Westfield's Ice Ribbon Returns to a Grand Junction Plaza With New Neighbors

The Ice Ribbon opens Saturday, Nov. 21, at Grand Junction Plaza. This season, three downtown restaurants that arrived during 2026 are open close by. Sun King sits on the plaza's east end. H Steakhouse is at the corner of Mill and Jersey streets. Tyler's Smokehouse opened in October on Main Street. That means a 90-minute skate can be the start of a downtown evening, even with Park Street and the blocks around it still under construction.

The rink itself, and what changed around it

The City of Westfield's Nov. 4 announcement puts the Ice Ribbon at Grand Junction Plaza, 225 S. Union Street, from Nov. 21 through Jan. 2, 2027. The surface is Glice, a synthetic material, so you can skate in any weather. A mild December afternoon won't turn the rink into a puddle.

Here are the basics for the season:

• Price: $10 per person plus processing fees, with skate rental included
• Session length: 90 minutes
• Tickets: reserved online in advance at theiceatgrandjunction.com. Sales opened Nov. 6.
• Check-in: every skater checks in at the Grand Junction Café Pavilion building before their session
• Accessibility and beginners: ADA-accessible sleds and skate aids at no extra cost, first come, first served

Because sessions are booked online, you know your end time before you leave the house. A 5 p.m. session ends at 6:30, which puts you steps from a brewery and a steakhouse right at dinnertime.

The plaza's new edges

Sun King, on the east end

Current in Westfield reported in April that Sun King Brewery would open at 133 S. Union St. That's the northeast corner of Union and Jersey streets, in the distinctive building on the eastern end of Grand Junction Plaza. It's Hamilton County's third Sun King, after Fishers and Carmel. Today the Sun King Westfield page lists food, beer service and current hours at that address.

In that same Current article, Sun King CEO and co-founder Dave Colt explained why the company chose the plaza: "We like to be thought of as sort of the heart of the community, a place to gather." He said Sun King deliberately opens where there's foot traffic and a steady event calendar. He compared the Westfield location to the brewery on the Monon Trail at Carmel's Midtown Plaza and the one at The Yard at Fishers District. A skating rink that runs six weeks fits that description well.

H Steakhouse, at Mill and Jersey

H Steakhouse is at 207 Mill Street. Current's February profile of the restaurant placed it on the corner of Mill and Jersey streets at Grand Junction Plaza. It's one of the businesses at The Union at Grand Junction, a mixed-use project with apartments and businesses. The restaurant's website takes reservations and lists service seven days a week. During the busy weeks of December, book your table when you book your skate.

Tyler's Smokehouse, a short walk north

The newest of the three is Tyler's Smokehouse. It opened Oct. 13 at 124 East Main St. in downtown Westfield, serving home-cooked meals, according to Current's October roundup of Westfield Chamber ribbon cuttings. It isn't on the plaza, but it puts a casual dinner on Main Street within reach of a family that just got off the ice.

All three opened during 2026, after last season's rink was already underway. This is the first Ice Ribbon season with all of them operating around the plaza.

Winter break is when the rink keeps longer hours

The City scheduled extended skating hours during the Westfield Washington School District's winter break.

The rink is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. With Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, the first weekend of the season is the only full weekend before the holiday. Jan. 2 is the last day to skate before the rink comes down.

Saturday, Dec. 5 puts the whole plaza to work

Westfield in Lights is the one day when the rink, the stage and the surrounding blocks all share the same crowd. The City's event page lists it for Saturday, Dec. 5, at Grand Junction Plaza. An event listing promoting the free festival gives the hours as 3 to 6 p.m.

Here's how the day lines up:

1. Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5: Tenth Street Photography hosts Santa photo sessions at the Westfield Washington Public Library. Sessions are $15 and include one digital download, and advance registration is recommended.
2. 3 p.m. Saturday: The festival opens with holiday performance groups on the Main Stage, retail and gift vendors, hot chocolate, food and beer vendors, a Build-A-Buddy activity and Ice Ribbon skate sessions, which carry a fee. The listing also promises Frosty the Snowman, a reindeer show and petting area, carnival games with prizes, caricature artists, a llama walking attraction and live music.
3. 5:50 p.m.: The tree lighting ceremony begins on the Main Stage.
4. 6 p.m.: The festival winds down, just in time for dinner reservations a block away.

Skate sessions on festival day are a separate paid ticket, so reserve one ahead of time on the Ice Ribbon site if skating is part of your plan.

A quieter event follows a few days later. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., the plaza hosts a Westfield Winter Workshop: Holiday Card Watercolor Class. It costs $30 per participant and is open to ages 16 and up.

Getting there while downtown is still being built

The restaurants are new, and so is the construction around them. In his Nov. 5 State of the City address, Mayor Scott Willis put active downtown construction at roughly $365 million. He said the projects underway include more than 1,800 parking spaces. He named the Park Street improvements, Park & Poplar, Grand on Main, and Jersey Street improvements planned for 2027.

Park Street work began in mid-May. Current reported in August that landscaping will likely continue through spring 2027. The City's February project notice set out two phases with completion expected in late spring 2027. The plan keeps at least one lane open on Park Street and keeps business access during the work. That timeline runs longer than the December finish we described in our August post on the Park Street restaurants. The City's stated schedule now reaches into spring.

For Westfield in Lights, the City lists these parking options:

• The public lots at Park Street and Poplar Street
• The parking garage at The Union, where the first three hours are free
• Free parking at the Westfield Washington Public Library, 17400 Westfield Blvd.

Those same lots work for any skating night. Three free hours in The Union garage covers a 90-minute session and a dinner, if you don't linger too long.

What comes after the ice melts

Willis framed the construction as the cost of getting where downtown is going. "For years, we've talked about what downtown Westfield could become. Today, we're building it," he said, according to the City's State of the City release. "The construction and temporary disruptions residents are experiencing represent investments that will benefit our community for generations."

If you'd like to hear about the downtown plans directly, the mayor gives a free public State of the City presentation on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Westfield Library. The Ice Ribbon will have closed by then. Park Street will still be under construction, and Sun King, H Steakhouse and Tyler's Smokehouse will still be open around the plaza.

Downtown Westfield is changing quickly, and we love keeping track of it with you, from where to grab dinner after skating to what all this construction means for the homes nearby. If you'd like a local perspective on how downtown's growth fits your plans, Shelly Walters Realty Group is happy to talk it through over hot chocolate. Let our family help your family. Contact us today.