(Updated 7/13/2020) Madison Reed will start selling hair color products and open its Color Bar this weekend in the Mosaic District.
Madison Reed will open at 2921 District Avenue, Suite 130 on Saturday, July 11. Customers will be able to book color service and free color consultations, buy products and participate in the Unlimited Roots Membership.
Because of the pandemic, clients will be spaced every other chair and appointments will be staggered to allow for cleanings, Mary O’Connell, a company spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter. People will have to book appointments in advance — and will get “texted in” to their appointments when they show up — but can walk in for retail purchases, she said.
Additionally, the new stores will have new HVAC systems to help with air quality control, and clients can expect masks, gloves, social distancing and temperature checks.
“We couldn’t have a party as much as we would love to have a party,” O’Connell said.
The pandemic did not significantly delay the Mosaic location’s opening, which was set for early June, she said. In addition to the Mosaic District location, Madison Reed is also opening locations in Reston Town Center and Rockville on Saturday.
Clients can expect reduced hours from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at the Mosaic District.
While many businesses have struggled during the pandemic, O’Connell said that Madison Reed saw sales increase 1,300% — “just a huge number” — due to customers purchasing kits to color their hair at home. At one point, boxes of color kits were selling every five seconds, she said.
Because of the boom, Madison Reed did not furlough any employees and instead had them help with the orders, she said.
“Hair color matters to women,” O’Connell said, adding that the company attributes the sales to brand loyalty and “looking at yourself on Zoom.”
Photo via Mosaic District/Facebook
After receiving thousands of applications, Fairfax County officials want to add funds to its grant program to support more small businesses and nonprofits facing financial turmoil from the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will consider spending $20 million to expand Fairfax RISE, according to the draft agenda for the meeting.
The county board originally made the grant program in May with $25 million from funds through the CARES Act. Businesses can receive the following amounts based on the number of employees:
- 1-10: $10,000
- 11-25: $15,000
- 26-49: $20,000
The county is especially trying to help women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses stay in business during the pandemic.
Of the 6,280 applications the county received in June, 6,038 qualified for funding, meaning the county would need more than $60 million to support all of them, according to the county.
“As the Grant Program was oversubscribed, a random selection was used to determine the order of processing for all applicants,” according to county documents.
The county invited 2,183 applicants — 36% of the total qualified applicants — to submit documentation and start the certification process. The county documents say that some businesses that qualified during the first review phase may become disqualified in the second review phase if they don’t meet the documentation requirements or don’t respond.
Now, county officials hope that expanding the program will fund approximately 65%-80% of the June applicants by adding $20 million from the county, along with the $1 million provided from the Town of Vienna.
Currently, the county is not accepting new submissions from businesses.
We’re looking for photos of what it’s like to live, work or play in Tysons, Vienna, McLean, Falls Church or Merrifield.
Jay Westcott, the staff photographer for our parent company Local News Now, recently underwent successful hip surgery and is about to start physical therapy. He’ll likely be off until September, so until his return, we’re looking to showcase photos from our readers for our Morning Notes posts and our Instagram.
Are you working in-person? Shopping at the mall? Going for a run along the W&OD Trail? Snap a few pictures on a professional camera or your smartphone and send them to us in a large file format, along with the name you’d like the photos credited to.
You can reach us at [email protected] or tag/direct message us on our social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook).
(Updated 1:10 p.m.) Real Food For Kids has paired up with Pizzeria Paradiso to support Vienna families in need as a result of COVID-19.
Pizzeria Paradiso will send pizza kits to anyone who donates a minimum of $50. According to the fundraiser’s website, each pizza kit will include enough ingredients to make one Margherita pizza and one signature Pizzeria Paradiso pizza, the Bosco Pizza. The kits are coming from the restaurant’s Georgetown location.
People who don’t want a pizza kit can make a direct donation.
The fundraiser is part of a new initiative called “Chefs Feeding Families,” which uses the donations for its meal distributions for families in need. Started by Real Food for Kids and chef David Guas, the initiative kicked off in March and has 17 different meal sites.
Pizzeria Paradiso is “currently providing over 1,000 hot meals per week to Vienna families” and has made more than 10,000 free pizzas for Fairfax County since April, according to the fundraiser’s website.
Corrects name of the pizza restaurant
Photo via Pizza Paradiso/Facebook
(Updated 11:30 a.m.) The McLean Project for the Arts is among the recipients of $50,000 grants from the National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act to help with the financial fallout from the pandemic.
Thirteen other arts organizations in Virginia were awarded the funding, according to a press release from the arts organization.
“This grant provides critical support as we continue to adapt our visual arts programming and carry out our mission during and beyond this COVID-19 pandemic,” Lori Carbonneau, MPA’s executive director, said in the press release.
MPA shared with Tysons Reporter how the grant will be used:
The funding will help us have the resources to reimagine our programming in this new environment. For example, this coming Wednesday, July 15, we will open our first online juried exhibition, SHIFT. We’ve also been actively expanding our MPA ArtReach programming, distributing these weekly art activities to ArtReach community partners, who, in many cases, are struggling with the digital divide of lacking easy access to technology and wifi. Finally, the grant will help us continue to provide our online art classes and art camps, and will support our upcoming (virtual!) MPAartfest coming this October.
The NEA said it received more than 3,100 eligible applications and ultimately awarded the grants totaling $44.5 million to 855 organizations across the U.S. Only arts organizations that had previously received NEA funds were eligible.
“To review the applications, the agency used more than 200 application readers and panelists to review and score each application using the published review criteria,” according to the NEA.
The grants will support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractors and facilities costs, the press release said, noting that arts and culture sector employs more than 5 million people.
Photo by Ian Williams on Unsplash
A new survey wants to find out how people feel about heading to offices, retailers and entertainment venues during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tysons Partnership created the survey to inform Tysons-area businesses and community organizers as Gov. Ralph Northam rolls back COVID-19 restrictions.
Currently, Virginia is in Phase Three, which means that non-essential retail, parks, restaurants and places of worship can fully open. Some restrictions and guidelines are still in effect — teleworking is strongly encouraged, gatherings are limited to 250 and places like fitness centers and entertainment venues can open with limited capacity.
“I’ve been extraordinarily impressed by how Tysons-based employers pivoted from conventional office work environments to virtual workspaces,” Sol Glasner, Tysons Partnership’s president and CEO, told Tysons Reporter.
Now, the survey will help businesses decide what to do about reopening.
“It’s intended to get at people’s perception and give us some flavor of what they are thinking and [their] level of comfort,” Glasner said.
One part of the survey asks respondents to say when they would feel comfortable in various scenarios, like picking up food, shopping at indoor and outdoor malls and flying on a plane.
The survey, which is currently available online, takes five minutes to complete. Glasner said that Tysons Partnership is looking to end the survey next week and hopefully have results available to share in late July.
Virtual Job Fair — “The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is still looking for enthusiastic workers to fill seasonal positions now that COVID-19 safety restrictions are being eased and park facilities are reopening under Gov. Ralph Northam’s phased Forward Virginia Blueprint.” [Fairfax County]
Fine Free — “The Mary Riley Styles Public Library no longer charges fines for overdue books and other materials. All previously assessed fines for overdue materials will also be forgiven.” [City of Falls Church]
Support for Climate Crisis — “U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, [Tuesday] hailed the release of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis action plan, “Solving The Climate Crisis.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called out Fairfax County Public Schools for asking families to decide between fully remote instruction or two days a week in the classroom amid the pandemic. She called the district’s distance learning a “disaster.” https://t.co/sf40OQAuR8
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) July 7, 2020
BGR Burger Grilled Right is no longer open in the Mosaic District.
“Unfortunately we are permanently closed as we were unable to reach a reasonable settlement with our landlord like we did in our other locations,” Fred Glick, the president of Amergent Hospitality Group, Inc., told Tysons Reporter.
Glick said that the other nearby BGR locations are open. Now, diners can find BGR in Arlington, Reston and Springfield in Virginia.
Photo via BGR Mosaic/Facebook
The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is coming back to The Plaza outside Tysons Corner Center.
As part of its East Coast tour, the pink retail truck will come to Tysons on Saturday, July 11, according to a press release.
Several safety measures will be in place to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Staff will wear masks and gloves and disinfect counters and payment readers every 30 minutes. Customers can expect hand sanitizer, social distancing markers outside and will be asked to wear face coverings.
The truck will not accept cash. Available merch will include mugs, puns, cookies, canvas totes, thermal bottles, t-shirts, water bottles and more, including limited-edition collectibles.
The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck will be open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
While many organizations facing budget constraints have eliminated staff during the coronavirus pandemic, a local program had a diametric response — increasing their staff to care for residents who are displaced from work.
Tysons-based Langley Residential Support Services is a program that serves adults with developmental disabilities as well as their families and communities through residential and community support services. The program has six homes that offer both intensive and supportive assistance.
Many nonprofits and organizations eliminated staff since the pandemic hit to save money. However, since Langely Residential residents aren’t at work during the day, the site needed more staff to care for the extra number of residents.
“It’s really tapped out our budget,” said Betsy Schatz, the executive director of Langley Residential. “We have somewhat of a reserve. We’ve been very frugal in our approach to spending during this time since we don’t know how long this is going to affect us.”
An increase in staff isn’t the only change Langley Residential has seen. They have also had to adapt to government guidelines to ensure safety during the pandemic. Masks and hand sanitizer have been provided to whoever requests them, from residents to staff.
“The safer they are, the safer we are,” said Schatz.
The facility has limited family visits, allowing families to come to the house and take their loved one outside, but they must wear masks and keep 6 feet away from each other. They are also taking residents’ temperatures frequently. Residents were also given iPads to FaceTime with their families.
“It’s nice to see that people can finally visit with parents and maintain that closer relationship that is so important to them,” said Schatz.
When the pandemic first hit, Schatz recounted a struggle to maintain adequate supplies on hand. One of the biggest worries was whether they would have enough medical supplies to keep the environment safe for residents. However, now they’re fully stocked up and working with a medical supply company in Springfield.
To keep residents active, Langley Residential has purchased a variety of games including outdoor putting, Connect Four and different arts and crafts. The facility was initially planning a bowling tournament for the residents, but due to the pandemic, it was canceled.
However, they are planning on holding a formal event in the fall that includes wine tasting and a silent auction. Whether the event comes to fruition depends on what phase of reopening Virginia is in, said Schatz.
Schatz emphasized that the residents have been doing extremely well with the changes in lifestyle. While the pandemic hit them “out of the blue,” staff and residents have adapted and seem to be upholding the values of the facility and maintaining a feeling of home.
“Our approach is to serve people as long as we can meet their needs. We want people to age in place, we want to make sure that people know that this is their home, not just a facility that they live in,” said Schatz.
Photo by Ava Green
