A sign above Salem Street says "Downtown Apex is open for business!" When The News & Observer visited in early September, excavators were working one side of the street while cars crept single file down the other. The $4.7 million Salem Streetscape was first expected to finish in October. The town now expects the road to reopen in mid-December, with cleanup and punch-list work running into mid-January 2027. As of Peak City News's October 11 road update, North Salem Street between Saunders and Chatham was still one way southbound and open to local traffic only.
Almost every downtown holiday event this year lands before the street is finished.
| Date | Event | Where | Relative to the mid-December reopening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 20, 5 to 8 p.m. | Jazz and Jive Night | The Depot parking lot, 220 N. Salem St. | About four weeks before |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Downtown shops | Before |
| Sun., Nov. 29, 2:30 to 5 p.m. | Kid's Holiday Craft Fair | The Halle, 237 N. Salem St. | Before |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 4:30 to 7 p.m. | Tree Lighting Ceremony | Town Hall campus, 73 Hunter St. | Before |
| Dec. 4 to 13 | Snowman Stroll on Salem | Salem Street | Mostly before |
| Dec. 4 to 6 | Infinity Ballet "Nutcracker Dances" | The Halle | Before |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 5 p.m. | Apex Rotary Christmas Parade | Salem Street route | Before |
| Dec. 11 to 13 | Christmas Play and Musical | The Halle | Around the target date |
So the town's biggest season will take place on a street that is still one lane wide. The rest of this guide covers how each piece is being fitted to that.
The Parade Stays on Salem Street, Built Narrower
The Christmas parade was the event most at risk. In June, WRAL reported that town leaders held a workshop to weigh three options: a modified parade in which larger floats turn off before reaching the construction, an alternate route outside downtown, or a stationary parade. Mayor Jacques Gilbert told WRAL the stationary version was "a no go," and said "the large majority of the community would like to see it downtown." The parade has been held in Apex since 1957, and the Apex Rotary Club has run it since 2008.
The Rotary Club's 2026 entry page settles the route. The parade runs Saturday, December 5, starting at 5 p.m. at Ambergate Station and the Peakway. It heads down Salem Street, turns onto Moore Street and ends at the Apex Public Works buildings on Upchurch Street. New for this year, the entry rules add a width limit:
"Due to roadway limitations in downtown Apex, all parade entries will be limited to a maximum vehicle and/or trailer width of 9'-0"."
The width is measured mirror to mirror on a vehicle, or at the widest point of a trailer. Entries wider than 9 feet will be turned away. For scale, the club notes that a standard mid-size pickup is about 6 feet 8 inches wide. That rule is how the parade fits through downtown this year. The route stays the same, and the floats get narrower.
The Fourth of July went the other way. This summer the Olde Fashioned Fourth's Salem Street activities moved to Fireworks Frenzy at Hunter Street Park, with the Parade of Wheels and the firehose Splashdown folded into the July 3 program. The Christmas parade is staying on Salem.
Day-of details for 2026, such as chair rules, road closures and parking, had not been posted as of mid-October. In 2025, chairs could go out after 10 p.m. Friday, but only inside the marked brick area of the North Salem Street sidewalk between Chatham and Center streets. Parking was in the Saunders Lot behind the Tobacco Mule Exchange. Those were last year's rules on a different street surface, so check the town's parade page before you stake out a spot.
Why These Weeks Matter Most to Salem Street Businesses
The schedule matters most to the businesses along the street. Skylar Gnann, front of house manager at Salem Street Pub, told The News & Observer that November and December are the pub's busiest months because downtown events bring customers in. The pub has temporarily lost the eight outdoor tables that lined its frontage.
The September interviews put numbers on the slowdown:
- Mission Market: the co-manager told the paper that ordinary weekdays used to bring 100 to 120 customer orders and now bring about 70 to 100. Revenue first fell about 50% from the same period a year earlier, and by early September it was about 20% lower.
- Salem Street Pub: daily revenue has generally run 10% to 30% below comparable days last year.
- Anna's Pizzeria: the manager said business did not bounce back after crews finished the pizzeria's side of the street.
The last point matters for the holidays. A finished block alone has not brought customers back, so the events this season are what bring people downtown. According to The News & Observer, two Salem Street businesses that were open when construction started won't be there when it ends, and neither has blamed the streetscape as the main reason for closing. Alleyway Bookstore closed over the summer, citing a rent increase, and a second shop was scheduled to close October 15.
The town has been running "Downtown Apex is open for business" banners, sidewalk signs and online messages to keep shoppers coming during the work, INDY Week reported.
Getting Downtown on a One-Lane Street
Getting downtown this season takes a little more planning, but every business is open and so are the sidewalks on both sides. Here is what works as of mid-October:
- Come from the south or on foot. North Salem Street between Saunders and Chatham runs southbound only for local traffic, and through traffic is sent to NC 55 and Hunter Street.
- Check parking before you leave. The town's downtown parking map and the Apex Parking app show current availability.
- Try Park and Ride on Small Business Saturday. The town's shopping guidance recommends GoApex Park and Ride for November 28.
- Know the bus detour. GoApex Route 1 runs a southbound detour with stops at the Halle Cultural Arts Center, near Center Street and near Moore Street. That puts the Halle's November and December shows right on the detour.
There may be a new way into downtown from the south by then. The Apex Peakway's four-lane bridge over South Salem Street and the CSX line was in final paving preparations as of the town's early October update, with a tentative opening in October or November. If it opens on that schedule, it will be carrying traffic around the parade's starting point at Ambergate Station and the Peakway before December 5.
The Evenings Planned Just Off the Work Zone
Several of the town's own December events are on Hunter Street, one block from the construction. The Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 4 runs 4:30 to 7 p.m. on the Town Hall campus at 73 Hunter St. The program includes Santa and Mrs. Claus, a free photo and ornament with Southbound Santa, the Poetry Fox, the American Caroler Company, craft stations, holiday vendors from local shops and bakeries, and Be Easy Coffee. School groups perform from 4:30 p.m. through the Scotts Ridge Elementary Chorus at 6:25. The Gingerbread Decorating Competition is December 10, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Apex Senior Center, 63 Hunter St.
That puts the first weekend of December on two streets. The tree lighting is Friday on Hunter Street and the parade is Saturday on Salem. The Snowman Stroll on Salem runs from December 4 through December 13, a stretch the town expects to end close to when the street reopens. The stroll's 2026 promotion details had not been released as of mid-October.
The Halle at 237 N. Salem St. fills the space between. The Infinity Ballet "Nutcracker Dances" plays December 4 at 8 p.m., December 5 at 3 p.m., and December 6 at 2 and 4 p.m. The Christmas Play and Musical follows on December 11 at 7:30 p.m., December 12 at 3 and 7:30 p.m., and December 13 at 3 p.m. The December 5 matinee starts at 3 p.m., two hours before the parade's 5 p.m. start on the same street.
What Falls After the Street Reopens
Only a few holiday events fall after the target date. The town's drive-in screening of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is December 18, 4:45 to 8:30 p.m., at Pleasant Park, 3400 Pleasant Plains Road, well away from downtown. The 2026 Holiday Tour of Lights dates and map had not been posted as of mid-October.
Even if Salem Street reopens on schedule, the busiest downtown stretch of the season will already be over. The weekend of December 4 to 6 has the tree lighting, four Nutcracker performances, the parade and the start of the Snowman Stroll, all while one side of Salem Street is still under construction.
If you'd like a heads-up when the town posts the 2026 parade-day parking and chair rules, or you're wondering what a finished, walkable Salem Street could mean for homes within a short walk of downtown, Kelly Shields follows Apex closely and is always glad to talk it through. You can also see what your home is worth today with a free home valuation.
