An assault took place at Skorpios Maggio’s Family Restaurant after people asked for utensils for food they purchased elsewhere, according to police and the owners.

The alleged incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. on Wednesday (April 8) at 421 Maple Ave E., Vienna police say.

“The restaurant owners reported some people came into the restaurant requesting utensils for some food they purchased elsewhere,” the police report said. “After providing the individuals with the utensils, an altercation occurred between all parties.”

Juan Vazquez, a spokesperson for the Vienna Police Department, declined to comment on the case, saying that it’s an active investigation.

The owners behind the restaurant, Chris and Sherry Maggio, posted about the alleged assault on Facebook. The photos they posted show food on Chris and covering the ground and window outside of the restaurant.

Sherry Maggio told Tysons Reporter that females came in asking for utensils before the situation became violent and messy with thrown food.

“It was just this whole messy thing,” Sherry said, claiming the females returned with men who allegedly pushed Chris before the police came.

Though the couple said they are both okay, Sherry said that they are concerned for their safety.

Vazquez said that all of the people involved in the incident were told about the warrant process if they want to press charges.

This isn’t the first time police received reports of an assault at the restaurant.

The restaurant was vandalized about half of a dozen times this winter, which included smeared ketchup on the restaurant’s windows and van and “tire slime” placed on the sidewalk, furniture and statue outside, according to Vienna police reports.

In January, a man spat at Sherry and threw hot coffee on her, according to Vienna police reports. Police arrested a 34-year-old man and charged him with simple assault and battery.

Vazquez said that the alleged assault on Wednesday isn’t connected to the previous incidents.

The restaurant plans to stay open with limited hours, the post added.

“We understand that this is a very stressful time for all and it seems like things are not getting better,” the Facebook post said. “We, as part of the Town of Vienna believe that we are in this together.”

Catherine Douglas Moran and Ashley Hopko reported and wrote this story 

Photos via Skorpios Maggio’s Family Restaurant/Facebook

Happy Friday! In our last installment this week of reader-submitted pet photos, we have lots of adorable pictures of cozy cats and dogs.

Recently, we shared photos of animal companions helping their humans work from home. Our photo galleries have been filled with pooches and cats wearing clothes.

Several people sent in pictures of their pets sleeping or getting comfy in bed.

At least one pooch is eagerly awaiting football season this fall.

Check out the gallery above and revisit the ones from earlier this week. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos!

One more cat photo:

https://twitter.com/CyberCandide/status/1246261670323933186?s=20

The owner of two local Popeyes locations recently donated meals to help combat food insecurity.

During digital learning supply pickup at Timber Lane Elementary School earlier this week, students who came with their families to grab a laptop and other supplies were also handed a meal courtesy of Nader Saleh, who owns both the Merrifield and Fairfax Popeyes locations.

Across Fairfax County, many students and families rely on school lunches. While Fairfax County Public Schools is offering free meals to students during the closure, Saleh said that their are kids who might fall through the cracks.

“There are a lot of kids and families who are depending on the school lunches and then when the schools close, they have been left out,” Saleh said, adding that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help those in his community.

Benjamin Chiet, the principal of Timber Lane Elementary School, gave a shoutout on Twitter to Popeyes, thanking them for the donation.

Timber Lane Elementary School is just one of the many local schools to receive meal donations, according to Saleh.

“We would like to build the bridge between our restaurant and the community,” he said, adding that he is happy to combat food insecurity however he can.

Nationally, Popeyes is part of the No Kid Hungary Campaign, which helps families supply healthy meal options year-round, according to the website.

Though Popeyes (2835 Gallows Road) in Merrifield is still open for takeout and delivery, Saleh said business has been slower than usual. Anyone interested in supporting the restaurant can order online.

Thank you, Nader Saleh of @PopeyesChicken of Falls Church & Fairfax. Every family that picked up a laptop from @TimberLaneES today was treated to a few meals from Popeyes of Falls Church & Fairfax. Thank you for helping our families! Mr. Saleh is also a @mcleanhigh parent! pic.twitter.com/J7UQUhzXvm

— Ben Chiet 🇺🇸 (@PrincipalTLES) April 8, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has forced local businesses to either shut down or add safety measures to stay open. For businesses that aren’t open yet, owners are facing new challenges to decide if or when to debut.

Tysons Reporter found out the new debut plans for three upcoming businesses, which were originally slated to open this spring.

Over in Vienna, plans are still in the works to turn the former home of Posh! (419B Maple Ave. E.) into a Virginia ABC store.

The store was originally expecting to open sometime in May or June.

Dawn Eischen, a Virginia ABC spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter that plans are still on track to relocate the ABC store at 436 Maple Ave. E. to the Maple Avenue Shopping Center space this spring.

“We’re still moving forward with this relocation, but don’t have a firm date,” Eischen said earlier this week. “We’re still looking at the June time frame.”

Eischen previously told Tysons Reporter that the relocation to the spot with roughly 1,400 more square feet “will allow us to provide a wider selection of products, meet market demands and better serve our customers.”

The Palladium’s owners were planning to move their now-closed Arlington nightclub to the Tysons spot.

Currently, The Palladium is closed after the owners canceled the last few concerts in March.

The Salsa Room, which closed in Arlington in March, was supposed to open in its new 15,000-square-foot, two-level home (1524 Spring Hill Road) in late March. Grand opening events were set for the new Tysons nightclub from March 25-29.

Now, Victor Villarreal, one of the owners behind the nightclubs, said that he’s refunded all of the grand opening tickets and he isn’t sure when The Salsa Room will open in Tysons.

“We will open at some point,” he said.

Right now, Villarreal and his brother are working to come up with plans for opening that include different numbers of people allowed inside — 50, 100, 250 — along with other possible safety measures like masks, hand sanitizing stations and cashless payment options.

“I think we’re really considering looking at temperature thermometer you scan on the forehead,” he said. “Our whole plan is trying to keep our staff and our clients safe.”

When state restrictions get lifted, Villarreal said nightclubs will be one of the last businesses to open. “I don’t expect our business to be open until there’s a vaccine or no cases for a couple of weeks at least or a treatment,” he said.

Even if there’s only one COVID-19 case in Virginia, he expects “it’s going to take a long time for people to feel comfortable.”

“We’re the last thing that people are going to want to try to do,” he said, adding that the close contact typical of clubs is completely different from guidelines now for people to stay 6 feet apart.

As for staff, he said that they are waiting for the nightclub to open.

“We can’t pay afford to pay them right,” he said. “A lot applied for unemployment. I know some of them have gotten jobs doing other stuff.”

Villarreal said that he has been negotiating successfully with his landlord in Tysons and utility companies.

“We try to keep a positive attitude but we know nothing is guaranteed,” he said.

The team behind the now-closed Tysons Biergarten aren’t delaying their plans too long to open The ShipGarten — a new pop-up concept near the McLean Metro station.

Originally slated to open this spring, The ShipGarten will now likely make its debut early summer, Matt Rofougaran, Tysons Biergarten’s CEO and managing partner, told Tysons Reporter.

The ShipGarten will consist of a number of themed 40-foot shipping containers, including:

• “The Biergarten” — German and Belgium beers and German food
• Roll Bär — Asian fusion cuisine and Japanese whiskey
• Chalkboard BBQ — a rotating menu of barbecue and international craft beer
• Tysons EuroBar — Mediterranean fare

The shipping containers will be outside, surrounded by a “quintessential biergarten area, family friendly kids area, a fenced in dog area, and entertainment venue,” according to The ShipGarten’s website.

Rofougaran said that patrons will be able to social distance — “Good thing about us is we will have a lot of space.”

He said staffing for The ShipGarten has not been impacted for the pandemic. “Staffing is going to be easy for me,” he said, noting that he’s been in the restaurant business since he was a teenager.

The only coronavirus-related obstacle Rofougaran said he’s noticed is the speed of the work — from architects to construction workers — on the new concept. “Everybody is working much slower,” he said.

Image (1) by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash, image (2) via Google Maps, image (3) via The ShipGarten/Facebook

Updated at 6:30 p.m. — Fairfax County announced this afternoon that the number of cases totals 778 and there have been 19 deaths.

Earlier: The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the county more than doubled for the first time in more than a week.

Eleven more people in Fairfax County have died from the novel coronavirus, according to information released by the county yesterday (Thursday).

That brings the total number of deaths in the county to 16. As of today (Friday), there are 777 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, up from 690 yesterday.

All of the individuals who died from the illness were above the age of 50.

In the state, 121 people have died from the respiratory disease and there are a little over 4,500 cases.

This week, the growth rate of cases has increased in comparison to the previous week.

Data from Virginia Department of Health

Editor’s note: Tysons Reporter will temporarily have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.

Grocery Stores Implement New Measures — “Three grocery store chains with locations in Falls Church announced this week plans to introduce stricter precautionary measures to avoid the potential spread of the coronavirus. Giant Food, Harris Teeter and Safeway will all now limit the amount of customers allowed in the store at one time.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Fairfax Fire Crew Member Tests Positive for COVID-19 — “A member of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual began feeling sick on March 18 and was tested for COVID-19 eight days later. This week the test came back as positive. The individual experienced mild symptoms and is recovering.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]

Local Virginia ABC Store Closing — “The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) will consolidate its retail operations in Northern Virginia, which continues to be one of the most impacted regions of the commonwealth during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.” Starting April 13, the store at  8150 Leesburg Pike Suite 110 will close. [Inside NoVa]

Guidelines for Vienna Public Hearings — “Town Council will meet, with members attending in-person and electronically, at 8 pm Monday, April 13… The April 13 meeting agenda includes two public hearings related to the fiscal year 2020-21 budget.” [Town of Vienna]

COVID-19 Business Survey — The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority has a survey that ends today at 5 p.m. that asks businesses about the coronavirus impacts. [Survey Monkey]

A Wind Advisory has been issued for Friday from 10 AM until 6 PM. Winds will be sustained around 20-25 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph possible. pic.twitter.com/KkY40uWkJb

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) April 10, 2020

Units on scene of house fire in the 2400 block of Cedar Lane in the Dunn Loring area. Small fire. Fire is out. All occupants safe. No reported injuries at this time. Majority of units returning to service. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty pic.twitter.com/41TAXcFbax

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 9, 2020

StarNut Gourmet in McLean will be offering free coffee, breakfast and lunch this weekend to local first responders, healthcare workers and essential employees.

With the help of Tential IT, the eatery at 1445 Laughlin Ave has extended this offer to be from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday, a press release said.

Though the dining room is closed, according to the press release, the coffee shop and eatery is offering curbside pickup, take out and delivery through UberEats.

People wishing to order off of the menu can call 703-749-9090. Items available include sandwiches, lattes, pastries, crepes and similar fare, according to StarNut’s website.

“StarNut Gourmet is a family-owned business established in 2002 as a Specialty Food Gift Store and an International Café,” the press release said. “Owners Hozaifa Almaleh and Samira Ardalan very much look forward to welcoming everyone back once it’s safe.”

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn is hoping that more resources get allocated to small businesses as Fairfax County officials discuss the revised fiscal year 2021 budget.

Alcorn held a media call this morning (April 9) to discuss dramatic cuts and changes to the changed budget proposal, following a digital public hearing he held last night with residents.

“I’m not happy about the updated budget but it does reflect the reality we’re in right now,” Alcorn said during the media call.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill to revise suggestions for the upcoming budget, which were integrated into a draft and publishedon Tuesday (April 7).

Many of the changes include halting the expansion of new projects — focusing instead to retain projects already in progress, according to  Alcorn.

“We are going to see some delays on some of our affordable housing projects,” Alcorn said, “It’s disappointing to me because doing more on affordable housing will help the same folks who are being impacted by the Covid emergency… These are some of the same folks who have been laid off.”

Other programs that will likely be delayed are the implementation of body cameras for police officers and a freeze in salary for Fairfax County employees.

“It really is an attempt to put the breaks on anything new,” he said.

Alcorn said he also wants to see relief programs for small businesses in Fairfax County, which may happen.

Next Tuesday, the Board of supervisors will discuss a micro-loan program for local business owners impacted by the pandemic, Alcorn said.

The Budget Committee spoke last week about the potential for the program to offer up roughly $1 million for small businesses, but Alcorn suggested this number was meant to be a “place holder” until there was an opportunity for further discussion.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on the final adjusted budget during the May 12 meeting, which was later than previously suggested in Fairfax County documents.

Cedar Lane in Dunn Loring is closed after a tree fell into power lines, according to Fairfax County police.

People can expect an extended road closure in both directions “due to several downed utility poles,” according to a tweet from FCPD shortly after 2 p.m.

Roughly 500 Dominion Energy customers are without power just west of Dunn Loring Park, according to Dominion’s power outage map.

Dominion estimates that power will be restored by 7 p.m.

ROAD CLOSURE: Cedar Lane in the Dunn Loring area is closed in both directions near the 2400 block due to a fallen tree into power lines. Expect extended road closure due to several downed utility poles. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/p589RzwnUl

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 9, 2020

Maps via Google Maps and Dominion Energy

Updated at 3:10 p.m. — The watch has been cancelled. 

The threat for severe thunderstorms has passed, so the severe thunderstorm watch has been cancelled. However, winds will continue to gust up to 45-55 mph for the rest of the afternoon.

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) April 9, 2020

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is now in effect for Fairfax County.

The National Weather Service issued the watch at noon today (Thursday). It will last until 4 p.m.

The @NWS_BaltWash has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Fairfax County until 4 p.m. today (4/9) #FCFRD https://t.co/tsQY93plUr

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) April 9, 2020