"This was once a produce dock filled with diesel trucks," Matthew Rubin and Julia Randles said in a joint statement reported by WTOL before The Yard opened this August. "Now it's a place for our community to gather, connect and be proud of downtown Toledo."
That dock sits at 27 N. Huron St., directly across from Fifth Third Field. Most people in Toledo know that block as somewhere they walk past on the way to a Mud Hens game. The people redeveloping it had something else in mind. When they cut the ribbon on the project in August 2025, the first ground-floor tenant they announced was a grocery store, and the use they described was people coming by during the workday. The beer garden and sports bar that opened this year are the first visible parts of that plan. The grocery is the part still to come.
Three Buildings, One Block, One Plan
Huron Yards covers the block bounded by Huron, Erie, Monroe, and Washington streets in the Warehouse District. The developer, Crane Development, is Rubin and Randles plus one employee who helps with day-to-day operations. "We're not huge," Rubin told Toledo City Paper. "It's me and Julia."
Both partners chose downtown Toledo on purpose. Rubin moved downtown in 2011 and bought a condo. His first commercial project was 614 Adams St., which became home to Fowl and Fodder. Randles moved from the Chicago area in 2016 and brought a background in commercial construction. Randles told The Blade that Huron Yards would be the first "all comprehensive, mixed-use development in Toledo," built on a "live, work, play, and stay" concept.
The plan has three phases, and the order explains what the block looks like today:
- The Produce Lofts at 33 N. Huron. The old Okun produce warehouse now holds 14 apartments. Four are furnished short-term units and ten are standard yearly leases. The ground floor is split into two storefronts, and one of them is reserved for a market-style grocery.
- The beer garden in the former loading dock next to the warehouse.
- 28 N. Erie St., with a sports bar on the lower level and co-working space planned upstairs.
Phases two and three are now open. The storefront from phase one is the piece the rest of the block was designed around.
The Yard and The Station Run as One Place
Both open businesses are run by Mike Stancati, who already operates Hannon's Block at the corner of Monroe and Erie. That shared ownership is what makes the block work as a single outing. The two venues sit next to each other, and Stancati has described them as one concept. He told The Blade he wanted "a lively patio, be able to utilize the beer garden space as well, and kind of have it be one concept."
The Yard, 27 N. Huron St.
Crane Development turned the old produce dock into an open-air space with a pergola, lighting, seating, yard games, food trucks, and live music. The ribbon-cutting was Wednesday, Aug. 5, and the public grand opening weekend followed on Aug. 7 and 8.
"There's not a ton of real, true beer garden space in downtown Toledo," Stancati said. "Being able to be one of the first down here and for people to engage in the open-air activities ... that's what's most important."
The Yard opened on a two-day schedule: Fridays from 4 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m., weather permitting. It also books private events. We couldn't find any published fall or winter hours. As October cools down, check the Huron Yards Facebook page before you plan a Saturday around it.
The Station Sports Bar, 28 N. Erie St.
Toledo City Paper's October 2026 roundup lists The Station as open. The building used to be the Alleyway, which opened in 2022 and closed in late 2024. Stancati was aiming for a mid-September opening "just in time for football season." That timing matters for this block. A sports bar that opens for football gives the corner across from the ballpark a reason to be busy on fall Sundays, with no Mud Hens schedule involved.
The menu is built on house-made dough in two styles. One tavern pizza is the fire pie, with sausage, caramelized onion, and giardiniera. The peppadew is a Detroit-style pie with marinara, pepperoni, onion, and mozzarella. The same dough goes into Philly cheesesteaks and Italian subs. There's also a salad with pizza croutons, garlic knots, buffalo chicken dip, and a craft cocktail program.
"My thought with being in downtown Toledo is to develop multiple concepts," Stancati said, "and really kind of lean into the group aspect and making a bigger impact here in downtown."
The Missing Piece Is the One That Fills Weekdays
The Yard is open two evenings a week. The Station covers game days. Okun Market is the part of the plan meant to bring people to the block on a regular Tuesday.
The operator is Ed Beczynski, who owns Focaccia's and the Blarney Irish Pub and manages the Market on the Green grocery in UpTown. He told The Blade he had been looking for a store location closer to downtown. "Living downtown, I know there is a need," he said. "This space, at about 3,000 square feet, that's really all you need." He described the store as upscale and market-style, with prepared foods and grab-and-go meals alongside staples like produce and meat.
Randles described the daily routine they're designing for:
"We hope that people will come during their work day and grab a salad, grab a sandwich, maybe sit out in the beer garden at the picnic table, just as an alternative to a traditional sit-down restaurant."
So the beer garden was meant to do double duty, with lunch seating for the market by day and drinks at night. Until the grocery opens, it only does the evening half. As of Toledo City Paper's July 2026 roundup, Okun Market is expected in late 2026, and no specific opening date has been announced.
Karen Poore, executive director of the Downtown Toledo Improvement District, said the district can help with "marketing, activation, making sure that we have great events downtown and other amenities that encourage people to come and visit."
Two Stops Just Off the Block
Huron Yards isn't the only new opening on this side of downtown, and two nearby spots make a longer evening easy.
Dough & Co PizzAria, 329 N. Huron St. This one is farther up North Huron, in the space that used to hold Diva and then Hamburger Mary's. Tyler Scherting starts before 4 a.m., and every batch of dough ferments for 72 hours using flour imported from Italy. "If you're eating our pizza on a Sunday, that dough was initially made on Friday," he told Toledo City Paper. Managing partner Logan Thieroff learned mixology at Toledo Spirits and built the cocktail list, which includes the Kodachrome, made with rye, orange liqueur, lime, orgeat, and Angostura bitters. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Watering Hole Creamery, 12 N. St. Clair St. The Toledo Zoo runs this ice cream shop inside Doc Martin's Remedy Shoppe and Apothecary. It serves ice cream, shakes, malts, floats, and sundaes, plus wraps and salads.
So two blocks that used to be a stop on the way to the ballpark now offer two pizza styles at The Station, a 72-hour dough a few blocks north, and a zoo-run ice cream counter around the corner.
Planning a Night There This Month
- Friday or Saturday: Start at The Yard while it's on its launch schedule, then move next door to The Station once it gets dark or cold.
- Football Sunday: The Station is the anchor. It opened for this season.
- Any night of the week: Dough & Co is open seven days, until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
- Later this year: Watch 33 N. Huron for Okun Market's opening date.
If you're curious what this block's rebuild means for the Warehouse District homes and buildings nearby, I'm glad to talk it through. I'm Justin Spann, and I keep a close eye on what's opening in downtown Toledo. Let's Connect.
