About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Pop-Up District, 6367 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church
Falls Church’s Eden Center has long been a hub for Vietnamese restaurants and shops. Now, the famed strip mall has its own food hall, aiming to bring in both morning and late-night crowds. Pop-Up District recently opened with a limited lineup that includes Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai food vendors, plus a coffee shop and bakery. When its grand opening arrives in June, expect expanded menus, a Japanese-inspired bar, rotating retail pop-ups, DJ nights, and hours stretching from 8 AM to 2 AM.
The food hall opens early with croissants and egg tarts from the Beat bakery, alongside Doppo, serving specialty coffee and tea drinks like a butterscotch latte, OJ Americano, or “Pink Matcha” with strawberry cream on top.
Thai vendor Eatsy offers staple noodle dishes such as pad Thai, boat noodle soup, and khao soi with egg noodles and honey-grilled chicken in a coconut curry broth. There are also green-papaya salads, grilled pork with spicy tamarind sauce, and other street foods. Meanwhile, Vietnamese stall Sun-C specializes in Hue-style dishes including vermicelli bowls, banana-leaf-wrapped tapioca dumplings, and steamed rice cakes with shrimp and pork.
One familiar name among the vendors so far is local Korean barbecue chain Honey Pig, which is trying out a new “Cupbop” concept. Grilled meats like pork belly and bulgogi come in customizable cups with rice, noodle, and salad bases, plus toppings such as corn, cheese, and kimchi. Still to come: a bar called Soulber in the center of the food hall. Expect Japanese beers and cocktails featuring Japanese whiskey and sake as well as some izakaya-style fare.
Pop-Up District has a futuristic look with metallic counters and tabletops, neon lights blasting across the ceiling, and a giant screen playing a very random assortment of AI video clips. In evenings, the lighting will shift to create more of a lounge vibe, and Pop-Up District will eventually host weekend DJs and other live performances and events. Plus, there’s a Korean-style photo booth to document your night out.
“QUAN P” is written in giant letters across the wall. Quan means “District” in Vietnamese, and “P” stands for “Pop-Up” (all together: Pop-Up District). While the food vendors are not intended to be pop-ups, the food hall will have one pop-up stall where different retail vendors—who might be selling anything from candles to clothing—will rotate in and out every week or few weeks.
Co-founder Alice Nguyen says she and her partners, including CEO Jay Tran, wanted to create an incubator for upstarts: “We all started from the beginning, from nothing. And so we understood how hard it is for a new small business to be up and open and have a brick-and-mortar stall,” she says. “Our model makes it very easy for them. They can just come in, showcase their products, and get customer feedback so that they see what works and what does not.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
