On August 28, UNIQLO opened its 22,618-square-foot store at 3262 M St. NW with Japanese taiko drummers, and The Georgetowner reported people carrying UNIQLO bags around the neighborhood all weekend.
Five days later and two blocks away, chefs Alex McCoy and Justin Ahn opened Alfie's, a 25-seat northern Thai restaurant and natural wine bar. You won't find it on the avenue. It's in the alley section of a 1980s compound up 31st Street.
The rest of the fall has followed the same split. National retailers are taking the big M Street frontage. Most of the new restaurants have opened behind it, in courtyards and alleys, and two of those courtyards come from the same local developers. If you want to try something new for dinner this season, a map of Georgetown's side streets will help you more than a walk down M.
What M Street signed this fall
The headline storefronts on and near the main corridor went almost entirely to national brands:
- UNIQLO, 3262 M St. NW, opened Aug. 28.
- Bombas, 1400 Wisconsin Ave. NW, opened Aug. 14. It's the brand's first D.C. store, and co-founder Randy Goldberg is a Georgetown University alum.
- Kith, the sneaker and streetwear label, plans to move into 3040 M St. NW next to Barnes & Noble. The Georgetowner passed along UrbanTurf's report on the Old Georgetown Board filings.
- Edikted plans a 3,890-square-foot store at 3135 M St. NW, the former Allbirds space.
- Pop Mart, the Beijing-based designer toy company, is coming to 3221 M St. NW.
There is one food exception on M. Flavor Hive, a Northern Virginia food truck, opened a brick-and-mortar shop at 3287½ M St. NW in the former Harmony Café space. Even that address carries a half-number.
Hamilton Collective, where the dinner crowd now turns up 31st Street
Alfie's sits at 1228½ 31st St. NW, inside what used to be called Hamilton Court. The property has been renamed Hamilton Collective. It runs along 31st Street and Congress Court, just up from M Street, and mixes shops, restaurants, services, a few apartments and a parking garage. Jessica and Ezra Glass lead the project with partners David and Marc Duber. David Duber put the property at 55,000 square feet.
The owners describe their goal in plain terms. "The best part of our retail here is it's necessary retail," Jessica Glass told The Georgetowner in June. "You come here to do things you have to do. Your kids have to go to school. You have to work out. You have to get a cup of coffee in the morning." The same article says the partners all live in Georgetown and call the project a place "by locals for locals."
In June, the published roster of current and soon-to-open tenants included Ultraviolet florist, Two Nine sushi, Flor coffee and books, a preschool, a Pilates studio, a health club and an auto spa. The two restaurants that opened in September now sit alongside them.
Alfie's has a menu that changes often. Washingtonian's opening preview listed sai ua sausage, khao soi, cockles with chile jam, smoked-catfish larb and monkfish curry. McCoy told the magazine the room has "a bit of that feel of a hole-in-the-wall wine bar in Europe, but it also has the feel of a shophouse in Thailand," and that "this wasn't a restaurant before." Reservations go through Resy from the restaurant's site. With 25 seats, booking ahead makes sense.
Flora Pizzeria opened next door on Sept. 14. It makes naturally leavened dough with organic flour and Sicilian sea salt. Flora's menu runs to 18-inch pies and slices, salads, and sandwiches such as meatball and mortadella with pistachio and burrata.
Grace Street Collective, the Glasses' earlier courtyard
Hamilton Collective is the Glasses' second courtyard. Through their firm Thyme Holdings, they're also behind the Grace Street Collective, a side-street cluster south of M.
The collective has kept turning over without losing its shape. Reverie, at 3210 Cherry Hill Lane NW, served its last meal on Oct. 4, 2025. My Little Chamomile opened on Cherry Hill Lane in early January 2026. Ox & Olive steakhouse was the newest arrival as of June, and Green Almond Pantry stays put at 3210 Grace St.
Café Tulúm is the fall addition at 3210 Grace St. NW and opened in early September. It comes from Mexican restaurateur Juan Dracoulis, and Eater DC described the menu as Mexican seafood and small plates with Japanese influences: ceviche, tostadas, tacos, oysters and sashimi.
The hours are unusual enough to check before you go. Eater listed them as follows:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Wednesday | 5 to 10 p.m. |
| Thursday | Closed to the public for private events |
| Friday | Open until midnight |
| Saturday and Sunday | Noon until late |
Prospect Street's next opening comes through an alley
The most anticipated restaurant of Georgetown's fall is planned the same way. Michael Rafidi, who owns Albi, La' Shukran and Yellow on Wisconsin Avenue, is opening Bizzeria in the back of 3246 Prospect St. NW. Its entrance will be in the alley, reached from Potomac Street.
Washingtonian described it as a Levantine-inspired wood-fired pizzeria with 48-hour fermented sourdough, house-made cheese, raw dishes, mezze, charcuterie and wine. Rafidi has been testing the idea with evening "not pizza" pop-ups at Yellow. Bon Appétit put Bizzeria on its list of the most anticipated openings in the country this fall, with a projected November opening. Treat that as a target until the doors open.
According to a June liquor-license filing covered by PoPville, the restaurant proposed 45 seats inside, a 35-seat summer garden and an 18-seat streatery. That would make the outdoor space nearly as large as the dining room.
Skillette, a cooking school from Kelly Singer, shares the address. A March press release published by PoPville said it would open this fall, but Skillette's own site now says early 2027, with the class schedule due out in November.
Within a block of Bizzeria, Prospect Street has had a mixed season. Donsak Thai soft-opened at 3251 Prospect St. in August, in the former Mai Thai space. On Oct. 18, fire badly damaged La Bonne Vache, the French-inspired burger spot at 3265 Prospect St. NW that opened in January 2024. Fire officials said the blaze started at a first-floor electrical panel, and nobody was hurt. The restaurant posted that it will "rebuild and reopen."
The one alley that lost a restaurant this year
The courtyard model has had a cost as well. Kafe Leopold, a fixture of Cady's Alley, closed on June 21 after 21 years. Cady's Alley still anchors the 3300 block's design district. Adriana Hoyos, a furniture and interior design showroom, opened this year at 3328 M St. NW as part of that cluster. But the alley that once paired showrooms with a long-running café is now mostly showrooms, while the new food has moved to the Glasses' properties and to Prospect Street.
Upper Wisconsin is getting small counters
Farther up Wisconsin Avenue, the new arrivals are smaller and also run by operators with local ties. Delhi Belly, from Vikas Kakkar and Raj Manroy, opened in August at 1560 Wisconsin Ave. NW. That corner at Wisconsin and Q has had several tenants, including La Jolie Bleue, Bharati and Oakberry. Purée Juice Bar announced an Oct. 8 opening at 1511 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Dutch Darlings Stroopwafels & Sweets, at 1003 Wisconsin Ave. NW, opened after some delay.
Dolcezza Gelato is coming back. The company was founded in 2004 in a 300-square-foot kitchen at Wisconsin and Q, and it plans to open its seventh location at 1300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, the former Pressed Juicery space, in late fall or early winter. "We're coming home," the founders wrote on social media, as quoted by The Georgetowner.
A side-street evening, in walking order
For one night that covers most of this fall's new food, start on the south side of M and work north:
- Grace Street Collective, 3210 Grace St. NW. Café Tulúm for oysters or ceviche, any day but Thursday.
- Prospect Street, crossing at Potomac Street. Donsak Thai is open at 3251 Prospect, and Bizzeria's alley entrance will be off Potomac once it opens.
- Hamilton Collective, 1228½ 31st St. NW. Alfie's for northern Thai and natural wine, or a slice at Flora Pizzeria next door.
- Wisconsin and Q. Delhi Belly, with Dolcezza a few blocks south at 1300 Wisconsin once it reopens.
If you'd rather end the night with something besides dinner, O Street Collection is a new art boutique at 3213 O St. NW. It carries more than 50 original works and artist-designed pieces priced from $50 to over $10,000. The Georgetown BID's calendar lists "Wax to Watts: Illuminating History" on Nov. 20 and Dec. 2, and a Holiday Tea & Tour on Dec. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. One part of the usual walk is out for now. Georgetown Heritage expects the canal boat, paused during the National Park Service's restoration work, to resume tours in spring 2027.
At Shepherd Homes Group, we keep track of these side-street openings because they shape what a Georgetown address is like day to day. If you're thinking about which blocks put the Grace Street, Prospect or 31st Street courtyards within an easy walk, we're glad to talk it through with you. Contact Us.
