Third Thursdays wrapped up in October, and State Street won't close for dinner again until spring. So where does a December Wednesday night go in Kennett Square? From May through October, Kennett Collaborative closed State Street between Broad and Center from 5 to 10 p.m. on third Thursdays. Lily Asian Cuisine, La Verona, Portabellos, Trattoria La Tavola and Sweet Amelia's set up tables on the street, and Café Emís was among the other places to eat inside the event area. That monthly event was the town's routine evening out. Once it stops for the year, the cold months bring a few very large nights and a lot of quiet ones.
This year, the quiet nights have somewhere new to go. A few blocks south, Birch Street now has a full-service restaurant, a taproom running a weekly schedule, and a December market in a former dairy plant. State Street still has the nights that draw the whole town. Birch Street now covers the ordinary ones.
State Street Still Owns the Big Nights
Kennett Square's two biggest holiday crowds still gather downtown. Kennett Collaborative's free Holiday Light Parade starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. The organization told MyChesCo that more than 20,000 people came downtown on parade day in 2025. The Daily Local describes Kennett as a one-square-mile borough, so that's a big crowd for a small place. Mary Lou Baily, development manager at Kennett Collaborative, told MyChesCo the parade has become "the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season in Kennett Square." The parade is free to watch, but it isn't free to put on. The Collaborative pays the Borough of Kennett Square for the road closures, police services and public works support.
The season ends on State Street too. Midnight in the Square returns December 31, 2026. Entertainment starts at 7 p.m. with School of Rock, KMC Dancers, Veronica, Syde 2 and Fred McCarthy, and a laser show and photo booth come from Lehigh Valley Events & Productions. Around 8:50 p.m., the mushroom goes up to 80 feet, weather permitting, for families with younger kids. The countdown comes at 11:59. Admission is a non-perishable food donation for Kennett Area Community Service.
Between those two dates, downtown's steadiest draw is The Market at Liberty Place at 148 W. State Street. It offers patio seating all year and live music every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. Its vendor list includes Shinko Japanese and State Street Pizza & Grill, and Lupita's Juice Bar joined in July with juices, smoothies, oats and salads. In a recent Daily Local column, Bob George called the Market "walkable" and said it "has been great for downtown State Street life."
Birch Street Picked Up the Regular Nights
The biggest change this fall is at the corner of Birch and Broad. Square Roots Collective held a ribbon-cutting for Opus at 201 Birch St. on September 10, after an 18-month renovation of a building that had housed several bars and restaurants over the years. The two-story building seats 125. Downstairs is New American dining, and upstairs is a cocktail lounge, along with an espresso bar, an outdoor terrace and rentable gathering space. Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday, and most entrées cost $30 to $40. At opening, ChaddsFordLive reported that the upstairs lounge would be open late.
Executive chef Matthew Anderson previously cooked at Longwood Gardens and Winterthur. His opening menu uses Brandywine Valley ingredients: Kennett Square mushroom bisque, Parisian herb gnocchi with local mushrooms, butternut squash agnolotti, dayboat scallops and apple tarte tatin. Beau Fournier runs the front of house after earlier roles at Sovana Bistro and The Pear. The Daily Local notes that Fournier grew up in Kennett Square and lives in the borough. All of Opus's net profits go to community initiatives and nonprofit partners in southern Chester County, including Family Promise, The Garage Community & Youth Center and Brandywine Red Clay Alliance.
Down the street, Braeloch Brewing runs a schedule that repeats every week:
- Wednesdays: Burger and Beer Wednesday
- Thursdays: Wings & Beer, plus Open Mic Night in the taproom on November 19 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Fridays: Happy Hour from 1 to 5 p.m., with live music some evenings, including Chris Lebresco on November 20 and Peter McCarthy on November 27
- Saturdays: Live music from 6 to 9 p.m., with Bob & Dianna on November 7, Side Hustle on November 14, Just a Bit Outside on November 21 and Johnny Solo on November 28
Braeloch's hours move earlier for winter. The Wednesday and Thursday events ran 4 to 9 p.m. in late October and run 3 to 8 p.m. starting in November. The holiday events are on the calendar too: a Thanksgiving/Winter Doormat Painting Class on November 18, Thanksgiving Eve at Braeloch on November 25, and a Winter Wreath Workshop on December 3 from 2 to 4 p.m.
The Street Is Being Rebuilt for Walking
Underneath the new businesses is the borough's own work on the street. The Birch Street Reconstruction Project covers about 1,675 feet of roadway between South Broad Street and South Walnut Street. The plan narrows the road to slow traffic, replaces the sidewalks on the south side, and adds a paved multi-use trail on the north side that connects to the borough-wide Kennett Greenway. It also adds two crosswalks and new light posts along the trail. The borough's last posted update, from November 2025, said concrete crosswalks were going in near Braeloch and The Creamery, that lighting work was ongoing, and that restoration was expected to run through spring 2026.
In his September Daily Local column, Bob George described the progress:
"The south end of town has so much potential and here it is being actualized," including "substantial sidewalks" and "native plantings along the road."
Sidewalks, a lit trail and marked crosswalks are what the plan provides for a short walk between dinner and a drink after dark. In December, it gets dark early.
The Creamery Pulls December Weekends South
Birch Street's December weekends center on The Creamery of Kennett Square at 401 Birch St. The Daily Local describes the century-old former condensed milk and dairy plant as a community center, beer garden and arts hub. It already hosts Dia de Los Muertos and Three Kings Day celebrations. This year, Kennett Collaborative's Holiday Village Market runs there on December 5, 6, 12 and 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The market closes at 5 p.m. on two Saturdays and two Sundays, and Opus serves dinner all four of those days, a short walk up the street. That puts a whole afternoon and evening on one block, a pairing the street didn't have a year ago.
More is planned. The Daily Local reports that The Creamery campus is under renovation to add dining and entertainment. Square Roots Collective has announced Star & Lantern, a speakeasy celebrating African American stories through food and drink that will support the nonprofit Voices Underground. The original stone building on the site will become Stonehaven, an event space for up to 300 guests. The column describes both as coming soon, with no opening dates given. Opus is also adding a new exterior mural by Philadelphia artist Phillip Adams that depicts Birch Street's history.
Planning the Season Across Both Streets
Here's how the November and December dates fall across the two streets:
- Saturday, November 7 and 14: Live music at Braeloch from 6 to 9 p.m., or Friday and Saturday music at The Market at Liberty Place from 6 to 10 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 18: The doormat painting class at Braeloch from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21: The Holiday Light Parade downtown at 6 p.m. Just a Bit Outside plays Braeloch from 6 to 9 p.m. that same night, a few blocks from the parade crowd.
- Wednesday, November 25: Thanksgiving Eve at Braeloch.
- Thursday, December 3: The Winter Wreath Workshop at Braeloch from 2 to 4 p.m.
- December 5, 6, 12 and 13: The Holiday Village Market at The Creamery from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with dinner at Opus afterward.
- Thursday, December 31: Midnight in the Square, with entertainment from 7 p.m., the family mushroom raise around 8:50 and the countdown at 11:59.
On weeknights between those dates, Opus serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday, and Braeloch runs its burger and wing nights from 3 to 8 p.m. When Third Thursdays come back to State Street in May, Kennett will have two corridors to choose from on a regular night instead of one.
The Collective Real Estate follows changes like the new businesses on Birch Street across Chester County because they shape what daily life is like in a town. If you'd like to talk about what's opening in Kennett Square or the nearby towns, The Collective Real Estate is happy to share what we're seeing. Contact Us.
