA Burger Co., Toasted Walnut and Summer Moon Coffee all within a block of the vendor booths.

For Christmas on the Square on December 2, plan for a Wednesday evening. The tree lighting is at 8 p.m., an hour before the event ends at 9.

Celina is filling in quickly. Some of that growth shows up as big-box openings, and some as development deals that won't break ground until 2028. The Tomlin Team follows both corridors closely. If you want to talk through what the Preston Road openings and the coming downtown projects could mean for your home in Celina, schedule a consultation with our team.