In late September, a line of volunteers stood on West Market Street and handed books down the sidewalk, one stack at a time, from 11 West Market to the storefront next door at number 9. The Burn reported that the human chain was part of how Birch Tree Books & Plants made its move, and that the store reopened before its own October target.
That move was about one storefront long, and it sums up downtown Leesburg this fall. The biggest changes came from businesses that were already part of the historic core, or close to it, moving into larger rooms or opening storefronts of their own, and the one well-known brand that arrived is run by local franchise owners. The one real gap on King Street is a corner waiting on a head chef.
Next door on West Market Street
Birch Tree's old home at 11 West Market was a snug shop. The new space at 9 West Market adds more room for shelves and display tables, plus an expanded houseplant area at the back. Foliage Plant Shop moved into the new space as well, so the "& Plants" half of the name now has its own footprint.
The move was first announced in July, which made it a summer-long project. Staff told The Burn that a formal grand opening celebration is "coming soon." No date had been announced as of this writing. For anyone who browses the shelves on Birch Tree's own site before stopping in, that's the place to watch.
A dessert chef with her own counter, finally
Two blocks away, The Chocolate Palette took a longer path to the same kind of move. The business started in Purcellville in 2019. More recently it shared space with SimplyBe Coffee on Church Street SE in Leesburg. On Thursday, September 17, it opened a storefront of its own at 212A Loudoun Street SE, a few doors down from Mom's Apple Pie.
Owner and dessert chef Cheryl June told The Burn what the extra room means for the kitchen:
"This location gives me the ability to create my full menu, while I continue to experiment and add new items. We look forward to offering unique desserts not offered by other retailers."
That full menu includes hand-crafted European sipping chocolates and æbleskivers, the round Danish pancakes. Loudoun Now also profiled the opening.
The schedule takes a little learning, because the café isn't open every day. At opening it kept these hours:
- Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m.
- Closed Monday through Wednesday
Those late weeknight hours put the café open well past dinner on the same evenings downtown fills up for events. That matters in December, as the calendar below shows. Current hours are posted at The Chocolate Palette's site.
The one new name on King Street, run by local owners
Kilwins opened at 17 South King Street on Sunday, September 13, at 11 a.m. Kilwins is a national ice cream and candy brand. The Leesburg store is owned by Nancy Carter and Frank Batchelder, a wife-and-husband team who were already working on their next two locations when this one opened. The second is in Brambleton Town Center in Ashburn, where The Burn reported that work had begun.
So downtown gained two dessert counters within four days in September. One is a homegrown chef moving up from shared space. The other is a familiar brand that Loudoun owners chose to launch on King Street before expanding into the county.
The corner still waiting on a sushi chef
The only true vacancy in this fall's story sits at 101 South King Street. Ebisu Sushi & Thai had closed permanently there by early September. On September 30, The Burn reported that a restaurant called Shibuya Sushi & Bar plans to take the space, which faces Shutters on King and sits kitty-corner from Señor Ramon Taqueria.
As of that report, Shibuya was still hiring a head sushi chef and working on its liquor license, and it had not announced an opening date. Until it opens, the corner stays dark, and it sits right on the King Street route the December parade follows.
Where the new rooms meet the holiday calendar
Downtown's October 25 trick-or-treat afternoon and the October 28 Kiwanis Halloween Parade have already passed. The next stretch of downtown dates lands squarely on the evenings and weekends when these storefronts are open. The Town of Leesburg lists the following:
- Friday, November 6, 5 to 7 p.m. First Friday at the Donaldson Cabin, 14 Loudoun Street SW, with an exhibit on cemeteries.
- Friday, December 4, 5 p.m. First Friday at the Donaldson Cabin, themed around family recipes and kitchens.
- Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show at Ida Lee Park Recreation Center, 60 Ida Lee Drive NW. Every item is handmade by the artist selling it, and admission and parking are free.
- Saturday, December 5, 6 p.m. The Holiday Tree Lighting on Town Green, 25 West Market Street, with live music and holiday characters.
- Saturday, December 12, 6 p.m. The Christmas and Holiday Parade, from Ida Lee Park down King Street through Historic Downtown Leesburg to the Safeway parking lot on King Street. The rain date is Sunday, December 13, at 6 p.m.
The overlap is close. Town Green at 25 West Market sits a short walk up the block from Birch Tree's new door at 9 West Market. The tree lighting and both First Fridays fall on days The Chocolate Palette is open into the evening. The parade passes Kilwins on South King Street, and both December Saturday events start at 6 p.m., three hours before the café's listed closing time. For the two stores that just moved, this will be their first holiday season in the new space.
What comes to these streets after the parade
The new storefronts open just ahead of a stretch of public work on the same blocks. The Town's Downtown Street Lights Phase II project will replace old, rusted poles with historically appropriate LED fixtures and bring intersection curb ramps up to ADA requirements. The project covers:
- Loudoun Street, between King Street and just past Liberty Street
- West Market Street, from King Street to just past Liberty Street
- Wirt Street, between Loudoun Street and Market Street
That West Market stretch includes Birch Tree's block and Town Green. In its October 6 update, the Town said design and land acquisition are complete and the project is expected to go out for bid in winter 2026. Estimated completion is winter 2026/2027. The project started in fall 2022, so the bid stage is the next step in a long-running effort.
On South King Street, survey work for the west side of the Town's South King Street improvements began in August and was expected to take about two months, according to a September 24 update. That project covers about 450 linear feet of South King Street between South Street and Royal Street, with new brick sidewalks, drainage, decorative lighting and ADA curb ramps. Nearby, the W&OD Trail lighting project submitted 30% design to VDOT as of October 15. Phase I is planned from Catoctin Circle SE to South King Street, with completion estimated for summer 2028.
Put together, these dates set the order for the season. The rooms are open now, the tree lighting and parade come in early and mid-December, and the West Market and Loudoun Street lighting work is set to go to bid in winter. Anyone planning a December evening downtown can count on the storefronts above being in their new homes, with Shibuya the one opening still undated.
At Paul Wesley Real Estate, we follow downtown Leesburg the way our neighbors do, one storefront and one calendar date at a time. If you have questions about life in the historic district, or about what this season's changes on King, Loudoun and Market streets might mean for your plans, we'd be glad to talk it through with you. Contact Us whenever it suits you.
