"The truck is expected to make its triumphant return after a year-long hiatus for specialized repair and maintenance." That line comes from the Town's November 2026 Vienna Voice. It refers to the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department's 1946 antique fire truck, which is scheduled to carry Santa down Church Street at the start of this year's Church Street Holiday Stroll.
The truck has been gone for a year, and the street has changed a lot in that time. Over 2026, Church Street gained a Yemeni restaurant, a mahjong social club and an espresso and matcha bar. One of its longest-running cafés passed to new owners, and two Church Street addresses were lined up for new tenants. On Monday, Nov. 30, the Stroll brings a big crowd onto Church Street for the first time since all of that happened.
A Monday Night, and a Half Hour Shorter
The 2026 Stroll runs Monday, Nov. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. in front of the Freeman Store and Museum at 131 Church Street NE, at the corner of Church and Mill streets. Last year's notice listed a Monday, Dec. 1 start and an 8:30 p.m. finish. This year's program ends at 8, so the evening is 30 minutes shorter.
With less time, the order of events matters more. The Town's event page and the newsletter set out the sequence:
- 6 p.m. Santa rides down Church Street on the 1946 fire truck. Right after his arrival comes the tree lighting, led by Mayor Linda Colbert, with live holiday music from local groups.
- After the ceremony. Gingerbread ornament stations open along Church Street. Firepits offer free marshmallow roasting, and Church Street businesses stay open.
- By 7:10 p.m. Decorated ornaments must be turned in at the Explore Vienna VA tent across from the Freeman Store to be judged.
- 7:30 p.m. Winners are announced in several categories, with prize packs of gift cards to local businesses. Ornament artists of all ages can enter.
- Until 8 p.m. Photos at the gingerbread-house arch at the end of Church Street near Lawyers Road. The Town calls the gingerbread activities together "Gingerbread Wonderland."
The historic stops are the same as always: the Freeman Store and Museum, the Little Library, the Caboose, the Train Station, the Knights of Columbus building, which was formerly First Baptist Church, and Vienna Presbyterian's Old Chapel. The businesses between them are where the street has changed.
The Church Street Lineup, Address by Address
This table lists every Church Street address that had news in 2026, with its NE and NW numbers as printed in the sources:
| Address | Business | What 2026 brought |
|---|---|---|
| 101 Church St. NW, Unit D | The Bamboo Room | Mahjong social club above Sushi Yoshi, booking sessions this month |
| 103 Church St. NE | Bards Alley Bookshop | Building bought in February for a planned move of the bookshop |
| 107 Church St. NE | Caffe Amouri | Ownership passed to three employees |
| 108 Church St. NE | MOSS Building and Design | Announced as the site of the firm's Vienna Architectural Design Center |
| 110 Church St. NW | Bards Alley Bookshop | The bookshop's address as of February |
| 111 Church St. NW | Sheeba | Yemeni restaurant, opened to the public in August |
| 111 Church St. NW, Suite 102 | Evelyn Rose | Restaurant in its third holiday season, opened June 2024 |
| 145 Church St. NW | Kin Espresso Bar | Specialty coffee, ceremonial matcha and desserts, soft-launched in July |
Church Street NW: Three New Places to Try
Sheeba is the newest restaurant on the street. FFXnow reported that it served its first friends-and-family guests on Aug. 21 and opened to the public the next day at 111 Church Street NW. TysonsToday covered it in September as a new Yemeni option on Church Street. It replaces Le Bistro, which FFXnow noted in March had closed. Sheeba has been open just over three months by Stroll night, so this will be its first holiday season on the street.
Evelyn Rose, at the same street number in Suite 102, has been around longer. Patch reported its opening date as June 1, 2024, and its own site still lists 111 Church Street NW with current menus. TysonsToday's September profile called it a love letter to Church Street.
The Bamboo Room is a mahjong social club in Unit D at 101 Church Street NW, upstairs from Sushi Yoshi. When FFXnow first reported it in June, the club was aiming for an August opening. Its booking calendar now lists sessions throughout November, and some have registration open. It gives Church Street something new for a weeknight: a reserved table game in the evening.
Kin Espresso Bar, at 145 Church Street NW, soft-launched on Monday, July 6, with specialty coffee, ceremonial matcha and desserts, according to FFXnow. A hot drink to carry from the firepits to the photo arch is useful on a late-November evening.
Church Street NE: The Same Names With New People Behind Them
The NE blocks around the Freeman Store changed differently. Most of the names are familiar, but the people or plans behind them changed this year.
Caffe Amouri, at 107 Church Street NE, is a short walk from the tree lighting. FFXnow reported in September that founder Michael Amouri had handed ownership of the café to three employees. One of them is Nicki Amouri, his daughter and the café's roastmaster, and the café is still serving its coffee and baked goods. This will be the first Stroll under the new owners.
Bards Alley Bookshop is listed twice in the table above for a reason. In February, FFXnow reported that the shop was operating at 110 Church Street NW and that its owner had bought 103 Church Street NE, the former John Edwards Hair Design, for a planned move. The tentative timeline was fall or winter of this year. Both addresses are on the Stroll route, so a book stop works on the way to or from the tree.
MOSS Building and Design announced 108 Church Street NE as the home of its Vienna Architectural Design Center. FFXnow reported in October that the remodeling firm was moving its headquarters into a space long occupied by a beauty spa.
The Freeman Store and Museum itself has a holiday shop open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., in the newsletter's November listings. The Stroll is on a Monday, outside those hours, so daytime gift shopping there means coming back later in the week.
Two Days Before the Stroll, Then a Busy First Week of December
The Town promotes Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 as a day to shop local. That puts a shopping day on Church Street two days before the Stroll. The Saturday is better for unhurried browsing at the new places, and Monday night is for the tree, the truck and the ornament judging.
The busiest single day on the Town calendar comes the following weekend, on Saturday, Dec. 5:
- Donuts with Santa, 9 to 11:20 a.m., at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. SE. Registration is required, and admission is $5 per person, with two time slots.
- Drop & Shop, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Ayr Hill Church, 100 Ayr Hill Ave. NE. Children ages 4 to 12 attend while adults shop, and the newsletter carries a discount code for $15 tickets.
- "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" from the Vienna Theatre Company, at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children.
The next weekend has more:
- Friday, Dec. 11. The free Mayor and Council Holiday Reception runs 4 to 6 p.m. at Vienna Town Hall, 127 Center Street South. Big Screen at the Community Center follows with a free showing of "Elf" from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 120 Cherry St. SE.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. The American Legion Post 180 Children's Christmas Party runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 330 Center St. N. It is free, requires advance registration and is for children through age 12 with an adult.
On Friday, Dec. 11, the reception ends at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 6:30, so one evening covers both. For questions about the Stroll itself, the Town lists Historic Vienna, Inc. at 703-938-5187 and the page at viennava.gov/stroll.
If a walkable stretch like Church Street is part of what you want from your next home in Vienna, The Hoban Real Estate Group would love to talk it over with you. Book a white‑glove consultation.
