What’s new on Old Town Front Street

Old Town’s 2026 story is not a brand-new block. It is familiar doors with new names. A steakhouse in the old bank. A Latin kitchen upstairs where Kalaveras was. Boots where the antique faire used to be. Pudding next to the Swing Inn. If you park once and walk Front Street, you can hit most of them in an afternoon.

The bank corner: Gaucho Grill

Gaucho Grill Temecula dining room interior — Inside Gaucho Grill Temecula.Credit: Photo courtesy of Gaucho Grill

Gaucho Grill wood-fired parrilla / grilled meats — Wood-fired parrilla — the Argentine grill at the heart of the menu.Credit: Photo courtesy of Gaucho Grill

28645 Old Town Front Street. After a long refurbishment, Gaucho Grill — the Downey-based Argentine steakhouse — opened Monday, September 21, 2026, in the 1914 First National Bank of Temecula building. The Press-Enterprise reported the space’s earlier lives as the Bank of Mexican Food (from 1978) and, later, The Bank Plates & Pours, which closed in 2023. Wood-fired parrilla grills are the point; the paper noted dinner-only service through September 27, with regular lunch and dinner starting September 28. Sister locations are in Downey, Pasadena, West Covina and Buena Park. (Press-Enterprise, Sept. 21, 2026; gauchogrill.com/temecula)

Locals watched this one for more than a year. City council had cleared a Type 47 liquor permit in April 2025; buildout timelines slipped through 2025 and into 2026. The open door is the update that matters.

Across the street: Rodeo Cafe

Branded Now Open graphic: Rodeo Cafe — Rodeo Cafe — Now Open at 28636 Old Town Front St #109.Credit: Logo courtesy of Rodeo Cafe

28636 Old Town Front Street #109. The Press-Enterprise’s Gaucho story notes Rodeo Cafe across the street, open about a year by September 2026, in the former Rosa’s Cantina space (later Be Good Restaurants, closed summer 2024). It is a family-owned Inland Empire breakfast-and-lunch chain. Good for a morning walk when the rest of Front Street is still waking up.

Upstairs above CoinOp: Kulturas

Branded Now Open graphic: Kulturas Latin Kitchen & Cantina — Kulturas Latin Kitchen & Cantina — Now Open upstairs at 28588 Old Town Front St.Credit: Logo courtesy of Kulturas Latin Kitchen & Cantina

28588 Old Town Front Street, second floor. Patch reported mid-July 2026 that Kulturas Latin Kitchen & Cantina had moved into the former Kalaveras space. Staff told Patch the ownership did not change — new name, new look and menu, same people behind the bar. Visit Temecula Valley amplified the opening. (Patch, July 17, 2026)

Next to Swing Inn: Famous PUDN

Famous PUDN original banana pudding commercial photo — Famous PUDN’s original banana pudding — photo courtesy of the shop.Credit: Photo courtesy of Famous PUDN

28676 Old Town Front Street. EJ Smith’s Famous PUDN — the five-ingredient, gluten-free kettle-cooked banana pudding that had been a farmers-market regular after the Murrieta storefront closed in 2025 — soft-opened beside Swing Inn Cafe in June 2026. Patch’s July profile covers the partnership with Swing Inn owner Dean Norris and Smith’s family running the counter. Open Thursday through Sunday, per that reporting. (Patch, July 22, 2026)

We profile Smith separately in Local Spotlight: EJ Smith and Famous PUDN.

Boots on Front Street: Tecovas

Tecovas handmade cowboy boots wall display — Tecovas handmade cowboy boots — brand photo.Credit: Photo courtesy of Tecovas

Tecovas storefront at dusk with cowboy boots displayed inside — A Tecovas storefront — brand imagery; Temecula soft-opened Oct 29, 2026 at 28601 Old Town Front Street.Credit: Photo courtesy of Tecovas

28601 Old Town Front Street. Austin-based Tecovas soft-opened October 29, 2026, in the former Old Town Antique Faire space (the faire closed July 2025, per Patch). A three-day grand opening runs Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 8, 2026, with live music, refreshments, and custom hat tattooing — freebies for early shoppers each day, according to the store’s announcement to Patch. (Patch, Oct. 23, 2026)

A national Western-wear retailer choosing Front Street over the Promenade is its own signal about where Old Town’s tenant mix is heading.

Sushi back on the strip: It’s Tabu

Branded Now Open graphic: It's Tabu Sushi Bar & Grill — It’s Tabu Sushi — Now Open at 28693 Old Town Front St.Credit: Logo courtesy of It's Tabu Sushi Bar & Grill

28693 Old Town Front Street. It’s Tabu Sushi returned to the former Devilicious Eatery and Taproom space — the same building Tabu left in 2024 — with an ABC license handled as a person-to-person transfer, according to Top of Temecula’s June 2026 status check. The restaurant’s own site lists the Temecula address. Confirm hours before you go. (Top of Temecula Insider; itstabusushitemecula.com)

Already part of the rotation: Ten Hut

Ten Hut K-Pub — Now Open at 28464 Old Town Front St.Credit: Temecula Magazine / original branded graphic (no official logo located)

28464 Old Town Front Street. Ten Hut, Jimmy Cho’s Korean-style pub (chimak: fried chicken, beer, corndogs), opened in early February 2025 in the old Sorro’s / Soro’s space. The Press-Enterprise interviewed Cho in March 2025; the City of Temecula welcomed the veteran-owned restaurant on Instagram. It is not “new” anymore — it is the K-pub people send visitors to when they ask what changed on that block. (Press-Enterprise, March 12, 2025)

How to walk it

Park once. Start at the bank corner (Gaucho), cross for breakfast or an early lunch at Rodeo Cafe, keep north or south for Ten Hut or Tabu, duck upstairs for Kulturas, grab pudding at PUDN, and finish at Tecovas if you are in the market for boots. That is a local Saturday, not a tourist itinerary.