The orange sign in the dairy aisle at 3115 Langston Blvd reads "Organics in every aisle." That is the same address where workers took down the letters G-I-A-N-T on a Friday in early 2024. In the same Lyon Village Shopping Center, The Italian Store is still operating, as it has since the Tramonte family founded it in 1980. Farther west in Cherrydale, sandwiches from The Italian Store now sit in the case at a coffee shop that opened this month.
That connection explains how Langston Boulevard changed in 2026. The corridor didn't get a new building. Small operators moved into the storefronts that were already there, and several of them lean on the businesses that never left.
Thirty-One Months Between Grocery Stores at Spout Run
The Giant at the corner of Langston Boulevard and Spout Run Parkway had been open for 60 years. Its last day was Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. ARLnow reported that a tipster's husband, who was at the center's Starbucks that day, said "people were crying." When asked about the center's future, Christopher Jones, president of the owner, BMC Property Group, said only, "We are exploring a number of options but have nothing to share at this time."
The answer came in September 2026. Sprouts Farmers Market held its grand opening in the old Giant space and is now open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The chain has around 500 stores nationwide. Its only other Virginia locations are in Leesburg, Manassas, Herndon and Haymarket.
ARLnow's walkthrough lists:
- A large produce corner, with specialty items such as lion's mane mushrooms, gold beets and dandelion greens
- Dry goods sold by the ounce, including quinoa, basmati rice, black-eyed peas, polenta, chia seeds and protein powder
- Whole organic roasted chickens for $15 each, plus pre-seasoned dishes like bourbon salmon and Cajun butter shrimp skewers
- $5 sushi on Wednesdays
- A deli counter serving Boar's Head meats and cheeses, and a smaller bakery section
Sprouts took over the former anchor space in a shopping center whose other tenants in 2024 included The Italian Store, Big Wheel Bikes, a CVS and a Starbucks.
The Coffee Shop Supplied by Its Neighbors
Good Trouble Roasters at 3800 Langston Blvd in Cherrydale started a soft opening the week of Oct. 23. Its grand opening was tentatively set for the following Wednesday, Oct. 28. Owner Mike Greiner has an all-electric roaster on site and plans to roast beans several times a week. Pastries come from Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe and sandwiches from The Italian Store, which ARLnow reported is how Greiner hopes to set the shop apart.
Greiner explained the approach to ARLnow:
"It's so much better when you can uncomplicate it and do the simple things well."
Greiner told the outlet that "pulling down the coming soon signs was cathartic." He had been working toward the shop for more than two years. Once fully open, Good Trouble is scheduled to run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. It has dedicated free parking and a rear entrance, and ARLnow noted that many Arlington storefronts don't have either. He plans to add beer, wine and a small selection of liqueurs for coffee cocktails once he has a liquor license.
The same building holds the corridor's next opening. In June, ARLnow reported that a Rita's Italian Ice was taking a separate bay at 3800 Langston Blvd, with no opening information yet. As of late October, the Rita's location page for Unit D still says "Coming Soon."
Seven Storefronts, One Year
Good Trouble and Sprouts were the two biggest arrivals of 2026, but there were others. Listed by street number, the corridor's reported changes this year look like this:
| Address | Business | What changed in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 3115 Langston Blvd | Sprouts Farmers Market | Grand opening in September in the former Giant space |
| 3610 Langston Blvd | Tatiana Pizza | Jumbo slices and Italian food; soft-opening when ARLnow reported it on Aug. 25 |
| 3800 Langston Blvd | Good Trouble Roasters | Soft opening by Oct. 23; grand opening tentatively set for Oct. 28 |
| 3800 Langston Blvd, Unit D | Rita's Italian Ice | Still listed as "Coming Soon" |
| 4019 Langston Blvd | Coffee Libations | Nepali coffee truck at a gas station, open about a month when ARLnow reported it on July 22 |
| 4700 Langston Blvd | Capital One branch | Closed permanently on June 17; no replacement announced |
| 4775 Langston Blvd | Amu Kitchen | Afghan kabobs and homemade baked goods; opened in April |
These are small operators. Tatiana Pizza and Good Trouble both opened in Cherrydale. Coffee Libations runs out of a truck on a gas station lot. Amu Kitchen, according to its owners' interview with ARLnow, officially opened in April at the western end of the list. The one closing was a bank branch. When it closed, ARLnow didn't know what would take its place.
The Plan Still on Paper
All of this small-scale filling-in is happening along a corridor the county has planned for something much bigger. In November 2023, the Arlington County Board adopted the Langston Boulevard Area Plan, which names the Lyon Village Shopping Center as a potential mixed-use development area. ARLnow described the county's long-term vision for the site as an "activity hub" with 12-to-15-story apartment buildings. A rendering from the plan shows apartments over a grocery store near the Spout Run intersection.
In April 2025, when the Sprouts deal first surfaced, ARLnow reported that the center was still expected to be redeveloped "at some point." A few weeks later, the outlet's follow-up noted that property owners decide whether and when to pursue redevelopment. No site-specific redevelopment proposal for Lyon Village has been reported. The grocery store the county drew under a tower opened in the low-rise building it already had.
So the plan and the storefronts are moving on separate schedules. The plan describes what the corridor could become if owners choose to rebuild. This year's openings show what independent operators and one national grocer did with the buildings in the meantime. For Langston Boulevard, that meant a $15 roasted chicken at the old Giant and a Cherrydale coffee counter stocked by a 1980 Italian deli.
A November Loop Along the Corridor
A Saturday errand run can start in Cherrydale and work east toward Spout Run, ending with two stops in one shopping center:
- Good Trouble Roasters, 3800 Langston Blvd. Coffee from an on-site roaster, with pastries from Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe. Parking is in the back. The shop opens at 7 a.m.
- Tatiana Pizza, 3610 Langston Blvd. A jumbo slice on the way east toward Spout Run.
- The Italian Store, Lyon Village Shopping Center. The deli that supplies Good Trouble's sandwiches, at the source. Its own site still lists the address under the old street name, 3123 Lee Hwy.
- Sprouts Farmers Market, 3115 Langston Blvd. Bulk grains by the ounce and the week's groceries, in the same center, open until 10 p.m.
At the western end of the corridor, Amu Kitchen at 4775 Langston Blvd and the Coffee Libations truck at 4019 are a short drive past Cherrydale.
When a corridor like Langston Boulevard gets a grocery store back and a roaster sourcing from its neighbors, that changes the daily routine for the homes along it. We track these storefront-by-storefront shifts the same way we track comps. If you live off Langston Boulevard and want to understand what this year's changes mean for your own plans, Abrams Residential would welcome the conversation. Schedule a complimentary home strategy consultation.