"Five steps across the road, and you're in Grand Junction Park," Sun King's vice president of retail operations, Troy Gregory, told Current in Westfield last spring, before the brewery opened its Westfield taproom at 133 S. Union St. He was talking about concerts and festivals. This winter, the most useful thing across that road is a sheet of synthetic ice with a strict timetable.
The Ice Ribbon at Grand Junction Plaza opens for the 2026–27 season on Saturday, Nov. 21. This is the first season Sun King is open for business at the other end of the plaza. For a Bridgewater household planning a winter night out, the rink's schedule is now the fixed point, and the dinner, the drink and the walk around Jersey Street all fit around it.
A Short Season With a Tight Timetable
The Ice Ribbon doesn't work like a walk-up rink. Sessions are timed at 90 minutes, one starts every two hours, and each holds up to 90 skaters. Indy's Child lists the hours in its 2026–27 rink guide, updated Oct. 26, 2026:
| When | Session window |
|---|---|
| Thursdays and Fridays | 4 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturdays | Noon to 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 21–23 and Dec. 28–30 | 2 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day | No sessions |
So a Thursday or Friday evening has two sessions and a Saturday has four. The season ends Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027. Visit Hamilton County's event listing counts 19 skating dates in all, from Nov. 21 through Jan. 2.
Carmel's rink is the obvious comparison. For the same 2026–27 season, the Indy's Child guide lists The Ice at Carter Green running through Jan. 31, 2027, Wednesday through Sunday, at $11 for ages 11 and up plus $4 for skate rental. The Ice Ribbon charges $10 per skater with rental included, plus a processing fee. Westfield is the cheaper skate. It also has fewer open days and less room per session, so a Saturday spot is worth booking early.
The surface is Glice, a synthetic ice, so a mild December afternoon won't close the rink. Rental skates run from youth size 10.5 up to women's 15 and men's 13. Skaters can bring their own skates if they have no toe picks, skate aids are free and first come, first served, and the rink doesn't offer lessons.
The Building at the Plaza's East End
Before this year, a 90-minute skate on Grand Junction Plaza ended and you went home or drove somewhere else. Now the end of a session leads straight to Sun King.
The building stands at the northeast corner of Union and Jersey streets, on the site of Westfield's first firehouse. CEO and co-founder Dave Colt told Current in Westfield that the city asked Sun King to work that history into the design. It's Hamilton County's third Sun King, after the Fishers and Carmel locations, and Colt described the company's approach as picking spots with "plenty of foot traffic and events" around them.
The building's two floors matter for a skating night, because they serve two different groups:
- Downstairs is family-friendly, with a patio and fire pit. Children are welcome.
- Upstairs has an indoor dining room and bar reserved for guests 21 and older, plus a covered patio that looks over downtown Westfield.
- The kitchen is Stacked House, Sun King's food partner, which serves stacked burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads and appetizers.
FOX59's spring coverage described Stacked House as American comfort food built for families, including smash burgers, pizza and shareable plates. That makes the downstairs room a good fit for families with young skaters. Sun King posts its current draft list on its Westfield page, along with Westfield events through the rest of November.
Jersey Street Fills In the Rest of the Evening
Sun King isn't the only new option around the plaza. In the same Current in Westfield story, Mayor Scott Willis described downtown as starting to "come together," and the story noted that businesses and restaurants occupy most of the commercial space at The Union at Grand Junction.
H Steakhouse is at 207 Mill St., on the corner of Mill and Jersey. Its posted hours line up well with the rink. The restaurant's website lists dinner Monday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. A Friday or Saturday 4 p.m. session ends at 5:30, which leaves time for a walk down Jersey Street before a dinner reservation. The 6 p.m. session gets out at 7:30, with three hours of Friday and Saturday service still left.
TOUS les JOURS, a French-Asian bakery at 170 Jersey St., soft-opened on Jan. 1, 2026, Current in Westfield reported. This is its first full holiday season on the plaza, and it's on the same block as the rink.
Here's how a Saturday can fit around the schedule:
- Book the noon or 2 p.m. skate and stop at TOUS les JOURS on Jersey Street.
- Book the 4 p.m. skate, then go to Sun King's downstairs room for burgers by the fire pit with the kids.
- Book the 6 p.m. skate, then go to H Steakhouse, which serves until 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
Two December Dates That Change the Plan
The regular schedule has two exceptions worth putting on the calendar now.
Saturday, Dec. 5: Westfield in Lights. The city's calendar lists the event at Grand Junction Plaza from 3 to 6 p.m. Indy's Child puts the tree lighting at 6 p.m. Regular Ice Ribbon sessions don't run that day. Instead, the city's Westfield in Lights page lists three special skating sessions, and a fee applies. That Saturday also falls in the middle of the season, between two Fridays with regular sessions, so a family that wants both the tree lighting and an ordinary skate can split them across two nights.
Wednesday, Dec. 9: Holiday Card Watercolor Class. The city's Westfield Winter Workshop series holds a holiday card watercolor class at Grand Junction Plaza from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at $30 per participant for ages 16 and up. Dec. 9 isn't one of the Ice Ribbon's skating dates, so this December weeknight on the plaza isn't built around skating. Details are on the city calendar listing.
Tickets and Parking
Tickets have been on sale online since Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 a.m., and they're sold by session only. The Visit Hamilton County listing confirms that tickets have to be bought before your session. With a 90-skater cap and only four Saturday sessions, the Saturdays in December and the holiday-week afternoons will likely sell out first.
Free parking is on Union and Mill streets and in the public lot at Park and Poplar streets, with accessible spaces on Mill Street. Questions about the rink go to Westfield Parks at [email protected] or (317) 804-3150.
Our team at Allen Williams keeps a close eye on how places like Grand Junction Plaza change the way nearby neighborhoods live through the winter. If you're curious how a growing downtown Westfield affects what your Bridgewater home is worth this season, Request a Complimentary Home Valuation and we'll walk you through it.