In July, Chelsea and J.W. Hitt bought the Cattlemen's Western Wear store inside Temple Mall. They never got to open it. The mall was closed by then, and by fall the couple had stopped waiting. "At one point we had to kind of take a leap and say 'we're going to have to go out and find something, or we were going to miss all of the holiday shopping,'" Chelsea Hitt told KCEN 6 News. They found a building downtown, and KCEN has since reported that the new store is open in time for the holidays.
Temple's holiday season has followed the same path. The mall is still closed. Downtown, the City has filled late November and December with Saturday markets, a tree lighting, a parade and a lights contest. That calendar is now the closest thing Temple has to a central place to shop this year.
Two businesses are open at the mall. The rest has a checklist.
The City of Temple ordered the mall to close temporarily on June 22, 2026, after a 30-day repair notice ran out. The Fire Marshal's Office had issued that notice on May 22. According to the City's announcement, the problems included an inoperable fire pump, sprinkler systems and fire alarm panels that were impaired or didn't work, and electrical hazards caused by water getting in.
Two businesses are operating while the rest of the building waits:
- Dillard's was left out of the closure because it has its own fire-rated separation and its own life-safety systems, KWTX reported.
- Xtreme Jump got approval to reopen on July 31 after it built its own fire separation from the mall, repaired its fire alarm and restored its sprinkler alert systems. The closure order stayed in place for everything else.
In late September, KWTX reported that the original fire system repairs were done. More work had been added since: roof leaks near electrical systems, and gas lines left uncapped by tenants who moved out years ago. Rob Brandenburg owns Peggy's Coffee House and is now working as a consultant to the mall during the repairs. He told the station the process was "closer to the finish line than the starting line."
The most specific picture of what's left comes from a document the City gave mall ownership on Oct. 28, which KCEN laid out in full. It lists eight conditions that must be met before the order to vacate can be lifted. In short:
- Working fire sprinklers throughout, with every required inspection and certification accepted by the Fire Marshal's Office.
- Working fire alarm and notification systems.
- Exits, exit corridors, emergency lighting and exit signs that work and are clear.
- Electrical systems made safe wherever water is still getting in.
- Any immediately hazardous mechanical or gas condition fixed or shut off.
- Any other immediate code hazard corrected, plus documentation that the roof is structurally safe to occupy.
- A final inspection and written authorization from the Fire Marshal's Office.
- A written corrective-action schedule for the remaining work, approved by the City.
The same document lets some of the biggest jobs wait until after reopening, including a full roof replacement or a structural engineering review, repairs to the rooftop gas piping, and bringing vacant tenant spaces up to code. City building inspectors and the Fire Marshal's Office are checking the work every week. The City told KCEN there was no confirmed reopening date and that reopening depends on finishing those requirements and getting the schedule approved.
That means planning the next six weeks of gift shopping around somewhere else.
Mall tenants have moved downtown, and one plans to stay
Cattlemen's shows how this is playing out. The Hitts told KCEN the downtown store will carry the same brands as the mall location, plus a few additions, and will include a hat bar of the kind they said shoppers usually have to drive to a bigger city to find. They also said the move isn't a stopgap. "In the interim we're going to open down here, and we're going to end up staying," Chelsea Hitt told KCEN. They still hope the mall location reopens.
Peggy's Coffee House went downtown sooner. In the first week of the closure, Brandenburg set up a temporary coffee operation inside Neighbors On 7th, the bar he also owns at 209 N. 7th St., running 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., KWTX reported. His other two mall shops, Candy & More and Under My Skin, closed along with the mall.
Both owners made the same move. When their indoor storefronts were shut, the nearest place with foot traffic was the old blocks downtown.
The City built a holiday calendar around three Saturdays
Downtown has a new anchor this season. The Santa Fe Community Market at 33 E. Avenue C held its grand opening on Sept. 19 with a ribbon cutting, food trucks and the Russell Weller Band. The site used to be Temple Feed & Supply, which moved in 2023. The City bought the property, and according to its announcement, the market sits by the Santa Fe Trail and connects the Santa Fe Depot with the MLK Festival Grounds. It runs on the third Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with local vendors, makers and live music.
The rest of the season is built around that market:
| Date | Event | Location | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Santa Fe Community Market, "Merry Market" | 33 E. Avenue C | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | American Legion Auxiliary Unit 133 Artisan Market | 1300 S. 25th St. | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Christmas at the Plaza, with a holiday market of 75+ local vendors | Santa Fe Plaza, 301 W. Avenue A | Afternoon into evening, free |
| Mon., Dec. 7 | 80th Annual Christmas Parade | E. Adams Ave. and N. 8th St. to Temple High School | 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Santa Fe Community Market, "Home for the Holidays" | 33 E. Avenue C | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
Discover Temple's listing for the November Merry Market promotes it as a stop for holiday gifts, seasonal treats and handmade goods. Coming the Saturday before Thanksgiving, it is the first downtown shopping morning of the season.
November 28 is the biggest shopping day downtown
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is when the downtown calendar is busiest. Christmas at the Plaza, which Discover Temple calls the City's newest holiday tradition, takes over Santa Fe Plaza with a holiday market of more than 75 local vendors selling handmade gifts and holiday décor. The free event also has S'mores Land, a live reindeer exhibit, photo spots and a Kid Zone, and it ends with the tree lighting. Discover Temple's event guide lists a holiday drone show and a pyromusical tree-lighting show. The grassy area is closed during the event for equipment, so the guide suggests watching from in front of the tree. Check the City's event page for the evening schedule before you go.
That morning, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 133 holds its Artisan Market Fundraiser at 1300 S. 25th St. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Its hours end before the plaza gets going, so you can do both in one day: the artisan market in the morning, then downtown for the holiday market and the tree lighting at night.
December runs on the parade, porch lights and one last market
The 80th Annual Christmas Parade is on Monday, Dec. 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It starts at E. Adams Avenue and N. 8th Street and ends at Temple High School.
The City's 5th Annual Merry & Bright Holiday Lights Tour & Contest takes applications from Nov. 11 through Dec. 2. Community voting runs Dec. 4 through Dec. 14, according to the City's announcement. That puts the entry deadline on Wednesday, Dec. 2, before the first weekend of December and two days before voting opens.
The season's last City market is "Home for the Holidays" on Saturday, Dec. 19, back at 33 E. Avenue C from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That's the final downtown market morning before Christmas, and it falls in the same month the City is checking the mall's repairs every week.
If you're heading downtown for the markets this season and want to talk about Temple's older blocks, or what the changes on Avenue C mean for the streets around them, the team at Bolanos Realty follows these changes closely and is glad to talk. Schedule your free consultation whenever you're ready.
