In 2025, NoMa experienced a surge in retail leasing activity, successfully cultivating an intentional and dynamic mix of new businesses while achieving its goal of attracting a cultural anchor to the neighborhood. Washington Improv Theater’s signing of a 30-year lease and the attraction and relocation to NoMa of two landmark, longtime DC dining establishments, Bub and Pop’s and Alero, from neighboring communities demonstrate the neighborhood’s growing appeal and long-term stability. By prioritizing locally owned enterprises—particularly those led by women and/or BIPOC entrepreneurs—NoMa continued to strengthen its retail ecosystem and reinforce a commercial landscape that reflects the
community’s identity and culture.

This remarkably strong year demonstrated that strategic investment of time, resources, and focused attention is paying dividends, positioning NoMa’s retail sector to thrive in close partnership with neighborhood residents and workers for years to come.

Progress on this initiative in 2025 included:

• Celebrating the opening of 12 new retail establishments in the BID.
• Securing Tommy’s Tacos as the tenant for the cafe space at Alethia Tanner Park, thus providing a brick-and-mortar presence for a proven, small, locally owned restaurateur.
• Attracting exciting regional fixtures and one-of-a-kind businesses to make their home in NoMa, including Manifest, an 18-hour per day restaurant, barbershop and events venue, and Bub and Pop’s, a veteran-owned sandwich shop, which experienced its best sales day ever in NoMa after relocating from its former location in Golden Triangle.
• Securing and sharing positive media stories that highlight new business openings, the vibrant retail scene in NoMa, and all the NoMa winners in various awards programs.
• Continuing to host the popular NoMa Business Social, a quarterly gathering of NoMa businesses that helps owners connect with the BID and each other to share resources.
• Strengthening relations with nearby retailers in Union Market District, Capitol Hill, and H Street to communicate the interconnectiviness of NoMa to its neighbors.
• Launching a successful event lineup that attracts thousands of people to the neighborhood, who then visit and support local businesses. For example, Lost Generation Brewery reported a 30 percent increase in revenue immediately following the BID’s NoMa in Color: Color Jam, as attendees migrated to the neighboring brewery once Color Jam concluded.

Targeted work on this initiative for 2026 will include:

• Planning and executing new, unique placemaking activations to enliven street-level spaces with positive activity and promote safety throughout the neighborhood.
• Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Metropolitan Beer Trail, the free digital passport and prize-incentivized marketing program, which drove an estimated $1.6 million in economic support to the participating 11 businesses in 2025.
• Celebrating and promoting future retail openings, including Tommy’s Tacos, Alero, Washington Improv Theater, and Frager’s Hardware, as a retail business attraction strategy.
• Prioritizing meeting BID procurement needs via NoMa and NoMa-adjacent businesses, including event support, printing, catering, and more.
• Continuing to convene quarterly Business Socials to establish a strong network of BID-led and peer-based support for business owners and managers.
• Activating the NoMa Meander, the North Capitol-adjacent public plaza space that creates an enhanced experience for pedestrians to attract new businesses.
• Increasing cleaning, safety patrols, and BID support for the h3 Project to enhance the attractiveness of the neighborhood for businesses and their customers.