Langston Boulevard's Newest Arrivals Are Moving Into Old Storefronts, Starting With Sprouts

On the last day the Giant at Lyon Village Shopping Center was open, a reader emailed ARLnow to say that her husband, sitting in the Starbucks next door, had watched people cry. The store had been at the corner of Langston Boulevard and Spout Run Parkway for 60 years. Its final day of business was Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Thirty-one months later, on Sept. 25, 2026, a grocery store opened its doors in that same space at 7 a.m. The new store is a Sprouts Farmers Market, and the building is the same one. That detail matters more than the brand name. When the Giant closed, nobody knew whether the corner would be rebuilt from the ground up. What actually happened along this stretch of Langston Boulevard was smaller and quicker. New tenants are moving into the buildings that are already there, and that pattern repeats from Lyon Village to Cherrydale.

The Corner Had a Bigger Plan on Paper

The center's fate was an open question in March 2024 for a real reason. In November 2023 the Arlington County Board adopted the Langston Boulevard Area Plan. As ARLnow described it, the plan pictures Lyon Village Shopping Center as an "activity hub" that could support mixed-use redevelopment with apartment buildings of 12 to 15 stories, and one rendering shows an apartment building rising over a grocery store near the intersection.

That plan sets out the county's long-range vision. The day after the closing, BMC Property Group President Christopher Jones told ARLnow, "We are exploring a number of options but have nothing to share at this time." In 2025 coverage, the county's project manager said it is property owners who decide whether and when to redevelop.

In the meantime, Giant posted signs sending shoppers to its Virginia Square store at 3450 Washington Blvd, about a mile away, and pointed people to its pickup and delivery services.

How the Old Giant Became a Sprouts

The return of a grocery store started with a building permit to convert the existing space.

1. April 2025. A permit application to convert the vacant grocery space was the first sign that Sprouts was coming. Neither BMC nor Sprouts commented when ARLnow asked.
2. May 2025. Sprouts confirmed plans for an Arlington store in 2026, and the permit at 3115 Langston Blvd tied it to the former Giant.
3. March 2026. Sprouts set a September target.
4. Sept. 25, 2026. Ribbon cutting at 6:45 a.m., doors at 7 a.m., and a grand-opening weekend of samples, tote bags, and a rewards-program discount.

Converting an existing store can't produce the apartments-over-a-grocery picture from the area plan. It did put food back on the shelves at this corner years before a ground-up project could have, and it leaves the larger redevelopment question exactly where the county said it sits, with the owner.

What's on the Shelves at 3115 Langston Blvd

The store's posted hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Sprouts sells itself on freshness and wellness, and ARLnow's walk-through after opening found signs promising "organics on every aisle."

Some specifics for the first trip:

• Produce takes up a large corner, from organic apples and mangoes to lion's mane mushrooms, gold beets, and dandelion greens.
• Bulk dry goods sold by the ounce, including quinoa, basmati rice, black-eyed peas, polenta, oats, chia seeds, nuts, and dried fruit.
• A deli with Boar's Head meats and cheeses, plus a smaller bakery case with bread, pies, cookies, and muffins.
• Prepared proteins: whole organic roasted chickens at $15 each, and oven-ready items such as bourbon salmon and Cajun butter shrimp skewers.
• Weekly and everyday deals: $5 sushi on Wednesdays, grab-and-go sandwiches starting at $5, and wellness bowls starting at $9.
• A short beer and cider shelf with hard ciders and IPAs.

According to the company's press release, food that can no longer be sold but is still edible will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank.

The chain has about 500 stores nationwide, but this is only its fifth in Virginia. The other four are in Leesburg, Manassas, Herndon, and Haymarket. ARLnow puts the new store about a 20-minute walk from both the Clarendon and Courthouse Metro stations.

The Rest of the Center Kept Shifting While the Box Sat Empty

The grocery space was vacant for two and a half years, but the shopping center around it kept changing, and that followed the same pattern of reusing what was already built.

The Italian Store and Big Wheel Bikes were both in the center the week the Giant closed, along with a CVS and the Starbucks. Both are still there. If you have been driving past to shop somewhere else, a single parking spot can once again cover a sub, a bike tune-up, and the weekly groceries.

Up the Road in Cherrydale, Small Bays Are Filling

The same thing is happening on a smaller scale farther west along the boulevard.

At 3610 Langston Blvd, near the Safeway, Tatiana Pizza began its soft opening in late August in a small retail bay that used to be Yummy Thai. It is the second location for founder Abu Ali, whose first is in Dupont Circle, and this is the first one outside D.C. The signature item is a 32-inch pie. Ali told ARLnow he bakes at 550 degrees with a mozzarella chosen to hold up under that heat, because "normal cheese" turns "black and tough." The menu also includes calzones, chicken alfredo, eggplant parmesan, and overstuffed subs such as meatball parmesan and mushroom Swiss steak.

Two more are on the way at 3800 Langston Blvd.

Good Trouble Roasters, owned by Mike Greiner, was close to finished in late August, and ARLnow reported a September target with a few weeks of construction still left. Arlington Magazine was still calling it soon-to-open on Sept. 29. Its published menu lists pastries from Heidelberg Bakery, espresso drinks, cold brew, and wine and beer.

Rita's Italian Ice has a location page for 3800 Langston Blvd., Unit D, that still reads "Coming Soon" and gives no opening date or hours.

Neither one had announced a firm opening date as of this week, so check their own pages before making a special trip.

What the Corridor Looks Like Heading Into November

Put the addresses side by side and the stretch from Spout Run Parkway to Cherrydale is one corridor working the same way. A national grocer converted a 60-year-old supermarket. An ice cream shop took over part of a bank building. A D.C. pizzeria moved into a former Thai restaurant's bay. A coffee shop and an Italian ice stand are getting ready to open in retail units at 3800.

The 12-to-15-story vision is still in the county's adopted plan, and the owner has not announced a redevelopment plan. For now, the Lyon Village Shopping Center has a grocery store again, open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with $5 sushi on Wednesdays.

Whether you're curious about what a busier Langston Boulevard means for your block or just want to talk through which north Arlington storefronts are changing next, Jennifer Hernandez and the team at Jennifer Hernandez VA keep up with this corridor all year. Let's Connect.