Columbia Road's Kalorama Block Is Getting Its Old Places Back

El Meson Espanol, a tapas and paella restaurant, opened at 1826 Columbia Road in October, which makes it the newest business between the Festival Center and 18th Street. That room also served Spanish food under the name El Rincon Espanol until 2017. On this stretch, "new" usually means something has come back.

That holds for the whole block. The plaza at 18th and Columbia now has a settled future after an eight-year lawsuit. The Potter's House, open since 1960, is running a holiday market and plans a full reopening after the holidays. The only true newcomer is a croissant bakery that hasn't opened yet. The organizations holding the block together are the same ones that have been here for decades, and many of them grew out of each other. The next real change to the street itself is a construction project scheduled for 2027.

A Spanish kitchen back in a Spanish room

PoPville reported on October 14 that El Meson Espanol had opened at 1826 Columbia Road. The restaurant describes itself in three words: tapas, paella, Spanish wine.

It took a while to get here. PoPville first reported in May 2025 that El Meson was coming. The space had been El Rincon Espanol until it closed in 2017. Morgana, an Italian restaurant, came next and didn't last long. According to the Capital City Post, Morgana opened in 2023, closed by 2024, and the storefront sat empty until the Spanish concept arrived. WhatNow described the new restaurant as coming from the same team as El Rincon.

So the Italian place was the detour, and Spanish food has returned to the space where it ran for years. El Meson hasn't posted a detailed menu or hours yet. Call ahead before you plan a late dinner around it.

Next door, the plaza stays a plaza

Walk a few doors toward 18th Street and you reach the corner that took eight years of litigation to settle. The plaza at 18th Street and Columbia Road covers more than 4,000 square feet. It was created for community use in the late 1970s, beside what was then a SunTrust bank.

In 2017 the Kalorama Citizens Association and Adams Morgan for Reasonable Development sued SunTrust to keep public access to the plaza. SunTrust had planned to sell the site to developers who wanted to build a luxury condo building over the entire plaza. The case went back and forth, and in December 2022 the DC Court of Appeals sent it to trial. SunTrust, by then renamed Truist, donated the property to Jubilee Housing.

The case was dismissed on December 12, 2025, after an agreement among all three parties. Here is how the KCA described the result in the flyer for its October 3 celebration, as PoPville published it:

"Under the agreement, Jubilee, the property owner, granted KCA a conservation easement to help plan events, recommend upgrades, and ensure continued community access to the existing and future plazas in perpetuity."

That makes a neighborhood association a permanent partner in a privately owned public space. The Kalorama Citizens Association has posted the easement agreement on its site. The plan for the future plaza, designed with Eric Colbert & Associates, includes seating, greenery, a covered portico and a small stage. The DC Historic Preservation Review Board approved Jubilee's construction plans in September 2024.

Here's the timing that matters for this year. Jubilee Housing expects to break ground in 2027 on a six-story mixed-use building at the site. It will have 51 affordable homes, a habitable penthouse, basement parking and the community plaza. Jubilee says financing, design and permitting work is still underway. In other words, this winter the corner looks the way it has for years, and the KCA now has a formal role in planning events there. The renderings displayed at the October 3 celebration show what comes after construction.

The Potter's House, and the family tree of the block

The connection between these places is clearest at 1658 Columbia Road. The Potter's House calls itself a "third place" with 66 years behind it. It credits itself with helping to start a long list of neighborhood nonprofits, including Jubilee House, Festival Center, Christ House, Sarah's Circle, Mary's Center and Sitar Arts Center.

That list shows how the block is organized. The Festival Center down the street and the Jubilee name on the plaza both trace back to the cafe-bookstore at 1658.

This summer was uncertain for the Potter's House. A proposed six-month operating partnership was dropped after a June 24 community meeting, PoPville reported. The site now advertises a holiday market from November 12 to December 23, 2026, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, with coffee, food and gifts. Used books are available for a $5 contribution. The site says the Potter's House plans to fully reopen after the holidays and that its "next chapter is underway for 2027 and beyond."

That makes 2027 the date for two of the block's biggest changes: Jubilee's groundbreaking at 1800 and the Potter's House's next chapter at 1658.

The one true newcomer, at 1756

Between Connecticut Avenue and 18th Street, there's one business on this stretch with no history here. PoPville reported in March that Alexis Grea Bakery was coming to 1756 Columbia Road. Chef Alexis Grea is from Lyon and previously baked at Bread Alley. The Georgetowner reported the plan is viennoiserie: croissants, brioche and pain au chocolat.

Signs went up by late September, between Super Tacos and Bakery and its other neighbor, with the message "Coming soon." The bakery's website still says the same thing, with no date. If it opens before the holidays, that stretch of Columbia Road will have two bakeries in a row.

The block, address by address

The two addresses with the most history, 1658 and 1800, are the ones with 2027 dates. The busiest addresses this fall are the restaurants and the seasonal markets in between.

Saturday, November 7

November 7 is the busiest day on the block's fall calendar. Here's how the day lines up, in order:

1. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Adams Morgan Farmers Market runs Saturdays at Unity Park, where Columbia Road meets Euclid and Champlain Streets. Its season is listed as June through December.
2. 11 a.m. The holiday market opens at the Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road. The Festival Center's events page lists 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Adams Morgan Partnership's listing for Greetings from Bethlehem, a Palestinian holiday market at the same address, runs until 7 p.m. Check before planning a late visit.
3. Noon onward. Adams Morgan Fall PorchFest is listed for noon to 5 p.m., and this year it adds a pre-holiday market for vintage goods, crafts and makers. The FAQ on the same page puts performances at 2 to 6 p.m. The PorchFest headquarters tent is at the plaza at 18th Street and Adams Mill Road, not at the Columbia Road plaza.

You can do all three on foot, stopping at El Meson for paella on the way back south.

If the Columbia Road plaza is the block you watch most closely, the Wydler Brothers team keeps an eye on what Jubilee's 2027 construction and the Potter's House reopening mean for the streets around them. Wydler Brothers is glad to talk through what's changing on your corner of Kalorama. Start the conversation and request a personalized consultation.