Ballston's biggest change this fall is a new weekly routine. The largest new room on Wilson Boulevard runs on a fixed rotation of happy hour, growler night and trivia. The Ballston BID is turning a November week at Ballston Quarter into a retail tryout for businesses that have never had a store. In December, a holiday market returns to Welburn Square under a new name. Each of these gives people a reason to come back every week, and the shared spaces are being used to find out who could fill the next storefront.
Here is how that plays out from now through the end of the year, starting with the place that already has its doors open.
A 6,300-square-foot room with a weekly schedule
El Rey's taqueria and margarita bar at 4201 Wilson Blvd. closed over the summer. ARLnow reported in August that Solace Brewing Company would take over the 6,300-square-foot retail bay. Solace co-founder Jon Humerick had first talked about a partnership with El Rey. By late August that had become a complete rebrand. El Rey first opened in Ballston Exchange in 2021 and still runs locations on U Street and in Navy Yard.
Solace Outpost opened Sept. 9, according to Arlington Magazine's restaurant tracker. Solace is based in Sterling and already had outposts in Falls Church and Navy Yard. In a press release quoted by ARLnow, Humerick said "Ballston has the energy, density and sense of community that we look for when considering a new location."
What matters more for regulars is the weekly schedule Arlington Magazine lists:
- Weekdays, 3 to 6 p.m.: happy hour
- Tuesdays: half-off growler fills
- Wednesdays: trivia night
- Football season: watch parties, posted on the brewery's site
The beer list includes a house Ballston Lager, plus Lil Bit Cloudy and Vibrant Thing Strawberry Lemon. The food runs to beer-battered onion rings, burgers, brats and bowls. In his ARLnow quote, Humerick pictured people "stopping in for a beer after work, meeting friends for dinner, watching a game or spending a Saturday afternoon with us." A space with that many standing weekly events is built for people who live and work within walking distance. Visitors who come once aren't the target.
One question is still open. El Rey also ran The Filling Station, a live music and private event venue. Solace's coverage has not said whether that stage continues under the new name. If you went to shows there, check Solace's Ballston events listing before you plan a night around one.
Ballston Quarter is lending its floor to businesses without one
Solace got its storefront by taking over a lease. The Ballston BID wants a shorter path to storefronts for smaller businesses.
NEXT | From Pop-Up to Storefront runs Nov. 16 to 22 at Ballston Quarter. The BID calls it a week-long retail accelerator. It's for established product businesses that are ready to try a permanent store. The partners are Arlington Economic Development's BizLaunch, Ballston Quarter and Marymount University. Visual merchandising students from Marymount will help each business design its retail space.
The eligibility rule shows who the program is for. Businesses need at least $100,000 in annual sales and cannot have run a permanent storefront before. Hobby sellers won't qualify. These are businesses that already sell enough to cover rent but haven't signed a lease yet. The fee is $100. The week covers retail readiness, marketing, customer experience, commercial leasing, landlord expectations and visual merchandising.
The public part comes at the end. The program wraps up with a two-day public retail activation at Ballston Quarter, where participants build, stock and run a real storefront. The BID page describes the participants only as "selected businesses," so the lineup is not yet public. Shoppers who stop by those two days will be among the first customers of businesses that may later sign a lease somewhere nearby.
The Quarter tried a smaller version in October
This kind of programming at the Quarter has a recent precedent. Friday, Oct. 16, was set as the date for Ballston Quarter's first Festival of Lights: Diwali Celebration. The free four-hour evening was planned with henna artists, a traditional dance performance, a DJ, a pop-up market with jewelry, clothing and home decor, and a group rangoli art project.
ARLnow's preview quoted two people whose comments explain the strategy. Pinky Advani, the BID's director of business and community engagement, said the event was a chance "to introduce something different, invite people to participate and create an experience they may not expect to find here." Ballston Quarter General Manager Katrina Crumpton said it "creates an evening that our restaurants, retailers, and guests can be part of."
Crumpton's point about restaurants and retailers explains much of the fall calendar. One evening in the common space sends people past the current tenants and lets pop-up vendors meet them with no lease involved. NEXT stretches that model to a full week and adds lessons on leasing.
Welburn Square keeps its job under a new name
The BID's outdoor plaza at 909 N. Taylor St. does the same work on a smaller scale, and it runs all year.
The Thursday farmers market at Welburn Square keeps going through the cold months on winter hours, 3 to 6 p.m. The BID's December calendar lists market Thursdays on Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, so it doesn't skip Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve.
The day after the Dec. 10 market, the plaza hosts the Ballston Holiday Market. The BID describes it as "formerly known as The Singing Tree Market." It runs Friday, Dec. 11, from 3 to 7 p.m., with festive music, local makers and handcrafted gifts. The event page still says vendors and activities will be announced. The new name drops the event's old signature and leads with the neighborhood. It's also another chance for local makers to sell to Ballston foot traffic before committing to a lease.
Dates between now and New Year's
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Every weekday, 3–6 p.m. | Happy hour | Solace Outpost, 4201 Wilson Blvd. |
| Every Tuesday | Half-off growler fills | Solace Outpost |
| Every Wednesday | Trivia night | Solace Outpost |
| Every Thursday, 3–6 p.m. | Farmers market, winter hours | Welburn Square, 909 N. Taylor St. |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 2:30 p.m. | A Wildwood afternoon with R.E.A.D. & Regal | Regal Cinemas, Ballston Quarter |
| Wed., Nov. 4, 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Rhythm at the Quarter, led by Inspira Dance | Outside Quarter Market |
| Nov. 16–22 | NEXT, ending in a two-day public retail activation | Ballston Quarter |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 3–7 p.m. | Ballston Holiday Market | Welburn Square |
Wednesdays stack up. On Nov. 4, the Inspira Dance class outside Quarter Market ends at 6:30, and Solace's trivia night is the same evening a short walk up Wilson.
One counter waiting to open, one waiting to reopen
The fall pattern also includes storefronts that aren't serving yet.
Java Loco is a Vietnamese coffee and boba cafe run by co-owners Nam Tran and Nga Ho. It's going into the former Starbucks space at 901 N. Stuart St., near the Metro. In mid-September, ARLnow reported a target of late September or early October and said the shop still needed a final building inspection. The planned menu includes Vietnamese coffee, fruit boba, espresso, matcha and pastries. That window has mostly passed, so check before you walk over.
&pizza at 3924 Wilson Blvd. put up a "closed until further notice" sign in early October. ARLnow later clarified that the shop had closed for electrical repairs and was expected to reopen soon. As of ARLnow's Oct. 8 morning notes, it was still shut. The chain's location page still shows hours and an ordering link, which doesn't confirm a reopening, so call ahead before you count on a slice.
Both are temporary gaps. Java Loco is waiting on an inspection and &pizza on a repair. Neither one points to a vacancy.
I keep track of which Ballston storefronts change hands and what replaces them, because it affects how the corridor runs from one week to the next. If you want to know what's going into a space near you, or how a new tenant is likely to change your block, Joshua Odmark is glad to compare notes. Let's Connect.
