Downtown Delaware's Holiday Season Runs Down William Street

Downtown Delaware's tree lights up at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, at the corner of William and Sandusky. Free skating is behind the Delaware Welcome Center at 20 E. William St. Next door at COhatch, 18 E. William St., the gingerbread build-off runs the next afternoon.

Downtown's newest pub opened on that same stretch in September, a few doors from a wine bar that spent the summer finishing the city's first rooftop patio. One block of William Street on each side of Sandusky now holds the season's main events and its newest places to eat and drink. Meanwhile, the north end of Sandusky Street lost a pub that had been there since 2004.

Every holiday event points to one corner

Main Street Delaware's Christmas in Downtown schedule packs most of its events into a short walk. Here's how it lines up by address:

The skating rink is open Dec. 4 through Dec. 6. A second round of carriage rides runs Friday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. Free Santa photos at the Welcome Center continue on Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 19, with both walk-in and appointment slots.

The gingerbread build-off is in its second year. Each $25 ticket includes a basic kit and three hours to build, and judging starts at 7:15 p.m. Anyone can vote by setting a canned food donation in front of their favorite house. Bring your own base, no larger than 20 by 20 inches.

What's new on William Street

Two of downtown's newest spots share an owner, and both are on William within a block of that corner.

Hallihan's Irish Pub opened Sept. 14 at 12 W. William St., according to 614NOW. The building was home to 12 West, which closed in 2020, and later Lazy Dawg. The menu is elevated Irish food: shepherd's pie, boxty, giant soft pretzels from an Ohio baker, and fish and chips as the flagship dish. The second floor is a sports lounge with two 75-inch TVs. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. On tree-lighting night it will be among the latest-open kitchens on the block.

Delaware Source reported that the owners are John Cordas, Jason Adams, Amy Adams and Mike Barker. Cordas, who also co-owns Shorty's Pizza, owns Open Btl on the east side of the corner at 39 E. William St.

Open Btl is a wine bar that opened in March in the former J. Gumbos building. Cordas bought the building on the condition that the city would approve a rooftop patio, and the approval took longer than planned. No rooftop had ever been approved in the city before. He told Delaware Source:

"The city did not have a blueprint for approval of a rooftop patio, so we worked through it with the city to make sure any other future establishments can follow a process and plan."

The building is in the historic district, so the Delaware County Historical Society helped with the approval to make sure the renovation kept its historic features. In August, the rooftop was set to open in the last week of the month. Plans called for lounge furniture, tall and short tables, fire pits for winter, and year-round use when the weather allows. Cordas said wine club members would hear the date first and could reserve the space. Before planning a cold-weather evening up there, check Open Btl's own channels for current hours.

The morning end of the corner changed too. Espresso Air quietly opened its second location at 34 S. Sandusky St. on Aug. 12. Owner Eslem Kucuker said the front seating area would come first, with rear seating to follow. That puts coffee just south of the tree and pub food just west of it, so a full Saturday downtown in December can stay within a couple hundred steps.

North Sandusky lost a 22-year pub

The biggest change of the fall happened a few blocks north. Old Bag of Nails Pub served its last day at 66 N. Sandusky St. on Sunday, Oct. 11, after opening there in 2004.

The reason was the lease, not the business. Columbus Business First, as republished by Delaware Source, reported that the original 20-year lease ended in 2024 and the pub had been renting month to month since then. Abigail Stellern, the company's vice president of strategy and growth, said they had hoped for a new long-term lease and could not get one. The company also offered to buy the building, which is more than 6,000 square feet, and the offer was not accepted.

NBC4 reported that the company would be glad to come back to Delaware if the chance came up.

1808Delaware described the building as dating to 1920 and fully built out as a restaurant and bar, with a large central bar, a commercial kitchen, an outdoor patio and its own parking. It sits within walking distance of Ohio Wesleyan University. As of that Oct. 7 report, it was on the market for sale or lease and no new tenant had been named.

The Light the Night parade on Sunday, Dec. 6, steps off from Mingo Park and travels down Sandusky Street to Wilmer Street. That route passes the 66 N. Sandusky building before it reaches the tree at William.

November runs on the same few blocks

The William Street pattern starts before December. Here's the November calendar in order, with OWU's free programming filling the weeknights around the downtown events:

1. Thursday, Nov. 5. The Ross Art Museum hosts a free screening of "The Truman Show" at The Strand Theatre, 28 E. Winter St., from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The Exposure Ensemble performs at the museum from 8 to 9 p.m.
2. Friday, Nov. 6, 6–9 p.m. Main Street Delaware's First Friday, "Community Harvest," brings a City of Delaware Paint-a-Plow display, a pie-eating contest at Fresh Start, nonprofit information tables, and a food drive that runs through Nov. 15.
3. Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. OWU's Repair Café at Unity Community Center, 50A Ross St., offers free repairs by volunteers.
4. Sunday, Nov. 8, 3 p.m. The Choral Art Society and Chamber Choir sing a free concert at Gray Chapel, 61 S. Sandusky St.
5. Monday, Nov. 9. A free Honor Choir Festival concert at 6:30 p.m. and a free 7 p.m. lecture, "Lincoln's Peace," at the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave.
6. Thursday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m. The Park Avenue Jazz Ensemble plays a free concert at Gray Chapel.
7. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13–14. The Orchesis Dance Company Concert runs at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for seniors.
8. Tuesday, Nov. 17. A free Chamber Orchestra concert at Gray Chapel at 8 p.m., and a free economic-outlook conference at Hamilton-Williams Campus Center at 7:30 p.m.
9. Thursday, Nov. 19. A free faculty percussion recital at Jemison Auditorium, 23 Elizabeth St., at 8 p.m., and a free "Reverse Coloring Pages" evening at the Ross Art Museum from 6 to 8 p.m.
10. Saturday, Nov. 21. Downtown Delaware's Season of Shopping begins. Pick up a card at any Main Street event, mark off your downtown purchases, and turn it in at The Greater Gouda by Dec. 23 for a chance at a grand prize of gift certificates and items from downtown businesses.

The Ross Art Museum's two current exhibitions, "Ardine Nelson: City Center" and the "Ohio Wesleyan Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition," are free and on view through Dec. 18. The museum works for a quiet weekday stop between holiday errands.

Gray Chapel sits on South Sandusky, so the free concerts on Nov. 8, 12 and 17 are a short walk from Espresso Air beforehand or Hallihan's afterward.

What could fill North Sandusky next spring

The pub corner hasn't announced a new tenant, but the north end of Sandusky does have one opening on the way. A Bushel and A Peck Co. plans a grocery-focused general store at 19 N. Sandusky St., next to Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop. In its Oct. 19 story, Delaware Source reported a target of late March or early April, this coming spring. Co-owner Charlie Erwin told Delaware Source that downtown "felt like the right home." The store will focus on local products, and the family's farm stand will stay open.

A few other downtown changes are planned but not yet underway:

• peDel, a 14-passenger pedal bar from Delaware residents Bo Tokarski and Mitchell Brown and Tiffin resident Ron Brown, is aiming to launch the second or third weekend of March 2027. It would stop at downtown bars, restaurants and coffee shops, Delaware Source reported.
• Sandusky Street itself is the subject of a feasibility study that looks at cutting it from five lanes to three. Freed-up space could go to wider sidewalks, parking or bike lanes. City Engineer Jonathan Owen told council it is a study, not an approved project, and that preliminary engineering might begin next year if the city moves ahead, according to Delaware Source.
• A proposed downtown hotel, reported under the working name Hotel Wesleyan, would have about 100 rooms and up to 280 parking spaces on Spring Street land the city is moving to transfer to the county's community improvement corporation. Delaware Source noted that the name and design may change.

On the east side of town, Trailhead Crossing on Sunbury Road is the larger retail project. Phase one tenants, including Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin', Nothing Bundt Cakes and Take 5 Oil Change, are aiming for around May. Target, confirmed for phase two, likely won't open until 2028 or 2029, developer Mitch Goltz told Delaware Source. As of that Oct. 1 report, phase one construction had not started.

If the busy William Street block has you wondering which streets nearby fit your own routine, the team at Home Connections Group is happy to walk downtown Delaware with you and talk it through. Let's Get You Home.