The stretch of the Long Beach boardwalk between Long Beach Boulevard and Riverside Boulevard now has a dinner table you can book on a Wednesday night in late October. Hacienda Tulum, a Mexican steakhouse with 175 seats indoors and 50 outdoors, opened there on Oct. 15. Newsday's review led with the idea that the restaurant gives Long Islanders a reason to visit the boardwalk in the offseason.
The restaurant is only the most visible piece. This year two things changed that had kept this part of the boardwalk a summer-only place. The lot behind it stopped being a lot, and the city code stopped treating boardwalk businesses as places that couldn't pour a drink. The Turkey Trot is now moving its start to the same corner.
A Fenced Lot Becomes a Leased Block
For most of living memory, the 6½-acre parcel between Long Beach and Riverside boulevards was the Superblock. Before ground broke in 2021, Newsday counted a 60-year stalemate over plans to redevelop it. In Newsday's July 24, 2026 report on the finished project, B2K Development principal David Burman said the site "was dilapidated for 40 years."
B2K's project is now two nine-story condo towers called The Boardwalk, with 192 units, and a 10-story rental building called The Breeze, with 238. Its boardwalk-level commercial space was fully leased to seven current or incoming tenants as of July. Those tenants opened in stages over almost two years, which is why the change has been easy to miss on a walk:
- Mount Sinai South Nassau opened a walk-in primary care center in November 2024.
- YogaSix opened a 2,100-square-foot studio in July 2025.
- The Fresh Beet, which opened in July 2025 as Barrier Beets, sells salads and vegetable- and fruit-topped toasts.
- Tulum Taco Stand, a quick-service walk-up window facing the boardwalk, opened this summer.
- Hacienda Tulum opened Oct. 15.
- Playa Bowls, which took the last open commercial space, lists its location at 192 Boardwalk and scheduled its grand opening for Oct. 24 at 11 a.m.
- Surf Haus Wellness rounds out the roster. Newsday describes its services as body treatments, including acupuncture and sports massage.
Through 2025, this was mostly a daytime block: a clinic, a yoga studio and a salad counter. Two of the three openings this fall run into the evening.
The April Vote Behind the Evening Hours
A dinner room with a bar would have been an odd fit under the old Long Beach code. Since 1986 the code had barred businesses with openings onto the boardwalk from selling alcohol, and it had banned new drinking establishments citywide. A 2017 attempt to lift the boardwalk ban failed.
On April 7, 2026, the City Council adopted Ordinance 3108/26 unanimously, according to the city's meeting minutes. The vote removed both restrictions. Council President Brendan Finn told Newsday that the change was about resolving a conflict with state law:
"The state Liquor Authority is the ultimate regulator of on-premises sales of alcohol. Our ordinance is in conflict with that. This is really to resolve that conflict."
The change is narrower than a headline might suggest. It allows sales and consumption on-site at businesses along the boardwalk's north side. Drinking and open containers on the boardwalk itself and on the beach are still prohibited. Newsday reported that only two places were in a position to use the new rules: the Allegria Hotel, which has run a boardwalk-level bar since 2009, and the Tulum team. The concession stands that lease city property don't have the space to serve alcohol on-site. The Long Beach Herald reported that more than 200 residents and business owners filled City Hall for the hearing, and that the updated ordinances also open the door to new bars elsewhere in the city.
According to Newsday's review, Tulum's planning happened alongside the code change. The finished Superblock supplied the space and the April vote supplied the permission, and the restaurant that opened this month needed both.
Dinner on the Boardwalk, Wednesday Through Sunday
Hacienda Tulum is a dinner restaurant on a fall schedule. As of Oct. 15, Newsday listed these hours:
- Restaurant: Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m., Sunday 4 to 9 p.m.
- Bar: Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday 3 to 11 p.m., Saturday noon to 11 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
The bar's weekend afternoon hours give the block an option on a cold Saturday walk. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.
The menu is built around beef from Pat LaFrieda's Prime 850 Club, with filet mignon, rib-eye, and cowgirl and cowboy cuts. The raw bar serves East and West Coast oysters. Other dishes include a sliced rib-eye taco with an Oaxaca cheese crust and chochoyotes, small masa dumplings served with a pistachio, pumpkin seed and cilantro pesto. The bar has 12 specialty cocktails. The culinary director is Eduardo Salgado, chef of 'Emat in Mexico's Valle de Guadalupe. Co-owner Nicolas Geeraerts told Newsday, "We wanted to bring some sophistication to the oceanfront."
Parking may matter more than the menu in November. Diners get a separate entrance beneath the building with 68 assigned spaces and a private elevator up to the restaurant. Valet runs three to four days a week, depending on business. There is also a private room with its own patio, which helps with holiday dinners for groups.
Still to come is Cemelle, a speakeasy-style agave bar inside the restaurant. Newsday reports it will have 24 seats and serve European-style tapas and tasting-menu dishes. Geeraerts expects it to open later this year, but no date has been announced.
The Turkey Trot Starts at Riverside This Year
The City Council Turkey Trot is Sunday, Nov. 22, and the city's listing announces a new location. Day-of registration and T-shirt pickup run from 7 to 8 a.m. at Riverside Boulevard on the boardwalk. For GPS, use 1 Riverside Blvd. In 2024 the race started and finished at New York Avenue and the boardwalk. The 2026 course starts at Riverside, runs a loop and finishes back there.
Riverside Boulevard is one edge of the former Superblock, so the morning's crowd will gather at the corner of the block that changed. The city hasn't given a reason for the move.
The one-mile children's race starts at 8:30 a.m. and the 10K starts at 9 a.m. The race runs rain or shine. The organizer asks runners to bring a non-perishable food item for neighbors in need, and you can register online ahead of time. The city calls this the 21st annual trot and the organizer calls it the 22nd. Either way, the date and the corner are the same.
The Rest of the Season, in Order
After the Turkey Trot, the city's events move inland to Kennedy Plaza and the West End. The Long Beach Auxiliary Police events calendar lists these 2026 dates:
- Sunday, Nov. 22: City Council Turkey Trot, Riverside Boulevard and the boardwalk.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Christmas tree lighting at Kennedy Plaza.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: Grand Menorah Lighting.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Electric Light Parade.
Start times for the three December events haven't been posted for 2026. The city's pages still show last year's times, and those may not carry over. Last year's parade ran along West Beech Street starting at Ohio Avenue, and this year's route will be confirmed closer to the date.
That puts a fall weekend on the boardwalk in a specific order. Run the 10K from Riverside on Nov. 22, then come back on a Saturday for a bar seat at noon or for dinner at Hacienda Tulum. Until this year, that second visit wasn't possible on this stretch.
The Superblock went from a fenced lot to a block with dinner hours in about five years. Changes like that are part of what Bobby follows when he advises on homes near the water. If you'd like to talk through what this finished block means for property around it, Bobby Rehani is glad to have that conversation. Let's Connect.
