Outside of the occasional bomb threat, life in the southern corner of the Leesburg Pike and I-495 intersection is pretty quiet. The Board of Supervisors is hoping the new Mint Cafe can help bring a little life to the area — but not too much, because they’re not permitted to have live entertainment or music.
The new cafe is planned to replace the first floor of the vacant United Bank at 7787 Leesburg Pike, while the office use on the second floor will continue. The new cafe was unanimously approved at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
“Replacing a vacant business will help to rejuvenate this prominent location,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said. “The planting of 16 new trees will help to spruce up this property.”
The block along Ramada Road currently features an office building and The Westin Tysons Corner.
The cafe is planned to be a primarily late-evening venue, meaning it won’t impact the notoriously atrocious rush hour traffic along that stretch of Leesburg Pike.
Palchik said the cafe will fit in well with other planned uses in the area, including a planned Residence Inn by Marriott planned to fit behind the cafe.
“A new restaurant and retention of an office use on the second floor will fit well with the pending construction of a new hotel behind this property,” Palchik said.
There’s no word yet on how soon Mint Cafe plans to open.
Photo via Google Maps, rendering via Fairfax County
A lone brick house at the northern entrance to Tysons since the 1940s could soon become a new trio of homes.
The house, visible to anyone traveling south into Tysons on Leesburg Pike, will be demolished with three new single-family houses built on the site. The property sits directly across Jarrett Valley Drive from the McLean Islamic Center and has belonged to the same family over several generations — long predating the surrounding Carrington neighborhood built in 2000.
The permit for rezoning was reviewed at a Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday) due to the new houses’ proximity to the nearby roads. Part of the development plan includes a sound wall separating the homes from the nearby roads to screen some of the traffic noise.
There were no public speakers on the item, except one particularly loud cat who was not listed as a public speaker. The new development was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Photo via Google Maps, aerial photography via Fairfax County
Flu season is around the corner and regional officials will gather tomorrow morning to discuss the importance of the annual vaccination.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever that everyone do their part to help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like flu,” a press release said.
The meeting, which begins tomorrow (Sept. 17) at 9.m., will include speeches from Fairfax County officials who encourage members of the public to receive their yearly flu vaccinations, according to a press release.
Those who want to watch the event are invited to do so virtually via Facebook Live.
A recent Tysons Reporter poll said that almost 20% of 494 respondents have already gotten their flu shot for the year while another 66% of respondents that they plan to do so soon.
“Getting a flu shot will help prevent unnecessary illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths and will protect frontline health care workers and conserve scarce medical resources needed to care for COVID-19 patients,” a press release said.
Attendees at tomorrow’s event will likely include:
- City of Falls Church Mayor David Tarter
- Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay
- President and CEO of Inova Health System Dr. Stephen Jones
- Town of Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert
Photo via Hyttalo Souza on Unsplash
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a proposed name change of the McLean Metro station to the McLean-Capital One Hall Metro station, but it isn’t the end of the line for the name change yet.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the change, though several supervisors made sure to clarify the name change was to draw people towards the upcoming performance center and not as advertising for the banking giant whose headquarters the facility is part of.
“This is a very particular situation in which we do have an agreement between the county and Capital One Hall to provide a minimum of 100 days of use,” said Supervisor Dalia Palchik, representing the Providence District. “It’s going to be our very own Strathmore. It’s a very specific request to have this name put on the Metro station so people know we have this asset here in Fairfax County.”
Palchik admitted that at first, seeing the corporate name attached to the Metro station gave her some pause, but concluded: “this is not a slippery slope, this is a very unique situation.”
Supervisor John Foust, representing Dranesville, was similarly supportive of the name and pushed back on the idea that the county had sold the naming rights.
“I’m supportive of the name change, but I don’t support every proposed name change,” Foust said. “This is not selling a naming right to a single corporate entity. It’s not being done for the exclusive benefit of a single land owner. Capital One Hall is a state of the art performing arts center. It will play a significant role in implementing the comprehensive plan for Tysons. It is absolutely in the public interest that we draw attention to this center and by this name change I think we will do this.”
Supervisor Jeff McKay clarified that Capital One would pay for changing the Metro signs and would not be publicly funded.
Though the name was approved by the Board of Supervisors, the proposed renaming will still have to be approved by WMATA, which has its own guidelines for changing a station name.
In lieu of being able to serve the community in-person, members of Falls Church-based Dulin United Methodist Church started a monthly charity project led by their pastor, Dave Kirkland.
Since July, the congregation has chosen a different charity to support each month by raising funds for those in need.
“We pick up a different ministry each month and see how it hits the spirits of people and how they respond,” Kirkland said.
Though the charities range in geographic location and purpose, the July donation to Homestretch benefited people within Falls Church’s own community.
Not only did churchgoers and a variety of other donors raise $100,000 which will support the charity’s mission to help disadvantaged families find housing and sustainable lives, but the group was also able to donate $7,200 worth of gift cards and put together care packages with toiletries for 28 local families, according to Kirkland.
Many of the people which received help thanks to the donations are entry-level frontline workers, Kirkland said, and many are also survivors of human trafficking or abuse.
“We knew a lot of these folks probably lost their job and COVID has really affected their lives, so we made a plea,” Kirkland said. “They [Homestretch] support their families through skills, knowledge and hope. We couldn’t help with skills or knowledge but we could help with hope.”
In August, Dulin United Methodist also raised $17,000 for a group called Free Minds Book Club, which is a D.C. based organization that encourages incarcerated youth to develop a passion for literature.
This month, congregation members will be supporting a charity in Sierra Leone which works to set up infrastructure in the country which was destroyed by civil war, according to Kirkland.
Anyone interested in supporting the church’s mission can donate online.
Photo via Dulin United Methodist Church/Facebook
Finally, for the first time since March, McCabe’s Printing Group has seen a jump in sales.
The Merrifield based shop (8451 Hilltop Road), which typically specializes in promotional materials for schools and banquets, suffered a 50% drop in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to operations manager Chris Ricci.
“Mid-March, everything dropped off the face of the earth in terms of work,” Ricci said. “It was kind of a shock, to say the least.”
But after forming a few new partnerships and changing tactics, Ricci said that the shop finally began to bounce back in August.
“I wanna say that businesses slowly and gradually reopening has definitely played a role in boosting morale,” he said, adding that the shop has seen a large increase for printed materials reminding people of safety procedures to prevent the spread of COVID, such as proper handwashing techniques and PSAs to wear a mask.
“We’ve been lucky,” Ricci said. “A lot of print shops had a lot of difficulties during this time, but the biggest goal is keeping at it.”
When the pandemic first hit, Ricci said that the shop received a federal PPP loan.
“That definitely helped us out, especially during the early months,” Ricci said. “We were one of the first ones to apply and get it.”
The shop is also awaiting a loan from Fairfax County, which Ricci is expecting to hit the accounts sometime next week.
Ricci said that he’s been with the company since he was a “wee little lad,” adding that he has family connections to the business.
For community members who want to keep supporting local and small businesses, Ricci said he wanted to remind people that there is a gap between the drive to support local shop owners in practice vs theory.
“The biggest disconnect that folks have is supporting local businesses but not supporting small business prices,” he said, adding that the printing industry has a very small sales margin to begin with.
Ricci encourages people to chat with the staff when visiting a small business, that way they can form a connection with other community members.
“There are not that many people at small businesses, so when you walk in, you could easily be chatting with the owner,” Ricci said.
Image courtesy McCabe’s Printing Group
In a discussion last night (Tuesday) with Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert, several business and economic leaders talked about how locals could show support for their businesses, and how some businesses could do a better job of bringing in customers.
The simplest, and most obvious answer, was for locals to shop local when they can rather than buying through a company like Amazon. Jim Brooke, Town Business Liaison Committee chair, said people should also be more conscious now of taking the time to leave positive reviews online.
“Talk about local businesses on social media, leave positive Yelp reviews for local businesses,” Brooke said. “It’s easy to shop online, but if you want to have brick and mortar businesses in your community, you have to shop at them sometimes.”
Some industries have fared better than others in the pandemic, and Brooke said it’s particularly important to show support for the hardest hit, personal service businesses.
“Construction businesses and real estate have been doing pretty well, but businesses that are more intimate like hair stylists, anything that involves close interaction with people, aren’t doing very well,” Brooke said. “For my business and the people I work with, hospitality industry is really in trouble. Especially caterers, party planners, or party venues.” Read More
Why More and More Families in Tysons are Calling High-Rises Home — “High-rise housing is often portrayed as places for the young and childless. Housing for transient young adults before they move out to the suburbs to start families. But Tysons shows that this stereotype leaves out a large number of families who live in high-rises.” [Greater Greater Washington]
No Car Decals in This Fall’s Tax Bills — “Falls Church Treasurer Jody Acosta reported to the F.C. City Council Tuesday that the personal property tax bills being issued this fall will not, as in the past, include decals to be placed on car windshields.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Creative Cauldron Director Wins Another Helen Hayes Award — “Matt Conner, the prolific composer, writer, director and performer for Falls Church’s own Creative Cauldron theater company won a highly prestigious D.C. Metro [region-wide] Helen Hayes Award for Best Director of a Musical for his work on the Cauldron’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” earlier this year.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Vienna Kids’ Friendship Bracelet Sales Feed Families In Need –“The sisters’ efforts making bracelets over the summer helps an initiative of restaurants feeding families during the pandemic.” [Patch]
A Barbie truck is crossing the country on a tour that will stop at Tysons Corner Center late next month to sell limited edition retro Barbie material.
The truck is scheduled to stop at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
“Barbie is hitting the road with the Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour, celebrating over 60-years of Barbie’s iconic heritage and the fans who love her,” toy company Mattel said on Facebook. “Come check out limited edition retro-inspired Barbie merch only available at the truck. We encourage everyone to practice social distancing!”
The merchandise tour is a celebration of the brand’s 60th birthday, which was celebrated last year.
The company outlined on social media a series of sanitation procedures to help keep the transactions safe, including wiping down counters, points of service and payment readers with disinfectant every thirty minutes. Staff will also wear gloves and masks inside the trucks with an acrylic barrier separating them from guests.
The website indicates the van will have everything from Barbie stickers and accessories to vintage jean jackets with Barbie branding on them.
Photo via Barbie/Facebook
A controversy at the library level led to a heated exchanged at Fairfax County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday) as the Board’s lone Republican pushed back against a motion to ensure the various boards and commissions consider the county’s standards of diversity.
Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay started the meeting with a motion for staff to circulate the One Fairfax policy and training to all boards and commissions and that members sign acknowledgement to confirm they have received and reviewed the policy. The One Fairfax policy adopted in 2017 creates a standard of social and racial equity that the Board of Supervisors committed to considering when making decisions or developing programs and services.
Just now, the Board approved my motions to make sure our commitment to One Fairfax is extended to our Boards, Authorities and Commissions. pic.twitter.com/OvROKGY3Oc
— Jeff McKay (@JeffreyCMcKay) September 15, 2020
The fight centered around what Supervisor Pat Herrity lambasted as an attack on Phillip Rosenthal, a Fairfax County Library Board of Trustees member who faces calls for resignation from Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and others.
At a July 29 meeting, Rosenthal decried highlighting material about Black Lives Matter and by Muslim authors, Patch first reported.
Backlash to Rosenthal’s comments was swift, but Herrity has vocally defended Rosenthal, who he appointed to the Library Board of Trustees in 2018. At the Board of Supervisors meeting, Herrity defended Rosenthal again and said the motion was a move towards silencing dissent.
“When we try to silence the other side we enter a slippery slope,” Herrity said. “To take someone out because they don’t agree with our political agenda… I think that’s a slippery slope.”
While McKay protested that the board matter wasn’t about an individual person, the text of the item did say “comments made at a recent Library Board of Trustees meeting highlight that we still have a long was to go before we truly become One Fairfax.”
“Things appointee said were hurtful,” McKay said. “I called for his resignation for a lot of reasons.”
Herrity found little support from the other members of the Board of Supervisors, receiving particular rebuke from Dranesville Supervisor John Foust.
“[Herrity] totally misstakes and mischaracterizes the statements Mr. Rosenthal has made,” Foust said. “Everything I hear about Rosenthal is that he’s a decent man who makes many contributions to our community, but his comments at the library board need to be read to understand why so many people were so hurt and why we’re being so misled by Supervisor’s Herrity comments about this.”
Foust ran through a list of Rosenthal’s controversial statements at the library board, which included calling Black Lives Matter activists Marxists and expressing frustration about a reading program aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth.
“To characterize them as Herrity does about the statement for the need for more diverse views in the catalog of books is ridiculous, outrageous, and totally misleading,” Foust said.
Supervisor Dalia Palchik, representing the Providence district, argued that while Herrity had appointed Rosenthal, what Rosenthal said and did reflects on the Board of Supervisors as a whole.
McKay’s motion was passed, with only Herrity voting against it.
Image via Fairfax County
