Things to Do in Delray Beach in October 2026: Off Atlantic
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Delray Beach's fall season is starting on the cross streets. The new fine-dining room is on NE 3rd Avenue. The rebuilt Table 165 is reopening on NE 2nd Avenue under a new name. The GreenMarket's winter season opens on Swinton Avenue. The one Thursday-night block party on this month's downtown calendar is on SW 5th Avenue. Atlantic Avenue still ties all of it together, but almost none of October's new addresses are on Atlantic itself.
What follows goes street by street, with dates. It also covers what's still only announced, so you don't drive to a restaurant that hasn't opened yet.
Ethereal is the one of the two that's already open. Boca Magazine's September 14 story reported it open at 324 NE 3rd Ave. #1. It comes from the team behind Glimmer Cafe. Designer Nick Alain brought over the Victorian look he did at Glimmer, the place people know for its Bridgerton-style afternoon tea. Chef Estuardo Mira cooks a European- and Latin-inspired menu: mini lobster rolls, steak frites with au poivre sauce, zebra lobster ravioli, and a caviar service built around an ounce of white sturgeon with blinis, egg, crème fraîche and onion.
The bar list makes clear this is a night-out room more than a quick dinner. It includes the "Arabelle Loves Violets," made with tequila, cactus fruit, Cointreau, lime and black volcanic salt, and the "Passion & Ash," made with mezcal, hibiscus and torched rosemary. Desserts include churros with cajeta, tres leches cake, and a cherry cheesecake topped with a nine-pronged golden chandelier candle.
One block west, Alma is moving into the space at 165 NE 2nd Ave. that Table 165 used to fill. The Downtown Delray Beach DDA has a ribbon cutting on its calendar for Monday, October 5, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the listing is written for the old regulars:
"Reunite with our team, tour our newly transformed space, and help us mark this exciting new chapter in Delray Beach's dining community."
The ribbon cutting is not the same as opening for dinner. Alma's reservations page says "Opening October 16th," so plan your first meal for the second half of the month. The restaurant calls its food Modern American with global influences and lots of shareable dishes. It lists Coton Stine as co-founder and executive chef, Jorge Sanchez and Coco Coig as co-founders, and Alex Sanchez as managing partner.
Taken together, Pineapple Grove has two chef-led dinner rooms opening within about five weeks of each other, one block apart.
Pineapple Grove is getting the new dinner tables. Swinton Avenue and Old School Square are where October's daytime calendar happens, and it starts on day one.
The Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square opens two exhibitions on Thursday, October 1. One is River of Grass. The other is Marleen De Waele–De Bock's Blooming in Color! The First Friday Art Walk follows on October 2. That Sunday, October 4, Coco Market brings a wellness festival to the Delray Beach Amphitheatre at Old School Square from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The bigger date is Saturday, October 24. That's when two separate downtown events overlap and you can build a whole Saturday around them.
The Delray Beach GreenMarket opens its 31st winter season at 51 N. Swinton Ave. It runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through May 22, 2027, with more than 70 growers, makers and food vendors, and it accepts SNAP. Halloween in Downtown Delray is the same day, and the DDA's schedule fits around market hours:
Atlantic gets the trick-or-treating window. Everything else that day starts at, ends at, or happens around Old School Square and Swinton.
The month on this side of town ends with the Delray Beach Historical Society's 12th Annual Fall Fest on Friday, October 30, at 5 p.m. It's co-hosted with Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill, with a pumpkin patch, crafts, a film screening and a haunted-house activity.
Sundy Village sits right at the corner where Swinton crosses Atlantic. It's the one place where this fall's openings haven't kept pace with the announcements.
Double Knot is open. The Palm Beach Post reported that the Japanese izakaya opened on Wednesday, June 17, serving sushi, sashimi, robatayaki and cocktails. It's Michael Schulson's concept, and it's at 22 W. Atlantic Ave. #150. It came here from a Philadelphia flagship and a Wynwood location. Boca Magazine noted you can order à la carte or book a 10-course chef's tasting menu.
Its two announced neighbors aren't open yet. Drinking Pig BBQ, the Miami smokehouse known for spare ribs, brisket and pulled pork, was expected to open in September, according to the Post's June report. As of this writing, the Downtown Delray Beach directory still lists it as "Coming Soon" at 22 W Atlantic Ave, with no hours posted. Maman, the New York café known for pastries, breads, breakfast and lunch, is coming to 40 S. Swinton Ave. Boca Magazine's last update had it opening "later this summer," and we found no confirmation that it has opened.
For now, the Sundy Village corner has one working restaurant and two "still coming" signs. Call ahead before planning a brisket night.
West of the railroad tracks, The Set's main street is SW 5th Avenue, and that's where the month's evening music event is.
Sounds of The Set is Thursday, October 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Libby Wesley Plaza, 2 SW 5th Ave. The DDA describes live music, Blackmer's Market, and a walk between the plaza and The Hive at 34 SW 5th Ave.
The same few blocks have been adding businesses and public art. Allure Beauty, a salon and boutique owned by Delray native Renee Grant, held its grand opening on August 12 at 98 NW 5th Ave. in the Edmonds Baine Building. A few doors south, the Delray Beach CRA picked artists Sonata Kazimieraitienė and Symphonii Smith-Kennedy to lead a community-designed mosaic and ceramic-tile mural at 95 SW 5th Ave. The final design and installation date haven't been set. If you're at Sounds of The Set, it's a block worth walking.
West Delray has its own cross-street pattern, and it starts in the first full week of the month. Delray Marketplace's free Wednesday Music Fest begins October 7 at 14851 Lyons Road. It runs 6 to 8 p.m. in the amphitheater near Burt & Max's, with local performers every Wednesday through April 28, 2027. That's seven months of a standing midweek plan.
Driving the western end of Atlantic Avenue will stay slow. FDOT's SR 806 project covers 2.76 miles from west of SR 7/US 441 to just east of the Turnpike. It widens Atlantic in sections and adds sidewalks and buffered bike lanes. Work started January 20, 2025, and FDOT is targeting completion in summer 2028. FDOT posted construction photos from July and August of this year, so the work zone is very much still active.
If you want October in a single list:
Restaurant Month also isn't completely over. The DDA's event page says more than 50 downtown restaurants, cafés and ice-cream shops took part in September, and some are keeping their offers through October. The page lists which ones.
If you live on or near one of these cross streets and wonder how a new dinner room or a Saturday market on your block shows up in what your home is worth, that's a question I'm glad to answer with real numbers. Ryan Gritters can put together a free home valuation that accounts for what's opening around you, so you have a clear starting point before you decide anything.
From pricing and marketing to negotiation and closing coordination, every detail is handled with precision. The goal is simple: deliver a seamless experience tailored to individual goals and timelines.
Ryan Gritters
2424 N Federal Hwy, Ste 150 Boca Raton, FL 33431