Streets Market looks ready to plant its flag on the U Street corridor, with a new neighborhood grocery expected to take over the ground floor retail at The Ellington on U Street NW. If the deal comes together, the small-format grocer would slide into a prime spot by the U Street Metro and shake up the mix of shops and restaurants on that stretch.
According to PoPville, a reader tipped the site that a "New Streets Market [is] coming to the Ellington on U St," pegging the address as 1301 U Street NW. The building’s retail level has seen a rotating cast of tenants over the years, including Mattress Firm and several restaurants, a history noted when the property last changed hands. Bisnow previously documented the Ellington’s ground-floor tenant lineup when it covered the asset in 2018.
Where the store would sit
The Ellington at 1301 U St NW includes roughly 15,700 square feet of ground-floor retail space, according to the property’s listing, which makes it a logical candidate for a neighborhood grocer looking for a compact urban footprint. Jamestown, which owns the property, underscores the building’s proximity to the U Street/Cardozo Metro station and its extensive street frontage in its marketing materials.
Streets Market's growth in D.C.
Streets Market, which has been building its D.C. presence since the mid-2010s, now operates multiple locations across the region. Company materials list an existing D.C. store at 2400 14th St NW, giving the chain a footprint that already brushes up against the U Street area. Streets Market's listings outline the chain’s broader reach, while the Washington Business Journal reported last year on a run of new leases the company has secured around the city.
What it could mean for U Street
If the tip pans out, the U Street corridor would pick up another full-service grocery option at a time when the block has seen steady turnover and new arrivals in its storefronts. The chain is no stranger to busy, high-visibility neighborhoods. Local coverage has followed its moves before, including a NoMa opening in 2019 as Streets Market continued its expansion across the city.
Next steps
For now, the PoPville item is the first public signal tying Streets Market to The Ellington’s retail space, and there has not yet been a formal announcement from the company regarding the U Street address. In the coming weeks, expect the usual tea leaves to watch for: lease filings, new retail signage and, eventually, an official statement that would confirm the deal and spell out when shoppers might start rolling carts down a new set of aisles on U Street.
