Viva Sol Juice Company is looking for a fresh start for the new year.
The Vienna-based, family-run café officially closed its space at 124 Maple Avenue West on New Year’s Eve, but the move is less of a demise than the first step in an evolution.
Owner Kelly Hartranft opened Viva Sol in August 2020 as a juice and smoothie bar, yet the menu items that ultimately took off were not the cold-pressed juices or fruit bowls. Instead, the company saw sales boom with the introduction of gluten-free doughnuts and empanadas.
“The numbers were in front of me to pivot towards focusing on doughnuts and empanadas, rather than the whole café concept,” Hartranft told Tysons Reporter.
As part of the pivot, Viva Sol is relocating to a commercial manufacturing kitchen in Chantilly that will exclusively make doughnuts and empanadas, primarily for online ordering and delivery.
Hartranft says the business will continue to participate in local farmers’ markets, and in-person pick-ups may be possible, depending on the space’s layout.
Expected to launch in February, the new kitchen will initially focus on delivering within the D.C. area before expanding to customers outside of the region next year. A website overhaul that reflects the rebranding and new e-commerce approach is also in the works.
In addition to adapting to her company’s strengths, Hartranft closed the Vienna juice bar to minimize her staff’s interactions with customers, as COVID-19 cases continue to soar throughout the community.
Like other retail and service businesses, Viva Sol has experienced its share of hiring challenges, but it has a core staff that will remain intact with the move to Chantilly.
“I wanted to figure out a way to protect my family, protect my staff with minimal interaction,” she said. “I’m sure you know all these restaurants are very understaffed, people are getting sick, and so, it just kind of made sense for me.”
Even so, the decision to leave Vienna was a tough one for Hartranft, whose family has lived in the town since the early 1980s. She encourages supporters to follow Viva Sol’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates, including news about the new location and reconfigured name.
“We’re really sad to be moving, but the restaurant/café model for us wasn’t working,” Hartranft said. “My numbers were really, really showing how much we grew overnight…I mean, it took off with certain items, and so, I’m just reading my numbers and leading my team to the next phase.”
Fairfax Connector Plans Regular Service — “In anticipation of more winter weather and snowy conditions overnight, Fairfax Connector will operate regular service on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Fairfax Connector officials want to remind passengers to check their route-specific information before heading out because detours on individual routes will be in effect in anticipation of poor road conditions.” [FCDOT]
Metrobus to Follow Moderate Snow Plan Today — “In a moderate snow service plan, service on some routes is suspended and detours will be in effect on certain routes to avoid areas prone to hazardous conditions such as hilly terrain and narrow streets. Approximately 119 out of 183 routes will operate. Bus supervisors will assess roads overnight to ensure they are safe for bus operations.” [WMATA]
Tysons Mass Vaccine Site Closed — “The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is closing five of its Community Vaccination Centers (CVCs) on Friday, January 7, 2022, due to expected inclement weather with some areas of the state expected to see several inches of snow.” [VDH]
County Tweaks COVID-19 Protocols — “Due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District, the Health Department will no longer provide individuals with clearance letters to return to work or school following COVID-19 infection or exposure. The agency will also stop providing written communications that exclude people from work or school due to illness or exposure.” [FCHD]
Tysons Area Ramen Offerings Highlighted — Northern Virginia Magazine recommends Jinya Ramen Bar, which has locations in the Mosaic District and Reston, and Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at The Boro for those craving a unique ramen bowl. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Get Advice from Tysons Business Leader — “Aspiring entrepreneurs can get start-up tips from Pallabi Saboo, CEO of Tysons-based Harmonia Holdings Group during the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s next Entrepreneurship 101 virtual workshop on Tuesday, January 11.” [FCEDA]
The McLean Community Center is bringing back in-person festivities for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration.
After limiting last year’s celebration to online activities, MCC will expand it this year across two separate days with a pair of events led by musician and activist Daryl Davis, who is known for befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan and convincing them to leave the hate group.
“Our anchor staff members have been instrumental in celebrating the legacy of Dr. King for over 15 years at our center,” MCC Director Daniel Singh said in a statement. “In many ways, their pioneering work anticipated the trajectory of awareness and need for dialogue around our country’s troubled founding and current systemic disparities around race. Our MLK celebrations also closely align with our board of directors’ commitment to diversity in the McLean community.”
The weekend will start with the Daryl Davis Band performing at 7 p.m. on Jan. 14. Concert tickets will cost $20 for MCC district residents and $30 for other community members.
Davis will then return to MCC’s Alden Theatre at 2 p.m. on Jan. 16 to discuss his experiences talking to KKK members as a Black man. Tickets for the speech are $5 for district residents and $10 for the rest of the public.
Here is more on Davis from the community center’s news release:
Davis is a boogie-woogie pianist who has played with the likes of B. B. King, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. On Friday, he and his band will kick off MCC’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with an evening of R&B and blues. This is the music that opened the door for Klansmen to befriend Davis, a Black man, and eventually, hang up their robes.
“Davis’ piano work impresses with his winning combination of technique and abandon, and his vocals are strong and assured – black rock’n’roll lives!” — Living Blues Magazine
On Sunday, Davis will share his captivating journey to untangle racism, one civil conversation at a time. He was playing in a country band when he met and became friends with a Ku Klux Klan member. Over the last 30 years, he has continued to befriend Klansmen and collect their robes after they leave the organization. He is the author of “Klan-Destine Relationships,” a book that details his encounters.
Like other Fairfax County government facilities, MCC still requires face masks for everyone inside its building at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.
The Virginia General Assembly is one week away from starting its 2022 legislative session, but Del. Mark Keam (D-35th District) still has a lot of questions.
To start with, it’s unclear exactly how the session will proceed as COVID-19 surges across the Commonwealth, which is now averaging more than 14,000 cases a day.
“It’s a huge question mark,” Keam, who represents Tysons and Vienna, said in a phone interview on Dec. 31. “I don’t think anybody knows how it’s going to be, because we don’t know what [the omicron variant is] going to look like or if there’s another variant coming up again, and after the holidays, if there’s a superspreader…We don’t know.”
Last year’s regular session saw the House of Delegates and state Senate take differing approaches, as the former met remotely and the latter gathered in person with social-distancing rules in place. It took until August for the full legislature to meet in person.
While public hearings on the next state budget were conducted virtually yesterday (Wednesday), the General Assembly appears set to convene in Richmond on Jan. 12 in person.
However, no expectations for masks, social distancing, vaccinations, testing, and other health protocols have been announced yet. Keam says many Republicans refused to wear masks at previous in-person meetings, raising concerns about the number of people that will be mingling in the state Capitol building next week.
“Bottom line is we need to be very, very careful,” Keam said. “I would hope — and I certainly would think the Republicans would agree — that public safety is of the utmost importance.”
General Assembly Prepares for Leadership Transition
The uncertainty of the pandemic further complicates a session that will see significant changes in leadership, with the Republican Party taking over both the executive branch and the House for the first time since 2013.
Now in his sixth term after winning reelection on Nov. 2, Keam is returning to familiar territory with Democrats as the minority party in the House, but he says incoming Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s lack of prior political experience and the slow pace of staff and cabinet appointments make it difficult to know what to expect this year. Read More
Reminder: Winter Weather Advisory Today — “A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued from 9 PM Thursday to 5 AM Friday. Expected snow in the county at this time is between 2-4 inches. Plan on slippery road conditions and continue to monitor the forecast.” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]
Vienna Police Warn of “McAfee Antivirus” Scam — “The scam usually begins with an email that purports to be from McAfee informing citizens that they are being charged $300 for ‘McAfee Total Protection anti-virus software’ unless they cancel the order by calling a phone number provided in the email. If you call the number provided, you will be greeted by a scammer posing as a McAfee employee who will ask for personal information, including a bank account number supposedly to verify the account.” [Vienna Police Department/Twitter]
New Tysons Gym Opens Today — PureGym has a grand opening today (Thursday) for its new Tysons Square gym, the British company’s first in the U.S. PureGym says Tysons stood out for “its mix of office and residential, as well as its accessibility by car, bus and rail via Metro’s Greensboro station.” [Washington Business Journal]
Park Authority Board Reverts to Virtual Meetings — “The Fairfax County Park Authority Board’s regular meetings and committee sessions will return to a virtual format until further notice. Meetings will be accessible via livestream beginning Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. This change is reflective of current social distancing recommendations and safety concerns related to the current surge in COVID-19 cases.” [FCPA]
Tysons Nail Salon Relocates to Reston — “Beauty Nail Bar, currently operating out of Tysons, should open at its new location (1675 Reston Parkway) by the end of February, according to owner Nam Huynh of Wolf Trap. He said he decided to move his operation for more space, but it will otherwise be exactly the same.” [Reston Now]
A new technology repair store has arrived in Vienna, just in time to assist anyone already encountering issues with the phone they got for Christmas.
Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions — a national chain of electronics and appliance repair franchises — announced last week that it recently opened its latest location in Vienna Shopping Center (136D Maple Avenue). The store occupies the space next to Ben & Jerry’s that was previously filled by Motophoto.
The store is scheduled to host a grand opening celebration from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 8) that will include refreshments, discounts, giveaways, and other attractions, according to a press release.
“We are excited to bring Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions to Vienna,” Asurion District Manager Graham Pointer said by email. “It’s a rapidly developing area that combines a small-town feel with thriving businesses. We are eager to be at the forefront, anticipating and responding to the technological needs of this community.”
With more than 650 stores in the U.S., Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions fixes consumer electronics, including phones, computers, and gaming consoles, according to its website. The press release says diagnostics on all gadgets are free, and there is a 90-day limited warranty for all repairs.
The retailer was originally known as uBreakiFix but is now undergoing a nationwide rebranding after it was purchased by the global technology insurance company Asurion in 2019.
The Vienna store is Asurion’s 26th location in Virginia. The company also has venues in Fair Lakes, Falls Church, Springfield, and Herndon.
Tysons Mass Vaccine Site Reopens — After two days of canceled appointments due to snow, the Tysons Community Vaccination Center at Tysons Corner Center will resume regular operating hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly encouraged. [VDH]
County Waste Collection Resumes Today — “Due to Solid Waste staff being re-assigned to snow clearing duty, we will collect Monday’s trash and recycling routes on Wednesday and will continue on a sliding schedule throughout Saturday.” [Fairfax County Public Works/Twitter]
Founders Row Lands Family-Friendly Restaurant — The team behind Rooster & Owl, an upscale American restaurant in D.C., will open a new, more casual spot called Ellie Bird in Falls Church City’s Founders Row development in late 2022. Planned dishes like seafood paella and grilled corn ravioli were inspired by the takeout offerings that Rooster & Owl created during the pandemic. [Washingtonian]
Palchik Makes History with NVTC — Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik will be the first Latina person to serve as vice chair for the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, which advocates and coordinates funding for public transit across the region. Palchik and the rest of the commission’s appointed 2022 slate will be approved at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday). [NVTC]
Tysons IT Contractor Acquired — “Fairfax-based management consulting firm ICF International Inc. announced Monday that it had completed its acquisition of McLean-based IT federal contractor Creative Systems and Consulting. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.” [Virginia Business]
If you meet a dancer who grew up in Vienna within the past half-century, chances are good that they trained at Cuppett Performing Arts Center.
Commonly known as Cuppett’s, the family-owned dance studio is in the midst of its 60th season, and despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, its leaders hope to celebrate the milestone with the same enthusiasm and sense of community that has made it a beloved town institution.
“You might think this is silly, but several people over the years have told me that Cuppett’s has its own soul,” owner and co-artistic director Amy Cuppett told Tysons Reporter. “…It’s like the studio is a foundation right there, but what happens within those walls, it’s almost magical, and…a lot of our students, they’re friends for life.”
The History
Cuppett’s has come a long way since Amy’s mother, founder Alzine Cuppett, started the studio in the basement of her Vienna home in 1962.
A professional dancer during the 1940s, Alzine trained under multi-hyphenate icon Gene Kelly through the school that his family ran in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She performed at the Roxy Theatre in New York City, in the Broadway musical “Marinka,” and as a Radio City Rockette.
After World War II, she moved to the D.C. area with her new husband and was raising five children when the principal of Our Lady of Good Counsel asked her to teach dance to the Vienna Catholic school’s kindergarten students.
The classes proved so popular that Alzine’s husband built a dance studio into their house, and Cuppett Performing Arts Center was born, eventually outgrowing the basement and moving to its current location at 135 Park Street in 1980.
Born 10 years after her five siblings, Amy Cuppett recalls literally sleeping under a record player while growing up.
“She was a single mom at this point. If I wanted to be with her, I’d go downstairs and kind of curl up and listen to her teach,” she said.
Though she took ballet, jazz, tap, and other dance classes, Amy initially veered away from the arts as an adult, pursuing a college degree in finance and a career in real estate and mortgage banking. The stress of those industries wore her down, though.
She returned to Cuppett’s in 1996 with a child of her own and an unexpected desire to teach, despite her mother’s reservations about the high-reward, low-pay profession.
“Teachers don’t get paid what they should, in my opinion,” Amy said. “But it’s definitely something that you have to love, and at the time, that’s what I was feeling: this huge passion and very ambitious about my ideas that I had.” Read More
Preliminary Snowfall Totals Reported — The amount of snow seen yesterday (Monday) varied widely across Fairfax County, with totals ranging in the Tysons area from 6.4 inches in Langley, as of 1:30 p.m., to 8.3 inches in Dunn Loring. All three major airports in the D.C. region recorded new records for Jan. 3. [NWS]
Tysons Mass Vaccine Site Closed Again — All of the Virginia Department of Health’s Community Vaccination Centers (CVCs), including the one at Tysons Corner Center, will be closed today (Tuesday). This will be the second consecutive day without the mass vaccination site due to the snowstorm, with freezing overnight temperatures expected to make travel challenging this morning. [VDH]
Power Outages Could Take Days to Resolve — Dominion Energy said that restoring power in the wake of yesterday’s snowstorm could be a “multi-day effort” after wet, heavy snow weighing down branches “wreaked havoc on power lines.” As of 12:15 a.m., more than 21,000 of the utility’s customers in Fairfax County were without power. [Inside NoVA]
Vienna Delays Town Government Openings — “Due to inclement weather and hazardous driving conditions, Vienna Town Hall and the Vienna Community Center will open at 10 a.m. tomorrow. All classes and programs at the Community Center and the Bowman House are cancelled until noon. For updates, visit http://viennava.gov.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
COVID-19 Boosters Approved for Young Teens — “The FDA has authorized vaccine boosters for children ages 12-15. However, we must wait for clinical guidelines from CDC and VDH, as we do with all vaccine authorizations, prior to booking appointments. Thank you for your patience.” [Fairfax County Health Department]
Updated at 10:40 a.m. — The power outages in Tysons appear to be largely resolved now, per Dominion Energy’s outage map. About 170 customers in central Tysons are still waiting for their power to be restored.
Earlier: More than 7,000 people in Tysons are currently without power, as the area’s first snow of the season continues to fall.
According to Dominion Energy’s outage map, the biggest power losses are concentrated along Route 7 west of the Capitol Beltway. Another outage has affected 329 customers in the Kent Gardens area of McLean.
As of 9:55 a.m., the utility did not have an estimated time of restoration yet.
Dominion Energy spokesperson Peggy Fox confirmed that the snowstorm led to an outage that prompted an automatic lockout of a transmission line in Tysons.
She says that when part of the line experiences an outage, it gets locked out as an automatic response to ensure safety. The utility’s control center is now working to switch the area to another part of the power grid, which would allow it to get electricity from other transmission lines.
“We are isolating hoping to get 8000 customers restored within the hour,” she told Tysons Reporter at 10:05 a.m. by email.
