On the Wednesday after McCormick & Schmick's served its last meal, crews at 2010 Crystal Drive had already taken down every sign and were repainting parts of the exterior, ARLnow reported. The seafood restaurant and steakhouse closed Sunday, October 25, after more than two decades on that block. Six days later, two blocks over at 220 20th St. S., Crystal City Wine Shop closed for good on October 31, ending a 14-year run.
Both jobs those businesses did, a long sit-down dinner and a shelf of carefully chosen bottles, were already being done within a short walk by places that opened since early 2025. Most of the rest of National Landing's 2026 openings serve a different part of the day.
What closed, and what each one did for the block
McCormick & Schmick's was one of the few full-service, white-tablecloth rooms on Crystal Drive. Its window sign thanked the community and pointed guests to sister restaurants nearby. Per ARLnow, those include Morton's The Steakhouse at 1750 Crystal Drive, still a few blocks away on the same street. The closest remaining McCormick & Schmick's is now at National Harbor.
Crystal City Wine Shop had a more particular history. It opened in March 2012 under the nonprofit Washington Wine Academy. The academy's education director said the idea came from guests at its events, like the Crystal City 1K Wine Walk, who kept asking where they could buy what they had just tasted. The shop focused on Virginia wines, and when it opened it was the only gourmet wine shop in Crystal City. A note in the window thanked customers for "14 memorable & joyful years."
Directly across Crystal Drive, a wine bar built for long evenings
Altitude opened in June at 2011 Crystal Drive, across the street from the former McCormick & Schmick's. It's a wine bar with a Northern Italian menu, an on-site sommelier, and a listening room stocked with a library of vinyl records. The wine list runs to about 70 bottles and 20 pours by the glass, chosen by head sommelier Sarah Gaines.
The menu is built for anything from a quick glass to a full dinner. "You can have an experience at the bar that is simply just a glass of wine, a little bit of food, or you can have a full four-course, five-course meal," Daniel Grajewski of Episcope Hospitality told ARLnow. The pastas include ricotta gnocchi with brown butter and sage, and pappardelle with braised rabbit. Seared branzino and a roasted half chicken with a Calabrian glaze head the mains. The room is styled after mid-century jet travel, with booths modeled on first-class cabins and a live map of flights around the world. At opening, Altitude listed hours of Monday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m.
The same building covers the morning. Constellation, Altitude's sister business on the ground floor, opened May 20 as a cafe and gourmet market with coffee, tea, pastries, meals and grab-and-go items, Eater DC reported. It opened with weekday hours starting at 7:30 a.m. and planned to add longer weekday hours and Saturdays after July. One office building now covers coffee at 7:30 and a sommelier-led dinner that evening, right across from where the old steakhouse stood.
The bottle shelf moved before the wine shop closed
Anyone who bought bottles on 20th Street still has nearby options. Flight Wine Shop opened at 269 19th Court S. in March 2025, and Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique has been on Restaurant Row since 2022, ARLnow noted in its closing story. Altitude's list adds a third way to try something unfamiliar with a sommelier on hand. In 2012, one shop was all of Crystal City's wine retail. By this October, it was one of several.
The rest of 2026 leans toward mornings and takeout
The National Landing BID's retail page, updated in October 2026, counts 18 new businesses so far this year, compared with nearly 30 in all of 2025. The pace is slower, and the mix has shifted too. Few of this year's openings aim to be the long dinner McCormick & Schmick's was. Most serve breakfast, lunch, a quick takeout order, or an errand.
| Opened in 2026 | Where | What it is | Hours listed at opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monstera Burrito | 1721 Crystal Dr., Water Park | San Diego-style burritos and cafe fare | Daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Maman | 1450 S. Eads St. | French-inspired bakery and cafe | 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends |
| Twins Ace Hardware | 2051 S. Bell St. | Locally owned hardware store | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, shorter weekend hours |
| Seki Sushi | 480 11th St. S. | Sushi, sashimi, Japanese entrees | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed Mondays |
| Okinami | 244 19th St. S. | Mostly takeout sushi, ramen and poke | 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, noon to 9 p.m. weekends |
| Stillwater & Stone | Westin Crystal City, 1800 Richmond Hwy. | Coastal American restaurant and bar, serving all three meals | Not published |
Okinami is the newest. ARLnow reported it open on November 2 and noted that it's owned by longtime local chef Yong Kang. Twins Ace Hardware is run by Jeff Smith, a second-generation Ace operator who told ARLnow he wanted a convenient, welcoming neighborhood store. Water Park picked up two more fast-casual counters this summer. Duke's Burgers, a spinoff of Duke's Grocery and its first Virginia location, opened at 1621 Crystal Drive on July 1. Pizzeria Paradiso Pronto began serving fast-casual pies at 1611 Crystal Drive in June. On 23rd Street, Dolan Uyghur opened this summer at 320 23rd St. S. with kebabs, hand-pulled noodles and stews.
Turnover has come in both directions. Los Tios Grill closed at 515 23rd St. S. on August 30 after seven years, and El Mercat Bar de Tapas closed at Westpost about a year after it opened, Arlington Magazine reported. Ember Kitchen & Spirits, a concept built around dry-aged meats, is the name attached to 1301 S. Joyce St. at Westpost.
Where winter evenings gather this season
With fewer big dining rooms, more of National Landing's evening crowd this season is landing outdoors at Westpost and Metropolitan Park.
- Westpost ice rink. It reopened October 30 with a Halloween skate, under an "Après Skate" theme for the season, per ARLnow. Hours run until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is $12 online or $13 walk-up for ages 13 and up, and skate rental is $6. The rink's site recommends reservations, which cost less than walking up and open two weeks ahead. A ticket covers up to two hours on the ice.
- MOCA's Handcrafted Holidays. Free drop-in craft nights at Met Park run Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. through December 17.
- The Lodge. A free, rain-or-shine winter festival at Metropolitan Park, 1330 S. Fair St., on Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It features a holiday train, Santa photos, a dog sweater contest, a local artisan market, a Maman pop-up and seasonal ice cream from Toby's, according to the National Landing BID.
Maman's pop-up at The Lodge reaches back to the table above. The bakery that opened on South Eads Street in May is part of the neighborhood's biggest free December gathering seven months later.
Getting between them along Crystal Drive
Walking from Altitude toward Water Park or 23rd Street takes you past the Crystal City Metro east entrance construction at Crystal Drive and 18th Street S. Arlington County's project page shows the sidewalk and nearest travel lanes there closed around the clock. That leaves two northbound lanes and one southbound lane, which drivers and cyclists share. Completion is expected in spring 2027. Farther out, Altitude is near one end of the planned CC2DCA pedestrian bridge to Reagan National Airport. The county's current schedule puts construction of that bridge in fiscal year 2031.
Which storefronts open, close and fill along Crystal Drive tells you a lot about how a block is changing. If you own in National Landing and want to know how this year's turnover shows up in what buildings near you are worth, Thomas Kolker would be glad to walk through it with you. Request a complimentary consultation and home valuation.
