"If people come to events here, they could park on the other side of Medlock Bridge Road, enjoy those restaurants and the businesses, and walk," Johns Creek Councilman Dilip Tunki told Appen Media this summer, while the city was finishing the pedestrian tunnel under Medlock Bridge.
Three weeks from now, his idea gets its first real test. Medley, Toro Development Company's $560 million mixed-use district, opens to the public on Thursday, October 29. The roster and event calendar show two things to plan around. Opening day is the first round of a rollout that keeps going into the holidays. And Medley is designed to work together with The Boardwalk across the road as one Town Center, linked by a crossing that opened in August.
The crossing that came first
The city held the ribbon cutting for the Medlock Bridge Road pedestrian tunnel in August. In its August 20 announcement, it put the tunnel just north of Johns Creek Parkway, connecting neighborhoods, restaurants, retail, The Boardwalk park and Johns Creek Town Center for people on foot or bike.
Appen's reporting gives the size. The passage is 124 feet long and 42 feet wide, and it runs under Medlock Bridge Road to link homes and businesses on the west side with The Boardwalk, which opened in May. Transportation SPLOST money paid for it. The construction project cost $6.5 million, and the total came to $7 million once right-of-way and engineering were included. The tunnel is also more than a passageway. Public works director Brian O'Connor said the floor is artificial turf so tents can go up for events and festivals.
City officials describe the Town Center as The Boardwalk plus Medley, planned as one shopping, recreation and event district. The Boardwalk sits next to City Hall along Medlock Bridge Road and runs from Johns Creek Parkway toward East Johns Crossing. In practice, you can start an opening-week evening with a lakeside walk and finish it at dinner without moving the car.
You can still drive in. The Johns Creek visitor guide says Medley has on-site parking decks and valet, and Medley's own FAQ lists surface lots and structured garages. The event address is 2140 Medley Boulevard. One road project is still in flux nearby. The city's Johns Creek Parkway work in Town Center replaces four lanes with two plus on-street parking and adds a roundabout at Lakefield Drive. Its last posted update, dated August 28, said final paving was expected the following week, against a summer 2026 finish estimate. Check current conditions before you go.
Three nights, three different kinds of evening
Toro's October 7 announcement spreads the opening over three days, and each one draws a different crowd.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6 to 10 p.m. Medley Unveiled. This ticketed preview benefits the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra. Guests sample dishes from Medley's restaurants with cocktails, beer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks. The orchestra provides a string quartet, a DJ, a live violinist under the lights of the Tree Bar, and dueling pianos. Valet is complimentary, and tickets are on Eventbrite.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. Ribbon cutting in The Plaza. Free and open to the public, with community leaders and "special surprise moments" promised. Medley opens its doors once the ribbon is cut.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 6 to 10 p.m. Party on The Plaza. A free, family-friendly Halloween night with live music and activities for all ages. Costumes are encouraged.
Wednesday's preview spreads across the whole property, including the Tree Bar. The ribbon cutting and Friday's party are both set in The Plaza, Medley's 25,000-square-foot central green. The Plaza has a stage and screen. Friday night is the clearest test of the councilman's park-and-walk idea. It's free, it runs into the evening, and it lands the night before Halloween, so families are likely to head in from both sides of Medlock Bridge Road.
Who is open on day one
Toro says 28 retailers and restaurants will be open on October 29, counting Trader Joe's, which is already operating. Grouped by what you'd likely come for, the day-one list looks like this.
Dinner and drinks
- Rena's Italian Fishery & Grill
- STIR and Tonic House
- 26 Thai Kitchen
- Lily Sushi Bar
- Minnie Olivia Pizzeria
- CRÚ Wine Bar & Bistro
- Shake Shack
- Knuckies Eatery
- The Nest Cafe
Coffee and sweets
- Summit Coffee
- Five Daughters Bakery
- Cookie Fix
- Amorino Gelato
- Playa Bowls
Shops, fitness and services
- Sephora, High Country Outfitters, Moop's Boutique, The Commodore, Hollow Oak, Burdlife and Petfolk
- BODYROK, Kontour Med Spa, Drybar, Clean Your Dirty Face and Sugarcoat
The North Atlanta Star's September 29 opening report lists The Commodore and Hollow Oak with the shops and services, not the restaurants. That's worth knowing before you plan a dinner around either name.
Two of the dinner spots have backgrounds worth knowing. According to The Johns Creek Magazine, STIR is connected to Chattanooga-based SquareOne, and Medley will be its sixth location. The menu covers Southern standards, an oyster bar stocked fresh daily, a seafood tower, weekend brunch and cocktails. Next door, Tonic House is a walk-up bar serving signature drinks made with house syrups. Rena's comes from closer to home. It began in Alpharetta, and when the Medley location was announced in late 2024 it was billed as the second Rena's, serving Italian pasta, meats and seafood.
None of the opening coverage lists hours for individual restaurants. Check each spot directly before planning a late dinner or a weekday lunch.
The names arriving after the ribbon
Toro calls the grand opening "the first chapter of Medley's debut," and it lists seven more tenants opening "in the coming months."
- 13 Hub Lane
- Fadó Irish Pub
- CT Taqueria
- Northern China Eatery
- Fogón and Lions
- Tabla
- Warby Parker
Five of those are food and drink names: Fadó, CT Taqueria, Northern China Eatery, Fogón and Lions, and Tabla. That's on top of the 15 places to eat or drink open on day one. The Visit Johns Creek guide lists 13 Hub Lane with the shops. A visit in late October and another in early spring will likely find a noticeably different Medley. Toro's marketing vice president, Carla Cox, put it this way in the announcement: "Every tenant opening and event adds another exciting layer to the Medley experience."
One name is in limbo. When Medley broke ground in January 2025, the city's announcement included Ford Fry's Little Rey among the planned tenants. Urbanize Atlanta reported in February 2026 that Little Rey was no longer on Medley's retail roster. Little Rey isn't on Toro's October list of day-one or later openings, even though it still appears in the magazine's October 2 dining roundup. Treat it as unconfirmed until Toro says otherwise.
The Plaza's calendar keeps going after Halloween
The opening also starts what Toro describes as about 100 events a year at Medley. Two holiday dates are already set. On November 23, The Plaza becomes an outdoor ice rink modeled on Rockefeller Center's. On November 27, Merry Medley opens the holiday season with a concert, performances and fireworks.
The tunnel matters most on those nights. A skating evening or a fireworks show is the kind of event where parking on the Boardwalk side and walking under Medlock Bridge Road could be easier than circling a deck.
Medley is still growing after the holidays too. The first phase includes Prelude, with 340 apartments, and Tableau, with 133 townhomes for sale. Encore, the second phase, adds 408 more apartments, 20,000 square feet of street-level retail and a 150-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel anchored by Chops Lobster Bar. The hotel is planned for 2028.
Medley and The Boardwalk changing the Town Center is the kind of local shift that comes up when Johns Creek homeowners start thinking about their own plans. If you're curious what a walkable Town Center means for your home's value, Jamie Mock can walk you through it. Request your free home valuation, and we'll talk through how the district taking shape across Medlock Bridge Road fits into your plans.
