No more shucking oysters at Brine in the Mosaic District — the restaurant closed earlier this month.
“Unfortunately, Brine Restaurant is closing its doors,” according to a Facebook post on Jan. 15. According to another post, the restaurant served its last meal in early January.
Known for its oysters, the restaurant offered a raw bar, wood-fired grill and selection of Mid-Atlantic fare ranging from seafood to meat.
Travis Croxton, the co-owner of Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC, ran the restaurant, which featured oysters from the oyster farming company, according to the restaurant’s website.
The restaurant (2985 District Ave, Suite 120) was open for five years, the Facebook post said.
Image via Google Maps, photo via Brine/Facebook
Hat tip to Dalia P.
Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.
Tysons has several gyms and fitness studios are people looking for places to exercise indoors.
Tysons Reporter did some research on gyms and fitness studios in the area and separated them into Tysons’ eight neighborhoods.
A few weeks ago, we looked at fitness options in Tysons West. This week, we’re profiling the ones in Tysons Central 7.
The newly opened F45 in The Boro offers a variety of classes: cardio every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; strength and resistance training on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; and mixed-exercise classes on Saturdays. While most of the classes appear to be in the morning, people can take some at 5:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. on certain weekdays.
For late-night gym-goers, Crunch Fitness is open until 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, until 10 p.m. on Fridays and until 8 p.m. on the weekends. In addition to traditional gym offerings, Crunch Fitness has ballet barre and cycling classes.
Tysons Sport and Health (8250 Greensboro Drive) offers group fitness classes like cycling and yoga, along with racquetball, a kids’ club and indoor and outdoor pools. The gym is open from 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5 a.m.-10 p.m. on Fridays, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturdays and from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Sundays.
The Bar Method Tysons Corner (2070 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 185) is a boutique fitness studio that has two workout stations for barre and core exercise classes. People can choose between the Bar Method, Bar Advanced and Our Bar Move classes, which are 60 minutes, and the Bar Express class, which is 45 minutes. Classes are usually offered between 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays, between 8-11 a.m. on Saturdays and between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays.
While not a gym, EMP 180 Weight Loss (8397 Leesburg Pike) has one-on-one coaching to help people with nutrition and weight loss.
Photo via F45/Facebook
(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) The Falls Church City Council is set to discuss two bus projects that would better connect the Little City to surrounding jurisdictions.
Planning Director Paul Stoddard is set to give presentations on the third phase of the Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit Project and the WMATA Bus Transportation Project.
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVRC) is evaluating costs to run buses from the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons along Route 7 to the East Falls Church Metro station, before ending in Alexandria.
“Currently, the only corridor-long service is the 28A, which runs on 20-minute frequencies,” according to city documents. “Commonly 10- or 15-minute frequencies [are] considered the minimum for high-frequency transit.”
Falls Church staff are looking to get data on ridership estimates, turning movements, lane configurations and evaluate station locations to support planning for the rapid bus transit system.
The council is also set to provide feedback on WMATA’s bus project. The recently completed strategy and action plan are looking to change the D.C. area bus system for riders, providers and operators.
“Feedback is particularly needed on key elements that are applicable to the city and on coordination items to focus on during annual budget discussions, state of good operations service updates, and ad-hoc opportunities for transit service planning,” according to city documents.
The meeting is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall (300 Park Avenue).
Vienna police say that a crash late Saturday night (Jan. 18) caused a power outage.
Police said that a vehicle traveling northbound in the 500 block of Hillcrest Drive ran off the road and struck a utility pole, causing it to collapse on top of the vehicle along with the power lines.
The incident happened around 10:30 p.m.
“The three occupants fled the scene before officers arrived,” police said. “The power company responded immediately to shut off the power and make repairs.”
After a search, police said they found the 21-year-old driver from Reston. He was released on his signature.
Shortly after midnight, police say that a drunk man in the 600 block of Hillcrest Drive was disrupting police investigating the hit-and-run.
“Upon the officers’ interaction with the man, they detected signs of impairment,” police said.
Police charged the man, a 23-year-old from Chantilly, with being drunk in public, and he was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
In a separate incident, a Vienna resident told the police that a stranger hacked his Snapchat account last Thursday (Jan. 16) and used his identity to solicit money from one of his friends, police say.
Photo via Facebook
Plans to turn a previously approved mixed-use development into a Sunrise Senior Living Facility are set to head to the Vienna Town Council next week.
Sunrise wants to open an assisted living facility at 380 Maple Avenue — the site of an approved redevelopment for multi-family condos — after the Vienna Town Council killed plans last year for a Sunrise facility farther up Maple Avenue.
The former plans for both projects faced backlash. Sunrise’s original plans for a site at the corner of Maple Avenue and Center Street received a myriad of concerns from residents and councilmembers over parking, retail space and the downtown location.
Meanwhile, residents questioned if the town had properly notified Fairfax County about the proposed rezoning (which it hadn’t) and raised safety concerns about the narrowing of Wade Hampton Drive for the condos at 380 Maple Avenue.
But with the two projects now looking to combine, Dennis Rice, the owner and developer at 380 Maple Avenue, has said that having the assisted living facility on his site could address neighbors’ lingering concerns.
The council will hold a public hearing on the plans on Monday night (Jan. 27). The meeting starts at 8 p.m. at Town Hall (127 S. Center Street).
Image via Town of Vienna
Happy Friday! Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:
New Middle School Principal Teacher — “Amy Miller, who has served as principal of Saratoga Elementary since 2015, has been named the new principal of Kilmer Middle School, effective February 3.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Coronavirus Prompts FCPS Exchange Program Changes — “Exchange students who traveled to Fairfax County from China where the coronavirus outbreak is happening will not be attending classes at Longfellow Middle School, according to the school district.” [Patch]
Focus on Affordability in Tysons — “Developers are building thousands of residential units in Tysons as they look to create a vibrant area that remains busy after the workday ends, but some are concerned that the young people they are targeting can’t afford the apartments being built.” [Bisnow]
Why You Should Visit Vienna — Richmond Magazine took a cue from Billy Joel’s “Vienna” song and listed reasons why people should check out the suburbs outside Tysons. [Richmond Magazine]
DynCorp International, LLC has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle civil fraud allegations, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Located near the McLean Metro station, DynCorp is a global government services provider.
The allegations involve “two former DynCorp officials, Wesley Aaron Struble and Jose Rivera, who solicited and accepted kickbacks from an Iraqi subcontractor in connection with DynCorp’s lease of property for its operations in Baghdad, Iraq on behalf of the U.S. Department of State,” the press release says.
More from the press release:
Struble and Rivera previously pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to violating the Anti-Kickback Act for their role in soliciting and accepting at least $390,000 in cash kickbacks from the Al-Qarat Company in exchange for influencing DynCorp’s lease of property in Baghdad at a lease amount higher than the previous lease. The lease costs were included with services for international civilian policing that DynCorp billed under a U.S. Department of State contract in 2011 and 2012.
The settlement resolves the alleged liability of DynCorp for violation of civil penalties under the Anti-Kickback Act and the civil False Claims Act arising out of Struble’s and Rivera’s fraudulent conduct while employed by DynCorp.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of State Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Roushdy. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.
The company celebrated its new headquarters at 1700 Old Meadow Road in 2014.
Image via Google Maps
A new beer garden in a sky park plans to open next year atop Capital One Hall.
Construction is underway on the Capital One Center — the second phase of Capital One’s campus in Tysons, which is set to be completed in 2021.
Called “The Perch,” the outdoor space on top of the parking podium and Capital One Hall — 10 stories above the ground — plans to offer interactive art sculptures, a park, activities like yoga and beer at The Perch Biergarten, according to the website.
The Perch is set to open in the fall of 2021.
The “serene village green” will join Capital One’s planned additions for the Tysons East urban campus:
- an 80,000-square-foot Wegmans grocery store
- a performing arts center with a 1,500-seat main hall and a 250-seat black box theatre
- Davio’s, a Northern Italian restaurant
- more retail in the second half of 2021
In addition to the upcoming beer hall, Capital One is looking to change a previously approved — yet unbuilt — hotel into a new office building, according to Fairfax County documents.
Capital One says that the change would allow for more open space, jobs and retailers:
Consistent with well settled planning and economic development objectives, this application presents an opportunity to further add employment opportunities and vitality at the headquarters campus in a location immediately adjacent to the McLean Metro station…
A lower level lobby and retail uses along Capital One Drive North and Scotts Crossing Road will wrap the parking garage. The approved drop-off area for the previously contemplated hotel use will be removed and replaced with public open space to enhance and activate these ground floor uses…
Additional retail use is proposed for Building 3 in the location of the previously approved garage entrance that will be shifting eastward.
Image via Capital One Center
Hat tip to Chris H.
City of Falls Church staff want to create a guide to ensure the projects in the Capital Improvements Program all get completed.
Currently, the staff is managing 26 projects — with four in jeopardy, according to a new report by city staff.
Projects falling under the parks, facilities, stormwater, sanitary sewer, technology and public safety categories are either on schedule or have “some challenges.”
The four projects that are not active or on hold due to a “critical issue” fall under the transportation category, which includes more than a dozen projects.
“The city’s Transportation CIP program is the largest CIP program and demands considerable staff time and attention,” the report says. “The city is unique from most neighboring jurisdictions in that it does not have a transportation department, and instead manages the Transportation CIP with a team of staff members from multiple departments.”
More from the report about the transportation projects facing issues:
Park Ave Great Streets
Full scoping of the Park Avenue Great Streets project reveals project is underfunded. [Northern Virginia Transportation Authority] application for $8.3M submitted in September; awaiting decision from NVTA Spring 2020. Reduced scope option may be possible.
Downtown Multimodal project [is] on hold; inquiring about schedule changes with VDOT. Need to be coordinated with Park Ave Great Street.
S. Maple Ave Roadbed Reconstruction
Roadbed Reconstruction and improvements at the intersection of S. Maple and Annandale. Fully funded. No project manager assigned. Paving already completed Fall 2018.
Oak Street Bridge
60% design completed in December using existing RSTP funds. Current funding shortfall is $928K. City submitted $928K application for SGR funds available in FY21. Pending the award of SGR in the spring, 100% final design will be complete and ROW will start fall 2020. Construction would be scheduled for early 2021.
“Staff continues to look to the future and how we can improve our project implementation process to avoid these delays, as they can increase costs,” according to the report. “A CIP project implementation manual has been in development to streamline project management and ensure projects are successfully advanced and completed.”
The report says that funding and staffing shortfalls often cause projects to derail. Not having managers for some projects can be a risk for funding, the report notes, adding: “Many staff resources have been directed toward City Hall building commissioning and Mary Riley Styles Library Renovation and Expansion.”
Staff presented the report to the Planning Commission earlier this week.
The new CIP is slated to be unveiled on Feb. 3.
(Updated 1/29/2020) Diners looking to eat Indian cuisine at American Tandoor in Tysons will need to find another restaurant for the time being.
American Tandoor is “temporarily closed until further notice,” a spokesperson for the mall told Tysons Reporter.
“We hope to be back out soon,” signs at the restaurant said yesterday (Wednesday). “Thank you for your support!”
A tipster said that the restaurant appeared closed on Tuesday (Jan. 21) with the lights off and no employees visible, but the tables were set and the computer looked like it was on.
Located on across from Banana Republic on the second level, the restaurant served up dishes like Rogan Josh — tender braised lamb shanks — and Bengali Mustard Fish Curry with seasonal fish in curry, mustard seed and spices.
“The closings of Brio and American Tandoor are for different circumstances and has no correlation to the vitality of Tysons Corner Center,” a spokesperson for Tysons Corner Center told Tysons Reporter on Jan. 29.
Hat tip to Craig F.
