Just in time for Black Friday shopping mania, that pedestrian plaza that helps distract from the chaotic, never-ending Central Subway construction is coming back. The turf was getting laid over a week ago, and as Hoodline reports, this second annual Winter Walk arrives Friday with a full schedule of caroling and "other wintry surprises" through New Year's Day.
New this year will be a Philz Coffee truck on site every day, and a rotating array of food trucks from Off the Grid on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for lunchtime from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The largest gathering of six trucks will happen on Wednesday evenings, along with live music.
Also you can expect a 3D light show to play from 5 p.m. to midnight every day, and live entertainment Thursdays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. See the full schedule of entertainers here.
As always, the windows at Macy's will be filled with adorable adoptable puppies and kittens from the SFSPCA through the season.
There were a lot of calls last year to make the pedestrian plaza a permanent thing, and after another full years of bottlenecks on those sidewalks as the Central Subway project continues, there will surely be more.
Jeani Hunt-Gibbon of the Union Square Business Improvement District says that the success of last year's plaza may have influenced the SFMTA's recent decision to try closing part of Powell Street to most vehicle traffic.
Previously: Should Stockton Street's Pedestrian Holiday Plaza Become Permanent?