GNC will close its location in Vienna as part of the company’s plans to shutter between 800 and 1,200 stores across the country.
The vitamins and supplements retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early last week.
The store at the Maple Avenue Shopping Center is a part of several ones closing in Virginia, including locations in Sterling, Franklin and Charlottesville, according to GNC’s website. “Please note that even closing stores may remain open for a period of time,” the website says.
In a June 23 letter to its customers, the company stated that the COVID-19 pandemic “created a situation where we are unable to accomplish our refinancing and the abrupt change in the operating environment has had a negative impact on our business.”
Here’s more from the letter:
As a result, we felt the best opportunity for us to continue to improve our capital structure and address certain operational issues was to restructure through a Chapter 11 reorganization. This gives us the opportunity to improve our balance sheet while continuing to advance our business strategy, right-size our corporate store portfolio, and strengthen our brands to protect the long-term sustainability of our company.
Peet’s Coffee won’t reopen its doors in the Town of Vienna.
A Peet’s spokesperson confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the Vienna location (332 Maple Ave E.) is permanently closed. The spot is still listed at “temporarily closed” on the coffee chain’s website.
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about when or why the Vienna store closed and instead offered a statement saying that Peet’s opens and closes coffee locations each year for different reasons.
“While not easy decisions, regional adjustments to our coffeebar presence are important for effectively managing our resources and for developing our business,” the statement said.
The statement went on to say that Peet’s works with employees from its closed shops to find them jobs at other Peet’s locations.
While the company is no longer in Vienna, coffee drinkers can still find Peet’s in the Tysons-area.
The Peet’s mobile app shows that the Tysons location (8150 Leesburg Pike) is accepting orders. Tysons Reporter reached out today (Monday) about the status of the shop at Tysons Station and will provide an update.
Image via Google Maps
Repairs are almost done along Leesburg Pike in Tysons as part of the Silver Line’s first phase.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project shared photos of the concrete work on a new ramp along westbound Leesburg Pike, finished sidewalk repairs near the Spring Hill Metro station and finished work on the sidewalk, curb and gutter near Spring Hill Road.
Silver Line Phase 1 includes the four stations (McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro and Spring Hill) in Tysons along with the Wiehle-Reston East station.
“Crews will finish repairs along Route 7 and will complete final clean up and punch list items by the end of June according to a project executive,” according to the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
Previously, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project shared updates in April on crews placing concrete near Leesburg Pike for a new ADA ramp and excavation work along Old Meadow Road.
Photos courtesy Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
Microsoft Closing Physical Stores — “Microsoft Corp. is closing its physical retail stores around the world… Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) lists a total of 72 stores in the United States, with three mall locations in Greater Washington: Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and Tysons Corner Center.” [Washington Business Journal]
Latest on COVID-19 Cases — “As the world topped 10 million coronavirus cases, the spread of the virus in Northern Virginia continues to stabilize, according to Sunday’s report from the Virginia Department of Health.” [Inside NoVa]
“Get It to Zero!” Campaign — “The Northern Virginia Regional Commission, which is working with local governments to coordinate the region’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, has released a new video encouraging area residents to help bring the number of positive tests to zero.” [Inside NoVa]
Battle the Beetle — “It has not yet been detected in Fairfax County, but the county government is asking local residents to be on the lookout for the Asian longhorned beetle, which has been found in other areas of the country and is very destructive to hardwood trees.” [Inside NoVa]
Metro’s Plans for Fourth of July — “Metro will run more frequent trains and extend service beyond 9 p.m. at designated stations closest to the National Mall.” [WMATA]
Silver Line Shutdown’s Impact on Tysons — “When Metrorail’s Silver Line opened in 2014, officials had high hopes for its ridership numbers. Though it ultimately did not meet those expectations, it fared better than other lines that have lost ridership since the Silver Line’s launch.” [Greater Greater Washington]
The “Tysons After Dark” series highlights different activities that keep people busy once the sun goes down.
Movie-goers have three different drive-in movie options this summer in the Tysons area.
The various screenings recommend that people get their tickets sooner rather than later due to limited capacity. Here’s where people can find the drive-in movies and which dates still have tickets available.
Mosaic District
Tonight, drive-in movies kick off at the Mosaic District with “Captain Marvel.”
People must stay in their vehicles on the seventh floor of the Market parking lot to watch the movies, which will have captions and audio via an FM transmitter on the radio. Movie-theater inspired fare from Alta Strada will be available to order.
While tickets have sold out for tonight’s show and the double feature — “Toy Story 4” and “Jurassic Park” — on Friday, July 24, tickets have not gone on sale for the yet-to-be-announced films on Friday, Aug. 28.
The Boro
Last week, The Boro started off its four-week-long screenings with “Dreamgirls.” The drive-in at The Boro has a pedestrian-only section along with spaces for cars and offers extended restaurant outdoor seating and live entertainment.
“The entire series is sold out, but we are opening a limited number of spots to each upcoming movie at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning!” a post on The Boro’s Facebook page said on Tuesday. Tysons Reporter previously wrote about the full line-up of family-friendly films.
Capital One Center
Capital One Center will soon have drive-in movies from July 11 to Aug. 2 to fundraise for Second Story, a local nonprofit that helps people seeking food, shelter and emergency support.
While the movies at the McLean Metro lot (1820 Dolley Madison Blvd) are free, Capital One is asking people to make a $25 donation when they register.
“How to Train Your Dragon,” which is the series’ first movie on Saturday, July 11, still has available slots. The movies for July 12 ad July 18-19 are sold out.
Registration will open on July 13 for:
- Saturday, July 25: “Shrek”
- Sunday, July 26: “A League of Their Own”
- Saturday, Aug. 1: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- Sunday, Aug. 2: “Footloose”
Food will be available from Curbside Kitchen. Movie-goers must stay in their vehicles.
Photo via The Boro Tysons/Facebook
Two weeks into Northern Virginia’s reopening under Phase 2, veterinary offices are still seeing a steady stream of the new pets in need of routine care.
“We’ve definitely noticed a lot of people adopting pets,” said Sarah Angermeier, a veterinary assistant and receptionist at the Oakton-Vienna Veterinary Hospital. “It’s a blessing. We have so many puppies right now.”
Angermeier mentioned that appointments are filling up to a week-and-a-half in advance.
“We book up so fast now,” she said, adding that the dogs are more rambunctious after being stuck at home for weeks.
The Vienna Animal Hospital has also noticed similar trends. They reported that the number of appointments and the number of people adopting pets have “skyrocketed.”
In the spring during the strictest point of the coronavirus stay-at-home order, pets were the big winners as people rushed to get stay-at-home companions. Places like Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Falls Church have seen a large increase in cat and dog adoptions — compared to April 2019, adoptions went up about 60% in late April of this year, according to Lost Dog.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, one of the leading organizations providing guidance to veterinarian practices, precautionary strategies — like the ones in Northern Virginia — are making visits safer.
“Veterinary practices have made tremendous changes to ensure patients continue to receive essential veterinary care and new safety measures are implemented to protect team members and clients,” said the AVMA in an April 2020 survey of U. S. veterinarians.
The Vienna Animal Hospital, for example, has taken added precautionary measures such as increased sanitation; requiring masks and gloves; and making a switch to curbside appointments to decrease contact. Currently, owners are not allowed in the building.
Similarly, the Oakton-Vienna Veterinary Hospital has been using teleconferencing to hold appointments. Owners drive their pets to the practice and wait in their cars, talking on the phone with doctors while the pets are cared for inside.
However, as of a week ago at Oakton-Vienna, one owner at a time is allowed inside the building with their pet. In addition, the practice has crews deep-cleaning the hospital.
According to the AVMA survey, other adjustments include contactless payment processing, taking patient history by phone or virtually and drive-thru pick up and drop off. About 30% of veterinary practices are using telemedicine and close to 20% of practices were only seeing emergency-related cases at the time of the survey.
The Oakton-Vienna Veterinary Hospital began using teleconferencing on March 2. “It was definitely an adapting period,” said Angermeier.
Cristal Wheeler, the office manager of the Animal Dental Clinic in Vienna, says that their office is also following a variety of new protocols.
“We’ve extended our cleanup after every patient to include where clients are sitting and touching,” said Wheeler. She mentioned handles and doors are high contact surfaces that are receiving extra sanitation.
As practices continue to pivot with the changing coronavirus pandemic, offices like Oakton-Vienna are staying focused on the mission — serving customers and taking care of pets.
“We’ve gotten thank-you notes for staying open during COVID. We’ve had a lot of really really grateful people.”
Photos via Oakton-Vienna Veterinary Hospital/Facebook
As fitness centers are starting to reopen in the Tysons area as Virginia continues to roll back COVID-19 restrictions.
Currently, Northern Virginia is in Phase Two and plans to enter Phase Three on Wednesday (July 1).
Here are a few updates on which gyms are reopening, which are staying virtual and which are closing for good.
Solidcore in Tysons is offering in-person classes as of June 23. They are enforcing a variety of measures to enforce social distancing, such as “alternating machines back-to-front” to maintain 6 feet of distance.
They are asking customers to “minimize gathering in common areas,” to use the bathroom at home and to bring duffles to be stored in the pit of their machine rather than in a common area, according to procedures posted on their website.
Additionally, coaches will not be giving hands-on corrections and will be wearing masks and gloves at all times.
Crunch in Vienna is offering special reopening hours from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the weekend.
24 Hour Fitness has closed permanently in Tysons. However, the Falls Church location plans to reopen soon with new protocols to maintain safety. They have created a way for customers to check-in on their own, make workout reservations and even continue working out at home via digital instruction through a mobile app.
Hot Yoga Tysons is offering “two to three” virtual classes each day throughout the week for people who are craving yoga and pilates sessions from their homes.
1 To 1 Fitness in Tysons is also continuing to offer virtual personal training. Their sign-up provides users the opportunity to request a trainer who meets their specific preferences in a coach and a workout.
May gyms and fitness centers may start to open up in July as future guidelines have fewer restrictions. Virginia’s Phase Three will allow fitness centers and pools to open up to 75% capacity.
Photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn is inviting locals to join his upcoming virtual event with Fairfax County’s police chief.
Alcorn plans to host the virtual town hall with Chief of Police Edwin Roessler Jr. from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1.
Hunter Mill District residents can join in the discussion on the police department and the community by asking questions or providing input on policing topics, according to an email from Alcorn’s office. People who cannot attend the event live can email questions to the Hunter Mill District Office.
Participants will have a number of ways of joining the town hall, which will be hosted on Webex.
People can either register to attend via Webex, watch on YouTube Live or listen in by calling 1-408-418-9388 and using the access code 129 359 7948.
Once the event ends, the YouTube video will be available on the Hunter Mill District website sometime on Thursday evening, according to the email.
Alcorn photo via Supervisor Walter Alcorn/Facebook, Roessler photo via Fairfax County
Latest Unemployment News — “The Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday that 5,279 Northern Virginia residents filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 20. That was down 9.2% from the preceding week and marks the 11th straight week of declines since a high of 47,708 claims filed in the week ending April 4. However, it is still 10 times pre-pandemic levels.” [Inside NoVa]
Finding the Funding — “McLean’s ID.me Inc. is raising new capital while riding a wave of momentum fueled by the pandemic. The digital identity management company has nabbed about $8.3 million out of a $12.5 million equity offering that began June 9, it reported in Securities and Exchange Commission filings.” [Washington Business Journal]
Sights Set on Space — “Los Angeles-based aerospace manufacturer Relativity Space announced Wednesday that McLean-based Iridium Communications Inc. has signed a contract to deliver up to six of Irdium’s satellites into orbit.” [Virginia Business]
New Merrifield Park — “The Fairfax County Park Authority Board on June 24 approved initial scoping work to develop a new park on the eastern edge of Merrifield.” [Inside NoVa]
Dominion Energy will be trimming trees away from power lines in Town over the next 2 weeks. Blue lines on the map indicate where trimming will be taking place. For questions about how & why Dominion Energy manages trees and plants near power lines, visit https://t.co/SANub32tjv. pic.twitter.com/6q0WQemiVM
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) June 25, 2020
Highpoint Pub at #TheBoroTysons @WholeFoods has reopened with indoor and outdoor seating, following all VA Phase 2 protocols! Their hours for now will be Mon-Fri, 3pm-9pm and Sat-Sun, 12pm-9pm. They will be limiting groups to no more than 4 people to start! 🍻 pic.twitter.com/XnVh6FsXEV
— The Boro (@TheBoroTysons) June 25, 2020
The expansion plans for the Capital One Campus in Tysons may turn out differently than originally expected after the developer approached the Fairfax County Planning Commission last night with new ideas.
Major proposed changes to the plan include the elimination of the planned hotel and the addition of new office space and real estate, which Gregory Riegle, the lawyer representing Capital One, said was requested because of changes to the market.
“Candidly, the hotel industry in Tysons and the Northern Virginia area had a number of challenges in terms of oversupply even before the pandemic. The intervening circumstances have only exacerbated those realities,” Riegle said.
“The overall master plan of the campus remains the same,” Stephen Gardner, a senior planner with Fairfax County, said, adding that the amount of office space will jump to 67%.
Two buildings would slightly decrease in height if this adjustment is approved, while another building would increase its height to 305 feet, which is equivalent to roughly 28 stories, Gardner said. Open space on the campus would remain the same.
The building with the increased height would include 328,974 square feet of extra floor area.
After a brief discussion, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to favorably recommend the changes to the Board of Supervisors. The county board is set to consider the proposal on July 14.
It is unclear which businesses might take over the additional retail spaces provided by the proposed changes.
“Progress is continuing irrespective of situations with the pandemic and associated issues,” Riegle said, adding that the Wegmans is expected to be completed later in 2020, while the performing arts center will likely be done in 2021.
Image courtesy Fairfax County Planning Commission
