Last Christmas, Suffolk Punch Brewing had been open at Birkdale Village for less than two weeks. The taproom at 16912 Birkdale Commons Parkway opened on December 13, 2025, CharlotteFive reported. This year it pours at the Birkdale Biergarten, and the opening-day dance performances take place between its door and bartaco's.
Two familiar rooms closed in the same stretch. For Northstone households who treat Birkdale as their nearest night out, the 2026 holiday season is built around the restaurants that are still open. That changes where dinner fits around the tree, the rink, and Santa's Cottage.
Two dining rooms closed in October
Foxcroft Food & Wine served its last meals at 16915 Birkdale Commons Parkway on October 10, after about two years at the center. CharlotteFive placed it at the heart of the center, near the main lawn and the Plaza stage, right next to where the holiday crowds gather. Foxcroft's Charlotte locations in SouthPark, Dilworth, and Waverly remain open.
Bonefish Grill at 8805 Townley Road closed after 14 years. Parent company Bloomin' Brands called it a business decision, and the nearest remaining Bonefish locations are in Concord and Matthews. A Birkdale Village spokesperson told CharlotteFive the center is "actively exploring other dining concepts for the space," and Queen City News carried the same account the next day.
Birkdale's own dining directory still has plenty of choices. Fin & Fino and Red Rocks Cafe are on Lindholm Drive, North Italia is at 8711 Lindholm, The Cheesecake Factory and The Kilted Buffalo are on Townley Road, and Midwood Smokehouse, Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, Morelia, and Kung Foo Noodle round out the sit-down options. Several of these restaurants also have a role in the holiday events.
November 21 runs on the restaurants that are still open
The Lighting of Birkdale Village takes place on Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 7 p.m. The schedule tells you where the evening's food and drink will be:
- 2 to 4 p.m., Activity Row. Face painting, glitter tattoos, magicians, and a performance from Santa's Elves along the Parkway.
- 2 to 7 p.m., Merry Maker's Way. Letters to Santa, a Book Nook, and holiday drinks from Fin & Fino and bartaco.
- 2 to 7 p.m., Birkdale Biergarten. Seasonal beers from Suffolk Punch Brewing, Hoptown Brewing, Royal Bliss Brewing Co., and Lost Worlds Brewing, set up between Red Rocks Cafe and North Italia.
- 2:30 to 4 p.m., dance performances. Local studios perform between Suffolk Punch and bartaco.
- 4:30 p.m., the parade. Santa arrives with dancers, first responders, and the Hopewell High School Marching Band, and the route circles the full loop of Birkdale Commons Parkway. Maney & LauRen from Kiss 95.1 host.
- 5:30 to 6 p.m., Find Your Place. A party band plays in The Plaza.
- 6 p.m., tree lighting. Birkdale says the ceremony starts at 6 sharp and doesn't follow right after the parade.
- 6:15 to 7 p.m. Dancing to close the evening.
The gap between the parade and the lighting is the most useful part of the schedule. The parade starts at 4:30 and loops the whole parkway, and the countdown doesn't begin until 6:00. That leaves time for a beer at the Biergarten or a drink from Merry Maker's Way before you find a spot near the tree. If you'd rather sit down, the four restaurants on the drink list, Fin & Fino, bartaco, Red Rocks Cafe, and North Italia, are all within a short walk of the event.
The rink keeps its own schedule
Birkdale on Ice opens the same afternoon. It starts with a skating performance at 2 p.m. and stays open until 10 that night. After that it runs on The Plaza through January 10.
| Detail | What Birkdale lists |
|---|---|
| Admission | $18 for a 75-minute session |
| Season pass | $120 per skater, sold only at the skate shack across from Bad Daddy's Burger Bar |
| Monday to Friday | 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving and Christmas Day | 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
| December 21 to 24 and December 26 to January 3 | 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
Look at the Sunday hours before you plan around them. The rink closes at 7 p.m. on Sundays, three hours earlier than any other day, so a late Sunday skate after dinner won't work. Birkdale suggests booking a time slot in advance. Walk-ups are welcome but aren't guaranteed a session. All sales are final, and the center recommends checking the forecast before you buy, because weather can affect the ice. The season pass pays for itself on the seventh visit, since six single sessions cost $108.
Seasonal menus start before the lighting
Some of the holiday food and drink starts before November 21. Birkdale's restaurant specials page lists three that tie into the season.
- Fin & Fino opens its "Fin & Festive Holiday Pop-up Bar" on November 15, with holiday cocktails and warm chocolate-chip cookies. That's a week before the tree lighting.
- eeZ, at 16925 Birkdale Commons Parkway, starts walk-up hot chocolate on November 21, the same day the rink opens.
- North Italia offers a $25 two-course lunch and a $40 three-course dinner through December 1. From November 1 through December 31, buying $100 in gift cards also gets you a $20 bonus card.
The North Italia prix fixe ends December 1, so it covers Thanksgiving week and the first days of the skating season. If you want a sit-down dinner around the lighting, that is the window when it's priced lowest.
December shifts between Birkdale and downtown Huntersville
After opening weekend, the holiday events are spread across the next month. Santa at Birkdale Village runs from November 22 through December 24, Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Santa's Cottage between Anthropologie and Lululemon.
The first weekend of December is the busiest.
- Friday, December 4: Huntersville's Town Tree Lighting, 6 to 8 p.m., at Veterans Park downtown.
- Saturday, December 5: Breakfast with Santa at Red Rocks Cafe, 8:30 to 10:45 a.m. Later that day, Holidays in Huntersville runs from 3 to 8 p.m., also at Veterans Park.
- Sunday, December 6: The Menorah Lighting at Birkdale Village, hosted with Chabad of Lake Norman for the first night of Chanukah, at 4:30 p.m. at The Grove across from Regal.
Breakfast with Santa ends before 11 a.m. and the downtown event starts at 3 p.m., so one family could do both on December 5 without rushing.
Sam Furr Road is the next change
Driving to Birkdale is set to change next. NCDOT project U-5765 would widen NC 73, which is Sam Furr Road, to six lanes. The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization's adopted 2026 to 2035 TIP lists the project at about $115.6 million in total and schedules construction funding for fiscal year 2027. NCDOT's design plan covers the stretch from about 500 feet west of the I-77 exit to about 400 feet west of Kenton Drive. It calls for about a mile of six-lane divided roadway and a half-mile of four-lane divided roadway with two roundabouts.
Birkdale's Phase II page says the NC 73 work would start in fall 2026 and lists what it adds near the center: a synchronized street along the highway and a third lane leaving Birkdale Village. The same page says the Phase II rezoning was approved in 2025. That plan includes a hotel with about 125 rooms and a 3,000-square-foot restaurant and bar, plus a six-story building with 150 residences and 10,700 square feet of ground-floor retail. Birkdale says the new buildings are needed to help pay for a parking deck that would cost about $19 million and keep parking free.
Taken together, the road plans add an exit lane from Birkdale Village, and the Phase II plans add a hotel restaurant and new ground-floor retail space to the center.
If you live in Northstone and are wondering how the Sam Furr Road widening and Birkdale's next phase might affect your plans to sell, stay, or buy nearby, David Salmonsen can go through what's on the public schedule with you and what it could mean for your street. Reach out to David Salmonsen Realty to talk it over.
