Friendship Heights Welcomes New Retailers, Foodie Events & Cultural Attractions

Washington, DC and Montgomery County, MD, September 18, 2026 — The Friendship Heights Alliance has released a robust fall schedule of theater, art, and events, just as the neighborhood announces a slew of new retail leases and openings.

Just in the last few weeks, CCLC recently announced two new leases at The Collection with Metropolitan Hospitality Group to take over the former Junction and Hunter’s Hound spaces. Open Road, MHG’s popular American restaurant and gathering place, will open at 5471 Wisconsin Avenue with a nautical spin. It will be joined by Cove, an entirely new all-day café and wine bar concept making its first-ever debut here in Friendship Heights. The openings represent a significant investment in the neighborhood from a locally owned hospitality group that has operated restaurants throughout D.C. and Northern Virginia for more than two decades. Both are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.

In addition, Le Creuset opened at The Collection, and Just Salad is now open at the Residences at Mazza. On September 25, the organization is celebrating a mayoral proclamation for Rodman’s after 71 years of serving the neighborhood.

On the events front, the Alliance has partnered with two artists-in-residence, and a number of cultural groups to bring a spooky theater production, a new concert series, and more to the neighborhood:

Weekly on Sundays, 10 am to 2 pm: Sunday Commons creates a community gathering spot with food vendors, workshops, and live music; 10 am to 2 pm
Weekly on Thursdays, 4:30-6:30 pm: The new Fall Concerts on the Plaza at the Shops at Wisconsin Place highlights the region’s best jazz and classical performers, just in time for fall weather
Saturday, Sept. 19, 6-9 pm: Photographer Pat Graham opens Present Imperfection: Part Two with a dozen new photographers and artists in the Pavilion Pop-up gallery. Part Two adds KJ Thomas, Luke Walter, Fil Baird, Pete Duvall, Monica Servaites, Ramsey K. Metcalf, Fleurette F. Estes, Claire Packer, Brad Sigal, Scarlet Page and Harrison Stone, with more to come. They join the photographers already represented in the exhibition, including artists working across Washington, DC and beyond, alongside figures such as Danny Clinch, Atiba Jefferson, Jason Lee, Deanna Templeton, Ed Templeton, Cynthia Connolly, J Grant Brittain, Thomas Campbell and C.R. Stecyk III. Present Imperfection is not primarily about names or nostalgia. Its focus is the photograph itself: a physical object produced at a particular moment, affected by chemistry, chance, handling and time.
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 4:30-6:30 pm: Celebrate the neighborhood’s newest mural (at the Lord & Taylor building) with Metro’s Art in Transit program and artist Nicole Bourgea
Thursday, Oct. 1: 6-8 pm: Artist Robin Bell holds a reception at his studio Milk Tree at 5221 Wisconsin Avenue NW; the exhibit is constantly changing!
October 8-November 8: Playwright and Helen Hayes Award Winner Bob Bartlett presents The Living Dead, a site-specific horror play perfect for the spooky season. Details about the four-week run and tickets.

For a full lineup for fall events in the neighborhood, visit our popular events calendar.

About the Friendship Heights Alliance

The Friendship Heights Alliance envisions a more vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive future for Friendship Heights, with diversity in housing opportunities and retail experiences, and a people-friendly public realm. This place-focused nonprofit coordinates the community building needed to reinvigorate the entirety of Friendship Heights, serving the commercial corridor along Wisconsin Avenue from Oliver Street in Montgomery County, Maryland, to Fessenden Street NW in Washington, DC. The Alliance is a 501(c)6 nonprofit created in 2021 to focus on public space management and coordination; increase collaboration amongst property owners in both Maryland and Washington, DC, as development continues; promote the neighborhood; and engage with residents and businesses. The Alliance has organized nearly a dozen pop-ups throughout the neighborhood. To learn more, visit friendshipheights.com or follow @FriendshipHeightsAlliance.

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