Willow Glen's Holiday Season Checks In at a Bank Parking Lot on Lincoln Avenue

On most days, the Bank of America lot at 1245 Lincoln Avenue is a two-hour parking lot. On Saturday, December 5, it becomes the front door to what the association calls its most popular wine walk of the year. The Willow Glen Business Association tells Holiday Bubbly Walk guests to ignore the two-hour signs that day, and it puts the wristband table, the souvenir glasses and the portable restrooms in that same lot. The next evening the trolley rides start loading there too, and they keep loading for twelve nights.

Downtown Willow Glen's December runs through two addresses. The ticketed events check in at the bank lot, and the free ones are held at the Garden Theater at 1165 Lincoln Avenue, a former movie house. If you know which events go where, you can plan the whole season from two spots on the same street.

One Lot, Two Check-Ins

The Willow Glen Business Association's holiday events, sorted by where each one starts:

Both ticketed events set hard limits at the lot. Bubbly Walk check-in closes at 3 p.m. sharp, and the association does not refund anyone who misses the window. Trolley riders get the same warning: rides have a firm start time, and missing one because you were late means no refund. Both events take refund requests up to 72 hours ahead.

The Saturday Willow Glen Farmers' Market keeps its own schedule through all of this. It runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Willow Glen Elementary, rain or shine. On December 5 you could shop the market in the morning and still make Bubbly Walk check-in.

The Bubbly Walk Uses Lincoln Avenue's Shops as Tasting Rooms

At the Holiday Bubbly Walk, the pours happen inside the businesses along Lincoln, and many of them are not restaurants or wine shops. The participant list includes Mariette Chocolates, Hidden Jewel Antiques, Aldea Home & Baby, Gal in the Glen & Sprouted Twig, The Thrift Box, Whatnots And Dodads, Barre3, San Jose School of Music, BellaVista Landscape Services, A&J California Builders and the Gael Rodriguez Insurance Agency. Copita Tequileria y Comida, Sushi Confidential, Round Table Pizza and Wheelhouse of Willow Glen are on it too, and Hone Piercing is the water stop.

Most of the event's rules come from using small shops as tasting rooms:

1. Eat first. Under Health Department rules, a tasting site that isn't a restaurant can only serve pre-wrapped individual snacks, so most stops will have little food. Check-in opens two hours before the walk so guests can have lunch on Lincoln first.
2. Use the lot's restrooms. Most stops are too small to handle a crowd, so their restrooms are closed to walkers. Portable toilets sit at the back of the Bank of America lot.
3. Empty the glass between stops. The association's event page cites ABC regulations and asks guests to drink or pour out each tasting before walking to the next site.
4. Bring ID, even if you look old enough. Every attendee's ID is checked, and check-in comes with a wristband, a glass and a map of the tasting sites.
5. Think twice about the stroller. Babies are welcome, but the association warns that many of the shops are small.

Friends who come along but won't taste, designated drivers included, don't need tickets. The walk goes ahead rain or shine, and the association gives no rain refunds. If you drive, park in the Bank of America lot, which is free that day, or on a nearby side street. Don't park behind CVS or Orange Theory Fitness, where cars may be towed. The association is also looking for volunteers to staff check-in and pour wine.

The Trolley Replaced Horses, and the Price Has Doubled Since

The trolley rides have changed over the years. In December 2013, the East Bay Times reported that the horse-drawn carriages that had toured Willow Glen's decorated neighborhoods were being replaced by motorized cable cars. Those rides lasted 30 minutes, started at 6 p.m. at Buffington House on Lincoln Avenue, and cost $20 for adults and $12 for children under 12.

The ride is still 30 minutes long. The 2026 version leaves from the bank lot, runs six times a night starting at 5:15 p.m., and costs $40 for adults and $20 for ages 2 to 12, plus fees. That is double the 2013 adult price. Children under 2 ride free on a lap. Tickets are sold through SimpleTix, where the listing shows prices from $22.19 to $43.25 once fees are added.

Seats are limited. The trolley holds 32 people, and six departures a night for twelve nights adds up to at most 2,304 seats for the whole season. The association also rents out the whole trolley to private parties on some nights and at some times. Email [email protected] for pricing and availability. Dogs aren't allowed on board, including lap dogs. Food isn't allowed either, but drinks with a secure lid are fine.

The Garden Theater Hosts the Free Events

The free half of the season happens at 1165 Lincoln Avenue, in a building that was a movie house for almost 40 years. The Preservation Action Council of San Jose records that the Garden Theatre opened on June 22, 1949, under owners Ben Levin and Jimmy Lima. It had a tiled and etched-glass box office, chandeliers in the auditorium, and a neon sign framed by a giant flower whose leaves flashed at night. The theater closed in 1988 and was converted to retail the next year. Developer Michael Mulcahy and SDS NexGen Partners chose to keep the signage, and Arrow Sign Co. restored it.

Santa has been visiting for a long time. The same 2013 East Bay Times column that covered the switch to cable cars sent readers to the Garden Theater for photos with Santa. This year the association's Selfies with Santa runs on four weekend mornings, December 12, 13, 19 and 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is free, with a $5 suggested donation. You take the photo yourself, so bring a camera or a phone.

The theater's first holiday-season event comes sooner. The association has teamed up with San Jose Makers on the Garden Theatre Fall Makers Market, listed for this Sunday, November 8, from noon to 4 p.m. More than 20 local artists and makers will be selling, and entry is free.

Where Wild Oak Grill Fits Around the Bank Lot

The newest restaurant change on this stretch is at 1202 Lincoln Avenue. According to the Mercury News, the space was split for two years between Stacks for breakfast during the day and Black Sheep Brasserie, a French restaurant, in the evening. It has now become Stacks' Wild Oak Grill. Owner Nate Habash told the paper he made the change to "better align with community preferences." He described the new place as "a welcoming, family-friendly restaurant featuring an approachable price point, sports on TV and a great cocktail selection."

The menu brings in dishes from Habash's Wild Oak in Morgan Hill, including baby back ribs, pasta jambalaya, hanger steak with housemade chimichurri, grilled salmon and the house burger. A few Black Sheep dishes stayed, including the tomahawk pork chop, Mary's roasted half-chicken, rack of lamb and the shrimp skillet.

Wild Oak's hours line up well with both events at the bank lot. It's open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and breakfast and lunch are served until 2 p.m. On December 5, that's enough time for the lunch the association recommends between noon check-in and the 2 p.m. start. On trolley nights, a family dinner fits before the 7:30 or 8:15 departure from the bank lot at 1245 Lincoln.

The Bubbly Walk is on a Saturday, so the farmers' market, lunch and the walk can all fit into one day without crossing the neighborhood. Any evening from December 6 to 17, a trolley ride and dinner fit into a few hours. And the free Santa mornings at the Garden Theater cost nothing more than the suggested $5 donation.

If you'd like to talk through December plans on Lincoln Avenue, or anything else about Willow Glen, Mark Vantress is glad to share what he knows about the neighborhood, with no pressure. Let's Connect.