Most of what's new in downtown White Plains this season sits on one short stretch. Renaissance Plaza Park is at the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street. Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings opened at 27 Mamaroneck Avenue this summer, and ArtsWestchester's gallery is at No. 31, four street numbers away. Between now and the new year, that block has two gallery openings, a reception, an artist talk, three free family workshops, two panel discussions and the city's holiday tree lighting.
The details below cover what is on, when, and where the block's schedules overlap.
A Dumpling House That Serves Breakfast All Day, Next to a Gallery That Opens at Noon
Nan Xiang held its grand opening on Friday, July 24, 2026. Westfair Communications described a 6,500-square-foot, 193-seat room in black, red and gold, with an open kitchen and a lion dance on opening day. The restaurant started in Flushing in 2006, and Westchester Magazine reported that the White Plains location is its first in Westchester. Westfair counted 13 locations in total, including one in Stamford.
The menu matters for a gallery afternoon. Alongside Shanghainese noodles, wok-fired stir-fries, pan-fried pork buns and dim sum, Nan Xiang serves its traditional breakfast specialties all day, according to Westfair. Those include fried dough sticks with warm soybean milk and Northern-style pastries. ArtsWestchester's gallery doesn't open until noon. That makes a late breakfast at No. 27 an easy first stop before the doors open at No. 31.
The soup dumplings are the restaurant's signature, and Westchester Magazine reported nine flavors. First-timers usually start with the Lucky Six, one basket of six fillings: pork, crab and pork, chicken, pork and truffle, luffa shrimp and pork, and scallop and pork. Co-owner Michael Ma explained the open kitchen to Westchester Magazine:
"Each one is filled and pleated by hand and then steamed to order. That's why the open kitchen is important to us—you don't just have to take our word for it. You can actually watch our team making them."
A note on the Michelin mentions in Nan Xiang's coverage. The restaurant's site shows Michelin recommendations for each year from 2009 through 2017, and those belong to the original Flushing restaurant. The White Plains dining room is still too new to have a record of its own.
What Opens at No. 31 on October 17
On Saturday, October 17, ArtsWestchester opens two exhibitions at once. Both run through January 17, 2027.
World Builders fills the Peckham Gallery. Curator Megan Meadowlark brought together artists including Stephanie Dinkins, Mark Dorf, Jordan Eagles, exonemo, Molly Soda, Alida Sun and Qualeasha Wood. In the Janet Langsam Vault, ArtsWestchester shows Josué Morales Urbina's Pericón: A Cure for All Ailments.
The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. General admission is free, with a suggested $5 donation. Those hours shape the rest of the season. Every event ArtsWestchester has listed for this run falls on a weekend, so the block's busiest days through mid-December are Saturdays.
On opening day, a free Family Arts Bash runs from noon to 2 p.m. at the gallery. The workshop is "Creating Music, Glitch Face Portraits & Data Skin Printmaking." The workshop titles follow the exhibition's subject of data, screens and machines. Families can see the show and then make work that answers it, in the same building on the same day.
The Season, Date by Date
The gallery has listed these dates for its fall run. Most fall on Saturdays, the artist Q&A is on a Sunday, and the city's tree lighting is the one weekday event on the block.
- Saturday, October 17, noon to 2 p.m. Both exhibitions open, with the free Family Arts Bash.
- Saturday, October 24, 5 to 7 p.m. Public reception for both shows. ArtsWestchester asks guests to reserve a spot.
- Sunday, November 8, 3 to 5 p.m. Artist Q&A with Josué Morales Urbina.
- Saturday, November 14, noon to 2 p.m. Free Family Arts Bash: "Data Stream Watercolor, Robot Me Paper Collage."
- Saturday, November 21, 3 to 5 p.m. Free panel at the gallery: "World Building: Art & Ecology in the Age of Data Centers."
- Tuesday, December 1, 5:30 p.m. City Lights, Bright Holiday Lights tree lighting in Renaissance Plaza Park.
- Saturday, December 5, 3 to 5 p.m. Free panel: "Life Under Observation: Art, Surveillance, and Emerging Technologies." The event page doesn't list a venue yet.
- Saturday, December 12, noon to 2 p.m. Free Family Arts Bash: "Machine Garden Diorama Collage, Screen Face Mask."
Three of the four November and December Saturday events are free and at No. 31. The fourth, on December 5, is also free but has no confirmed location, so check before heading downtown that day.
The Corner at Main Street Changed
The block's other end looks different this fall. Chazz Palminteri Italian Restaurant at 264 Main Street closed on September 30, according to The Journal News. The paper's caption, with a photo taken October 4, said to look for something else coming soon. No successor tenant has been reported as of mid-October.
The restaurant was part of downtown programming until the end. Six days before it closed, it hosted the first set of the White Plains BID's Jazz Stroll on September 24. The groove trio Butter and Company played a free 5:30 p.m. set at 264 Main Street. That same night, the stroll moved up the avenue. Kat Gang played Shiraz Kitchen & Wine Bar at 80 Mamaroneck Avenue at 7 p.m., while ArtsWestchester ran a ticketed jazz, poetry and art night at No. 31.
Shiraz anchors the upper end of this stretch. The restaurant says on its own site that it earned Bib Gourmand recognition in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Michelin's own 2022 list placed that recognition at the restaurant's earlier address in Elmsford. Those awards are part of the restaurant's history, and the kitchen now runs at 80 Mamaroneck Avenue.
On the September 24 schedule, Chazz Palminteri's corner opened the night and Shiraz carried the late set. For the rest of this season, the busiest part of the stretch is the middle, at Nos. 27 and 31.
December 1 at the Foot of the Avenue
On Tuesday, December 1, at 5:30 p.m., the mayor lights the city's holiday tree at Renaissance Plaza Park. The City of White Plains lists the park's address as Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street. That puts the tree a short walk from Nan Xiang's door, and the lighting happens after dark on a weeknight, well after the gallery's 5 p.m. close. Dinner at No. 27 before or after the lighting is the easy pairing. ArtsWestchester's December events stay on Saturdays.
One date is still open. The BID's Holiday Market ran December 5 through 14 at City Center in 2025, and as of mid-October the BID's events page still links to that 2025 market page. Until a 2026 date appears, the dates on the block are set by the city calendar and ArtsWestchester's program: the tree on December 1, the surveillance-and-technology panel on December 5 and the last Family Arts Bash on December 12. Both exhibitions stay up through January 17, 2027, so the shows will still be on view after the holiday lights come down.
If you live near downtown and plan to sell or buy after the new year, how close a home is to blocks like this one belongs in the conversation. Gino Bello Homes can walk you through what nearby homes are doing and what that means for yours. Request a free home valuation & market consultation, and we'll make time for it before your next Saturday on Mamaroneck Avenue.
