"This wasn't a restaurant before, but we worked really hard to make this place feel like it had been here for 40 or 50 years." Chef Alex McCoy was describing Alfie's to Washingtonian, and The Georgetowner repeated the line in its September roundup. The address explains why he had to work at it. Alfie's is at 1228½ 31st St. NW, a half address in an alley that most people walking 31st Street pass without looking down.
This fall, Georgetown's independent food openings keep landing at addresses like that one: a half number, an alley entrance, a collective set back from the main street. At the same time, the big M Street storefronts are going to national brands. If you want to know where to eat in Georgetown this season, you need to know which alleys to turn into.
What the frontage got instead
Start on M Street. That's where most of the new square footage went. Uniqlo opened on Aug. 28 at 3262 M St. NW in a 22,618-square-foot store, and opening weekend included Japanese Taiko drummers. Three more national names are announced for the same strip. Kith, the sneaker and streetwear label, is going into 3040 M St. NW next to Barnes & Noble. Pop Mart, the designer-toy company, is going into 3221 M St. NW. Edikted plans a 3,890-square-foot store at 3135 M St. NW, the former Allbirds space. Bombas opened its first DC store at 1400 Wisconsin Ave. NW on Aug. 14.
Even the food on that list arrives through retail. The Georgetown Metropolitan reports that Kith also plans a Kith Treats cereal bar. A chef-run restaurant with a natural wine list is a smaller operation, and this fall those restaurants found their space down the lanes off the main streets.
Congress Court, the alley off 31st Street
Hamilton Collective holds the densest cluster. It's the former Hamilton Court, a compound of shops, restaurants and small businesses at 1232 31st St. NW, just up from M Street. It stretches along 31st Street and back into Congress Court. The site has a past. According to The Georgetowner's June profile, old coverage of the compound ran under headlines like "Rococo Complex Is Home for 25" and "Georgetown's Lost Beatnik Past."
Two restaurants opened 12 days apart in the alley section:
- Alfie's opened Sept. 2 at 1228½ 31st St. NW. It serves northern Thai food with a natural wine bar, from chefs Alex McCoy and Justin Ahn. The Georgetowner put its warning plainly: "It's spicy."
- Flora Pizzeria opened right next door on Sept. 14. It's from the team behind Pluma/Bluebird Bakery, according to the Georgetown Metropolitan. The dough is naturally leavened and made with organic flour and Sicilian sea salt. The Georgetown shop shares Alfie's 1228½ 31st Street address. Flora's own site lists its 1850 K St. NW branch separately, so make sure the map pin shows Georgetown. The Georgetown BID lists Flora's hours as Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The two restaurants share the alley with a neighborhood roster. The June tenant list, which The Georgetowner described as "current and soon-to-open," included Ultraviolet florist, Two Nine sushi, Flor Coffee + Books, Beso Besu, Georgetown Pilates and Hamilton Health Club, along with a few residential units. Flor Coffee + Books, at 1220 31st St. NW, turned one in September.
The same owners, one block over on Grace Street
Many of these back-lane openings trace back to a small group of people. Jessica and Ezra Glass are behind Hamilton Collective together with David and Marc Duber and other investors. The Glasses, working with Thyme Holdings, are also the force behind Grace Street Collective, and that compound's most recent entry before this fall was Ox & Olive steakhouse. The Georgetowner reports that all of them live in Georgetown and call the 31st Street project a place "by locals for locals."
Grace Street Collective added Café Tulúm at 3210 Grace St. NW. It's a Mexican seafood bar serving tacos, tostadas, oysters and ceviche. The Georgetowner first announced a Sept. 4 opening, then reported in mid-September that it had opened the month before. Either way, it's open now.
Back on M Street there's a half address of its own. Flavor Hive, a Northern Virginia food truck, opened its first storefront on Aug. 27 at 3287½ M St. NW, in the former Harmony Café space. It serves halal chip bags and rice bowls.
The back-lane ledger
| Spot | Address | How you get in | Status as of early November |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfie's | 1228½ 31st St. NW | Congress Court alley, Hamilton Collective | Open since Sept. 2 |
| Flora Pizzeria | 1228½ 31st St. NW | Congress Court alley, next to Alfie's | Open since Sept. 14 |
| Café Tulúm | 3210 Grace St. NW | Grace Street Collective | Open |
| Flavor Hive | 3287½ M St. NW | Half address on M Street | Open since Aug. 27 |
| Bizzeria | Rear of 3246 Prospect St. NW | Alley entrance from Potomac Street | Announced for fall 2026 |
| Skillette | 3246 Prospect St. NW | Same building as Bizzeria | Opening early 2027 |
Next up: an alley entrance off Potomac Street
The next back-lane opening is a pizza place. Michael Rafidi, who owns Albi and La' Shukran along with Yellow on Wisconsin Avenue, is bringing Bizzeria to the rear of 3246 Prospect St. NW. The Georgetowner reports that its entrance will be in the alley, reached from Potomac Street. The Georgetown Metropolitan describes it as wood-fired pizza and natural wine. The announced timing is still "Fall '26," with no opening day published.
Skillette, a cooking school from Kelly Singer, shares the building. Washingtonian reported a 1,525-square-foot teaching kitchen. That's about one-fifteenth the size of the new Uniqlo three blocks away on M Street, and the difference in floor area shows which kinds of businesses are taking which spaces. Skillette's homepage now says "Opening early 2027" and says its class schedule will be released in November.
A loop through the hidden addresses
For an evening that skips the M Street crowd, the open spots link up in one short loop:
- Start at Flor Coffee + Books, 1220 31st St. NW, for an afternoon coffee.
- Walk up 31st Street and turn into the Congress Court alley for dinner at Alfie's or Flora Pizzeria. Flora serves until 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
- Cross to Grace Street for oysters or ceviche at Café Tulúm, 3210 Grace St. NW.
- End on M Street at Flavor Hive, 3287½ M St. NW, for a rice bowl. That works when the group can't agree on anything else.
Once it opens, Bizzeria's Potomac Street alley entrance will add a fifth stop a few blocks west.
Dolcezza comes back to the corner
The season's one big homecoming is on Wisconsin Avenue. Robb Duncan and Violeta Edelman founded Dolcezza Gelato in Georgetown in 2004, and it is slated to reopen at 1300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, the former Pressed Juicery space, in "late fall or early winter." It will be the company's seventh location. In a Sept. 3 post that The Georgetowner reprinted, the founders recalled starting "in a 300 sq ft kitchen on wisconsin avenue & q street nw."
That original corner, 1560 Wisconsin Ave. NW, is now Delhi Belly, a casual restaurant that opened in August. The Georgetowner notes that the space has had several operators in between, including La Jolie Bleue, Bharati and Oakberry.
For a seasonal outing near the waterfront, the Washington Harbour rink at 3000–3050 K St. NW opens Nov. 19 and runs through Feb. 28, 2027, weather permitting. From the bottom of 31st Street, it's a short walk downhill from the Congress Court alley.
If you own in Georgetown and want to know how this fall's changes on your blocks bear on your home, Chuck Burger can walk you through it. Request a Free Market Valuation.
