"No one here is selling tchotchkes, right? You come here to do things you have to do." Jessica Glass said that to The Georgetowner in June about the Hamilton Collective, the cluster of buildings along 31st Street and Congress Court that she and her husband Ezra are reworking with partners David and Marc Duber. She was describing a florist, a coffee-and-books shop, a pilates studio and a preschool. Three months later, the same courtyard is home to two of Georgetown's most talked-about new restaurants.
That pattern holds across the neighborhood this fall. The most interesting new food in Georgetown is opening behind the storefronts, in alleys and courtyards you reach on foot from 31st Street, Grace Street and Potomac Street. M Street's big September story was retail.
The Courtyard at 1228½ 31st Street
The Hamilton Collective used to be called Hamilton Court. It's about 55,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and services just up from M Street, with its address at 1232 31st St. NW. The tenant list reads like a neighborhood errand run: Ultraviolet florist, Two Nine sushi, Flor coffee and books, Beso Besu, RM Wellness, Georgetown Pilates, Georgetown Preschool, Georgetown Auto Spa and Hamilton Health Club.
On September 2, Alfie's opened in the alley section at 1228½ 31st St. NW. Chefs Alex McCoy and Justin Ahn ran Alfie's as a roving Thai pop-up for a decade, starting in Park View and later popping up in London and Bangkok. The Georgetown room is its first permanent home in DC, with just 25 seats and natural wine. It sits next to the omakase room Two Nine. The menu includes khao soi, curries made with local seafood and meats, cockles with chile jam, 'nduja and holy basil, and sticky rice served in Ziploc bags. McCoy told Washingtonian the space "wasn't a restaurant before," and the team worked to make it "feel like it had been here for 40 or 50 years."
Flora Pizzeria opened next door on September 14. It sells cacio e pepe pies whole, at 18 inches, or by the slice, along with Caesar salads and meatball sandwiches. Flora also runs a stall at The Square, the downtown food hall. The kitchen makes its dough with natural leaven, organic flour and Sicilian sea salt.
A Thai wine bar and a slice shop sharing a courtyard with a preschool and an auto spa fits Glass's "necessary retail" idea better than it might seem. You might grab dinner at the same address where you drop off dry cleaning or pick up flowers.
The Same Owners Did It First on Grace Street
The Glasses have run this kind of project before. With Thyme Holdings, they're behind Grace Street Collective, which recently added Ox & Olive steakhouse. They also own Apero on P Street.
In early September, Café Tulúm opened at 3210 Grace St. NW as the newest member of Grace Street Collective. Mexican restaurateur Juan Dracoulis designed it as a plant-filled alley spot serving Mexican small plates with Japanese touches. Every cocktail at the matte-black bar is made with fresh fruit, including a cucumber basil vodka drink and a spicy watermelon mezcal.
Put together, two alley compounds a few blocks apart are now home to three new restaurants that opened between September 2 and September 14. Both compounds share an owner, and both mix dining with daily errands.
Bizzeria Will Be the Next Alley Door
The next opening on the list follows the same pattern. Michael Rafidi, who owns Albi and La' Shukran along with Yellow and its "(not) pizza" on Wisconsin Avenue, is bringing Bizzeria to the back of 3246 Prospect St. NW. Its entrance will be in the alley off Potomac Street. It shares the address with Skillette, an upcoming cooking school from Kelly Singer. The Georgetowner's September 17 report gave the timing only as "Fall '26," so Bizzeria is expected this season but has no confirmed opening day.
If you walk by the Prospect Street frontage looking for it, you'll miss it. The door is around the corner, down the alley.
What Opened on the Main Streets
The bigger footprints went to M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Uniqlo opened August 28 at 3262 M St. NW in a 22,618-square-foot store, with Taiko drum performances on opening day. That's one store at roughly 40 percent of the entire Hamilton Collective, which holds more than a dozen businesses. Bombas opened its first DC store at 1400 Wisconsin Ave. NW on August 14. Adriana Hoyos, the interior design and luxury furniture company, joined the design cluster on the 3300 block of M Street near Cady's Alley.
The main-street food news is real, but it's more casual or hotel-based:
- Flavor Hive, the Northern Virginia halal food truck, opened its first DC storefront on August 27 in the former Harmony Café space on M Street. It's known for loaded walking-taco chip bags and also serves rice bowls, quesadillas and dal-puri tacos.
- CanteenM, a 24/7 bar and restaurant, opened in September inside the new citizenM hotel at 3401 K St. NW.
- Delhi Belly opened in August at 1560 Wisconsin Ave. NW, serving casual dishes inspired by urban Indian food culture.
M Street also lost a long-running restaurant. Pizzeria Paradiso closed its 3282 M St. NW location on Sunday, July 26, after 24 years there. Its Dupont Circle flagship, the original location since 1991, is still open. Between Flora's September opening and Bizzeria's expected one, Georgetown's new pizza is moving into the alleys too.
The October Calendar Runs Along Wisconsin Avenue
The restaurants are tucked away, but the neighborhood events this month are on the main streets. Georgetown Main Street's dates:
- Chicken Pot Pie-Athon, October 1 through 31, the group's annual fundraiser with Chef Jenn and 1310 Kitchen & Bar.
- Fall Market, October 17 and 18, a sidewalk sale of Georgetown small businesses along Wisconsin Avenue with food and fall crafts.
- Wisconsin Ave Woof Walk, Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dogs and their owners can trick-or-treat at participating businesses, with treats and water along the route.
The Georgetown BID calendar lists Sips & Sounds at Pinstripes, 1064 Wisconsin Ave. NW, on October 2, with patio music by Joseph Monasterial. On Halloween night, a special Ghosts of Georgetown & Exorcist Steps walking tour leaves from outside the Old Stone House at 3051 M St. NW at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and ends with a haunted light show at the Exorcist Steps. Georgetown GLOW took a hiatus in 2025, and we found no 2026 dates for it.
What's Still on Hold
Some things that were expected this year have been pushed back.
- The canal boat. Georgetown Heritage's boat has been in drydock since the end of the 2023 season while the National Park Service repairs the canal. The group now plans to relaunch it next spring, once repair work wraps up early in 2027. A January 2026 Georgetown Metropolitan post had expected the boat back this year.
- Spicewalla. The spice brand's store at 1317 Wisconsin Ave. NW was previewed for fall 2026. The company's own September 30 update now says fall/winter 2027.
- Dolcezza Gelato. Dolcezza was founded in Georgetown in 2004 in a 300-square-foot kitchen at Wisconsin and Q. It's slated to return in late fall or early winter at 1300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, in the former Pressed Juicery space. That will be its seventh location.
- The waterfront trail. The Capital Crescent Trail is using a temporary route through Georgetown Waterfront Park between 33rd and Potomac streets. Cyclists stay on the path, pedestrians have detours, and Water Street is still open to cars. DC Water expects its Potomac River Tunnel work at the park to finish by 2030.
The short version: for the newest kitchens in Georgetown this fall, go to the courtyard at 1228½ 31st Street, the Grace Street alley, and soon the Potomac Street alley behind 3246 Prospect.
In Georgetown, the address on a listing often isn't where the door is, and what's a short walk away matters as much as the house itself. If you're thinking about moving within Georgetown or nearby, Anthony Lacey and the team can walk you through it block by block, with a clear plan from pricing to closing. Schedule a Free Consultation.
