Victoria's New Downtown Is a Year Away. This Winter's Is Already Here.
Along Stieger Lake Lane, three addresses tell you where downtown Victoria is right now. OMNI Brewery & Taproom is at 1495, pouring beer and making pizza and coffee in-house. The Social Ice Cream Parlor at 1700 keeps 32 dipping flavors. At 1715, Erik Forsberg is preparing to open Harland Chicken & Fish inside one of the city's historic buildings. Its deck faces the trail, the amphitheater and Stieger Lake.
Most of the coverage this month has been about the Reserve, which is a fair choice. Its restaurants and plaza won't open until fall 2027, though, and Carver County's Highway 5 widening is scheduled to finish that same autumn. Both of downtown's big changes run on the same clock. Between now and then, downtown is the lakefront blocks, the Victoria Drive dining rooms and Bayfront Park.
The Star Tribune's Oct. 14 story described the Reserve as nearly doubling the size of Victoria's downtown. The 13-acre plan includes Rosalia and Saturday Dumpling Co., boutique retail such as a Pilates studio and a nail salon, and a 12,000-square-foot public plaza. The developers will build the plaza, and the city will own and run it once it is finished. Construction on the retail buildings was slated to begin this month, with an opening goal of next fall.
The deal behind it explains why the tenant list leans toward independent, chef-driven names. The city agreed to sell the parcels for four retail buildings for $1 and to cover up to $3 million in infrastructure. In return, the developers capped rents at $25 per square foot for restaurants and $30 for retail for 10 years, with inflation increases allowed. The Star Tribune reported that developer Carl Runck called that below market for new construction and said it would let his team curate the mix of businesses.
The site comes with its own history. The city acquired it in 2006 in a land swap that let Three Rivers Park District expand the adjacent 3,700-acre Carver Park Reserve. Mayor Deb McMillan told the Star Tribune, "It was really important to preserve what we have, that small-town feel that we love."
The Reserve is the last piece in the sequence. Here is the order things are arriving in, as of late October:
Harland is the only new restaurant scheduled to open before winter. It is also the one placed to make the most of Stieger Lake.
Until the new storefronts open, downtown dining runs along two streets. Victoria Drive holds the sit-down rooms, and Stieger Lake Lane holds the casual spots and the lake.
| Place | Address | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|
| The Noble Lion | 7940 Victoria Drive | American menu with French-inspired dishes like Steak Au Poivre and a French Onion Burger |
| Winchester & Rye | 7929 Victoria Drive | Restaurant and whiskey lounge with wood-fired pizza |
| Vic's Bar & Grill | 7900 Quamoclit Street | Burgers, full bar, live music |
| OMNI Brewery & Taproom | 1495 Stieger Lake Lane | Beer, wine, pizza and in-house coffee |
| Blue Agave Tacos & Tequila | 7980 Rose Street | Newest arrival, in the Rowe building |
OMNI's Victoria taproom calendar gives the cold months a weekly rhythm. Comedy Night is Nov. 6. A Sunday cribbage league runs Nov. 1 through Feb. 28. Thursday Pizza & Pour continues through Dec. 31.
Across the lane, Bayfront Park sits along Stieger Lake with Bayfront Plaza, the Charlson Thun Community Bandstand and a Lake Minnetonka Regional Trailhead. When Harland's deck opens, it will look out over that same stretch of trail and water. The Reserve's plaza will add a second public gathering space on the other side of downtown, but not until next fall.
The city's holiday calendar is built around downtown businesses. On Saturday, Nov. 28, Discover Victoria for Small Business Saturday brings shops, restaurants, activities and specials downtown.
Light Up Victoria follows on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It is free and hosted by the City of Victoria and the Victoria Business Association. This year it moves to a new location, the Victoria Lions Pavilion at 1505 82nd St., and it adds a holiday market of three to five vendor stands. There will be luminary trails, photos with Santa, marshmallow roasting and winter crafts, and local restaurants will serve seasonal treats and warm drinks at their own locations. Vendors who want a stand have until Oct. 31 to apply.
The land swap that freed up the Reserve site also enlarged the park next door, and Lowry Nature Center at 7025 Nature Center Drive fills a lot of the winter calendar. The Three Rivers program listings include:
Registration for the December programs opened Oct. 21.
Once snow arrives, Carver Park Reserve grooms 11.3 miles of trail for classic and skate skiing. Skiers 12 and older need a Three Rivers ski pass. Lowry is the access point for 3.9 miles of snowshoe trails, and there is a sledding hill just outside the nature center entrance. Three Rivers needs 4 to 6 inches of snow to pack the ski trails, so it's worth checking its conditions page before you go.
Getting downtown this winter means driving through the Highway 5 project. Carver County is widening the highway from two lanes to four between Highway 41 in Chanhassen and downtown Victoria. The project also rebuilds Rolling Acres Road and Bavaria Road and adds a safer crossing for the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail.
As of late October, the county project page lists these impacts:
On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters going to the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church polling place can reach it from Highway 5 via Rolling Acres Road. That route passes through the construction zone.
The county plans construction through autumn 2027 and says access to downtown Victoria will stay open the whole time. In 2027 the work shifts to Highway 5 itself between Victoria and Chanhassen. The city's transportation projects page expects a full Highway 5 closure sometime between spring and fall of 2027. That is the same window as the Reserve's opening goal, so the four-lane highway and the new Main Street are on track to arrive in roughly the same season. One project that is already finished: Victoria's 1.2-mile paved Bavaria Road trail, from Highway 5 to County Road 18 at 82nd Street and Lyman Boulevard, was completed in September.
For now, downtown Victoria is the lake end of Stieger Lake Lane, the dining rooms on Victoria Drive, one new taco spot on Rose Street and a fish fry aiming to open next month.
Harland's November target comes first. The plaza and the four-lane Highway 5 follow in fall 2027, and by then homes near downtown will be in a different setting than they are this winter. If you want to know what these changes could mean for your own place, Trenary Realty Group can walk you through it. Start with a home valuation that reflects the downtown going up around you.
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