Falls Church Officials Enact New Firearms Ordinance — “Culminating a grueling 5 hour, 15 minute virtual meeting Monday night, the Falls Church City Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to enact a ‘Firearms on City Property and Events’ ordinance that will go into effect Nov. 1.” [Falls Church News Press]
Women’s Suffrage Exhibit in Vienna — “The Freeman Store and Museum in Vienna is closed indefinitely because of the pandemic, but when it reopens, visitors to its ground-floor gallery can learn plenty about the women’s suffrage movement and how its victories benefited future generations of women.” [Inside NoVa]
Public Safety “Heroes” Visit Hospitalized Kids — “Patients at Inova Children’s Hospital in Fairfax received a superheroic visit Monday morning from a group of public safety heroes. Volunteers from the Fairfax County fire and police departments, as well as the Herndon Police Department, rappelled down the outside of the hospital building on Gallows Road and greeted patients through their hospital room windows.” [Patch]
ICYMI: FCPS Town Hall Tonight — “FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand will discuss the virtual return to school on Sep. 8 and address any questions. The event plans to run from 6-7 p.m.” [Tysons Reporter]
UPDATE – building fire in the 1000 block of Country Club Drive, NE in Vienna area: fire is out. No reported injuries at this time. Some units returning to service. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/5kPfBdWHzr
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) August 12, 2020
Photo by Michelle Goldchain
A woman- and veteran-owned business selling bath and body products is coming to Tysons Corner Center.
BrookieGirl Bath + Body Care plans to hold its grand opening at 6 p.m. on Friday at the mall.
BrookieGirl sells a variety of bath bombs, hand sanitizer, body wash, hand soap, beard oil and more. The collections offered online include men’s products; hand sanitizers; the “Soap Dessert” collection with soap shaped like cupcakes, macarons and cake; and several gift baskets.
The company currently lists two Maryland stores — one in National Harbor and another in Annapolis — on its website.
Photo via BrookieGirl Bath + Body Care/Facebook
A local husband-wife duo will talk about racial bullying and the husband’s novel on classism and racism during a virtual event later this month.
Jeffrey Blount’s novel “The Emancipation of Evan Walls” shares the oppression Evan Walls faced as a Black child in the 1960s in a small town in Virginia. Blount, an Emmy award-winning TV director, published the book in June 2019.
Jeanne Meserve, a former anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC News, will discuss racial bullying and the novel with her husband before taking questions from the online audience.
The Mary Riley Styles Public Library is hosting the online event as part of its “Community Conversations” about race and social justice.
The library shared the following description of the book:
It is June 1968. The Civil Rights movement is winding down after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Negroes in the town of Canaan, Virginia have been used to acting the same, thinking the same and sharing in the unadulterated hatred of a common enemy. Evan is ten years old and, in the jargon of the times, young, gifted and black. In the presence of his parents and a summer porch gathering of their friends, he makes a startling declaration. From that moment on, the central question of his life is born. Is he black enough?
The Zoom event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Prospective participants will need to email [email protected] for the Zoom link.
Photo via Jeffrey Blount, Author/Facebook
Realigning Old Meadow Road at Dolley Madison Blvd (Route 123) in Tysons is taking a little bit longer than anticipated.
Work to shift the travel lane started in the spring and was slated to be finished by mid-August. Now, drivers and pedestrians likely won’t see the change until the end of the month, according to an update from the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
“Adjusting to the COVID-19 outbreak and differing site conditions delayed the completion of the first phase of the work, which included sidewalk and pavement demolition,” according to the update.
The realignment aims to improve access between the Capital One campus and Old Meadow Road. The work is a part of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Silver Line project.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project noted that crews from subcontractor W.M. Schlosser have finished drainage infrastructure and are working on signal equipment and landscaping along the south side of Old Meadow Road and the east side of Dolley Madison Blvd.
Once the lane shifts are completed, the crews will then start constructing a new median on Old Meadow Road at the intersection.
Work on the median, which is expected to start at the end of August, will require a southward lane shift of eastbound Old Meadow Road, according to the update.
Photo courtesy Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
An international ramen restaurant plans to start serving diners this week in The Boro.
Originally, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka wanted to open at 1636 Boro Place in April, but the pandemic delayed the eatery’s debut. The soft opening is set for tomorrow (Wednesday).
Now, Santouka will open limited indoor and outdoor seating, along with pickup and delivery services, according to a press release. The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
Diners can find a dozen types of ramen, including shio, miso, pork and vegetarian, on the menu.
Started in Japan in 1983, the Hokkaido-style ramen chain has more than 60 restaurants in 10 countries, including 16 locations in the U.S., according to the press release.
Food’s Style USA, which is running the Tysons restaurant, said in a statement that the tables will be disinfected frequently and that the employees will have regular health screenings and sanitation training.
Santouka is the latest newcomer to the Tysons development near the Greensboro Metro station. FRESHFARM Farmers Markets opened at The Boro in July. Earlier this summer, Colour Bar Studio, Poki DC and Tysons Nail Lounge also opened in the development looking to become a new destination in Tysons.
Photo courtesy Santouka
Local restaurants want diners to donate to the relief efforts helping the thousands of people suffering from the aftermath of a deadly explosion in Beirut.
The massive explosion in Lebanon’s capital last Tuesday (Aug. 4) killed approximately 150 people and left thousands injured and homeless.
Mediterranean restaurant Zenola took to Facebook on Wednesday to ask diners to donate to the Lebanese Red Cross and Impact Lebanon. “The city and its people are near and dear to our hearts,” the Facebook post said. “We’re heartbroken over the loss of life and the destruction of vital infrastructure. The road ahead to recovery and rebuilding will be a long one.”
“Being Lebanese-American, most of us in the [D.C. area], we felt like we had to do something,” Noha Zeitoun, who is one of the restaurant’s owners, told Tysons Reporter. “Being so far away, one of the easiest things we can do is fundraise for the organizations doing the work on the ground.”
The restaurant, which opened last September in Vienna, is donating the proceeds from two menu items — a cocktail and comfort dish — through this Wednesday (Aug. 12) to the two organizations, Zeitoun said. “The Lebanese Red Cross is incredibly well respected and well regarded with giving money directly to the people,” Zeitoun said. “Impact Lebanon — they are known for highly vetting the organizations they give money to.”
The cocktail is called “Toot Toot to Beirut” — a play on words of a song by the Lebanese artist Marcel Khalife — and is made from blackberry juice and gin. The comfort dish “Ablama” is baby zucchini stuffed with beef, pine nuts and onions with tomato and truffle béchamel sauce. The dish comes with rice and vermicelli.
“We grew up eating it at home and in Lebanon,” Zeitoun said about Ablama. “It’s a warm dish that brings you fuzzies.”
Zenola joined D.C.-area restaurants taking part in a fundraising effort called Beitna, which means “our house” in Arabic and was started by Chef Roro Asmar and Chef Marcelle Afram of Compass Rose and Maydan, Zeitoun said. Additionally, the restaurant is encouraging diners this month to make donations when they get their checks.
Zeitoun said that Zenola has raised about $300 since last Wednesday and hopes to double the amount by next Wednesday (Aug. 19).
“There are some really, really hard videos to watch, given everything worldwide with the pandemic,” Zeitoun said about the explosion, noting a recent map shows what the impact would have looked like in the D.C. area. “It’s another extra thing making 2020 just a little bit more unbearable.”
Aerial footage shows devastating aftermath of deadly Beirut blast from above.
Some 300,000 people — more than 12% of the Lebanese capital's population — are unable to return to their homes because of the explosion. https://t.co/ztkoW60SAF pic.twitter.com/CxkxR4vkjK
— ABC News (@ABC) August 7, 2020
“It will take a lot of time, but Beirut has recovered through a lot of things, and the people are very resilient,” Zeitoun said, noting that the country is facing hyperinflation and economic turmoil.
Because of inflation, Zeitoun said that every dollar counts: “USD goes a really long way right now.”
Other restaurants in the Tysons area are also looking to support Beirut.
Phoenicia Resto and Lounge in the Dunn Loring area took to Facebook to share relief efforts people can donate to.
“[No] words can heal the wounded or bring back the souls killed by this horrific tragedy… Beirut always in our heart,” the restaurant posted.
Lebanese Taverna, a regional chain that was started in Arlington and has a location in Tysons Galleria, started a GoFundMe for the Lebanese Red Cross. The fundraiser netted more than $62,000 in five days — surpassing the initial goal of $50,000.
“We are now shifting any additional donations to Jose Andres’ organization, World Central Kitchen as our brother, Dany Abi-Najm is traveling to Lebanon with #CHEFSFORBEIRUT,” the restaurant posted on Facebook yesterday. “Any further money collected will go directly to assist their efforts on the front line as they help to feed the more than 300,000 people displayed.”
Additionally, the restaurant’s website says that a portion of the proceeds from the Hommos sold through the end of the month will benefit World Central Kitchen, which is giving prepared meals to seniors, first responders and people in need in Beirut.
Photo via Zenola/Facebook
A school offering K-12 math education is planning to open a new location in Tysons next month, even though the fall offerings will be virtual.
The Russian School of Mathematics plans to open at 8230 Boone Blvd, according to its website. The webpage for the upcoming location notes that the school will open in September but that it will hold classes online.
Soviet Union ex-pats formed the school in the late 1990s to make learning math fun and rigorous, according to a Boston Magazine profile. In February, the Russian School of Mathematics said that it reached 40,000 students.
The mathematics program has more than 50 schools across the U.S. along with one in Toronto. Currently, the Virginia locations include Reston and Ashburn.
Enrollment is open for the fall. The schedule for the Tysons school includes classes for grades K-6.
Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash
The Metropolitan Washington Summer Restaurant Week returns next week, and more than a dozen restaurants in the Tysons area are participating in the event.
The event lets people buy lunch, brunch and dinner from restaurants at fixed prices. Some of the restaurants will cocktails or wine pairings for dine-in customers and special discounts.
New this year, Summer Restaurant Week is offering family-style to-go dinners (RW To Go) for either $35 per person or $55 per person.
Here are the local participating restaurants and what they are offering:
Tysons
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House: dinner
- Chima Steakhouse: dinner
- Coastal Flats: lunch and dinner
- Founding Farmers: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
- American Prime: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
- Agora Tysons: dinner, RW To Go
- Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks: lunch and dinner
- Lebanese Taverna: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
- Wildfire: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
Vienna
- Blend 111: brunch, lunch and dinner
- Caboose Brewing Company: lunch and dinner, RW To Go
- Maple Ave Restaurant: brunch and dinner, RW To Go
Falls Church and Merrifield:
- TRIO Grill: dinner
- Alta Strada: dinner, RW To Go
- 2941 Restaurant: dinner
McLean
- J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks and Seafood: lunch and dinner
Summer Restaurant Week will run from Aug. 17-30.
Alpaca Party — “Earlier this summer, [Andrea] Diaz, who lives in Vienna, started a new business, My Pet Alpaca.” [DCist]
Lodging Revenue Nose Dives — Tysons-based Park Hotels “saw a 95.16% drop in revenue, from $434 million in 2019 to just $21 million in the most recent quarter. RevPAR for the second quarter was $14.47, down 95.1%. Occupancy for Park’s 18 consolidated hotels that remained open for the entire quarter was 20.8%. Today, 42 of Park’s hotels are operational, which accounts for 53% of its portfolio.” [Washington Business Journal]
Road Closure Alert — “The 100 block of N. West Street will be closed on Monday, August 10, from 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m. to allow for construction trailer movement at the Founder’s Row site.” [City of Falls Church]
Halloween Store Coming to Tysons — “Spirit Halloween stores recently announced plans to start opening its 1,400 U.S. locations in anticipation of Halloween 2020. The company typically occupies vacant storefronts leading up to Halloween season, and this year it will be at the former Performance Bike location at 8387 Leesburg Pike in Tysons.” [Patch]
COVID-19 Case Backlog — “An additional 2,015 coronavirus cases were reported statewide Friday, which the Virginia Department of Health attributed to a backlog of cases. The number reflects cases that should have been reported on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Friday’s cases.” [Patch]
Local Author Releases New Novel — “If the Roman Empire never collapsed, would society be far more advanced than it is today? That’s the subject of a new history novel, “The Alternative History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” enthusiast Martin Missaiel has been working on since 2012.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Hand Sanitizer Recell — “The Food and Drug Administration has recalled 75 brands of hand sanitizer that contain methanol, which can cause serious health complications.” [Patch]
Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn
Hot N Juicy Crawfish can stay in the Falls Church spot it’s called home for the last five years.
The dispute erupted when the landlord, FMR Development LLC, claimed that the restaurant (116 W. Broad Street) did not pay its rent for April within a required timeframe.
The landlord returned the restaurant’s checks in April and May, claiming that the restaurant was in violation of its lease, according to correspondence between the attorneys for the landlord and restaurant. In June, the landlord filed an eviction lawsuit, claiming the restaurant owed roughly $24,000 in rent and late fees for April and May.
Hot N Juicy’s attorneys told Washington City Paper, which first reported the eviction threat, that earlier in the pandemic, the landlord tried to force the restaurant to sign a lease amendment that would make it easier to remove the restaurant out. The newspaper also reported that the co-owner said he asked his landlord for a rent abatement or deferment in March.
Jeffrey Romanick, the landlord’s attorney, and Scott Rome, one of the restaurant’s attorneys, told Tysons Reporter this week that they reached an agreement out of court that allows the restaurant to stay in the space.
