At 7:30 tonight, Thursday, October 22, Hocus Pocus plays on the lawn at Commons Park in West Falls, with free popcorn while it lasts. A short walk away, the rooftop patio at Best Buns Bakery & Burgers is three weeks into its first season. It serves margaritas, espresso martinis and draft beer above a grab-and-go counter, and it stays open until 9 p.m.
That pairing shows what West Falls is right now. When the grocery anchor was announced in 2024, the project next to the West Falls Church Metro was pitched as a place for daily errands. Today it is mainly a place to spend an evening. Restaurants, a park and a calendar of free events are doing the work the grocery store was supposed to do. The grocer is tied to a residential building that hasn't been built yet. If you live nearby, that changes how you plan a visit: come for dinner and the lawn, not for a shopping trip.
The rooftop that gave West Falls a later evening
Best Buns opened Thursday, October 1, at 265 W. Falls Station Blvd., ARLnow reported. It is the fourth location for a bakery that started in Shirlington in 1995, and the first in the chain with rooftop seating and a full bar. Downstairs is a counter with scratch-made pastries, coffee and sandwiches. Upstairs, the drinks include a limoncello spritz, a pale ale, a lager, an IPA and a few wines. It's open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, which makes it the one stop in the development that covers breakfast, an after-school snack and a drink after dinner.
The menu is wide. ARLnow lists breakfast sandwiches on biscuits, avocado toast with egg, fried chicken sandwiches, a turkey club, cheeseburgers and cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Jon Norton, CEO of parent company Great American Restaurants, told the outlet about his ties to Meridian High School, which sits next to the West Falls site. Its basketball coach, Jim Smith, once coached Norton.
The opening was part of a busy week across the city. In the same September 30 roundup, the Falls Church News-Press reported that Wonder Food Hall was operating at 100 W. Broad Street in the former Brown's Hardware space, and that Lil' Cakes and Creamery had opened at 120 Founders Avenue in Modera Founders Row. The paper also reported that Harvey's on W. Broad has new owners and will keep its name and its staff.
What the rest of the block is built for
Before Best Buns arrived, most of the food at West Falls was quick counter service. Most of the non-food tenants are services you book or sign up for, not shops you browse. Here is what the West Falls directory lists as open, with addresses checked against other sources where possible:
- Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls, 243 W. Falls Station Blvd., open since March 19, 2025, per ARLnow. The West Falls directory gives 255, but the restaurant's own ordering page uses 243.
- Honoo Ramen Bar, 153 W. Falls Station Blvd., soft-open by late June 2025.
- Ice Cream Jubilee, 151 W. Falls Station Blvd., which was scheduled to open in May 2025.
- Seoul Spice, 156 W. Falls Station Blvd., which held its grand opening in June 2025.
- BurgerFi, 168 W. Falls Station Blvd.
- CityDance and Levine Music, Suites 150 and 160 at 255 W. Falls Station Blvd.
- Perspire Sauna Studio, 7140 Leesburg Pike, and The Wellness Center, 7171 Leesburg Pike.
- Casabella Salon, 267 W. Falls Station Blvd.; Chase Bank, 118 W. Falls Station Blvd.; and Tierra Encantada, 175 Haycock Road.
The directory also lists Home2 Suites by Hilton at 171 W. Falls Station Blvd., which is handy when relatives visit and you want them a short walk from the Metro.
None of these is a sit-down dinner with a bar. Best Buns' rooftop filled that gap, and Commons Park helps a dinner turn into a longer evening.
Commons Park is doing the anchor's job for now
West Falls describes Commons Park as the central green and gathering place of the development. Lately the events calendar has kept it busy. Live music ran there from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, October 16. A free college football watch party took over the next day, Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tonight's movie night is the last event on the West Falls events page for now. Nothing is posted yet for later dates.
Last year gives a rough idea of what could come next. The 2025 calendar included a Halloween Trivia Night on October 29 and an Almost Heavenly Christmas Tree Farm pop-up December 5 through 7. Neither has been announced for 2026, so check the calendar before planning around them.
Reading the "coming soon" signs
Several storefronts on the directory still say "coming soon." These are the four people ask about most, and each one is at a different stage.
| Business | Where | What it is | Latest public word |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dok Khao | 180 W. Falls Station Blvd. | Thai restaurant | Confirmed in August 2026 for a fall 2026 opening, with no exact date |
| Withered Fig | 255 W. Falls Station Blvd. | Menswear, the brand's first physical store | Owner hoped for early 2026. Still listed as coming soon |
| La'Baik | Not listed | Not described | Directory listing only |
| The Fresh Market | 101 Haycock Road | Grocery, about 29,000 square feet | No timeline as of May 2026 |
Dok Khao's timing has already moved once. In September 2025, ARLnow reported plans for a winter opening, and a DC Spot report in August 2026 moved that to fall 2026. The restaurant's own locations page still shows Falls Church as coming soon. Fall has started, so this is the opening most likely to happen next.
The grocery store is a different case. When The Fresh Market was announced in 2024, the Falls Church store was forecast to open by mid-2026. That date has passed. According to FFXnow's May 11, 2026 report, the store will occupy the ground floor of a future residential building at West Falls, and a company spokesperson had no update on timing. In the same report, the chain said it would not renew its lease at Danor Plaza in Vienna and would close that store on May 31 after nearly 15 years. That leaves Alexandria as its only open Northern Virginia location. The Falls Church grocery can't open until its building goes up, so a real opening date will likely follow construction news.
Getting there without circling the block
ARLnow describes parking at West Falls as limited, so it helps to know your options before you drive.
- Garage A/D is at 370 Mustang Alley, and its operator lists it as open 24 hours. Best Buns validates 90 minutes of free parking here. That is the restaurant's offer, not one that applies across the whole development.
- Garage B is at 7174 Cardinal Lane.
- Street parking near Best Buns is free for 15 minutes, which is enough to grab pastries to go.
- Metro and bus. The West Falls Church-VT station is right next door, with bus stops at Leesburg Pike and Haycock Road and on the station's exit roadway.
- On foot or by bike. According to the West Falls getting-here page, pedestrian and bike trails surround the site, including the W&OD Trail.
For tonight, garage parking makes the most sense. Bring a blanket for the 7:30 movie on the Commons Park lawn and walk over to the Best Buns rooftop afterward. The kitchen stays open until 9.
I follow how projects like West Falls fill in, because which storefronts open, and in what order, shapes daily life on the surrounding streets. If you're curious what the next phase near the Metro could mean for your home, or just want to talk it through, Monica Gibson is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
