For several holiday seasons, the most decorated building on West Granada Boulevard was a restaurant. Rose Villa, at 43 W. Granada Blvd., was dressed as a gingerbread house. A then co-owner told Hometown News Volusia that it had "over 10,000 lights and 4,000 ornaments," including lemon drop lights along the walkway. This year the building is dark. Rose Villa's own website says it is under restoration and expects to reopen in early 2027.
That leaves December downtown to the city's calendar. Over nine days, from Dec. 11 to Dec. 19, the City of Ormond Beach has three events on its schedule: a riverfront movie, the 35th annual nighttime parade with the City Hall tree lighting, and Breakfast with Santa at The Casements. All three take place within a few blocks of where Granada meets Beach Street. If you live here, the season this year runs from that intersection to the Halifax River.
Why the Granada stretch looks different this year
Rose Villa closed abruptly on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, according to the property owner. ClickOrlando reported that a sign on the door read "closed due to unforeseen circumstances" and that the building had been boarded up. Property owner Bill Jones told the station that he owns the building, the trademark, the restoration and the décor. Day-to-day restaurant operations had been run under a lease by Red Fusion, LLC. He said he was starting work right away to refresh the building, and he closed his statement with this:
"Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to reopen 'The Rose.'"
The restaurant's website now lays out the next step. It describes a "thoughtful restoration" meant to preserve the building's character and says Rose Villa is "entering a new chapter under the exceptional leadership of the renowned Oliva family," with reopening anticipated in early 2027.
The building carries a lot of history for a single holiday season. In the Hometown News Volusia profile, its operator at the time said it was built in 1901 as a 10-room adjunct to Henry Flagler's Ormond Hotel. It later served as a boarding house, a law firm and a real estate office, and it became a restaurant in 2006. Restaurants have come and gone there, but the building has been part of downtown for more than a century. During restoration it will look different from the gingerbread version, and the parade goes right past it.
Nine days, three events, one riverfront
With the Granada landmark dark, the season's fixed points are all on the city's Parks & Recreation calendar, and they cluster on Riverside Drive and around City Hall:
| Date | Event | Time | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Movies on the Halifax: The Santa Claus 2 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Rockefeller Gardens Park, 26 Riverside Drive | Not listed |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | 35th Annual HOme for the HOlidays Nighttime Parade and City Hall tree lighting | Tree lighting 6 p.m., parade 6:30 p.m. | Division Ave. to US 1 to Granada Blvd. to Beach St., ending at City Hall | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Breakfast with Santa | 8 to 11 a.m. | The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive | $5 per person; ages 2 and under free; tickets required |
Rockefeller Gardens and The Casements face each other across Riverside Drive, at 26 and 25. The movie night and Breakfast with Santa bookend parade weekend from the same block, eight days apart. Breakfast with Santa is the only one of the three that needs a ticket, so it's the one to put on the calendar now.
Parade night runs on a tighter roster
The 35th Annual HOme for the HOlidays Nighttime Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 12. This year's theme is "Stars, Stripes, and Holiday Lights." The city's Aug. 19 announcement sets the tree lighting at City Hall for 6 p.m. and the parade start for 6:30 p.m.
The 2026 entry form adds one change. The city is capping the number of entries, and it gives the reason in plain terms: past parades were popular and exceptionally long. Applications are due Monday, Nov. 16, 2026, so any business, church, school group or club that wants a spot in a capped lineup should apply soon. The application and the flyer are both posted on the city's site.
Here is what the city has published about the evening itself:
- Route: Division Avenue to US 1, right on US 1, east on Granada Boulevard to Beach Street, then south on Beach Street to the City Hall review area.
- Staging: Entrants line up on and around Division Avenue, get color-zone assignments, and must be in position by 5:30 p.m.
- Streets and parking: The entry form warns that many streets will close and that parking will be limited.
- Cost: Free to attend.
- Questions: The city's parade hotline is (386) 610-0609, and the parade email is [email protected].
The route explains why the riverfront ends up as the center of the evening. The parade finishes at City Hall, and the tree lighting there starts the night half an hour before the first entry steps off. Because the route turns south on Beach Street to reach City Hall, both the start and the finish of the evening happen within a short walk of Riverside Drive. Along the way, the Granada leg passes 43 W. Granada Blvd., where the gingerbread house stood in past years. This year that building is under restoration.
With fewer entries allowed, the parade should be shorter than the ones that prompted the cap. Combined with the limited parking the city warns about, an early arrival and a plan for dinner nearby will make the night easier.
A new kitchen on Granada for parade season
Granada Boulevard does have one new place this fall. New Orleans Original Creole/Cajun Cafe opened at 188 E. Granada Blvd., in the building that housed Gili's Kitchen until it closed in April. The Daytona Beach News-Journal wrote about it as a new restaurant serving food on Oct. 4, 2026.
The Blanchard family runs it. Owner Brett Blanchard grew up in Metairie, outside New Orleans, and moved to Ormond Beach in 2001. His son, Joey Mendez, is the chef, and he previously cooked at The Dish Tavern and Grille, Blau and Madeline's Wine Bar. According to the Ormond Beach Observer, the menu includes shrimp po'boys, charbroiled oysters, beignets, sno-balls and king cakes. Blanchard described the place to the Observer as "just like a cafe on Bourbon Street. The feel, the music, the vibe."
Alisa Blanchard told the Observer that the family kept the menu small on purpose. "We didn't want a huge menu and everything be subpar. We wanted a small menu and things be phenomenal," she said. The family also said they liked the building's French doors, which open to the sidewalk the way bars and restaurants do in the French Quarter. Those doors will face Granada Boulevard during the busiest December weekend downtown.
How the nine days fit together
Taken together, the calendar is simple. On Friday, Dec. 11, The Santa Claus 2 plays at Rockefeller Gardens in the early evening. On Saturday, Dec. 12, the tree lights up at City Hall at 6 p.m., and the parade starts at 6:30 p.m. and ends on Beach Street. On Saturday, Dec. 19, Breakfast with Santa runs from 8 to 11 a.m. across Riverside Drive at The Casements, with $5 tickets. Before or after any of them, there's a new Creole kitchen on Granada.
Rose Villa expects to come back in early 2027 under the Oliva family, after this season's tree lighting and parade. Until then, the stretch from City Hall to Riverside Drive is where downtown Ormond's holiday events take place.
If you're new to Ormond Beach or planning a move here, December is a good time to see downtown at its busiest. Coastal Ventures Real Estate can build a half-day tour around parade weekend, with a stop at the riverfront and lunch on Granada. Schedule Your Relocation Consultation, and we'll plan it around the dates that work for you.
