Cottage Grove Gets Its New 80th Street Before Its New Restaurants This Holiday Season

All spring, summer and fall, the stretch of 80th Street near Highway 61 was a work zone of cones, lane shifts and changing ramp patterns. The rebuild brought new pavement and new streetlights, and the city plans to hang holiday decorations on those poles later this month. Mayor Myron Bailey set the road's ribbon cutting for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m., and said the road was expected to fully reopen before the ceremony.

The road work came first, and a few smaller local businesses opened this fall. The restaurant projects in the pipeline have tentative dates or no dates at all, and the one firm-looking date is Kwik Trip's tentative Dec. 23 ribbon cutting. That shapes this December. The city's two big free holiday nights come before any of those openings are scheduled.

What the 80th Street project actually changed

Mayor Bailey listed the work in a social media update that the Cottage Grove Journal reported on Nov. 1. The project covered 80th Street and the ramps to Highway 61, with longer turn lanes and new ones. New traffic signals can monitor and manage traffic flow. The street also got new pavement, street lighting, landscaping and signage.

His thank-you to drivers, as the Journal quoted it:

"Thank you for dealing with the long construction on 80th and the ramps on and off of highway 61... You will see the new Holiday decorations on the new street light poles later this November!"

80th Street was one of several road projects in Cottage Grove this year. The same report lists the Highway 19/Keats Avenue and 80th Street roundabout, the rebuild of 65th Street near Hastings Avenue, and mill-and-overlay work on 95th Street. If your usual routes went around all four this year, December errands may feel different with the 80th Street work wrapped up.

The businesses that got here first

The businesses that opened this fall are mostly small and service-focused, and one is right on the rebuilt road.

• Club Pilates, 7420 80th Street South, Suite 203. The studio held its ribbon cutting Oct. 21. It's on the upper level of the building that also houses Casa Mia and Great Clips, so it's right on the newly rebuilt road.
• K-Beauty Experience Medical Spa, 8599 West Point Douglas Road, Suite 400. Owners Dr. Chukwunonso Chime and Vivien Chime celebrated the grand opening Sept. 17, the Cottage Grove Journal reported.
• Caliber Collision, 7515 95th Street South. The city welcomed it with a ribbon cutting Sept. 24 in the space that used to be Cottage Grove Collision, according to the Journal.

In Old Cottage Grove, an independent bookstore is moving into the vacant building at 7404 Lamar Avenue South, next to Boondocks Vintage Boutique. It's called Rolling Chapters. Owner Danielle Weber started it as an independent bookstore on wheels focused on fiction, including romance, general fiction, thrillers and fantasy. The shop announced Nov. 7 as the day its Cottage Grove doors would open.

Two free nights, and how to get to each one

The city's two biggest holiday gatherings are on opposite sides of town. One is at City Hall on Ravine Parkway. The other is on West Point Douglas Road, near the Highway 61 corridor that saw construction this year.

Thursday, Dec. 3: Hometown Holiday at City Hall

The City of Cottage Grove hosts Hometown Holiday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South. The Discover Cottage Grove event listing lists what's planned:

• Wagon rides starting at 4:30 p.m.
• Photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus
• A walking path with more than 30 holiday inflatables and 25,000 lights
• Free crafts, games and prizes at the Tinker Shoppe
• Free treats at the Cider Shack, plus food trucks with food for sale
• Bonfires, plus a warm-up spot inside the Claus & Company Cabin
• Live reindeer

Mayor Bailey welcomes guests at 5:30 p.m., and the Park High School Choir sings holiday music from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m.

Parking is what to plan for. The main road to City Hall closes during the event. Starting at 4:30 p.m., wagon rides run to and from the HERO Center and Washington County Service Center parking lots. If you want the choir and the mayor's welcome without rushing, park at one of those two lots before 5:30. The city's 2026 flyer has the full schedule.

Sunday, Dec. 13: the CPKC Holiday Train

The CPKC Holiday Train's 2026 season starts today, Nov. 19, and runs through Dec. 20. According to CPKC's published U.S. route schedule, it reaches Cottage Grove on Sunday, Dec. 13. The stop runs from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. at 7064 West Point Douglas Road, and Allen Stone is the performer.

The scheduled stop lasts just 30 minutes, so get there early. Discover Cottage Grove's listing shows a wider 4 to 7 p.m. window for the evening and sends visitors to the official CPKC schedule for the latest stop details. Admission is free. Guests are asked to bring food or a cash donation, and CPKC says donations stay in the community where they're collected.

The projects still on the way

The restaurant and convenience projects have less certain dates.

Kwik Trip, Jamaica Avenue at 95th Street. Mayor Bailey said construction is going smoothly, and the ribbon cutting is tentatively planned for Dec. 23. That's two days before Christmas, after both community nights. The 95th Street mill-and-overlay work from earlier this year was on the same street.

Panera Bread, on the old Speedway lot. Construction is nearly done, but Bailey said its original before-Christmas opening may slip. He said a new date will be announced when it's set.

Wingstop, in the former Orange Theory Fitness building. The building will hold two restaurants, with Wingstop in one part and another restaurant in the other. No opening date has been set. Bailey said the property owners are working with Wendy's to improve landscaping and visibility in the area between the two restaurant sites.

A new independent restaurant at the Basic Needs food pantry site. This is the furthest out. Bailey said the Basic Needs Food Pantry will move within the next few months to a new spot near the Basic Needs thrift store off Hadley Avenue. The current pantry property will then become a restaurant. He described it as a non-branded restaurant rather than a national chain, with construction not expected to start until January 2027.

December, in order

Here's how the rest of the season lines up. Holiday decorations go up on the new 80th Street light poles later this month. Hometown Holiday fills City Hall on Thursday, Dec. 3. The Holiday Train stops on West Point Douglas Road on Sunday, Dec. 13. The new Kwik Trip's tentative ribbon cutting is Wednesday, Dec. 23. Panera aimed for that same pre-Christmas window, but it may open later. Wingstop has no opening date yet, and construction on the restaurant replacing the Basic Needs pantry isn't expected to start before January 2027.

Already open this fall are a Pilates studio above Casa Mia, a med spa on West Point Douglas Road and a collision shop on 95th Street. In his Nov. 1 update, Bailey said another city update on construction and businesses would follow.

New storefronts and a rebuilt 80th Street are part of what Cottage Grove looks like to the next buyer. If you're curious where your home stands as the year closes out, the Cooking Real Estate Team can walk you through it with local sales data. Get your free home valuation, and we'll give you a clear, no-pressure read on where your home stands this December.