What time is lunch in Leiper's Fork on December 12? On most Saturdays nobody needs to ask. This year it matters, because the "Almost World Famous" Leiper's Fork Christmas Parade starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, 2026. FranklinIs, which lists it, puts it in bold: there is only one road through the village, and it closes at 1:55 p.m.
Those five minutes come right as the village's own Saturday is turning over. Breakfast and lunch service is ending, the afternoon music is partway through, and Leiper's Creek Gallery has three hours left before it closes. Lay the posted hours of the businesses on Old Hillsboro Road side by side and the parade sits right where the morning village gives way to the evening village.
The morning side of the line
The Country Boy, at 4141 Old Hillsboro Road, serves breakfast and lunch every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to its own site. On a normal Saturday that 2 p.m. close is just the end of a shift. On December 12 it's the parade's start time. So lunch at The Country Boy has to happen before the floats arrive, and the road outside closes five minutes before the kitchen does.
The restaurant has its own story. The Country Boy closed in 2022. In January 2024, NewsChannel 5 reported that business partners Johnny Weber and Cam Harrington had reopened it. The restaurant's history page dates their reopening to 2023 and says the new owners deliberately kept the room familiar, down to the wall of height marks, the chairs and the counter. In 2024 Weber turned the cellar into a cocktail bar. It's called the Tornado Room. In NewsChannel 5's story, Weber said, "We want it to be very country, just like your grandma's house."
Directly across the road is Fox & Locke. Its free music page lists live music on Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., and asks guests to tip the musicians. That Saturday set starts two hours before the parade and runs an hour past its start, so the parade passes by in the middle of it.
The Fox & Locke name is the building's original one. The building ran as Puckett's Leiper's Fork until its original name was restored. The Williamson Herald reported that community leaders and local historians backed the change to protect the historic district's authenticity. WMOT reported in May 2022 that new owner Aubrey Preston described the purchase as a way to keep the venue a community gathering place.
A few doors down, Leiper's Creek Gallery at 4144 Old Hillsboro Road lists Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's the one stop on this stretch whose posted hours cover the whole day, before and after the parade.
Where the five minutes land
Here is the stretch of Old Hillsboro Road from noon to 5 p.m. on December 12, set out by posted hours:
- Noon: Fox & Locke's free Saturday music begins.
- 1:55 p.m.: Old Hillsboro Road closes through the village.
- 2 p.m.: The parade begins, and The Country Boy's posted breakfast-and-lunch service ends.
- 3 p.m.: Fox & Locke's Saturday music set ends.
- 5 p.m.: Leiper's Creek Gallery closes, and The Country Boy opens for dinner.
These are each business's regular posted hours. Holiday Saturdays sometimes run differently, so check with The Country Boy, Fox & Locke and the gallery the week of the parade.
The road closure decides where you are for the next stretch of the afternoon. The FranklinIs parade guide says to arrive early because Old Hillsboro Road closes shortly before the parade and crowds can be heavy all through the village. Wherever you are at 1:55 is where you'll watch the parade, and most likely where you'll spend the first part of the afternoon.
What comes down Old Hillsboro Road
The route runs straight through the village on Old Hillsboro Road. FranklinIs describes a typical lineup of antique tractors, vintage cars, homemade floats, horses, farm animals and plenty of Christmas decorations. Each year has a Grand Marshal. In 2025 it was Kathie Lee Gifford, as the Williamson Herald's 2025 photo gallery shows.
The parade is free to attend. It usually falls on the second Saturday of December, and the third Saturday serves as the bad-weather date. For 2026, the third Saturday is December 19, so keep that afternoon open too.
The evening side of the line
After the last tractor goes by, the village's schedule shifts to its later hours. The Country Boy serves dinner Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. That makes a gap between the end of lunch at 2 p.m. and dinner at 5. Fox & Locke's music fills the first hour of it, and the gallery and the drive out of the village fill the rest.
If you're looking for somewhere to go in that gap, Leiper's Fork Distillery lists Friday, Saturday and Sunday hours of 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's at 3381 Southall Road, not on Old Hillsboro Road. So the parade route doesn't pass its door, and a 6 p.m. close leaves room for a stop between the parade and dinner.
Put together, the afternoon of December 12 has a fairly clear order:
- Lunch at The Country Boy or a seat for Fox & Locke's noon set, well before 1:55.
- The parade on Old Hillsboro Road at 2 p.m.
- The rest of the music at Fox & Locke until 3, or the gallery until 5.
- A stop on Southall Road before the distillery's 6 p.m. close.
- Dinner at The Country Boy, which starts at 5.
Each step comes straight from the businesses' own posted hours. The parade starts at 2 p.m., the same minute The Country Boy ends breakfast and lunch, and the rest of the village moves into its evening hours over the next three hours.
Sandra has lived in Middle Tennessee since 1995, and the parade is one of the dates she marks on the calendar each December. If you're hosting family that weekend and want ideas for the rest of the visit in Leiper's Fork and Franklin, Sandra Hill is happy to share what she knows. Let's Connect.
