Crystal City's Restaurant Row Is Thinning Out While Crystal Drive Fills In

Freddie Lutz still remembers the lunch rush. Before he opened Freddie's Beach Bar, he was the maitre d' at Cafe Italia on 23rd Street S. Back then, the lunch crowd was Navy staff and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office workers. "At lunchtime, the floodgates would open up, and they'd all come across Route One to go to 23rd Street, and we would be mobbed for lunch," he told ARLnow this spring. "I'd have five waiters on the floor, and every table in there would be filled up."

That old Cafe Italia space is now Federico Ristorante Italiano, and it has stopped serving lunch Monday through Thursday. Over 2026, Crystal City's food has been moving, a few blocks at a time and a counter at a time, from that weekday-lunch corridor toward Crystal Drive. The new places are smaller, cheaper to staff, and set into the ground floors of the apartment buildings that went up nearby.

The Row was built on the lunch hour

Restaurant Row along 23rd Street S. made sense when thousands of office workers crossed Route 1 at noon. In ARLnow's account, Lutz says the corridor's restaurants now struggle most at lunch. He points to several reasons, including construction on a 42-unit townhouse project nearby and the higher cost of living.

Lunch isn't the only pressure. That same ARLnow article cites a spring 2026 survey by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington: 54% of member restaurants reported lower sales and 69% reported lower profits. Mid-priced restaurants, at $21 to $40 per person, saw the steepest average declines of any group. That price range covers much of a traditional sit-down restaurant row.

Freddie's itself turned 25 at 555 23rd St. S. this year, and it still runs drag shows, trivia and drag bingo. Several of its neighbors did not make it through 2026.

A year of exits along 23rd Street

Here is what the blocks around Restaurant Row have lost since January:

• Virginia ABC store, 320 23rd St. S. Its last day was Feb. 14, after the state ABC Board voted to consolidate it, citing other ABC stores nearby.
• Los Tios Grill, 515 23rd St. S. It closed Aug. 30 after seven years.
• Bonsai Sushi, 553 23rd St. S. It closed this fall. ARLnow reported on Nov. 3 that the 1,300-square-foot space is listed for lease.
• The former Athena Pallas, 556 22nd St. S. It has been vacant since summer 2022. Scapegoat Beer Garden had planned to move in, but that plan fell through and the space went back on the market earlier this year.

Bonsai sat two doors from Freddie's, so the empty storefronts are spread across the Row rather than at one end.

Crystal Drive lost its big rooms too

Crystal Drive had its own exits, and they were the big, sit-down kind. McCormick & Schmick's closed at 2010 Crystal Drive on Sunday, Oct. 25, after more than two decades. By that Wednesday, crews had removed the signs. The window notice sent guests to sister restaurants such as Morton's The Steakhouse at 1750 Crystal Drive, which remains the Landry's steakhouse closest to home. Sweetgreen at 2022 Crystal Drive closed in late February after a decade, and Buffalo Wild Wings closed in February after 15 years. Crystal City Wine Shop had posted Saturday, Oct. 31 as its final day after 14 years.

Pentagon City shows the same pressure in a newer building. El Mercat Bar de Tapas at 1301 S. Joyce Street closed in September after one year. According to ARLnow, its owners cited economic challenges, unexpected construction costs, opening delays and sales below expectations.

So these closings didn't hit one street. The losses are the large dining rooms, on either street. What has opened is something else.

What opened instead: counters, kiosks and a wine bar

This year's openings are mostly small spaces with short menus, and most of them are in two places: the Water Park kiosks along Crystal Drive and the ground floors of new apartment buildings.

The four Water Park kiosks sit close together, so one walk covers breakfast, boba, a slice and a burger. Spot of Tea took over the kiosk Falafel Inc. had left. At 2011 Crystal Drive, almost across the street from the old McCormick & Schmick's, Constellation and Altitude split the day. The cafe does coffee and grab-and-go, and the wine bar opened with evening-only hours.

Okinami shows the new pattern most clearly. It's mostly a takeout counter on the ground floor of The Grace and Reva apartments, next to Flight Wine Bar, Bar Chinois and Toastique. Owner Yong Kang has been cooking in the area since 1987. Signature rolls include the Tri Amigo, with tuna, salmon, tilapia and smelt roe. The name means "offshore wave," after the woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." It's open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends.

That's a different business model from a 23rd Street dining room that once needed five servers at noon. These newer spots can cover their costs with breakfast, after-work and takeout traffic from people who live upstairs or down the block.

The Row's next tenants are being chosen for the people who live nearby

The people leasing 23rd Street are reading the same signs. A. Paul Voutsas, principal broker at PVIM, told ARLnow on Nov. 5 that he is close to signing a new tenant for the former Athena Pallas space. He said "the beer garden fad has kind of come and gone." He sees more interest in all-day restaurants like Matt and Tony's in Alexandria. "We want something that's going to complement Bob and Edith's more than anything," he said, referring to the diner on Restaurant Row.

An all-day restaurant next to a diner fits a neighborhood that eats breakfast, lunch and dinner close to home. A lunch-only crowd doesn't need one. Lutz is counting on the same people. "I look at the block behind us and all the townhouses and apartments that they're building right now," he told ARLnow, "and I think, wow, we're going to have a lot of business once people move into these places."

Some of the next arrivals are further out than first announced. Tiki Thai, planned for 244 19th Court S. in the same building as Okinami, moved its target to summer 2027 because of permitting delays, ARLnow reported in July.

The newest places to linger don't need a reservation

Arlington Junction Park opened this spring at 1051 S. Eads Street. The County calls it Crystal City's first official park. It sits on the former "Teardrop Parcel" at South Eads Street and Army Navy Drive, split by 11th Street South and within walking distance of both the Crystal City and Pentagon City Metro stations. Its garden rooms on either side of 11th Street have seating and a colorful lounge, plus a dog-relief station with a pet fountain. There's also an elevated boardwalk around a conserved cottonwood tree, with native and pollinator plantings and a bioretention garden. The park is open sunrise to sunset.

The Lodge, National Landing's free winter festival, runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Metropolitan Park, 1330 S. Fair St. It has a holiday train, a local-maker market, Santa and a dog sweater contest. The Water Park counters and the takeout spots at The Grace and Reva are an easy stop on the walk over.

Losing a long-running spot like McCormick & Schmick's or Bonsai Sushi is hard on the neighbors who kept those rooms busy. If you're curious how the neighborhood's changing food map is shaping life along Crystal Drive and 23rd Street, or what it means for your corner of Crystal City, The Tom Buerger Team is always glad to talk it through, no pressure and no agenda. Search All Homes whenever you're ready, or just reach out to chat about the neighborhood.