Downtown Troy Gained More Visitors Than Parking in 2026. Halloween Week Puts Its New Lot to Work.

The city of Troy owned the two-story house at 107 N. Main St., and by March it had already decided what the property would become. In its March reporting, the Troy Times-Tribune wrote that parking downtown "has swiftly become hard to find at certain times of the day." It linked the shortage to Palenqué across Main, other new businesses, and the return of the Chamber's First Fridays.

Seven months later the house is gone and the lot is paved. Halloween week is about to bring families downtown again. On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Downtown Trick or Treat Trail sends kids up and down Main Street, 18 days after crews paved the new lot. The city built that lot because downtown got busy faster than it could handle.

One corner changed how many cars downtown has to hold

Market & Main Local Eatery opened June 9 in the former American Legion Hall at the corner of Market and Main. Co-owners Gina and Evan Buchholz also own Cleveland Heath in Edwardsville, and they spent the winter converting the building. Gina told the Times-Tribune why they picked the spot: "We wanted to be a staple in Troy and that's a big staple intersection." She grew up in the Troy area and left in 2017. In the same paper's March coverage, she said "it's amazing how much the city has grown and changed since I left."

Here is how the corner adds up. In March, the owners planned seating for about 80 diners inside and expected to hire 40 to 45 people. When they opened, the staff was in the mid-to-upper 30s. Palenqué already ran a full restaurant across Main. A full dining room on one side of the street and a busy patio on the other can use up the nearby curb space on a normal weeknight. That's before a street event adds hundreds of people.

The Market & Main website lists these hours:

• Tuesday and Wednesday: 3 to 9 p.m.
• Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sunday and Monday: closed

So the dining room will be open during both Friday's Adventure Night and Saturday's trail. When it opened in June, the owners described brunch and to-go orders as future goals.

Four First Fridays put the most cars on Main Street

The Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce held its 2026 First Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. on four dates:

1. May 1, Boots on Main: Shotgun Creek at 6 p.m., with Paul Jarvis opening as Willie Nelson
2. June 5, Crafted. Corked. Casks.: a 21-and-older tasting walk with glasses and passports
3. Aug. 7, Art on the Streets: live music by Ryan & Rainn, plus local artists and makers
4. Sept. 4, Triad Alumni Tailgate: The Veiny Griffins closed the season

Market & Main took part in these before its dining room was ready. On May 1 it served from a tent outside, with a bourbon smash and a strawberry and basil vodka lemonade. It also served at The Market at Jarvis Square on May 21. For the June First Friday, the owners kept the restaurant and bar closed and took orders through the two roll-up doors facing North Main. "We were super busy; all of our food items have been popular and we've blown through quite a bit," Evan told the Times-Tribune.

The same June article said city officials hoped to have about 25 new spaces at 107 N. Main by fall to help with First Friday crowds. That target slipped. The First Fridays season ended Sept. 4, a month before the lot was paved.

How the house at 107 N. Main became a parking lot

The estimated space count changed as the project went on. The city first mentioned "at least 30" spaces, then 26, then 25. The latest city update says 25 to 30.

The lot is on the city's list of business district and TIF projects, which the Times-Tribune covered in its Oct. 13 infrastructure roundup. Parking is coming from private businesses too. In the same update, Troy Family Dental asked the city to turn a vacant lot between State Farm and its office into a 25-space parking lot. City officials planned to review the plans the week of Oct. 12.

Compare the numbers. A restaurant with about 80 seats and a new lot with 25 to 30 spaces won't match one for one. But the lot is right across the street from Market & Main, on the block where parking was hardest to find this year.

Halloween week, sorted by location

Most of this week's events are within a few blocks of Main and Market. The one exception is on IL-159.

Thursday at Bobby's. The Chamber listing asks businesses to decorate trunks for a $50 entry fee. All proceeds go to PACT, Police and Children Together. Families come for the treats.

Friday at the park. Adventure Night starts at 5 p.m. with trunk-or-treat, face painting, free food and candy, a bounce house, hayrides, pumpkin decorating and costume contests. The Troy Lions Club's Jack-O-Lantern Trail runs on a set schedule. Drop off a carved pumpkin from 5 to 6 p.m. and walk the trail and vote from 6 to 7:30. Winners are announced from 7:30 to 8, which is also when you pick up your pumpkin. The Lions provide the lights, so you only need to bring the carving.

Saturday downtown. The Downtown Trick or Treat Trail runs from 2 to 4 p.m. and is listed at 201 S. Main St. The listing says a trail map will follow. This is the event where the new lot matters most. 201 S. Main is south of Market Street, and the new lot at 107 N. Main is just north of it. A family parking at the new lot can walk south past Market & Main and Palenqué to reach the trail. Market & Main's listed Saturday hours start at 11 a.m., so the restaurant will be open during the trail and afterward.

The following Thursday at the library. The Tri-Township Public Library hosts Halloween D&D on Oct. 29 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 209 S. Main St., a few doors from where the trail is listed. In November the library continues with Slow Flow Yoga on Nov. 14, a Holiday Macrame Class on Nov. 17, Mrs. Barbour's Book Buddies on Nov. 19, a Nerf War on Nov. 20, and a Cozy Clay Jewelry Workshop on Nov. 24.

What's planned next for North Main

The lot fixes this year's main problem. Two other projects are planned for the same blocks.

The first is Heaterz Chicken. In August, owner and CEO Daniel King told the Times-Tribune the company planned to open in a single-wide cargo container next to Palenqué's outdoor patio at 103 N. Main St. It would offer walk-up and drive-through service only, and the owner targeted a mid-to-late September opening. Heaterz already operates in Alton and Normal. King said the company has won consecutive people's choice awards at the Illinois State Fair. For the menu and the latest updates, check heaterzchicken.com. Its site at 103 N. Main is a few doors from the new lot at 107 N. Main.

The second is the downtown streetscape, the biggest change planned for Main Street. The Oct. 13 city update says Ameren Illinois charged Troy $242,000 to bury power lines and Charter Communications received $14,000 to bury its cables. Hank's Excavating won the main contract for $1.606 million. At the time of the update, contracts were still in process and a pre-construction meeting was expected soon. The city hasn't published a construction calendar yet. The utility work alone costs more than $250,000. Burying lines means fewer overhead wires along the blocks where First Fridays crowds and trick-or-treaters gather.

If you're wondering how the 107 N. Main lot or the Main Street streetscape could affect a home near downtown Troy, Wylde Realty Team can give you a straight answer about what the projects could mean for your plans. Contact Us.