Three openings in seven months have turned the block between Park Road and Lorton Avenue into downtown Burlingame's newest gathering place. Town Square opened in April on what used to be a city parking lot. The Old Post Office opened October 1 in a building that had been closed since 2014. Marufuku Ramen opened across Lorton on October 11. As the Thursday Fresh Market reaches its last two sessions on Park Road, every piece of that block is open at the same time for the first time.
For most of the past decade, downtown meant Burlingame Avenue, and the streets one block south were mostly where people parked. That has changed.
A parking lot and an empty post office, side by side
Both of the block's new anchors sit on land that had stopped serving the public.
Town Square is at 265 Lorton Ave., the address the City of Burlingame lists for events there. Before that it was city-owned Parking Lot E, the surface lot next to the 220 Park office project, as The Burlingame B described it back when the square was still a plan in December 2023. SWA Group, the designer, describes a one-acre square running between Park Road and Lorton Avenue, built together with the developer of 220 Park next door.
That neighbor is the other half of the story. The 1940s Art Deco post office at 220 Park Road had been out of use since 2014. Dostart Development Company's redevelopment put a six-story office building behind it, plus retail and an underground parking garage. To build the garage, the whole historic structure was moved about 120 feet in 2023 and later set back in place, SFist reported.
So the lot became the square and the post office became a restaurant. Most of the parking that used to sit on the surface is now underground.
What Town Square actually has
The city opened the square with a celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. The San Mateo Daily Journal reported Champagne, face painting and a silent-disco party that day.
It's set up for spending an hour, not for passing through. According to the city's facility page and the designer's project notes, it includes:
- Ping-pong and foosball tables
- Cornhole
- Picnic tables, communal tables and tree-shaded seating
- A small performance area
- Public restrooms and Wi-Fi
- Bike racks
Don't plan on a big lawn or a dedicated playground. This is a paved, flexible plaza for small events and casual games. The city has already used it for programming, including "Burt's Brews" on May 15, 2026. The restrooms and Wi-Fi are what make it work as a place to wait for a table across the street or let kids play ping-pong while someone picks up produce.
The Old Post Office keeps the post office in it
Bacchus Management Group runs The Old Post Office. The same group operates Spruce, The Village Pub and Selby's in Redwood City. Because of historic preservation rules, the dining room keeps a wall of brass PO boxes, the original terrazzo floor and a locked glass memo case whose key is long gone, SFist reported.
The restaurant offers a few ways in under one roof:
| Where | What | Price, as reported in September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Main dining room, dinner | Prix fixe with brioche rolls, canapé, first course, entrée and dessert | $120 |
| Main dining room, lunch | Prix fixe | $55 |
| Main dining room, by reservation | Dry-aged rotisserie duck for two, six per night | $80 |
| Postmaster's Bar | Casual menu with a burger and fries | Not listed |
Executive chef Jonathan Granada calls the menu contemporary American, with nods to Asia, Spain and France. Pastry chef Kyle Caporicci handles desserts, including a "tipsy cake" with brandy cream. Tim Stannard of Bacchus told the San Francisco Chronicle that the group wanted the restaurant to be "the living room for Hillsborough and Burlingame," the same role it says The Village Pub plays in Woodside.
For anyone walking the block, the Postmaster's Bar is the easier way in. You can stop for a burger without committing to a three-course dinner, and the bar is right next to the square.
Across Lorton, a bowl of ramen
The third opening is on the other side of the square. Marufuku Ramen opened Sunday, October 11, at 225 Lorton Ave., serving Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen with a long-simmered pork broth and thin noodles, the Burlingame-Hillsborough Times reported. Eiichi Mochizuki started the chain in San Francisco's Japantown in 2017. It also has Peninsula locations in Redwood City and Palo Alto.
The hours matter if you're planning a Thursday. On weekdays Marufuku is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., closed in between. On Saturday and Sunday it's open straight through, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Its weekday dinner service starts at 5, partway through the market's 3-to-7 window.
So within one short block there's a $120 tasting dinner, a bar burger and a ramen counter, with a public square between them.
The market's last Thursdays fall on the new block
The Burlingame Fresh Market sets up on Park Road just off Burlingame Avenue, so its Thursday stalls run along the edge of all this. Its final Thursday sessions of 2026 are October 22 and October 29, from 3 to 7 p.m., the Burlingame-Hillsborough Times reported on October 16. The Thursday season began May 7, according to Downtown Burlingame. San Mateo County's market listing also shows a Sunday market that runs year-round, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., so produce shopping downtown continues after the Thursday stalls close for the year.
The square opened in April, a month before the market's season started. The restaurant and the ramen shop opened in October, at the very end of it. These two Thursdays are the only market days this year when everything on the block is open at once.
A Thursday evening, block by block
- Around 4 p.m., Park Road. Shop the market while the stalls are still full, then walk into the square.
- Town Square, 265 Lorton. Let kids play ping-pong or cornhole. The restrooms and Wi-Fi make a longer stop easy.
- 5 p.m., Lorton Avenue. Marufuku reopens for dinner at 225 Lorton.
- Or, 220 Park Road. Sit at the Postmaster's Bar for the casual menu, or book the dining room if it's a special occasion.
- On the way home. Burlingame Avenue is a block north, back toward the shops most people already know.
The Sunday in between, and December ahead
Downtown Burlingame's Fall Fest is this Sunday, October 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It includes a petting zoo, a kids' train, arts and crafts, specialty food and product vendors, music, and a Halloween costume contest for kids and families. The listing says only "Downtown Burlingame" and doesn't name a street or block, so check the event page before you go. Marufuku's weekend hours run straight through the afternoon, which helps if you want lunch near the festival.
The next big downtown date is Winterfest on Friday, December 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. After the traditional tree lighting, Downtown Burlingame and the city's Parks and Recreation department will run a small train around Burlingame Avenue and serve hot chocolate. More openings are coming as well. The district has highlighted Amado, which held its grand opening on Burlingame Avenue on April 29, along with Joe & The Juice's return in May, and has said Trad Bone Broth and Almondette are on the way.
Changes like Town Square and the restored post office affect how a neighborhood feels day to day, and over time how buyers see the streets around them. If you'd like to talk about what the new Park Road block could mean for your part of Burlingame, Carmen Miranda is glad to share what she's seeing downtown. Let's Connect.
