When East Fork announced its Georgetown store this summer, co-founder and CEO Alex Matisse recalled a line at the pottery company's last Washington Seconds Sale. "The last one I attended had a line that must have been a quarter mile long at least," he said in the announcement PoPville published in June. The company could have put its first permanent D.C.-area store almost anywhere. It chose 1313 Wisconsin Avenue NW, a few doors up the hill from M Street.
Since January, the blocks of Wisconsin Avenue from M Street up toward R Street have gained an ambitious new restaurant, a first-in-D.C. retail store, two Asheville brands as next-door neighbors, and a run of smaller food openings. The newest names in Georgetown are opening uphill.
Two Asheville brands, side by side at 1313 and 1317
On Friday, Nov. 6, Spicewalla opens at 1317 Wisconsin Ave. NW. It is the small-batch spice brand's second brick-and-mortar store, and The Georgetowner places it "right next door to its Asheville friends, East Fork." The company told the paper the shop will carry its individual spices, exclusive blends, gift collections and collaboration products. Shelves will also hold snacks, condiments and pantry goods from Washington-area makers.
Spicewalla comes from chef Meherwan Irani and the Chai Pani team. They opened Botiwalla in Tenleytown, also on Wisconsin Avenue, just weeks earlier, so the same group now has two addresses on the same avenue a few miles apart.
East Fork has a bigger plan for 1313. The company's announcement describes nearly 2,000 square feet of retail plus about 700 square feet for events and programming. That makes it the brand's largest retail space so far, larger than its Asheville and Brooklyn stores. The company says the store will add displays for gardening, apothecary and pantry goods alongside its pottery. It also plans workshops and installations throughout the year. As of this week, East Fork's own locations page lists the Georgetown store as "Coming Fall/Winter 2026" and gives no opening date or hours.
East Fork is moving into the former Random Harvest space, which The Georgetowner described as recently shuttered in its June 22 column. A vacancy on the block will soon be one of the larger destination stores on the avenue.
The anchor at 1218
Two blocks down the hill, the building at 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW housed the Third Edition and El Centro for years. In June it reopened as two restaurants from Ten Five Hospitality. The Oak Room, on the ground floor, is an American grill led by Chef Tim Hollingsworth, formerly of The French Laundry. In its announcement to The Georgetowner, the company described a steak and seafood program, tableside service and a wine list curated by Taylor Parsons. Upstairs, Bernadette's is a candlelit supper club with live music, martinis and grower Champagne. Three-time James Beard Award nominee Julian Cox runs the cocktail program for both.
Both opened on the announced date, Friday, June 26, which Washingtonian covered in its opening preview. Eater DC published a firsthand dining report on July 23. Its tip was to finish the evening upstairs at Bernadette's. The two rooms keep different schedules:
- The Oak Room: dinner 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, plus weekend brunch, according to the restaurant's site.
- Bernadette's: open Tuesday through Saturday, with music at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday, per its site.
This matters for the rest of the street. A dinner and late-evening anchor at the bottom of the stretch gives the blocks above it evening foot traffic. Before June, that traffic mostly stopped at M Street.
Walking up the hill, block by block
Above 1218, this year's openings run almost without a break. This is the stretch as it stands the first week of November, using the dates local press reported:
| Address | Business | Status this week | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1218 Wisconsin | The Oak Room and Bernadette's | Open | Opened June 26 |
| 1313 Wisconsin | East Fork | Coming | "Fall/Winter 2026," no date set |
| 1317 Wisconsin | Spicewalla | Opening | Friday, Nov. 6 |
| 1326 Wisconsin | Nuts Factory | Open | Reported new in late January |
| 1400 Wisconsin | Bombas | Open | Opened Aug. 14 |
| 1424 Wisconsin | 7th Street Burger | Open | Reopened after renovations in August |
| 1525 Wisconsin | Jinya Ramen Bar | Open | Reported open in late January |
| 1560 Wisconsin | Delhi Belly | Open | Opened in August |
| 1564 Wisconsin | Los Cuates | Closed | Closed in January |
| 1624 Wisconsin | Olli | Open | Reported open in mid-October |
Bombas is the national name in this group. The 1400 Wisconsin store, which opened Aug. 14, is the sock and apparel company's first in D.C., The Georgetowner reported. It is the same kind of decision East Fork made. A brand opening its first Washington store picked the uphill blocks over the busiest corner in the neighborhood.
The food openings fill in the middle of the climb. Nuts Factory took over the former Towne Wine & Liquor space at 1326 and opened in the third week of January. Jinya Ramen Bar was already serving at 1525 when The Georgetowner's January 26 column ran. Delhi Belly arrived at 1560 in August. At the top of the stretch, Olli serves house-made frozen Greek yogurt with fruit, premium toppings and drizzles at 1624. The Georgetown BID announced it as open in mid-October. The Georgetowner quoted the shop's description of itself as "a fresh take on froyo."
Turnover has gone both ways. Los Cuates at 1564 closed in January, about two weeks before the Georgetowner's January 26 column. Still, the stretch gained at least seven operating businesses this year, plus two more on the way. Against that, the one permanent closure is the exception.
The street around these openings
The BID's new restaurants and retail guide also lists Huckberry at 1239, Frankies Bikinis at 1240, MZ Wallace at 1246 and HOSŪ at 1515 Wisconsin. The guide gives no opening dates for those four. Even so, they show what the 2026 arrivals joined: lifestyle and apparel names clustered in the 1200 block, below the climb toward Volta Place.
The East Fork announcement describes the location as "the heart of Georgetown's small business community of independent retailers, restaurants and coffee shops." The company plans programming there through the year. If that happens, the 1300 block gets a regular reason for people to visit after dark. Together with The Oak Room and Bernadette's below, it would extend Georgetown's evening hours up the avenue.
Down the hill this season
A few nearby dates fall within a short walk of the new openings:
- 260 Sample Sale, 3307 M St. NW. IKEA's plan-and-order shop at this address was set to close Oct. 18, according to The Georgetowner's October 1 column. The New York sample-sale company has leased the space for a limited-time pop-up and is aiming for a first sale in mid-November. The Georgetowner reported the lease, quoting the Washington Business Journal's coverage.
- The Washington Harbour rink, 3000–3050 K St. NW. The season runs Nov. 19 through Feb. 28, weather permitting, according to the Washington Harbour.
- Georgetown Main Street Cookie Tour. Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 to 5 p.m., with a second date listed for Dec. 12. Tickets and participating stops are still to be announced on the organizer's page.
- Swedish Holiday Market, House of Sweden, 2900 K St. NW. Also Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a free Lucia procession at 5 p.m., per the event listing.
For now, the most concrete date on the upper avenue is Friday, Nov. 6, at 1317 Wisconsin, when Spicewalla opens right next door to East Fork's future store.
Our team keeps a close watch on which storefronts fill and which stay empty along these Georgetown blocks. If you own on or near Wisconsin Avenue and want to talk through what this year's openings could mean for your home, The NTB Group would be glad to arrange a private consultation.
