Blacksmith Square Finally Gets Its New Neighbors, Just as First Street Says Goodbye to Zephyr

Downtown Livermore is trading a 22-year First Street restaurant for a new Neapolitan pizzeria in buildings that broke ground in 2024. Zephyr Grill & Bar at 1736 First St. set Saturday, Oct. 31, as its final night of service. Doppio Zero holds its grand opening on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 23 S. Livermore Ave., inside the expanded Blacksmith Square.

Downtown's new energy this year is coming from established brands and from the corner where Railroad Avenue meets South Livermore Avenue. In response, First Street's independent shops and restaurants have started organizing to give people reasons to keep walking the main drag. This November's calendar is the clearest sign of it.

The corner at Railroad and South Livermore Avenue

Blacksmith Square's expansion has been coming for a while. City staff approved it on Feb. 10, 2023. According to the City of Livermore's project page, it adds 13,200 square feet of new commercial space at 37 S. Livermore Ave. The buildings surround a new 5,000-square-foot courtyard that will have fire pits, art pieces and landscaping.

The timeline has slipped more than once. When ground broke in 2024, Livermore Vine reported a target of late summer 2025. The Independent later expected two buildings and the expanded courtyard by summer 2025 and a third building by the end of that year. The City's page still lists the project as "In Construction," with an estimated finish at the end of 2026. Red Bear Property Management is the developer.

Doppio Zero is the first tenant with a firm date. Co-owner Gianni Chiloiro told Diablo Magazine that the restaurant was designed and built from the ground up as part of the new section. Its indoor-outdoor bar overlooks the central park and has water misters for hot afternoons. The group's specialty is Neapolitan wood-fired pizza and fresh pasta. Chiloiro and co-owner Angelo Sannino already run locations in San Francisco, the South Bay, Concord and Walnut Creek, and they plan to open in Roseville next summer. Livermore is their first Tri-Valley restaurant.

Doppio Zero's website lists the Nov. 17 party from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It promises free pizza, pasta samples, select drinks and live music, and it is open to everyone. As of late October, the Livermore location's regular hours still showed as closed, so check before planning a weeknight dinner around the opening.

The second named tenant is local. SFGATE reported in July that Livermore's own Story Coffee will join the expansion. No opening date has been announced. For now, Story's coffee is at its existing shop at 124 Maple St.

Directly across the intersection, the City has approved the Wine Country Hotel at the Bankhead. It is a four-story, 133-room hotel at the southeast corner of Railroad and South Livermore avenues, with construction estimated to start in 2027. Once both projects are built, this corner will be the first thing visitors see when they arrive downtown.

Who has been arriving downtown in 2026

The Blacksmith Square tenants are part of a larger pattern. Most of this year's new food businesses downtown are growing brands that picked Livermore as their next location:

• Meadowlark Dairy opened its second location on Second Street earlier this year, SFGATE reported.
• The Breakfast Club, Zachary's Chicago Pizza and Slice House by Tony Gemignani arrived on First Street. All three are Northern California brands.
• Handel's Homemade Ice Cream, based in Ohio, announced a July 16 grand opening at 1912 First St., Suite H. Its store page now lists it as open.
• Dumont Creamery & Café opened its first East Bay location at 2375 Railroad Ave., Suite 101, the former Teaspoon space, with a grand opening on Sept. 18. Co-owner Ajay Vattipally told Livermore Vine the goal was to make "this space for the community."
• Doppio Zero opens on Nov. 17, as its group's latest outpost after Walnut Creek.

That adds three ice cream and soft-serve counters downtown this year, plus two more pizza names with a third on the way. Each new arrival brings customers who already know the brand. That helps fill sidewalks, and it also raises the bar for long-running independents competing for the same dinner dollar.

Zephyr's last night on First Street

Zephyr Grill & Bar opened on First Street in 2004. When the owners announced the closure in early October, they said the decision followed an unsuccessful attempt to sell the business without its brand name, a move they had hoped would "carry the restaurant forward," according to Livermore Vine. "Unfortunately, that path did not come together," their post read. The restaurant had reopened in November 2025 after a months-long closure.

The Independent reported that no buyer emerged for 1736 First St. The same owners' Zephyr Grill & Bar in Brentwood and Smith's Landing Seafood Grill in Antioch remain open, according to Livermore Vine.

So the year's ledger for downtown dining is lopsided. The new openings are concentrated near the Railroad Avenue entrance and among regional brands, and the long-running local name that closed sat in the middle of First Street.

The independents have started organizing

The clearest response came in August. Livermore resident Nick Martinez launched the Downtown Pour Collective on Aug. 1. It is a paid membership that gives members five drinks a month during select hours at independent downtown bars and restaurants. As Livermore Vine reported, the participating venues are:

Demitri's Taverna, Swirl on the Square, The Cheese Parlor, Calamari Bistro & Bar, Stampede Bar & Grill, Bruno's Italian Cuisine, L Campo and Wingen Bakery & Restaurant.

Livermore Vine reported that the collective was a response to rising operating costs and to owners asking how to bring in customers during off-peak hours. Martinez spent about 20 years in restaurant operations for national brands before starting it. Livermore Vine quoted his announcement statement:

"Downtown Livermore already has the venues and the people. What it didn't have was a reason to make showing up a habit."

The idea is to turn an occasional night out into a monthly routine at locally owned spots, the same habit the new brands bring with their name recognition.

A November calendar built around First Street

The holiday season puts the same idea into the calendar. The biggest downtown events are built around First Street storefronts and, in the parade's case, the street itself:

1. Holiday Open House, Friday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 8. Livermore Downtown Inc. bills this as the 35th annual edition. Pick up a passport at any participating retailer for 25% off one item at each store, and collect a stamp at every stop; no purchase is needed for a stamp. Leave your completed passport at any participating store for a chance to win $250 in gift cards. Participating stores include Good Chance Apparel & Gift Boutique at 2080 First St., Uptown Girls at 2145 First St., Sunrise Mountain Sports at 2184 First St., and Alden Lane Nursery at 981 Alden Lane.
2. Doppio Zero grand opening, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at 23 S. Livermore Ave.
3. Earlier Than the Bird, Saturday, Nov. 21, 7 to 10 a.m. Shop downtown in your pajamas for early-morning deals. The event includes a teen gift drive for Tri-Valley Haven.
4. Downtown Holiday Sights & Sounds Parade and Tree Lighting, Saturday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. on First Street. The tree lighting follows right after, and Santa arrives with the fire department and a welcome from a children's choir.

The Open House passport rewards visiting every participating store, and Earlier Than the Bird brings people downtown before most restaurants open. Both send foot traffic to the independent shops at the same time new restaurants are drawing attention toward the Railroad Avenue corner.

The first test is the Holiday Open House weekend of Nov. 6 to 8. Doppio Zero opens its doors in Blacksmith Square on Nov. 17.

Which First Street storefronts open, close or sit empty shapes daily life on the blocks around them. McGuire Olson Real Estate follows these changes block by block across Livermore and the Tri-Valley. If you want to know what Blacksmith Square, the Bankhead hotel and First Street's turnover mean for your home's value, request a complimentary market consultation.