Georgetown's Holiday Gift List Got a Lot More Local This Year, and Most of It Is on Wisconsin Avenue

Two storefronts share a wall at 1313 and 1317 Wisconsin Avenue NW. One is set to open Friday, November 6, and sell small-batch spices roasted and ground in Asheville, North Carolina. The other is building out nearly 2,000 square feet of retail floor for pottery made in the same North Carolina mountain town. Down the hill, the corner at 1300 Wisconsin is being prepared for a gelato maker that started on this avenue 22 years ago and is coming back.

For this year's holiday gift run in Georgetown, Wisconsin Avenue between Q Street and the canal now offers more new reasons to stop than M Street does. Most of those reasons are specialty goods. The stores sell spices, pottery, stroopwafels, gelato and socks rather than another round of fashion flagships. They are also opening in a season when the Georgetown BID has announced no 2026 return for GLOW, its light-art walk.

Two Asheville Stores, One Wall Apart

Spicewalla announced through PoPville that its Georgetown store opens Friday, November 6, at 1317 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The brand was founded by James Beard Award winner Meherwan Irani. Its only other store is the flagship in Asheville's historic Grove Arcade, so Georgetown gets the second location anywhere. The shelves will carry individual spices, exclusive blends, gift-ready collections and collaboration products, including one with T-Pain. They will also carry snacks, condiments and pantry goods from DMV makers.

Next door at 1313, East Fork lists its Georgetown store as "Coming Fall/Winter 2026" and has not posted an opening date or hours. According to the company's June announcement, carried by PoPville, this will be East Fork's third storefront and its largest yet. It will have nearly 2,000 square feet of retail space plus another 700 square feet for workshops, installations and other events. The store will go beyond the table, with sections for gardening, apothecary and pantry goods. Mother Studio, the Asheville firm that designed East Fork's shops in Asheville and Brooklyn, is designing this one too.

East Fork already has a following in Washington. In the same announcement, CEO and co-founder Alex Matisse described a recent D.C. Seconds Sale line that "must have been a quarter mile long at least." A permanent store a few doors off P Street means that pottery no longer depends on a one-day sale.

These two stores ended up side by side for a reason. In a September post on Spicewalla's own blog, the brand says Chai Pani opened in the Union Market District last year and Botiwalla was about to open in Tenleytown. The post describes Georgetown as the natural next step, "right on Wisconsin Avenue with the rest of the family." PoPville's October report says Botiwalla had opened in Tenleytown about a week before the Spicewalla announcement, roughly two miles north on the same avenue. Irani's team now has two addresses on Wisconsin, about two miles apart.

The Returning Local at 1300

The Asheville stores are the new arrivals. The opening at the bottom of the block is a homecoming. The Georgetowner reports that Dolcezza Gelato is slated to open in late fall or early winter at 1300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, in the former Pressed Juicery space. It will be the company's seventh location. Robb Duncan and Violeta Edelman founded Dolcezza in Georgetown in 2004. In a September 3 social post quoted by The Georgetowner, they recalled starting "in a 300 sq ft kitchen on wisconsin avenue & q street nw" and leaving in 2013 to open their factory in the Union Market neighborhood.

That original corner, 1560 Wisconsin at Q Street, now houses Delhi Belly, a casual restaurant from Vikas Kakkar and Raj Manroy inspired by the urban food culture of India. Dolcezza's two Georgetown addresses sit about two and a half blocks apart, and together they frame the stretch of Wisconsin that has filled in most this year.

A Downhill Gift Route, by Address

The avenue runs downhill from Q Street toward the canal, so it is easiest to shop from the top down. Opening dates come from the most recent reports. The East Fork and Dolcezza stops depend on doors that have not opened yet.

1. Delhi Belly, 1560 Wisconsin Ave. NW. A lunch stop at the top of the hill, on Dolcezza's original corner.
2. Purée Juice Bar, 1511 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Opened October 8. Owners Dyala Madani and Kaveh Shirazi sell organic, raw, cold-pressed juices bottled in glass without HPP, along with smoothies and plant-forward food.
3. Bombas, 1400 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The brand's first D.C. store opened August 14. Co-founder Randy Goldberg is a Georgetown University alum. Socks are an easy stocking stuffer, and each purchase is matched with a donation under the company's one-for-one model.
4. Spicewalla, 1317 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Opens November 6 with blends, gift collections and DMV pantry products.
5. East Fork, 1313 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Listed as coming fall or winter 2026. Check before you walk over.
6. Dolcezza Gelato, 1300 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Expected late fall or early winter.
7. Dutch Darlings Stroopwafels & Sweets, 1003 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Below M Street, toward the canal. The Georgetowner reported that father and daughter Hans and Maaike Ravesteijn planned to open October 2 and bake stroopwafels by hand every day.

Of the seven stops, six sell things meant to be eaten, cooked with or set on a table. In a gift season, that mix gives Wisconsin a different character than M Street. In the same stretch of reporting, the openings on M were mostly retail brands like Uniqlo at 3262 M, Pop Mart at 3221 M and Garage at 3295 M.

One Block West, for the Bigger Gift

If the list includes something larger than a spice tin, O Street Collection is two blocks west of Wisconsin at 3213 O St. NW. The Georgetowner describes it as a new art boutique with more than 50 original artworks and artist-designed goods from more than 10 contemporary artists, priced from $50 to over $10,000. It had a soft opening during Art All Night. The building has its own Georgetown history. It once held the offices of Max N. Berry, Esq., also a significant art collector, and before that a popular café.

Toward the river, the 3300 block of M Street and Cady's Alley added Adriana Hoyos, a Miami-based interior design and luxury furniture house founded by Ecuadorian designer Adriana Hoyos and her husband, Eduardo Pérez. It is a stop for anyone planning a room rather than wrapping a present.

What the Season's Calendar Shows So Far

The stores are on a firmer schedule than the events that usually anchor Georgetown's December. The Georgetown BID's GLOW page says the light-art event took a hiatus in 2025, after nine years, while the BID explored new partnerships. As of late October, the page lists no 2026 dates. The BID's holiday page still describes last year's Georgetown Jingle.

The Washington Harbour rink is the only fixture on that list with confirmed 2026 dates. If the 2025 pattern holds, the Book Hill tree lighting will happen close to the top of the shopping route. The 2025 edition ran on December 4, according to The Georgetowner's holiday preview. Until the 2026 dates are posted, the new storefronts are the parts of the season residents can plan around.

Where the Wisconsin Story Ends Up for Dinner

The Wisconsin Avenue thread runs all the way to dinner. Michael Rafidi, the chef behind Albi and La' Shukran, has been serving wood-fired "not pizza" as an evening pop-up at Yellow, his Levantine café on Wisconsin Avenue. That pop-up is becoming Bizzeria, which Bon Appétit lists among the most anticipated restaurant openings in the country this fall, with a November opening. Pastry chef Alicia Wang is behind the 48-hour fermented sourdough crusts. The menu adds raw dishes, meze and charcuterie, and wine director William Simons is building the wine list.

Bizzeria is at the back of 3246 Prospect St. NW, with its entrance on the alley off Potomac Street. It shares the address with Skillette, an upcoming cooking school from Kelly Singer. From Dutch Darlings at the bottom of the gift route, it is a short walk west along Prospect to the alley entrance on Potomac Street.

If you own near the 1300 block of Wisconsin Avenue, or are weighing a home there, Infinity Group can talk you through what these new storefronts mean for your plans. Request a Private Market Consultation, and we'll keep you updated as East Fork and Dolcezza confirm their opening dates.