In 2026, Magnolia Avenue lost a 32-year-old French brasserie and got back a bar whose new owners promised to change almost nothing. Downtown Larkspur's holiday season this year runs through rooms that are old on purpose. The Silver Peso was reopened specifically so it would feel the same. The Lark Theater's Thanksgiving week is built on 1939 and 1988 titles. The new bookshop at 501 Magnolia is 5 feet wide and sells used books. Most of Larkspur's new shops this year are opening at Larkspur Landing.
That split decides where a November evening in Larkspur happens.
The Brasserie Closed in One Week of June
The Marin Independent Journal reported on June 22 that Vine Hospitality was closing its restaurants: Left Bank, LB Steak, Meso Modern Mediterranean and Tiburon's Petite Left Bank. The Larkspur Left Bank would serve diners that Tuesday and Wednesday and then close. According to the WARN notice the paper cited, the closure cost 54 jobs at the Larkspur location.
The Larkspur restaurant was the original. Left Bank was founded there in 1994, when restaurateur Ed Levine partnered with French chef Roland Passot to create the brasserie menu and look. The Menlo Park location followed in 1998 and Santana Row in 2003. The same article remembered the group for its Bastille Day and Beaujolais Nouveau Day celebrations, with costumed servers and live music.
No new tenant for the space has been announced publicly.
The Peso Came Back Built to Look the Same
Less than a month before Left Bank closed, the Silver Peso reopened at 450 Magnolia Avenue. Its revival was managed with the opposite goal: keep everything the way it was.
The Marin IJ reported in February that longtime owner and bartender Rebel Lee had sold the business and its remaining lease to Conor Flaherty of Tiburon and Max Perry of Corte Madera. Both are managing partners at Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. Perry told the paper, "There's no rebranding, just preserving it as it was." The owners had hoped to reopen by St. Patrick's Day, depending on the liquor license transfer. A May 26 Marin IJ report put the grand reopening at noon that Saturday, May 30.
The months of work went into what customers touch: new floors, new bar siding, fresh interior paint, upgraded bathrooms, new pool tables, better televisions and a refurbished shuffleboard table. Larkspur residents Tommy and Shannon Lamanna own the landmark building and co-invested in the updates. "It looks and feels exactly the same," Perry told the Marin IJ in May.
The Silver Peso's site lists the hours as noon to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It also notes the pinball machine and the piano under the open-beamed ceiling, which, according to the site, Janis Joplin is rumored to have played.
The date that matters for this bar is the night before Thanksgiving. The February Marin IJ story listed the "annual Thanksgiving Eve reunion revelry" among the occasions that kept the Peso familiar for generations. Wednesday, November 25 will be the first Thanksgiving Eve under Perry and Flaherty.
Five Feet of Shelving at 501 Magnolia
The newest storefront on this stretch of Magnolia opened on May 13. The Phoenix Used Bookshop at 501 Magnolia Avenue specializes in books for children and teens. The Marin IJ's July profile describes the space as just 5 feet across.
According to that story, owner Stef Tousignant first planned a used bookstore for adults and had about 15,000 adult titles in storage. Her background in childhood development, together with the narrow room, pushed her toward younger readers. She told the paper that the shop's motto is "books build community."
The stock is secondhand, and the shop buys books back for store credit. Its posted fall hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and it takes book contributions Wednesday through Sunday. It closes on Thanksgiving Day, stays open on Christmas Eve with an early close, and closes on Christmas Day. The shop's site also lists book-club meetings on November 17 and December 15.
The Lark's Holiday Calendar Is Mostly Old Titles
The Lark Theater at 549 Magnolia Avenue is the other half of the block's evening plans. Its schedule from Halloween through early December leans on older films and stage broadcasts. The Lark's showtimes page is a live calendar, so check times before you go.
| Date | At the Lark |
|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 30 | SÉANCE with Q&A; The Rocky Horror Picture Show |
| Sat, Oct 31 | National Theatre Live Frankenstein, two screenings with alternating Creatures; Rocky Horror |
| Nov 5, 7, 12, 19, 21 | National Theatre Live Golden Boy |
| Nov 7, 8, 11, 15, 22 | Noël Coward's Fallen Angels |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Met Opera Carmen encore, 10 a.m.; Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, 7:30 p.m. |
| Wed, Nov 18 | Met Opera Carmen encore, noon and 6:30 p.m. |
| Sundays Nov 15, 22, 29 | Extended Lord of the Rings trilogy, one film per Sunday |
| Tue, Nov 24 | One Ocean Film Tour 6, 6:30 p.m. |
| Wed, Nov 25 | A Fish Called Wanda, 6:30 p.m. |
| Thu, Nov 26 | The Wizard of Oz in 4K at 11, 1, 3 and 5; Stop Making Sense at 7 and 9 |
| Fri, Dec 4 | Polar Express Pajama Party at 4 and 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec 5, 6, 9 | Met Opera Samson et Dalila |
| Sun, Dec 6 | High Society, 9 a.m. |
The newest film on the Thanksgiving Day schedule came out in 1984. The theater is filling Larkspur's biggest family week with titles that several generations already know.
Thanksgiving Week on One Street
With the Peso, the Phoenix and the Lark all on Magnolia, Thanksgiving week can happen on one street:
- Tuesday, November 24. The One Ocean Film Tour at the Lark at 6:30 p.m. The Phoenix is closed on Tuesdays, so plan any browsing for another day.
- Wednesday, November 25. A Fish Called Wanda at the Lark at 6:30 p.m., then the Peso's first Thanksgiving Eve under its new owners. The bar is open until 2 a.m.
- Thursday, November 26. The Wizard of Oz matinees for anyone who needs to get kids out of the house before dinner, and Stop Making Sense at 7 or 9 p.m. for the group that wants to leave the table.
- Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29. The Phoenix reopens. The Lark finishes the Lord of the Rings trilogy with The Return of the King on Sunday at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
December 5 Is the Busiest Day on Magnolia
The first Saturday in December puts nearly the whole street on one calendar. The Larkspur Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Magic tree lighting starts at 4 p.m. that Saturday at Larkspur Community Park and runs until dusk. The Chamber lists Santa photos, hot drinks, caroling and a bonfire. Earlier that day, the Lark shows the Met Opera's Samson et Dalila at 9 a.m. and GIANT, The Play at 1 p.m. The night before, the theater holds its Polar Express Pajama Party.
The Newer Openings Are at Larkspur Landing
Most of what is actually new in Larkspur this fall is at Marin Country Mart. The Mart's directory lists Margaux at 2207 Larkspur Landing Circle as now open, along with Varley, and it lists Salt & Straw at 2247A Larkspur Landing Circle as coming soon, with hours still to be announced.
The Mart's own calendar is winding down for the season. Its last Friday Movie Night is October 30 at 6 p.m. Its Halloween Spectacular runs on Saturday, October 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a costume contest in the Courtyard at 11. The honor-system pumpkin patch also closes on October 31. On Halloween both calendars overlap. You can go to the Mart's costume contest in the morning and Rocky Horror at the Lark at night.
After Halloween, the new shops are at Larkspur Landing, and the Thanksgiving and early December events are on Magnolia Avenue at the Lark, the Peso and the Phoenix.
Ruth Linn has lived in Marin for more than 35 years and has watched Magnolia Avenue businesses change hands before. If you own a home within walking distance of the Lark and the Peso and want an appraisal-informed read on its current value, Ruth Linn can help. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
