Crystal City's Wine Week Has Outgrown Its First Wine Shop

Crystal City Wine Shop opened at 220 20th St. S. in March 2012. At the time it was the only gourmet wine shop in Crystal City, ARLnow reported. After 14 years, a sign in its window named Saturday, Oct. 31 as its final day. Six days before that date, McCormick & Schmick's closed at 2010 Crystal Drive after more than two decades.

Losing two longtime businesses in one week feels like a loss, and for regulars it is one. But the wine shop is closing into a different neighborhood from the one it opened in. In 2012 it had the field to itself. Now a free tasting, a cheap Friday class, a champagne bar and a new wine bar keep a regular weekly schedule, all at addresses between 19th Court and 23rd Street, plus a shop a short trip away in Pentagon City.

A shop born from a wine walk

The shop's origin explains why it carried more weight than a typical liquor store. The nonprofit Washington Wine Academy ran it. When it opened, the academy's director of education, Alex Evans, said the idea came from people at academy events like the Crystal City 1K Wine Walk who kept asking where to buy the wines they had just tasted, according to ARLnow's report on the closing. It began with tasting and led to buying, and it kept a focus on Virginia wines from 2012 on.

The sign posted by the owners, as quoted by ARLnow, read: "Thank you for 14 memorable & joyful years. Your support, friendship, and patronage have meant the world to us and we are deeply grateful to have been part of this wonderful community." No reason for the closing was given, and no new tenant has been announced for 220 20th St. S.

The same ARLnow article noted how much has changed since 2012. Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique opened on Restaurant Row in 2022, and Flight Wine Shop opened at 269 19th Court S. in March 2025. Those two businesses and a 2026 newcomer now handle the same mix of tasting and buying the wine shop started with.

The wine week, as currently listed

The National Landing BID's events calendar and the businesses' own sites show a regular schedule from Thursday through Saturday:

• Thursday. Flight Wine Shop pours a free tasting from 5 to 7 p.m. every week, and the BID lists one for today, Thursday, Nov. 5.
• Friday. Pentagon City Wine Merchant holds a $5 wine class and tasting from 5 to 8 p.m., with Nov. 6 on the BID calendar. The shop describes itself as a specialty retailer for wine, sake and beer.
• Saturday. Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique at 576 South 23rd St. is open noon to 9 p.m., with wines by the glass, by the bottle and in tasting flights. Altitude on Crystal Drive opens at 5 p.m. Saturdays, with last seating at 10.

The old shop's 14 years make a useful comparison. For most of that time, a Thursday wine plan in Crystal City meant one store. Now each night from Thursday through Saturday has a regular, scheduled option, and two of them cost $5 or less.

Flight is the closest thing to a replacement bottle shop

For anyone who used Crystal City Wine Shop to pick up a bottle on the way home, Flight is the nearest equivalent. Husband and wife Swati Bose and Kabir Amir opened it in March 2025 after closing their Flight Wine Bar in D.C., ARLnow reported at the time. At opening, the selection was about 300 minimal-intervention wines from 17 countries and regions, along with charcuterie, beer, mixers and nonalcoholic drinks.

That collection leans in a different direction from the old shop's Virginia focus, so bottle habits may shift a little. In some ways Flight is easier to use. Its website lists hours seven days a week: noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The site also promotes a new Frequent Flier Wine Club, along with in-person shopping and local delivery.

Across Crystal Drive from the empty seafood house

The McCormick & Schmick's closing shows the other half of the change. Landry's, the Houston company that runs the chain, didn't say why it closed the 2010 Crystal Drive location. A window sign pointed guests to sister restaurants, including Morton's The Steakhouse at 1750 Crystal Drive, ARLnow reported. The company told the Washington Business Journal it would help employees move to nearby restaurants. By Oct. 28, crews had taken down the signs.

The ground floor of 2011 Crystal Drive, just across the street, has been filling up since spring. Episcope Hospitality, founded by David Morton, opened two linked businesses there.

Constellation opened Wednesday, May 20. It's an all-day café and gourmet market with coffee, breakfast, lunch, pastries and grab-and-go meals, about 60 seats, and a "slow bar" built around unhurried service, ARLnow reported. Its hours were expected to change after July, so check the current schedule before you go.

Altitude was open by mid-June. It's an Italian-inspired wine bar and restaurant, and ARLnow's opening report described a wine list of about 70 bottles and 20 by the glass, plus handmade pasta, branzino and roast chicken. The design draws on mid-century air travel. The bar is shaped like a cross-section of an airplane wing, the booths are modeled on a first-class cabin, live flights are tracked on screen, and a listening room holds a vinyl library. The restaurant's site names Mariela Pacheco as executive chef and Sarah Gaines as wine director. Its visit page lists a 4 p.m. opening Monday through Friday, with last seating at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday, and no Sunday hours.

Nothing has been announced for the former McCormick & Schmick's space.

The rest of 2026's opening class

Wine is the clearest example of a pattern that runs through the neighborhood's retail. The National Landing BID's retail report, updated October 2026, counts 85 openings since 2023 and lists about 20 for 2026 so far. Most of this year's additions are small and focused on one thing:

1. At Water Park. Spot of Tea, a bubble tea and matcha kiosk at 1631 Crystal Drive, opened in March. Pizzeria Paradiso Pronto, the brand's first fast-casual location, opened in early June at 1611 Crystal Drive, serving 9-inch pizzas it says are ready in three to four minutes. Duke's Burgers, a spinoff of Duke's Grocery and its first Virginia location, opened July 1 at 1621 Crystal Drive.
2. On 23rd Street and Eads. Dolan Uyghur opened at 320 23rd St. S. on Aug. 3 with kebabs, hand-pulled noodles and stews. Nash & Smashed followed at 2333 S. Eads St. on Sept. 10, according to Arlington Magazine's openings tracker.
3. For errands. The BID also lists Twins Ace Hardware at 2051 S. Bell St. and Zola's Nail Boutique at 775 23rd St. among this year's openings.

Set beside this year's list, the two October closings point the same direction. The neighborhood's mix is moving from a few long-running anchors toward many smaller shops and restaurants, each doing one thing.

Two dates before the holidays

On Thursday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., MoCA Arlington's free Painted Taper Candles workshop runs at its Innovation Studio + Store, 525 14th St. S. On Saturday, Dec. 5, the BID's free holiday festival, The Lodge, takes over Met Park at 1330 S. Fair St. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a holiday train, Santa photos and a local-maker market. The MoCA workshop lands on a Thursday, so it overlaps Flight's weekly tasting hours.

Storefronts closing and opening on Crystal Drive and 23rd Street change how a neighborhood feels to live in, and buyers notice too. If you own in Crystal City and want to know how this year's changes show up in your home's value, the Vassar Broermann Group can give you a candid, well-prepared answer. Get a Free Home Valuation.