The Block closed at the end of August 2025. Its section of EastGate Shopping Center was torn down for a six-story apartment building. Annandale's order-at-the-counter food halls are now moving toward Columbia Pike. One food hall still runs in what's left of EastGate on John Marr Drive. The next one is taking shape inside a long-vacant building on Columbia Pike, a few blocks from a new kiosk-order restaurant and a former Mediterranean spot that now has a building permit for a new tenant.
If you want a casual group dinner or a late snack without a server, this fall's map has two anchors: Garden Social, which survived the demolition, and Columbia Pike, which is filling in.
Garden Social kept the food hall going at EastGate
Garden Social calls itself an Asian street food hall. It sits at 4363 John Marr Drive and offers dine-in, takeout and delivery. The menu runs from karaage chicken and The OG tteokbokki to tempura shrimp onigiri, with a smashburger and a steak and cheese for anyone who wants something else. There's indoor and patio seating.
The hours set it apart. Garden Social posts Monday through Thursday and Sunday hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it stays open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Pike Kitchen on Columbia Pike closes at 10:45 p.m. on its latest weekend nights, so after about 11 p.m. on a Saturday, Garden Social is the one of the two still serving.
It also picked up a piece of The Block. Annandale Today reported in October 2025 that SnoCream, a former Block vendor, reopened inside Garden Social in the small window Tiger Sugar used to have. SnoCream sells ice cream and shaved ice with plenty of toppings, plus boba and milk teas. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue shares the space too. If you miss dessert after dinner at The Block, that window on John Marr Drive is the closest thing to it.
The building that replaced The Block won't bring it back
The fencing next door belongs to the Eastgate apartment project. FFXnow reported in early December 2025 that demolition permits had been issued and construction equipment was on site. Fairfax County and private-sector leaders held the groundbreaking on May 6, 2026. Because of rain, the ceremony moved indoors.
Speaking to Annandale Today, Maury Stein of Insight Property Group, the developer working with property owner Brian Kim, put the project in perspective:
"It's the first big development in Annandale since the 1970s."
The building's ground floor will have about 11,200 square feet of retail. Kim told the outlet the project should be finished in fall 2027, with leasing starting the summer before. As of May, retail tenant negotiations were still underway with no leases signed, and none of the shopping center's existing businesses were expected to move into the new building. The apartments are the first phase of a longer plan to turn the whole retail strip into a mixed-use town center. Annandale Today reported that the next phase is still many years off.
For anyone who eats out around here, this means The Block's old corner won't have a replacement food hall for at least a year, and nothing announced so far says the new retail will be a food hall. So the next one is going somewhere else.
The next food hall is going up on Columbia Pike
If you've driven Columbia Pike this year, you've probably seen the building at 7219 Columbia Pike. Annandale Today reported in March that muralist Henley Bounkhong was covering the long-vacant building with bright images drawn from Asian culture. The mural includes a blue lion, which is a good-luck symbol in Vietnam, a red rabbit for good luck, a dragon, the Buddha, a Japanese beckoning cat of the kind often displayed to welcome customers, and an alien meditating among mushrooms. The panels above the windows show the kinds of food planned inside: tacos, ramen, dumplings and sandwiches.
A contractor confirmed the renovated building would be a food hall. On Oct. 1, Annandale Today named the vendors:
- Seoul Kravings, described as "Korean street food, bold flavors, and Seoulful bites"
- Dough Market, with "Asian-inspired doughnuts, pastries, and coffee"
- Rice Culture, serving Filipino Japanese taiyaki, the crunchy fish-shaped cakes with creamy filling, plus soft serve
- A planned Vietnamese counter
- A full bar
Two of these vendors already have locations nearby. Rice Culture runs shops in Vienna and Chantilly, and its own story page calls Annandale its next chapter. Dough Market lists a Chantilly address. The vendor list leans toward dessert and coffee, which makes the hall the Columbia Pike counterpart to SnoCream's window at Garden Social. Add the bar, and the format is the one The Block made familiar.
Columbia Pike, address by address
The food hall isn't the only change on this stretch of the Pike. Here are the three addresses that changed hands or opened in 2026, in order heading west along the corridor:
| Address | What's there | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| 7023 Columbia Pike | Pike Kitchen, Japanese and Korean, in the former O'My Chiq space | Opened in January 2026 |
| 7219 Columbia Pike | Food hall with Seoul Kravings, Dough Market, Rice Culture, a Vietnamese counter and a bar | Vendors announced Oct. 1, 2026 |
| 7254 Columbia Pike | Former Basil Mediterranean Fusion Cuisine | Basil closed permanently; building permit filed for a Mr. Pollo |
Pike Kitchen uses the same model as the food halls in a single storefront. Diners order and pay at a kiosk by the front door, pick up at the counter and clear their own trays. Annandale Today reported that manager Joe Hwang said there's no waitstaff, so there's no tipping. The menu has two sides: Roll Play for sushi and nigiri, and Bowl Play for stone pot bibimbap and other dishes. There's also a heated patio out front. Its online ordering page lists hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
At the other end, Annandale Today reported in September that Basil had closed for good and that a building permit had been submitted for a Mr. Pollo in the space.
Just off the Pike, Mad Seafood opened this spring at 7223 Poplar Street, near Annandale Road and Markham Street. Its manager planned a grand opening for May 30.
Planning a night around the new map
With food-hall eating now split across two streets, a few practical patterns follow from the hours and menus above:
- For a late weekend meal, go to John Marr Drive. Garden Social's 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday close is the latest of any spot covered here.
- For a quick weeknight dinner with no tip to figure out, try Pike Kitchen. Kiosk ordering and counter pickup keep it fast, and the heated patio gives you somewhere to sit outside into the colder months.
- For dessert, pick based on which side of town you're on. SnoCream's shaved ice and boba are at Garden Social. Taiyaki and doughnuts are headed to 7219 Columbia Pike, and you can already try Rice Culture's taiyaki at its Vienna and Chantilly shops.
- For a group that can't agree, the food-hall format still fits. Garden Social covers Korean, Japanese and Hawaiian plates plus burgers under one roof. The Columbia Pike hall's lineup adds Korean, Vietnamese and sweets, with a bar.
What John Marr Drive looks like by 2027
The two halves of this map are on different schedules. Columbia Pike is changing building by building, with a vendor lineup and a permit already on file. EastGate is changing over a much longer timeline. The apartment building there is the first phase of a town center plan that former Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross told Annandale Today had been in the works for almost 20 years, slowed first by the 2008 recession and then by the pandemic. Leasing at the Eastgate apartments is expected to begin in summer 2027, and the building is expected to be finished that fall. As of the May groundbreaking, the 11,200 square feet of ground-floor retail had no signed tenants. For now, Garden Social is the food hall on John Marr Drive.
New apartments, a mural-covered food hall and a string of storefront changes all affect how the blocks around Columbia Pike and John Marr Drive feel day to day. That matters whether you're staying put, thinking about selling or trying to understand what's being built near your home. If you'd like to talk through what Eastgate's 2027 timeline could mean for your part of Annandale, Monica Gibson is glad to go over it with you. Let's Connect.
