On October 1, Best Buns Bakery & Burgers opened at 265 W. Falls Station Blvd. It has a rooftop bar, a counter for pastries to go, and 90 minutes of free validated parking. Jon Norton, CEO of parent company Great American Restaurants, told ARLnow he was glad to be neighbors with Meridian High School, where his own high school basketball coach, Jim Smith, now coaches. It's the newest opening at West Falls. It also shows how the development has come together. The places for a weeknight dinner, a dance class or a Friday concert opened first. The store meant to anchor everyday shopping, The Fresh Market at 101 Haycock Road, is still listed as coming soon.
The result is a West Falls that works very well from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays. It doesn't yet cover a weekly grocery run.
Eighteen months of small openings
The first wave reached West Falls in spring 2025, and nearly all of it was small-format food or activity space:
- Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls opened March 19, 2025, by ARLnow's count. The development's directory lists it at 255 W. Falls Station Blvd.; ARLnow's opening story gave the address as 243.
- CityDance, Levine Music and Perspire Sauna Studio were all open by April 18, 2025, when ARLnow rounded up the new West Falls businesses. The first two are at 255 W. Falls Station Blvd., and Perspire is at 7140 Leesburg Pike.
- Ice Cream Jubilee planned its grand opening for noon on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 151 W. Falls Station Blvd.
- SeoulSpice started serving diners June 4, 2025, at 156 W. Falls Station Blvd., Patch reported.
- Honoo Ramen Bar was already in its soft opening at 153 W. Falls Station Blvd. when ARLnow covered it on June 23, 2025.
- Best Buns Bakery & Burgers opened October 1, 2026. It's the Shirlington-born chain's fourth location and its first with rooftop seating. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
In about three months of 2025, West Falls went from empty storefronts to ramen, Korean bowls, lobster rolls, ice cream, music lessons and a sauna. After that came a gap of roughly 15 months before the next restaurant opened. Best Buns ended that gap, and it was announced back in November 2025.
The anchor date that keeps moving
The Fresh Market was introduced as West Falls' flagship grocer. In July 2024, the Falls Church Independent reported a target of "by mid-2026." By October 2024, ARLnow had it at "by the end of 2026." The first target has passed. With two months left in the year, no newer date has been announced publicly, and the West Falls directory still shows the store as coming soon.
Several other tenants are in the same position:
| Tenant | Address | What's been said |
|---|---|---|
| The Fresh Market | 101 Haycock Road | Targets of mid-2026, then end of 2026; still listed as coming soon |
| Dok Khao Thai Eatery | 180 W. Falls Station Blvd. | Fall 2026 opening announced, no exact date |
| Withered Fig | 255 W. Falls Station Blvd. | Owner hoped to open in early 2026; still listed as coming soon |
| La'Baik | Not listed | Mediterranean, listed as coming soon |
| IMAGE Studios | 7136 Leesburg Pike | Listed as coming soon |
Dok Khao is the closest to opening. DC Spot reported a confirmed fall 2026 window, and the restaurant's own locations page still has West Falls Church under "Coming Soon." Withered Fig, a denim and menswear shop, was announced in August 2025 as the brand's first brick-and-mortar store, with the owner aiming for "early next year."
Look at the table as a group. Nearly everything still pending is either a full-size store or an errand stop. Nearly everything already open is a place people go for an hour or two.
Commons Park got there before the grocery store
The clearest sign that West Falls is already working as a gathering place is the event calendar at Commons Park. Last week's lineup ran a free Hocus Pocus screening on Thursday, October 22, live music on Friday, October 23, and an 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. football watch party on Saturday, October 24. That's three events in three days, for a development whose grocery store hasn't opened yet.
Next up is Live Music in Commons Park on Friday, October 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. No November or December dates have been posted on the West Falls events page so far.
Parking is the practical side of an evening there. West Falls runs two garages: Garage B at 7174 Cardinal Lane and Garage A/D at 370 Mustang Alley. Best Buns validates 90 minutes in Garage A/D and notes free 15-minute street parking for a quick pastry run. ARLnow described parking at West Falls as limited. That matters more for a Friday concert than for a Tuesday lunch.
Downtown had a busy week too, with its own moving dates
West Falls isn't the only part of the Little City where opening dates drift. In the same week Best Buns opened, the Falls Church News-Press reported two other openings in the city.
Wonder opened its food hall at 100 W. Broad St., in the former Brown's Hardware building, with several restaurant concepts under one roof for dine-in, takeout and delivery. Its dates moved too. A City of Falls Church notice in March gave the grand opening as April 2, and by July FFXnow was reporting September.
Lil' Cakes & Creamery opened earlier in September at 120 Founders Ave. in Modera Founders Row. It sells cupcakes, ice cream, milkshakes and cake jars, and it held a grand-opening celebration on October 3.
The same News-Press article reported that Thomas Harvey had sold Harvey's, his W. Broad St. restaurant, four years after it opened in March 2022. It's a change of ownership, not a closing. In the post the News-Press published, Harvey wrote:
"Harvey's will stay Harvey's and my amazing staff will be staying on."
Across the city, the pattern this fall looks the same. New places open on their own schedules, and the dates announced months ahead are rough estimates.
Dates on the Little City calendar
Unlike shop openings, the city's own holiday events are set and published. These are the dates on the calendar now:
- Wednesday, November 11, 11 a.m.: Veterans Day Ceremony at the City of Falls Church Veterans Memorial, 223 Little Falls St.
- Saturday, November 28: Small Business Saturday across the city, plus A Very Victorian Christmas at Cherry Hill Farmhouse, 312 Park Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Tuesday, December 1, 5:30 to 7 p.m.: Winter Wonderland in The Little City at Market Square at Modera Founders Row, 110 Founders Ave., with lights, performances, Santa and Polar Express rides.
- Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon: The Falls Church Farmers Market runs year-round in the City Hall parking lot, 300 Park Ave., including December 5, 12, 19 and 26.
- Saturday, December 12, 3 to 9 p.m.: The Little City Holiday Market on Little Falls Street between Broad Street and Park Avenue. Admission is free.
- Thursday, December 31, 7 p.m. to midnight: Watch Night 2026, the city's free New Year's Eve celebration.
Until The Fresh Market opens, the Saturday farmers market at City Hall is the one food-shopping event in the city with a fixed weekly time.
Our team tracks openings like Dok Khao, The Fresh Market and the next round of West Falls tenants because they change what a block feels like to live on. If you want to know how West Falls and Founders Row fit into your plans for the coming year, ONE Residential is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Consultation with our team.
