"The plumbing on Park Avenue kept me in business," Stephen Miller told Winter Park Voice in May. He spoke as he was getting ready to close Miller's Hardware after more than 80 years. He was talking about old pipes and the steady repair business they gave a family hardware store. A few blocks north, the city had just started tearing up sidewalks to replace those same pipes.
That one remark connects most of what happened on the Avenue this year. Phase 1 of the Park Avenue Refresh is close to done. National brands took two of the most visible storefronts. Meanwhile, a longtime local boutique and a new local ice cream shop ended up side by side around the corner on West Fairbanks Avenue. That block is the last one the Refresh will reach, and the hardware store building there has no public plan yet.
The Hardware Store Block
Miller's Hardware was the longest continuously operating family-owned business on the Avenue. Robert R. Miller founded it in the early 1940s, and his grandson Stephen ran it at the end. Stephen Miller gave two reasons for closing. He had expected his son to take over, but the succession plan did not work out. He also said the business no longer brought in enough revenue compared with what the property is worth. The liquidation sale started in April, and the store expected to stay open another 8 to 12 weeks while inventory sold.
In July the hardware store got a new tenant, at least for now. Tuni announced it would move into 143 W. Fairbanks Avenue after being given roughly 30 days to leave 301 S. Park Avenue, its home for nearly four decades. Tuni opened in 1986. As of late August, owner Paige Blackwelder's shop was running the Fairbanks space as a temporary pop-up while it decided on a permanent home. No permanent address has been reported since then.
Next door at 129 W. Fairbanks, Baby John's Ice Creamery held its grand opening on June 13. Husband and wife John and Tiia own it, and it is their first brick-and-mortar business. Tiia found Hershey's Ice Cream at a small parlor in Lake Placid, New York, during her yearly trips to a figure skating camp. The idea for the shop grew from there.
A bit farther west, Pink Brick Boutique, a shop based in New Port Richey, announced plans for 421 W. Fairbanks Avenue. It had not given an opening date as of its June announcement.
What Took the Corners
The other half of the story played out on Park Avenue itself. By late August, Lilly Pulitzer had opened at 301 S. Park Avenue, the corner of Park and New England avenues that Tuni held for 40 years. The brand is returning to the Avenue. It used to operate farther north at 114-118 N. Park Avenue, and Brandy Melville opened in that space on April 4. According to Winter Park Voice, the opening drew a line that wrapped around the corner at Morse Boulevard. Through the Looking Glass, a nearby independent boutique, offered discounts to shoppers who showed a Brandy Melville receipt.
Alan Chambers is co-president of the Park Avenue District and vice president of operations for John Craig Clothier. He described the year's turnover as part of a broader change on the Avenue. Several other storefronts are also changing:
| Address | What's happening | Status as last reported |
|---|---|---|
| 214 N. Park Ave. | Louise James Boutique is closing | Owner Katie Bullivant has not set a final date. In late August the store was running a 50%-off clearance |
| 310 S. Park Ave. | Oak & Stone, from Artistry Restaurants | The location page says "coming soon" and lists no date |
| 334 N. Park Ave. | Nigel's Bananas | Reported target is February 2027 |
| Park Ave. | Garp & Fuss, temporarily closed after a July fire | No reopening announcement found. OpenTable was showing reservations for early October |
The 310 S. Park address has been on hold the longest. The longtime restaurant there, 310 Park South, closed at the end of 2024. The building is owned through PA Partners LLLP, a Holler family company that owns several buildings on the Avenue, and it is getting an interior demolition and rebuild. Oak & Stone is a casual, tavern-style restaurant serving brunch, lunch, and dinner, with artisan pizzas and a self-serve beer wall. It was first announced in January 2025 as Artistry's Central Florida flagship. Artistry also runs Boca and The Chapman on Park. Chambers said the exterior of the 100-year-old building will stay the same.
The Avenue's best-known frontage now has more national names and more pending openings. The local stories that kept going this year mostly continued just off it.
Where the Brick Work Stands
All of this turnover happened while the city was rebuilding the street. The Park Avenue Refresh is a three-year project estimated at $8.5 million. It covers underground wiring and pipes, tree-root containment, upgraded streetlights, smoother sidewalks, new planters, and new trash cans. Clarissa Howard, who leads the project, said each block closure would last about four weeks.
| Phase | Stretch | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Webster to Garfield | Final touches as of September 2026 |
| Phase 2 | Garfield to New England, along Central Park | Scheduled for January 2027 |
| Phase 3 | New England to Fairbanks | Expected to start January 2028 |
The last Phase 1 block closure began August 10. It covered the east side of Canton to Garfield, from Boca to Briarpatch. In its September 9 update, the city said the stone wall caps on the raised brick planter beds were installed. It also said the new decorative pots, which double as reinforced bollards between traffic and the sidewalk, would get seasonal plantings starting the week of September 14. Howard said Phase 1 would wrap up on time before the holiday shopping season.
So this fall is a break between construction phases. Work on the north blocks is down to finishing touches, and the Central Park blocks don't start until January.
The Fall Calendar Between Phases
The fall events fall almost entirely within that break:
- Pumpkin Patch on Park, October 10 to 25, according to the Park Avenue District's October calendar.
- Monster House, Popcorn Flicks in the Park, October 10, 8 to 10 p.m.
- Trick or Treat on the Avenue, October 31, 10 a.m. to noon.
- Cows 'n Cabs, with Tapas & 'Tinis on November 5 and the main event on November 7 in West Meadow.
- The 53rd Annual Winter Park Autumn Art Festival, November 14 and 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Central Park. Park Avenue will be closed from Lyman to Canton for the festival.
On big event weekends, check the farmers' market before you go. It usually runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Central Park West Meadow. The city says it sometimes moves to Seven Oaks Park for major events, including the Autumn Art Festival and Cows 'n Cabs. The city's market page did not list the specific 2026 relocation Saturdays when we checked.
A short walk east of the Avenue, the Winter Park Playhouse has reopened its theater at 711 N. Orange Avenue. An expansion raised its seating from 123 to 172.
The Block That Comes Last
The year's shuffle points back to Fairbanks. Phase 3 of the Refresh, New England to Fairbanks, is expected to start in January 2028. Rollins College's new 30,000-square-foot art museum, across from The Alfond Inn, is set to open the same year. The city has also been considering a three-story garage behind City Hall. It would add 120 public parking spaces on top of the 145 needed for city employees and operations.
That timing matters because the south end already draws heavy traffic. Using cellphone-tracking software, the city counted 3 million visitors to Park Avenue last year, up from 2.7 million in 2019.
The hardware store property sits right in the middle of all this. Winter Park Voice wrote in May that the closing sets the stage for redevelopment of the block fronting Fairbanks. Miller would not say what he plans for the site. "The future of the property is to be determined," he said. "I'm weighing options." He added that he would like city commissioners to consider allowing "more density" as aging buildings are redeveloped.
Tuni's lease at 143 W. Fairbanks is a temporary one in a building with no announced future. Baby John's has been open next door since June. Saikō Coffee owner Josue Villacis is preparing a new Winter Park shop but has not disclosed where. On New England Avenue, The Reverie is planned for 533 W. New England, the former Chez Vincent, with an opening forecast for later in 2026.
The Avenue's north blocks are getting new planter caps and seasonal plantings. On the south end, the local shops near Fairbanks are working on short-term timelines, while the street work, the museum, and the hardware store property are all set to change by 2028.
If you own a building, a business, or a home within walking distance of the Avenue, it helps to know which block changes next and when. Andy Williams follows local land-use and redevelopment decisions closely and can explain what a timeline like this could mean for your property. Let's Connect.
