"I'm kinda one of those people who are like, 'oh, they're going to change things, and it's not going to be good.' But, then it turns out to be fabulous, so you know change is good." Jan Stevens, who has owned the Snow Goose for 45 years, gave 2 News Oklahoma that answer in May, about a month after Utica Square sold.
Since then, the change at 21st and Utica has mostly shown up as losses. A department store and a 48-year-old restaurant closed in the same calendar year. The change that matters more for the center's future hasn't started yet. It's planned for a block that has been empty for a decade. Lights On returns Thanksgiving night, and the sale, the closings and the redevelopment plan haven't touched it.
From February to Thanksgiving at 21st and Utica
Each of these happened on its own schedule. Lined up by date, they make up the most eventful year Utica Square has had since 2016.
When | What happened |
|---|---|
Feb. 10, 2026 | Saks Global includes the Utica Square Saks Fifth Avenue among eight stores to close by the end of April |
April 2026 | Northwood Retail, a Denver-based equity firm, buys Utica Square |
May 2026 | Northwood announces a redevelopment plan focused on the center's east side |
Aug. 2026 | Peppers Grill & Cantina closes after 48 years |
Oct. 18 | Williams Sonoma holds a grand re-opening |
Thanksgiving, Nov. 26 | Lights On returns for its 59th year |
Saks first. KJRH reported that Saks Global was closing the store after its reorganization proceedings, calling the closing locations smaller and unprofitable. The report also said it was unclear what would replace the Utica Square store. Then the sale: KJRH reported in May that Northwood had bought the center in April.
According to News On 6, Peppers announced its closing on its Facebook page and set Aug. 29 as its last day, telling guests, "Come see us one more time or ten more times." In the same article, Northwood's statement gave Aug. 15 instead and called the closing part of the restaurant's "evolving operational plans." In News On 6's later coverage of employee and customer reactions, the planned final day was still Aug. 29, and no successor was announced.
Neither closing is part of Northwood's redevelopment plan, and that's the main point about this year. One left after a corporate reorganization in another city. The other closed for reasons the restaurant didn't give. The owner's plan is pointed somewhere else.
The Block That Has Waited Since 2016
The redevelopment centers on the large empty space on the east side. It used to hold Miss Jackson's and Petty's Fine Foods, and both closed in 2016. Anyone who has parked on that side in the past ten years has walked past that gap. Saks and Peppers left this year. The east-side vacancy has been part of the center for a decade.
The plan Northwood released for it, as KJRH reported it, includes:
- A new park and green space
- A redesigned streetscape with more angled parking
- A wider, realigned crosswalk meant to make walking easier
- New landscaping and signage
- A multi-year tree replacement program that adds new trees while monitoring and maintaining the center's aging ones
Northwood president Ward Kampf framed the project as a repair. In the company's news release, quoted by KJRH, he said the development "will bring to life the eastern side of the project, creating space for dynamic retailers and restaurants to further strengthen the center's offerings and return Utica's wholeness, while preserving the timeless character, retaining the architectural symmetry, and staying true to the original mid-Century modern design." He also described paver sidewalks "to increase connectivity" and green space "for gathering."
"Wholeness" is the important word. The plan treats the east side as the missing piece and adds retail and restaurant space to it. Nothing in it is aimed at the spaces that emptied this year. Northwood hasn't publicly linked new east-side tenants to the Saks or Peppers spaces.
The timing is open. The May announcement said construction was expected to begin by the end of the year. That was a spring forecast, and Northwood hasn't announced a start date, phasing or changes to parking and access since. If the schedule holds, work on the east side would start within weeks of Lights On.
What Kept Going Through It
The everyday parts of the center kept running through the turnover. On Oct. 18, Utica Square's calendar listed a Williams Sonoma grand re-opening from 2 to 5 p.m. The store's own page gives its address as 2016 Utica Square.
At 2054 Utica Square, Rise, the French-inspired soufflé bistro and wine bar that has been in Tulsa since 2024, filled the October calendar with its own events. Its hands-on soufflé classes with Chef Jake cost $90 per person. Each is a three-course meal that starts with Prosecco or a mimosa, and guests make their own soufflé. Utica Square's events calendar listed a Live Jazz Night at Rise for Oct. 23. The evening was set on the patio with French food, wine and bubbly. Reservations for future classes go through the restaurant at (539) 476-2960.
None of this makes headlines. It does show that the center's regular rhythm of shopping, a class, a patio evening has carried on through two closings and a sale.
Thanksgiving Night, Unchanged
As of the center's Lights On page, the event returns for its 59th year on Thursday, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving night. It has a live music show, Santa's grand arrival, and the lighting of more than 700,000 lights.
The free concert begins at 6:30 PM, hosted by Julie Chin and headlined by Grady Nichols and his band, who are celebrating their 15th consecutive year as the Lights On house band.
A 15th straight year for the same house band is the clearest sign of how little the event has changed, and the band returns for the first Lights On under a new owner. Lights On is also the only November or December event on Utica Square's events page right now. Santa's House is listed for November and December with "Times Vary," and exact 2026 hours aren't out yet.
A Holiday Season Between Two Plans
Put the year together and the 59th Lights On sits in an unusual spot. It's the first under Northwood, which took over in April. It's the first without Saks or Peppers. And going by the May forecast, it falls right before construction was expected to begin on the block that has been empty since Miss Jackson's and Petty's closed in 2016.
The renderings Northwood released show a new east side with a park, angled parking and a realigned crosswalk. The plan's multi-year tree program means the trees around the center will change gradually over several seasons. The center of Utica Square, the part people walk on Thanksgiving night, has a new owner who has publicly committed to keeping its symmetry and mid-century design.
Nobody has said yet what goes into the old Saks space, who follows Peppers, or when work starts on the east side. The lights come on Nov. 26, and the concert starts at 6:30 p.m.
Utica Square's redevelopment is one of the few midtown changes that will affect the streets around it for years. If you live near 21st and Utica and want to talk through what Northwood's plans could mean for your home, Wyatt Poindexter can walk you through it. Request a private, white‑glove consultation.
