Between Labor Day and Halloween, Spring Valley's commercial block on Massachusetts Avenue had one piece of news: a wine shop leaving. No new restaurant opened and no new café took over a vacant space. Everything on the block is either an established tenant or the one that's going.
The new things this fall are a short drive or a long walk away, at the Kreeger Museum and on American University's campus. Both run on schedules with firm closing dates. That makes this a good fall to look at the calendar for Spring Valley. The storefronts will look the same in December, and the shows, concerts and performances will be gone.
The One Goodbye at 4850 Massachusetts Avenue
PoPville published Cork's farewell note on September 15, 2026. The note was signed by Diane and Khalid and began, "After five wonderful years, we're saying goodbye to Cork Spring Valley."
For anyone who shopped there, the useful part is what happens to the wine. The note says wines that were sold only at Spring Valley are moving to Cork 14th Street and Cork Cleveland Park. Cork's team is contacting Flight Club members directly about future pickups, and Cork listed [email protected] for questions.
The note also explains how the shop worked. It thanks "the entire Pizzeria Paradiso team for five years of partnership and friendship." Cork ran at the same address as the pizzeria, 4850 Massachusetts Ave NW. The partner is staying. Pizzeria Paradiso's Spring Valley page still lists 4850 Massachusetts Ave NW, open daily from noon to 9 p.m. Pizza at that address carries on. The wine shop is what's leaving.
The announcement didn't give a final day or name a new tenant. For now, the space's future is an open question.
The Rest of the Block, Door by Door
The rest of the 4800 block reads like it did a year ago. Going by each business's own listing, this is what's there:
- Wagshal's Market, 4845 Massachusetts Ave NW. The market side of Wagshal's. It operates separately from the deli across the street.
- Compass Coffee, 4850 Massachusetts Ave NW. Still on the company's café locator. Compass Coffee announced this café's opening for Wednesday, January 30, 2019, so it's in its eighth year on the block.
- Pizzeria Paradiso, 4850 Massachusetts Ave NW. Open daily, noon to 9 p.m.
- CVS, 4851 Massachusetts Ave NW. Pharmacy and store.
- Wagshal's Delicatessen, 4855 Massachusetts Ave NW. The deli side, with its own hours.
- Playa Bowls, 4857 Massachusetts Ave NW. Open daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Millie's, 4866 Massachusetts Ave NW. Taking reservations, with its parking lot off 49th Street.
- Bluestone Lane, 4874 Massachusetts Ave NW. Brunch, lunch and coffee.
Regency Centers, the shopping center's landlord, lists Playa Bowls, Wagshal's, CVS and Wells Fargo Bank as tenants on its site plan.
Count the addresses and Wagshal's holds two of them, a market at 4845 and a deli at 4855. Compass Coffee and Pizzeria Paradiso share 4850 with the space Cork is leaving. Cork's exit takes out one specialty shop. A breakfast, a coffee, a lunch, an early dinner and a pharmacy run are all still a short walk apart.
Anything new this season has to come from somewhere else.
Up the Hill, a Show About Crossing Lines
The Kreeger Museum opened Out of Bounds on October 15. It runs through December 31, 2026. It's the Kreeger's main new show this fall, and it covers more ground than you might expect from a museum best known for its permanent collection.
The exhibition comes from a partnership with Hamiltonian Artists. It brings together seven Hamiltonian alumni: Selin Balci, Larry W. Cook, Joyce Yu-Jean Lee, Christie Neptune, Allison Spence, Kyle Tata and Jing Xu. Their work spans painting, photography, sculpture, video and installation. Anisa Olufemi, director of programs and curator at Hamiltonian Artists, curated the show.
According to the museum, the title is "borrowed from the language of sport." It refers to the space beyond the limits of play, and in a broader sense to ideas that cross accepted rules. The new work hangs next to pieces from the Kreeger's permanent collection by Sam Gilliam, Frank Stella, Simmie Knox and William Christenberry. The museum calls those four "an iconoclast in their day."
The show runs under The Collaborative, a program the Kreeger started in 2021 to support Washington-area artists. The seven artists are local, and the gallery is close by.
The Kreeger's music schedule fills in November:
| Date | Program | Time | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, November 19 | Cellist Amarilis Dueñas Castán | Doors 6 p.m., concert 7 p.m. | $25 |
| Saturday, November 21 | Jazz at The Kreeger with the Mark Merella Trio | 3 p.m. | $35 |
The two concerts are two days apart, a Thursday evening and a Saturday afternoon. If one doesn't fit your week, the other might. Out of Bounds is up for both, so either visit can include the galleries.
Halloween Weekend Belongs to the Campus
The Friday and Saturday right after this post goes up bring the most seasonal event nearby, and it's at American University.
The AU Symphony Orchestra plays a Halloween weekend program at Abramson Family Recital Hall, conducted by Matthew Brown. Performances are Friday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 31, at 5 p.m. The program features well-known works by Saint-Saëns, Mussorgsky and John Williams, including some spooky and movie-related pieces. Audience members are encouraged to come in costume.
The 5 p.m. Saturday start is the one to note. The concert ends early on Halloween itself, and costumes are part of the invitation.
AU's November is just as busy. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, directed by Karl Kippola, plays Katzen Studio Theatre November 5 through 7, and general-public tickets are $15. The AU Museum's fall exhibitions run through December 6 and include work by Ahn Chang-Hong, Ayesha Kamal, Norman S. Carr and Mary Garrard.
The AU Museum shows close December 6, and Out of Bounds closes December 31. Both have dates when they come down, which the shops on Massachusetts Avenue don't.
The Fall, in Order
Put the institutions' dates together with the strip's news and you get one timeline for the rest of 2026:
- Friday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. AU Symphony Orchestra Halloween concert, Abramson Family Recital Hall.
- Saturday, October 31, 5 p.m. The same program, with an early start on Halloween.
- Wednesday, November 4. ANC 3D's monthly meeting, listed on the commission's site. This is where updates about the neighborhood's commercial corridor usually surface first.
- Thursday, November 5, through Saturday, November 7. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at Katzen Studio Theatre, $15 for the general public.
- Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m. Amarilis Dueñas Castán at the Kreeger, $25.
- Saturday, November 21, 3 p.m. Mark Merella Trio at the Kreeger, $35.
- Sunday, December 6. Last day for the AU Museum's fall exhibitions.
- Thursday, December 31. Out of Bounds closes at the Kreeger.
The Massachusetts Avenue strip won't appear anywhere on that list, and that's fine. Pizzeria Paradiso is open daily at noon, Playa Bowls at 8 a.m., and Compass Coffee is in its eighth year at 4850. The open question is the Cork space. When a new tenant is announced, it will be the strip's first new arrival in a while.
If you'd like to know who takes over the Cork space, or you'd like a Spring Valley guide with the corner bakeries and gallery evenings already marked, call or text Emily Sower. Get your complimentary home valuation or neighborhood guide and start a conversation today.
