(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is looking at opening a new location in Vienna at Cedar Park Shopping Center (280 Cedar Lane SE).

Located in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood, the ice cream shop drew attention last year for selling cicada-inspired sundaes.

The business and a representative for the shopping plaza didn’t immediately respond to inquiries for details about the new Vienna spot, but a county permit database shows a vacant space is being modified for the local mainstay.

According to the database, Toby’s Ice Cream will have a location in the plaza with a commercial kitchen, merchandise area, and dining area.

The Washington Business Journal reported last week that the space will allow an occupancy of nearly 30 people with a dining area of about 148 square feet.

Toby’s in Arlington was closed for the holidays from Dec. 23 to yesterday (Jan. 4).

Cedar Park Shopping Center is turning into a new hot spot for foodies in Vienna. The Japanese restaurant Sushi Koji opened to customers in mid-December, while America’s Best Wings and the Centreville-based Turkish restaurant Lezzet are expected to arrive early this year.

Lezzet told Tysons Reporter on Dec. 20 that it was anticipating a February opening.

Photo via Google Maps

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) will weigh in tonight (Wednesday) on the bicycle and pedestrian safety projects that it believes Fairfax County should fast-track.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors set a goal on Oct. 5 of spending at least $100 million on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements through June 30, 2027, stating that federal relief funds have given the county some flexibility to make one-time investments.

In an email to members, MCA says Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust has asked for its help identifying priorities for McLean, as county leaders consider which projects to potentially fund and expedite.

MCA’s transportation committee has identified 14 projects in a draft resolution that its board of directors could vote on during a virtual meeting at 7:30 p.m. President Rob Jackson said changes to those plans could occur, but he suggested proposals should be done so before the meeting to build support.

“Even assuming the $100 million is split evenly among the nine Magisterial Districts, our priorities complete [sic] with projects in the Herndon and Great Falls areas,” Jackson noted in an email. “So, the Committee’s prioritizations and rationale for those priorities are critical.”

The projects would be in addition to the county’s ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan and other existing county efforts.

In its draft resolution, MCA’s transportation committee cites demand, safety concerns, and connectivity to public transit and schools as factors it considered when choosing projects to designate as priorities.

High Priority Projects

Most of the projects are near Haycock Elementary and Longfellow Middle schools, which the resolution says suffer from cracks and bulges on area sidewalks.

In addition to proposing sidewalk repairs along Westmoreland Street between Gordon Avenue and Haycock Road, the draft resolution focuses on possible improvements north of Haycock Road:

• Repairs to an asphalt trail between Westmoreland and Great Falls Street
• Widening the concrete sidewalk by 1 foot on the bridge over I-66 to accommodate pedestrians walking side-by-side or going in opposite directions
• An engineering study looking at options to make the walkway between the I-66 bridge and Great Falls Street consistently 5 feet in width, reduce sloping, and add a painted crosswalk across the Turner Avenue intersection

Other key projects included in the draft resolution address concerns to the north end of McLean:

• Study a potential pedestrian bridge across Dolley Madison Boulevard and other safety upgrades, such as traffic beacons at the Ingleside Avenue or Elm Street crosswalks
• Repair an asphalt trail along Balls Hill Road between Thrasher Road and Heather Hill Lane

The seventh high-priority project is to construct a sidewalk near Lemon Road Elementary School on Redd Road from Idylwood Road to Reddfield Drive in Pimmit Hills.

Secondary Projects Identified

The resolution also includes a list of secondary projects that MCA would like the county to pursue when possible:

• Repair portions of an asphalt trail along Dolley Madison Boulevard between Old Dominion Drive and Lewinsville Road
• Maintain and upgrade asphalt trail along Georgetown Pike just east of Dead Run Creek
• Repair an asphalt trail along Douglass Drive from Georgetown Pike to Father John Court
• Construct sidewalks along the north side of Birch Road from Birch Grove Court to Kirby Road and on Linway Terrace from the intersection of Old Dominion and Birch
• Create a trail along Lewinsville Road between Swinks Mill Road and Bridle Path Lane
• Conduct a study of a potential trail along the south side of Old Dominion between Balls Hill and a bridge over I-495

Photo via Google Maps

A decade-long fixture of Route 123 is shuttering.

Bed Bath & Beyond confirmed its Tysons store is slated to close permanently at the end of February. A store employee told Tysons Reporter that its lease will end at that time.

Closing sales for the home improvement store began last Thursday (Dec. 30), a manager said. Bed Bath & Beyond didn’t respond to messages seeking additional comment about the closing and how it will affect the workers there.

Bed Bath & Beyond arrived at 2051 Chain Bridge Road in February 2011 as a relocation of a smaller store on Leesburg Pike. At 55,695 square feet in size, the Tysons store was one of the company’s largest U.S. locations when it opened, according to a Washington Business Journal report from that time.

The property is owned by Benderson Development, a Florida-based real estate company that acquired it in 2015 for $29 million. It didn’t immediately respond to messages asking about plans for the site.

The Bed Bath & Beyond news comes as Tysons shoppers brace for the loss of another longtime retail anchor in the form of Tysons Corner Center’s L.L. Bean store, which will close on Jan. 17. The mall also saw its Disney store shutter in September.

A fundraiser that was frozen last year by the coronavirus pandemic is coming back with a new location at the Mosaic District.

Special Olympics Virginia last held a polar plunge at Penny Lane Park in Merrifield in 2020 to help with its programming aimed at serving people with intellectual disabilities. Now, the event is slated to return this year on Jan. 15, with a costume contest at 1 p.m. and people jumping into the water at 1:15 p.m.

This time, though, the nonprofit’s event will have pools in the Mosaic District’s main park and pedestrian area, located by Target along Strawberry Lane.

The donations help individuals participate in the organization’s athletic training and compete at Olympic-like events, while providing school-based programming and health screenings for free to recipients.

“In early 2020 our polar plunges helped sustain us through the first year of the pandemic, and we hope [that] this year, our first year back to in person plunging, they will help continue to get us back on the playing field,” Ellen Head, senior director of development for Special Olympics Virginia, said in an email.

Special Olympics Virginia officials have been watching COVID-19 case numbers and discussing how they should proceed, given concerns over the worsening spread of the virus. Organizers have been reassured by the outside nature of the event — a lower risk environment for the spread of the virus — as well as a masking requirement for parts of the event.

Like other organizations, the nonprofit’s donations have declined amid the pandemic, but it has added virtual programming for participants that it plans to continue beyond the lifespan of the virus.

The organization has raised over $24,000 of a $30,000 goal. Head said it hopes to multiply that goal in coming years.

Photo courtesy Special Olympics Virginia

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Monday, Jan. 3

• 2022 Legislative Session Preview (Online) — 7:30-9 p.m. — Delegates Mark Keam and Ken Plum, who represent the 35th and 36th districts, respectively, discuss critical issues facing the Virginia General Assembly, which will convene for its new session on Jan. 12. Register in advance to get the Zoom link.

Tuesday, Jan. 4

• Weird, Wonderful History for Kids (Online) — 4:30-5:15 p.m. — Learn strange and bizarre facts about the origins of comic books from the Dolley Madison Library staff. This teaching series for kids ages 6 through 12 relies on art, games, stories, and skill-building exercises. Registration is required.

Wednesday, Jan. 5

• Bilingual Hindi/English Storytime (Online) — 10:30-11 a.m. — An event geared for kids ages 3 to 5 will feature songs, rhymes and stories in both Hindi and English. Registration required.

Thursday, Jan. 6

• Wesley Stace — 7:30 p.m at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave. East) — Previously known as John Wesley Harding, this folk-pop singer-songwriter featured on the soundtrack of the movie “High Fidelity” is now performing under his given name. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show also features The Late Style Band.

Friday, Jan. 7

• ‘Make Me Happy’ — 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at Falls Church Arts Gallery (700-B W. Broad St.) — Check out the works of three dozen artists, centered on works that make people smile. Free. Continues through Jan. 30.

Saturday, Jan. 8

• MCC Winter Block Party — 1-5 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave.) — Enjoy some outdoor and indoor activities, including ice skating and arts and crafts. There will be hot dogs, smores, and hot cocoa.

Sunday, Jan. 9

• Fortune Feimster — 7 p.m. at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road) — Comedian Emily Fortune Feimster, who has appeared on shows from “The Mindy Project” to Comedy Central’s “This Is Not Happening,” comes to audiences live, following her 2020 Netflix special. Tickets start at $29.50.

(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) A U.K.-headquartered fitness center is stretching out to America, with its first U.S.-branded location opening in Tysons on Jan. 6.

“PureGym, the leading European fitness and gym operator, is excited to announce the launch of its first gym in the United States under a new brand, Pure Fitness,” the company said.

The Tysons business will be located near the Greensboro Metro Station at 8311-B Leesburg Pike in Tysons Square, which is anchored by Burlington and Marshalls department stores.

“We believe that the Tysons area has a strong long-term outlook and is an opportunity for our high quality, flexible, low-cost fitness offer,” spokesperson Kitty Ryder said in an email. “The location we have chosen is close to transport links and is surrounded by potential Pure Fitness members — both residential and office based.”

The U.K.’s largest gym operator, PureGym provides 24/7 access and allows customers to cancel their memberships at anytime. Introductory memberships at the Tysons location will start at $9.99 per month with a $1 joining fee and a $39 annual maintenance fee, according to the company.

“At Pure Fitness we want to make it as easy as possible to come to the gym, which is why we don’t lock our members into lengthy year-long contracts,” company officials said in a news release.

“Instead, members will have the freedom to freeze, leave and re-join whenever they want, in order to fit with their lifestyle and other commitments,” the company said. “New joiners will also be able to sign up in as little as two minutes on the Pure Fitness website or app.”

The gyms provide dozens of classes both in person and virtually, and the Tysons location features a turf training freestyle area, over 70 pieces of cardio equipment, over 80 pieces of strength equipment and certified personal trainers.

The app provides a live attendance tracker, with options to record progress, book classes, and gain contactless entry.

While the COVID-19 pandemic upended people’s workout routines over the past two years, cutting into fitness businesses’ bottom lines, PureGym has seen a resurgence in customers, The Guardian reported in April.

This fall, the company was reportedly considering an initial public offering. The U.S. expansion also includes locations in Springfield (6701 Frontier Drive) and near Baltimore in Elkridge, Md.

From state exams to college-prep tests, James Madison High School 11th-grader Aidan Jones knows how stressful it can be as a student.

With the pandemic adding to concerns about students’ mental health, Jones is working to turn therapy dog visits into a regular occurrence and possibly have one pet make its second home in Madison’s counseling office.

“My goal is to try to get a therapy dog as an extension to the counseling staff,” Jones said, noting that ideally, a teacher would take care of the dog and bring it to school during the day.

Jones developed the idea of a permanent therapy dog program while taking an interdisciplinary course last year, where one assignment had students come up with plans to improve people’s circumstances.

Students shared their ideas in “Shark Tank“-like online presentations, and 1970 Madison graduate Ted Dintersmith, a filmmaker and author who advocates for education reform, agreed to fund some projects, including Jones’s, according to Madison High School Principal Greg Hood.

In the cross-curricular program, Jones met and spoke with Melanie Meren, who represents the Hunter Mill District on the Fairfax County School Board. He says working with her allowed the idea to morph into an actual thing.

Meren said in a statement that she’d like to see therapy dogs serving in more schools.

“This is something close to my heart — as a dog owner, I’ve experienced the calm and reassurance that a trained dog can bring to humans with its unconditional love,” she told Tysons Reporter by email. “As a parent, I’ve seen how dogs trained for reading therapy support can encourage reluctant readers to read aloud to gain confidence in their abilities.”

Research has shown that even petting a dog can help relax people, one of numerous mental health benefits.

“Therapy dogs are nonjudgmental, and that really lowers the anxiety,” Jones said.

Therapy dogs aren’t entirely new to Fairfax County Public Schools. Several schools, including Madison and Aldrin Elementary School in Reston, have partnered with nonprofits to organize visits.

However, Jones says he would like Madison to have a dog as part of its counseling staff, or at least make the outreach more regular. He noticed that having a therapy dog at the school made a difference not just for students, but also for teachers.

Jones has been working with school leaders to move the project forward. He suggested that the school target particularly stressful periods for a group to bring in a trained dog to help students.

“I think this would be really beneficial to just help…the Fairfax County Public School system in general, starting with Madison High School,” he said.

L.L. Bean is closing the Tysons Corner Center store that heralded its national expansion next month.

The anchor store at the Tysons mall will close Jan. 17, company officials tell Tysons Reporter.

“This decision was not an easy one, and though we worked with the landlord to explore many options, we were unable to reach favorable terms in a way that would allow us to best serve our customers moving forward,” company spokesperson Amanda Hannah said in a statement.

When the location opened in 2000, it marked the first major expansion outside of Maine, where founder Leon Leonwood Bean started the company, The Baltimore Sun noted at the time.

According to the newspaper, the region’s large fan base of the flannel and outdoor brand was a driving force behind the decision to open a two-story, 76,000 square-foot store in what was then known as Tysons Corner.

Hannah stated that the company looked for other space in the mall but couldn’t reach a solution. She wrote the company is actively looking for a new location in the area.

L.L. Bean notified staff in the summer, offering severance and other opportunities within the company.

Hannah wrote that the company “could not reach an agreement with the landlord that met our desired store format and needs.”

A representative for the mall said there’s no information to share on who might be going into the space.

Photo via Google Maps

(Updated Dec. 29) A local distillery that started in Falls Church plans to move to a new location next year.

Falls Church Distillers closed Christmas Eve (Friday) and shared photos of its transition, taking apart the restaurant-bar, as it prepares to move to a shared space at the Manassas-based Tucked Away Brewing Co.

“We leave Falls Church having realized so many personal, business and community memorable achievements that our time here will always be remembered with a personal deep well of fondness,” the company said in a message also posted on its website.

Michael Paluzzi, who started the family-owned and family-operated business, said in an email today (Wednesday) that they’ll always remember the music they had there, creating hand sanitizer with their operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the fellowship with so many guests.

As part of the transition, Falls Church Distillers shipped a large U.S. flag that it displayed outdoors to the widow of a friend who previously placed it there. He was an active duty lieutenant colonel in the Air Force at the time, Paluzzi noted.

The distillery broke ground at its location at 442 S. Washington St. over five years ago, eventually making a range of whisky, brandy, rum, vodka and gin.

Despite the transition, customers can still get the company’s spirits at restaurants in the D.C. region as well as liquor stores.

The business expects to open at its new location this spring.

Photo via Google Maps

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday, Dec. 28

• Open Mic — 6 p.m. at Settle Down Easy Brewing (2822 Fallfax Drive) — Grab some beer and hear from a mix of musicians.

Wednesday, Dec. 29

• Outdoor Sharpie Tile Art for Kids — 5-6 p.m. at Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike) — Create a design with Sharpies in a program for kids ages 5 to 10.

Thursday, Dec. 30

• ‘Make Me Happy’ — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Falls Church Arts Gallery (700-B W. Broad St.) — Check out the works of three dozen artists, centered on works that make people smile. Free. Continues through Jan. 30.

Friday, Dec. 31

• Countdown to None 5K — 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Old Red Caboose (204D Mill St. NE) — A fundraiser for type 1 diabetes research, the virtual 5K concludes with an in-person race and celebration in the Town of Vienna. There will be music, food, and more, with all proceeds going to the organization JDRF.
• NYE ’80s Glow Party with DJ D — 8 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave. East) — Get your ’80s-inspired neon outfits out to win prizes and enjoy this retro dance environment. Tickets start at $35. Doors open at 7 p.m.
• The 8th Annual Grandiose NYE Gala — 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner (7920 Jones Branch Drive) — Celebrate New Year’s Eve with three ballrooms of entertainment featuring complimentary lite fare, a champagne toast, and more. Cost starts at $80.

Saturday, Jan. 1

• Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights — 5-10 p.m. at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens — Enjoy lights and holiday scenes in this annual transformation, which has its last day on Sunday (Jan. 2). Tickets for those ages 2 and over are $18 each.

Sunday, Jan. 2

• The Gift of Language — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mosaic District (920 District Ave.) — A cultural immersion program shares stories in Spanish, games, and arts and crafts at FRESHFARM’s weekly farmers market.

Photo via Jorgen Kesseler/Flickr