Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory opened at City Dock on October 29, 1976, which makes today, October 29, 2026, its 50th anniversary. Owner Sveinn C. Storm told Eye On Annapolis that 39 frozen dessert businesses have opened and closed between the top of Main Street and the end of City Dock since his shop first opened. Storm Bros. reaches its half century during the hardest year that stretch of Dock Street has had in a long time.
The holiday season begins a month from now. Nearly all of its big moments happen at Market House, on Main Street and along West Street, a short walk uphill from the construction fencing on lower Dock Street. The calendar will bring crowds downtown. The open question for Dock Street is whether those crowds walk the last block down to it.
Where the Fence Runs This Fall
The City Dock Revitalization and Flood Mitigation project started in 2025, and its phases continue into mid-2028. The current work zone covers lower Dock Street from Craig Street to Susan Campbell Park, and upper Dock Street is partly closed between Craig and Randall Streets. The City says Dock Street businesses can still be reached, with wayfinding and a customer pickup and drop-off area on Upper Dock Street. According to Eye On Annapolis, the fencing has removed most of the direct link between Dock Street and the water, and nearby parking has shrunk considerably.
The businesses inside that footprint have felt it. Bitty & Beau's Coffee at 124 Dock Street served its last day on September 13. The shop had opened in February 2020 and was built around jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Patch also reported that Annapolis Marine Art Gallery is among the downtown closures linked to the construction. In the same Patch story, Storm said his 2026 sales are running $160,000 to $180,000 below 2025, a figure he gave to CBS Baltimore.
Storm put it this way in his comments reported by Eye On Annapolis:
"We have watched four nearby businesses announce their closing. We don't want Storm Bros on the City's extinction list."
His answer was to add a second business inside the first. "Storm's a Brewing" is a coffee, breakfast and pastry counter at the front of the ice cream shop. It was set to open between September 21 and 25, and several former Bitty & Beau's employees were expected to work there. An ice cream shop that sells morning coffee is chasing winter traffic, and the holiday season is when that bet gets its first real test.
The Calendar Sits Uphill
Line up the 2026 holiday dates against the construction map and they cluster around Market Space and the streets above it, not along the water.
| Event | Date | Where it happens | Relation to the fence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Day ceremony | Nov. 11, 11 a.m. | Memorial Circle; Fleet Reserve Club, 100 Compromise St., if weather is poor | Next to the waterfront |
| Christmas Traditions by Candlelight | Nov. 27, 28; Dec. 4, 11, 12, 18, 19, 21, 26 | William Paca House, 186 Prince George St. | A few blocks up from Dock Street |
| Grand Illumination | Nov. 29 | Tree lighting near Market House and City Dock | At the top of the fence |
| Midnight Madness | Dec. 3, 10, 17 | Main St., West St., Maryland Ave., State Circle, Market Space, Dock St. | Mostly uphill; Dock Street is on the route |
| Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade | Dec. 12 | Viewed from the waterfront, bridges and street ends | Directly affected |
The Downtown Annapolis Partnership lists Fleet Street, Cornhill Street and Market Space as road closures for Grand Illumination. All three sit on the Market House side of downtown. The Partnership's Midnight Madness page describes a canopy of holiday lights over West Street and Maryland Avenue, Snowflake Alley on Main Street, and a Christmas tree at Market Space. According to Visit Annapolis, Snowflake Alley is Cabbage Alley strung with lit snowflakes for December.
Each of those features is a short walk from Dock Street, and none of them is on it. Dock Street is included in the Midnight Madness footprint, but the lights, the tree and the alley all draw people up the hill, away from the fence.
Some holiday shopping is leaving downtown altogether. Visit Annapolis lists the Annapolis Holiday Market for December 4 to 6 and December 11 to 13 at the Annapolis Mall, with about 100 artisans. The first weekend falls one day after the first Midnight Madness.
December 12 Is the Crowded Day
On December 12, the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade, a candlelight tour at the Paca House and the Army-Navy Game all happen on the same Saturday. The game is in East Rutherford, New Jersey, this year, not in Annapolis.
Waterfront access will matter most for the parade. Visit Annapolis lists general viewing areas along the Annapolis city front, on the Spa Creek Bridge, at downtown street ends, and at pocket parks in Eastport and Murray Hill. Those are standing recommendations, and they do not account for this year's construction. Last December, Eye On Annapolis reported that the work blocked much of the waterfront between Craig Street and Susan Campbell Park, while the promenade from Randall Street to Craig Street stayed open. The Ego Alley boardwalk is not expected to reopen until March 2027, so the 2026 parade will again be watched around the work zone. The Spa Creek Bridge and the Eastport and Murray Hill street ends do not depend on City Dock at all.
The Gate That Changes the Math in December
Of all the dates the City announced, one bears most directly on Dock Street foot traffic this season. At an August 25 press conference, Mayor Jared Littmann said the U.S. Naval Academy is expected to reopen Barry Gate in December 2026, "restoring foot traffic to the Dock Street business corridor." The City has rerouted the free Magenta Shuttle to a Dock Street stop at Barry Gate, which ties the reopening directly to Dock Street.
The rest of the City's revised timeline:
- December 2026: Barry Gate reopens, as projected by the Naval Academy.
- March 2027: The Ego Alley boardwalk reopens to pedestrians. Watermark returns to its berth at Susan Campbell Park, and boaters regain access to the Ego Alley slips.
- July 2027: City Dock Park opens, along with the Maritime Welcome Center, which will house the Harbormaster headquarters and a visitor center.
- Summer 2027 to spring 2028: Phase Two, with closures limited to Upper Dock Street, the top of Ego Alley and Compromise Street.
The City described the project as on budget and slightly ahead of schedule. It also said tidal flooding events have already dropped significantly, with protection from rain-driven flooding to come once every phase is complete. Barry Gate's December date is a projection, and it depends on the Naval Academy. The City has not named a day. Depending on when in December the gate opens, Dock Street could have its pedestrian connection back for part of the holiday calendar.
This is the last holiday season Dock Street spends fully cut off. By next December the park should be open. The businesses that make it to then are the ones holding on through this winter.
Getting Down to Dock Street
The City's August release lists the access measures already running:
- Park at Mills Hillman Garage. Before construction began, the rebuilt garage gained 165 spaces, more than the nearly 100 street spaces removed for the flood work.
- Take a cart on weekends. Since early summer, the City has run electric carts from Mills Hillman Garage to Dock Street on weekends, weather permitting.
- Ride the Magenta Shuttle. The free route got a dedicated Dock Street stop in March, and all of its in-bus advertising is reserved for Dock Street businesses.
- Use the pickup zone. Loading and customer pickup zones on Upper Dock Street were set up after talks with the businesses there.
Holiday parking terms for 2026 have not been posted yet. Visit Annapolis's holiday guide advertises free holiday parking at various locations and says eligible meters are free for the first three hours between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Check the City of Annapolis's announcement before relying on any specific garage validation. On Navy football Saturdays, including Temple on November 7 and Memphis on November 21, Visit Annapolis says event shuttles run between Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and downtown.
Mayor Littmann made the City's limits plain in the same release: "More than any grant or loan program can do, sustained sales will help these businesses survive and thrive." For Grand Illumination on November 29, that means a walk of about a block from the tree near Market House down to Upper Dock Street, where the wayfinding banners mark the way.
Nancy Hulsman has watched Anne Arundel County's downtowns go through more than one long construction cycle since 1985, and the team follows City Dock because it shapes what downtown Annapolis will look like for years after the fence comes down. If you're thinking about what the 2027 reopening could mean for your own plans near the water, The Hulsman Group is glad to talk it through. Book a Consultation.
