There is a 500-pound butcher block table on the floor at Erie & Main, the shop that opened this year at 130 W. Main Street. Lake Erie Living named the shop its "Best New Boutique" in September and reported that the table "lived for years at the market down the street." Even the furniture in Marblehead's newest store came from a block away.
That table fits the rest of the year on Main Street. The new owners and operators of 2026 were already in the village: one grew up working the counter of the store he now owns, one spent his childhood summers here, and one moved a few doors down from a shop she still co-owns. The village also passed a rule written to run through every month of the year. Now that the ferry crowds are thinning, this is the first off-season for the Main Street those people built.
Three changes, all from inside the village
The Village of Marblehead's Spring 2026 newsletter put the business changes on its cover, and the backstories line up closely.
At Village PRO Hardware, David Gast and his wife, Liz, are the new owners. Gast grew up in Marblehead and started working at the store as a child. He took over from his uncle, John Starcher, who was the store's previous owner and is the village's mayor. The newsletter says the Gasts plan to keep the store's local feel. They also added a new point-of-sale system and a partnership with Carter Lumber that brings in more products. In the same newsletter, Gast explained the purchase simply: "I didn't want to see it go away from the village."
At the Marblehead Galley and Freighter's Lounge, Greg Bricker is the new owner. He also owns Bricker Financial and the building that houses Coffee Express. Andy Eichenlaub, a restaurant professional from Upper Arlington, runs the restaurant day to day, and the newsletter says his team includes several familiar faces from the Galley's previous staff. Bricker spent summers in Marblehead as a kid and now lives full time in Lakeside.
"The Galley has always been a hometown place, and we want to keep it that way." Greg Bricker, in the Village's Spring 2026 newsletter
Erie & Main is the third change. Kim Johnson co-owns Marblehead Mercantile and opened the new shop for upscale resale furniture, clothing and home décor, with some new items mixed in. Her co-owner, Pat Lukac, keeps running the Mercantile. Lake Erie Living described the stock as reclaimed furniture, oil paintings of old steamers, vases decorated with nautical knots and seagrass-and-aloe candles, plus a few items printed with the local zip code. "I've wanted to open a place like this for a long time," Johnson told the magazine.
Down the street, The Pink Perch, Kim Redfern's gift, jewelry and apparel boutique, spent last winter on a major remodel. In spring, the Village described its grand reopening as "on the horizon."
All of this sits next to businesses that have been around far longer. Bay Point Resort and Marina is marking 85 years in operation this year. Wilson's Beach, founded in 1940 by Lily and Sam Wilson, recently celebrated its own 85th anniversary. It is still run by the family: great-granddaughter Cathie (Wilson) Twarek and her husband, Mike, along with great-great-grandson Russ Zura and his wife, Jody.
A drink rule written for twelve months
The other big change on Main Street this year is a public rule, and it was written for a downtown that stays open past Labor Day.
Village council approved the Main Street Outdoor Refreshment Area, or MORA, at its Oct. 8, 2025 meeting, and it took effect this spring. In the Village's September 2025 announcement of the proposal, Marblehead put itself alongside Port Clinton and Oak Harbor and said the MORA would run year-round, seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. That draft ended at Stone Street. The adopted version runs along Main Street, State Route 163, from Clemons Street to Gilbert Street.
According to the Village's MORA page:
- MORA cups are allowed daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- A cup can't be carried into another participating liquor establishment.
- Drinks have to stay inside the posted boundary signs, and they aren't allowed in James Park or on Kelleys Island Ferry property.
- Shops without a liquor permit can post a "MORA-friendly" sign to let customers come in with a cup.
Six businesses are listed as participants. The rule covers every day of the year, but each business sets its own off-season schedule:
| Participant | What it says about the off-season |
|---|---|
| Bruno's Pizzeria | Its Marblehead page says the location is open all year. Gyros are new on the menu for 2026. |
| Marblehead Galley | Its website lists seven days: weekdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with weekend brunch. |
| Rocky Point Winery | Its website calls the winery seasonal. |
| Wee Willy's | Call ahead for winter hours. |
| VFW Post 7572 | Call ahead for winter hours. |
| Jamestown Tavern | Call ahead for winter hours. |
The Galley's listed hours don't say whether they change in winter, so check before planning a cold-weather lunch around them. The MORA will still be on the books in January. How much activity it sees then depends on which of these six keep their doors open.
The calendar that carries the village into December
The village's own calendar brings people to Main Street and James Park every few weeks between now and early December.
- Trick-or-Treat, Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. Streets into the Jamestown area will be blocked at Stone and Elliott, Perry and Barclay, James and Barclay, and James and Prairie, with access kept open for residents getting to their homes. St. Joseph's is again serving "Hot Dogs for Halloween" starting at 5:30 p.m., with hot dogs, chips and juice or water for anyone who stops in before heading out.
- Community Tree Lighting, Friday, Nov. 27, 7 p.m., James Park. The Marblehead Peninsula Lions Club hosts. St. Joseph's choir sings carols, and hot chocolate and cookies are served in the shelter house while everyone waits for Santa. James Park is outside the MORA boundary, so leave the cups on Main Street.
- Lakeside Christmas, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5. The schedule includes a tree-lighting ceremony, Christmas movies, Santa, a Community Christmas Dinner, a light display in Perry Park and holiday shopping.
In the background, the village's daily curbside leaf pickup runs through Dec. 15. Village residents can pick up free biodegradable leaf bags in the lobby of Town Hall at 513 W. Main Street.
The busiest worksite this winter is out on the bay
While Main Street slows down, the biggest project in Marblehead will be in the water off the village's shoreline. The Fall 2026 newsletter calls the roughly $8 million extension of public water service to Johnson's Island one of the village's largest infrastructure projects in recent years.
Shoreline Contractors Inc. is handling the bay crossing. Pipe sections are being joined together on land before going underwater, buoys will mark the construction area, and concrete mattresses will be laid over the pipe to hold it in place and protect it. Shoreline expects to finish by the end of 2026. On the island, D2 Excavating LLC is installing the watermain and service lines and expects to finish most of that work by late winter, with site restoration continuing into spring and early summer 2027. In the Village Administrator's report dated Oct. 14, D2 had gotten past the South Memorial Shoreway and Forest Glen intersection, was running into old ductile iron pipe and was hitting more limestone bedrock. Shoreline was waiting on delivery of the concrete mats before starting its barge work. The report says both schedules may change if crews run into unforeseen problems.
Ottawa County's only certified water hauler closed this summer, so the village worked with the county to reactivate the water fill station at the former water plant. It came back into service in late September and will support water deliveries to Johnson's Island while the new line is built.
If you've been keeping an eye on how Main Street is changing hands and wondering what the new owners and the year-round rules could mean for a home or property here, I'm happy to talk it through with you, whenever suits you. Heather Young is always glad to talk about Marblehead. Let's Connect.
