Across From the Burned Block, Old Town Newhall Is Running on Borrowed Rooms

In late August, Jane Mick held an opening reception inside The MAIN on Main Street. Less than a month later her work was on view again, this time across the street at Hart & Main's "Love on Main Street" benefit. The building she had shown in a few weeks earlier was gone. The Signal noted that the same Thursday night, Sept. 17, the city's final SENSES block party of 2026 went ahead on the block where the lost businesses had stood. It was Oktoberfest-themed, and a faint smell of burnt debris still hung over the street.

That evening is a good picture of how Old Town Newhall has worked since the fire. The businesses that lost their buildings have not left the area. They have been operating out of kitchens, stages and storefronts lent by the neighbors who are still standing, mostly on the side of Main Street that did not burn and in the theater that survived on the burned block itself. The city's next steps, which go before City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 13, aim to keep people walking to those neighbors while the burned lots wait.

What the fire took, and what it left

The three-alarm fire was reported at 2:54 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, in the 24200 block of Main Street. It kept burning for hours after that. KHTS listed the businesses destroyed as The Newhall Refinery, Care Tucker Style House, The MAIN, Source Inc., El Trocadero Mesquite Grill and Cantina, and Gary's Auto Collision Center. Between the fire and the demolition that followed, every address from 24254 to 24274 Main Street was reduced to rubble, along with 24274 Railroad Avenue behind the block. The buildings were nearly 100 years old.

The Canyon Theatre Guild survived in its historic brick building. Mayor Laurene Weste said in her statement that day that because it was spared, "theater can continue to thrive on Main Street." KHTS reported that once demolition was done, the Guild and the former sheriff's substation were the only buildings left on the block.

The cause has not been announced. The Los Angeles Times reported on Aug. 27 that it was still under investigation. On Sept. 20, debris inside the fenced lot at Main Street and Railroad Avenue caught fire again and drew a first-alarm response. No injuries were reported, and the Signal said the cause of that second fire had not been confirmed.

Where the displaced names have been showing up

None of the affected businesses has announced a permanent new address. What exists is a set of temporary arrangements, nearly all of them hosted by neighbors.

Hart & Main has done the most visible hosting. Event planner Tricia Maldonado told The Signal that "Newhall Refinery took over the kitchen and they're doing the food in the bar." Ticket sales and the silent auction went back to employees of the affected businesses. Organizers sold about 230 tickets at $100 each, roughly $23,000 in face value. No final net total has been published.

Refinery owner Christine Muñoz described where things stood in the same Signal report: "We want to stay in Newhall, but we don't know what that means or looks like yet. Once we know, we'll start announcing and putting it out, especially to our customers." Until that announcement comes, the Refinery's own channels are the place to watch.

Other neighbors offered help early. KHTS reported that Society Pizza Lounge said it would take on event and catering bookings the affected businesses had already committed to, and would consider temporary jobs for displaced staff. Old Town Junction, a restaurant and bar directly across the street from the fire, told the Los Angeles Times its staff would "team up and support them as much as we can." At SENSES, Old Town Junction ran the on-street bar.

The stage moved next door, and partly to Valencia

The MAIN lost its building, but its fall season kept going. Council member Bill Miranda offered at the Aug. 25 council meeting to help find stages for displaced performers. SCVNews reported where the shows landed:

1. "Change the Station," Big Sandwich Theatre Company, Oct. 2–4. Staged at the Canyon Theatre Guild, 24242 Main St. Twenty-five percent of ticket sales went to the Santa Clarita Shakespeare Company to replace equipment lost in the fire.
2. "The Velocity of Autumn," HOPE Theatre Arts, Oct. 9–11 and 16–18. Staged at The Olive Branch Theatre on The Patios at Valencia Town Center, 24201 Valencia Blvd., Suite 3274. The Oct. 16–18 weekend has not happened yet.

The Canyon Theatre Guild is also running its own season. Its listings show "The Outsider" through Nov. 1 and "Dial 'M' for Murder" through Oct. 31. So one of the two buildings still standing on the burned block is carrying its own calendar and also hosting a production displaced from The MAIN. For anyone in Valencia, the HOPE production is a short drive. For anyone in Newhall, most of what's left of the fall theater schedule is still on Main Street.

What the council takes up Tuesday

On Oct. 13 at 6 p.m., the Santa Clarita City Council will hear an update on recovery from the Aug. 24 fire at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. SCVNews reported that the actions under consideration include a wall painted by local artists to screen off the site, an extended and expanded 2027 SENSES series in Old Town Newhall, and an Old Town Newhall Shop Local marketing campaign as an economic incentive for affected businesses. These are proposals. No vote had been taken as of today, Oct. 11.

Taken together, the three proposals would screen the fenced lots and keep people coming to the businesses still open, which is how the street has been getting by since August. Mayor Weste suggested temporary murals around the site at the first meeting after the fire.

Before the public session, a closed session at 5 p.m. covers price and terms for 24318, 24320 and 24322 Main Street with Main Street Hardware, LLC. SCVNews lists KHTS Hometown Station, Total Financial Solutions and Goldie Salon & Boutique at those addresses. The agenda notice does not tie that negotiation to the fire. Nothing about it has been announced beyond the listing.

There is already a way to spend that the city tracks. In September, the city extended its Open Rewards program to Old Town Newhall. It gives 5% cash back on eligible purchases at participating businesses through a free app, either with a linked card or by uploading receipts.

Nov. 21 brings the biggest crowd since the fire

Light Up Main Street is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21, from 4 to 8 p.m. The tree lighting is set for about 5:30 p.m., and the city's listing includes snow, Santa photos, a maker marketplace and food trucks. It will be the first large holiday crowd on a Main Street that now has a demolished block in the middle of it.

The closures run from 6 a.m. until midnight that day. Lyons Avenue closes between Walnut Street and Railroad Avenue, and Main Street closes between Lyons Avenue and the roundabout. Detours run along Railroad Avenue and Newhall Avenue. Free parking is listed at:

• Old Town Newhall Parking Garage, 22551 9th Street
• Main Street and 6th Street lot
• The end of 5th Street
• Old Town Newhall Library branch, 24500 Main Street
• Newhall Community Center, 22421 Market Street
• 22900 Market Street lot
• First Presbyterian Church of Newhall, 24317 Newhall Avenue
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 23233 Lyons Avenue, with a free shuttle to a stop at Lyons Avenue and Walnut Street

Santa Clarita Transit routes 12, 4, 14, 5, 6 and 757 stop at Lyons Avenue and Walnut Street. Metrolink stops at the Old Town Newhall station, 24300 Railroad Avenue. The city says event maps and some program details are still to come.

Brandolino Group is based in Santa Clarita, and we're following Old Town Newhall's recovery as decisions come out of City Hall and the burned block's next chapter takes shape. If you own property on or near Main Street and want a clear read on how the rebuild could affect the area around you, contact us.