The Victorian Closes After Halloween. The Sunday Market Was Written Into Its Lease.

If you shop the Main Street Farmers Market, you've probably asked this since early October: what happens to a market that sets up in a nightclub's parking lot when the nightclub closes?

The Victorian at 2640 Main St. ends its run as a restaurant and nightclub after its annual Halloween weekend. The same operators, Garner Gerson and Adir Tal, will reopen the building as The Santa Monican, a family membership club. Renovation is expected to start in late 2026, and the target opening is mid-2028, according to the City of Santa Monica's October 9 announcement. The market isn't an afterthought in that deal. The city owns the building, and when the City Council unanimously approved the new lease on March 24, the Sunday market's needs were written into it.

So the market stays. Where it sets up is what's changing.

What the Victorian Lot Does Every Sunday

Most shoppers see the stalls and never think about what's behind them. The council staff report on the lease lays it out. It gives the market's operating hours as 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. About 28 farmers, 14 food vendors, and 5 Main Street merchants set up on the parking lot. Community education booths and musicians fill the driveway and the lawn between The Victorian and the California Heritage Museum. The Victorian lets farmers and shoppers use its restrooms during market hours and lets the market store gear on site.

The same report says what makes Sunday different from the city's other markets. Staff estimate that about 70% of Sunday visitors stay for one to two hours, and many picnic on the lawn with food from the vendors while the music plays. Of Santa Monica's four weekly farmers markets, the report calls Sunday "widely regarded as the most family-friendly, largely due to the presence of this lawn."

That explains why the lease reads the way it does. Ninety minutes on the grass depends on things a nightclub building happens to supply: plumbing, outlets, a spigot, and a lawn nobody fences off.

What the Lease Guarantees

Council told staff to negotiate specific community benefits, and the staff report lists what the operator agreed to. Here are the ones that matter for a Sunday morning:

• Utilities and storage. The operator commits to keep giving the city "support, access, and use of the Victorian's restrooms, storage, power / electricity, and water facilities to support the Sunday Farmer's Market on Main Street."
• The lawn. Public access to the Heritage Museum lawn "will not be reduced from existing conditions," and the lawn stays visible and open from the street.
• A new way onto the lawn. The operator proposes moving the main pedestrian entrance to Main Street itself, so people stop walking through the active driveway.
• Parking. The 25 public parking spaces on site stay available to the public, consistent with how they're used now.
• Scholarship memberships. Up to 20% of Santa Monican memberships will be free scholarship memberships for Santa Monica residents, including families, educators, and small business owners.
• A yearly accounting. The operator has to file an annual report with the city on the community benefits it provided, including events, attendance, and partnerships.

Mayor Caroline Torosis put it plainly in the city's release:

"This building belongs to the city, so we wrote public benefits into its lease. Up to 20% of memberships will be free for qualifying Santa Monica residents, the lawn and public parking will stay open to everyone, and the Sunday Farmers Market will remain."

Santa Monica Daily Press reported the same promise on October 10: the market continues, and the operator supplies the restrooms, storage, power, and water.

One line in the city's release goes further than keeping things as they are. Under the lease, "the Sunday Farmers Market will transition to a weekly, open street event on Main Street."

August 23 Was the Test Run

If you were on Main Street the morning of Sunday, August 23, you've already seen the street version. The Ocean Park Association promoted it ahead of time as a test run of moving the Sunday market onto Main Street. The OPA's day-of update gave the details: stalls on Main Street between Ocean Park Boulevard and Hill Street, the street closed to traffic from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and market hours of 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Here's how that one Sunday compared with the usual setup on the lot:

The pilot shows what the move offers beyond more room. Once the street is closed, the lawn turns into the market's living room and doesn't have to share space with the stalls. The Kid Zone, hosted by Super Dope with City Council Members Lana Negrete and Natalya Zernitskaya, was there. So was a Santa Monica Fire Department pop-up, and the lawn party kept going until 7 p.m., hours after the last farmer packed up. The Entertainment Zone also brought Main Street's bars and restaurants in, since shoppers could carry drinks from participating businesses.

The city's market page credited the day to a partnership with the OPA and the Main Street Business Improvement Association. It listed the same 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. hours, a kids' play zone, chalk art, and live music, followed by an afternoon and evening event on the street.

What Still Has No Date

The lease commits to the street market but sets no schedule for it. As of late October, the October 9 announcement names no launch date, no recurring street boundaries, and no weekly hours for the open-street version. The August 23 layout is the best preview available. The city hasn't said a weekly street market would follow the same blocks or hours.

The construction period is also unclear. Renovation is expected to start in late 2026, and the March staff report doesn't include a separate market calendar, vendor count, or layout for the roughly year and a half before the mid-2028 target opening. The vendor count may change too. The city's market page describes about 40 certified California farms, while the staff report counts about 28 farmers. Those counts may reflect different dates or categories.

The city's market page still lists the August 23 event as upcoming, though that Sunday passed two months ago, so check with the city or the OPA before planning a Sunday around any particular setup.

The Santa Monican's own plans include a pool, a spa and fitness center, a family and youth facility, a coffee bistro, a restaurant and bar, and gardens. The operators say they'll work with the city and community groups on seasonal events, including free summer barbecues, Santa Monica Snow Days, and holiday celebrations. Membership details and pricing are due "in the coming months."

The Blocks a Street Market Would Fill

A market on the pavement only works if the storefronts along it are open, and Main Street has added several this year. The city's release lists them, and some have opened since.

1. Bar Fortuna, 2917 Main St. Eater LA reported that it opened on Wednesday, October 21. Chef-owner Brian Bornemann told the outlet he wanted neighborhood dining to be more affordable and accessible. The menu has pastas, starters made with market produce, wine, and cocktails.
2. Met Her at a Bar, 2651 Main St. An all-day café from Mindy and Vinny Kinne, opened in August.
3. Circle Bar, 2926 Main St. A Main Street fixture since 1949, reopened in May under new local ownership after nearly three years dark.
4. Santa Monica Market, 2015 Main St. Added a full deli counter this summer under new owners.
5. Punch Bowl Juice & Smoothie, 2218 Main St. Opened recently.
6. Nameless, 2810 Main St. The Victorian's operators plan to reopen it after it closed during the pandemic. No date has been announced.

Before any of that, there's one more night at the old house. The two-story Victorian was built in 1892 and moved to Heritage Square in 1973, across from the California Heritage Museum. Its last event, The Victorian's Final Halloween, is this Saturday, October 31, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., with a haunted-house theme and DJs. "We're proud of what The Victorian has meant to Santa Monica, and just as proud that this property has a future," Adir Tal said in the city's announcement.

I'll be following the Sunday market's move from the lot to the street, and I'll share the launch date and blocks once the city or the Ocean Park Association announces them. If you live near Heritage Square and want to know how the change could affect your block, your parking, or your home's appeal on Main Street, reach out to Brooke Bryant. Let's Connect.