After a series of vandalisms and an assault, the owner of Skorpio’s Maggio’s Greek Family Restaurant is unsure why she has been the target.
The restaurant was vandalized about half of a dozen times this winter, and owner Sherry Maggio was the victim of an assault in January by a man who spat at her and threw hot coffee on her, according to Vienna police reports.
Though a 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with simple assault and battery, Vienna police are still investigating the vandalism incidents, according to the police department.
In one incident, ketchup was smeared on the windows of the restaurant and the restaurant’s van, while in another incident, “tire slime” was put on the sidewalk, furniture and statue in front of the restaurant, according to Vienna police reports.
A police spokesperson said the department doesn’t understand the motive behind the vandalism.
“It’s kind of strange,” the spokesperson said. “The owners are really nice… I can’t imagine why someone would do that.”
After the assault, the man charged with the crime posted inflammatory comments about Maggio on his Instagram accounts, calling her names, accusing her of lying to the police and claiming he can get away with anything because he has connections within the court system.
A police spokesperson declined to say whether or they have a suspect for the vandalism cases, saying that the incidents are currently under investigation.
The police department is trying to review video footage, the spokesperson said.
Though the vandalism incidents haven’t caused monetary damages, clean-up has taken significant time and labor, Maggio said, adding that she is worried about similar incidents happening in the future.
“It took my guys almost an hour to scrub everything off the sidewalk,” she said about the incident involving the tire slime.
Maggio said she is keeping track of details and evidence with the incidents, so she’ll have a paper trail.
Photo via Google Maps
Valentine’s Day is coming up on Friday (Feb. 14). To celebrate, several restaurants, stores and places in the Tysons area are offering themed events this week.
Here’s where to find restaurant deals, parties and even a Valentine’s Day Zumba class.
Tysons
Several restaurants in Tysons are offering Valentine’s Day meals and specials.
From 5-10 p.m. on Friday, La Sandia (7852 Tysons Corner Center) will have a three-course menu for two ($35) with dishes like chunky tuna guacamole, carne tampiquena and espresso tres leches.
Turkish Coffee Lady Café, a woman-owned small business in Tysons Corner Center, will have “coffee readings” on Friday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
“The promotion is inspired by the Turkish tradition of reading your fortune in the coffee grounds found at the bottom of the cup after enjoying a delicious brew: Turkish coffee dregs known as ‘telve’ allows fortune readers to see your future in the most scrumptious way,” according to a Facebook post.
Looking for a unique dining experience? Greenhouse Bistro (2070 Chainbridge Road) will have “Dining in the Dark” from 7:30-9:30 p.m. on Friday, where diners eat a four course prix-fixe meal while blindfolded.
Looking to break a sweat instead? Sport & Health McLean (1800 Old Meadow Road) will have a Valentine’s Day Zumba Party from 6-7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Merrifield and Vienna
The “All You Need is Love” party for people ages 55+ at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE) will provide attendees with a meal from The Davis Center.
The party, which is being hosted in partnership with the Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna, is set to run from noon-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Tickets are $18 per person.
In the Mosaic District, several stores are offering Valentine’s Day-themed events, including Kendra Scott on Thursday (Feb. 13) and Kaleidos with NIB Studio on Friday.
True Food Kitchen (2910 District Avenue) is offering a pre-fixe menu on Valentine’s Day weekend from Feb. 14-16.
On Saturday (Feb. 15), Undeniable Boutique will have “Certified Lipsologist” Ariana Lightningstorm give a palm reading for people’s lips.
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash
Vienna police arrested a 28-year-old man who allegedly was drunk and harassing a customer at Zenola.
The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Police said that an employee at the Mediterranean restaurant asked the man to leave the premises when he started harassing a customer.
“The man was later found lying in the alley behind the business,” police said. “Officers responded with rescue personnel and determined the man was intoxicated.”
The man, who is from Magarity Road in Falls Church, “became disorderly with the rescue personnel while they were assessing him and treating a minor injury,” police said.
He was arrested for being drunk in public and was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
In a separate incident, Vienna police said a Jammin Java employee reported that someone vandalized the front patio area with paint. The incident happened between 6:30-8:38 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Photo via Zenola/Facebook
A new redevelopment of condos and townhomes is set to replace the Commons of McLean apartment complex behind the Mitre Corporation.
Toll Brothers’ Union Park will include The Brownstones, brownstone-style townhomes, and The Lofts, townhome-style condos.
The Lofts, which start in the low $700,000s, will include one-car garages, optional private elevators, open floor plans and oversized windows.
One plan is 2,763 square feet, while another is 1,587 square feet. Both have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and one half-bath.
Meanwhile, The Brownstones are priced in the upper $900,000s and will have optional private elevators and expanded rooftop terraces.
There are five different home designs for The Brownstones, ranging from 2,168-2,644 square feet. All of the designs have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Some of the designs have two half-baths, while others have three half-baths.
Union Park is expected to come this spring, according to the Toll Brothers website.
Image (1) via Google Maps, other images via Toll Brothers
Hat tip to Timothy B.
So far this year, Tysons Corner Center seems to have new changes every week — from stores and restaurants closing to announcements of newcomers.
Beeboy, a plush toy company that had just arrived in the mall, now appears to be closed for good. The store occupied the former spot of candy store Sugarfina on the first level by Macy’s. The store was open in January, but last week, the windows were covered and the sign was taken down.
Meanwhile, All Star Sports has moved from the second level near Barnes and Noble to the first level across from BrandBox.
BrandBox has a new “marketplace” that sells men’s and women’s clothing brands that are found online. According to a sign outside the store, the brands include Rhone, Jared Lang, Stutterheim, Welden and Faherty.
The Creative Collective POPUP that was adjacent to BrandBox during the holidays is now back in the mall.
The pop-up store is currently featuring Haus of Jung, which makes leather handbags, along with four other artisans and small businesses, according to an Instagram post. Haus of Jung plans to be in the space for two weeks, the post said.
Hat tip to Chuck and Polly D.
Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.
Tysons’ eight neighborhoods have several gyms and fitness studios are people looking for places to exercise indoors.
Tysons Reporter did some research and has been chronicling where to break a sweat around Tysons.
A few weeks ago, we looked at options in Tysons West and Tysons Central 7. This week, we’re profiling the ones in Tysons Central 123, North Central and Old Courthouse.
Tysons Central 123
[solidcore] has 50-minute classes of slow and controlled resistance training at 7911 Westpark Drive. Most weekday classes are offered between 6 a.m.-7:30 p.m., while weekend classes tend to be held from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Packages start at $20 per class.
Located near Tysons Corner Center, N2Shape (8000 Towers Crescent Drive) offers personal training, small group training, senior fitness and corporate fitness. According to the online schedule, the group classes are scheduled in the morning.
Later this year, people can look for CycleBar in Tysons Galleria.
North Central
Custom Kinetics (7921 Jones Branch Drive) is a personal training company. The training options include strength, weight loss, performance and kettlebell.
1TO1 Fitness also offers personal training in Northern Virginia and D.C. The Tysons location is at 7900 Westpark Drive.
Old Courthouse
Fitness Together at 8300 Boone Blvd, Suite 160 has personalized training with a resistance training program, cardio program and nutrition help.
For spin classes, Tai Chi and pilates, Equinox is at 8065 Leesburg Pike. The luxury fitness studio is open 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, until 10 p.m. on Fridays and from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekends. Equinox also offers treadmills, spas and cardio workouts.
For the rest of Tysons’ neighborhoods, there’s a Sport and Health (1800 Old Meadow Road) in East Side and 7Core Fitness (1735 Burning Tree Drive) in the area between the Vienna area and the West Side neighborhood.
Photo via Custom Kinetics/Facebook
American Tandoor is showing no signs of reopening soon now that the eatery has been closed for a month.
When the restaurant first shut its doors in January, would-be customers were greeted with a sign announcing that the location was shut down for the day due to maintenance issues — but roughly a month later, the eatery hasn’t reopened.
Peaking through the windows, people can see moving tools and large cardboard boxes. Furniture appears to be missing and other items are out of place. In one corner, several boxes are piled up.
The restaurant was dark around 5 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 6), right around when the happy-hour crowd would be looking for after-work snacks.
Tysons Reporter reached out to the restaurant owners for comment but hasn’t heard back.
Last week, a mall spokesperson said that the restaurant hoped to reopen at some point, but it is unclear if this is still the case.
Tysons Reporter is back with its monthly crime map showing where the incidents occurred in Fairfax County Police Department’s McLean District Station.
We went ahead and pulled together all of the incidents noted for the McLean District Station in FCPD crime recaps from Jan. 3-Feb. 6, weeded out the ones that are not in the Tysons Reporter coverage area and plotted them in the interactive map above.
The McLean District Station covers crime in Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons and Great Falls.
The map only includes information from FCPD and does not include reports to the police departments in the Town of Vienna or the City of Falls Church.
Use the icon in the top left corner of the map to toggle between the various types of crimes displayed.
Fairfax County’s weekday police recaps are not comprehensive lists of every incident and the addresses are approximate. FCPD also notes that information in the recaps “is generally based on initial reports made to the police department.”
Anyone with information about any of these crimes should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).
To get ready for summer platform work, WMATA is closing several Orange Line stations this weekend, affecting riders in Vienna, Falls Church and Merrifield.
Riders can expect trains every 16 minutes between the West Falls Church and New Carrollton stations with additional trains between Ballston and New Carrollton from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 8), according to WMATA’s website.
Free shuttle buses will replace trains at the Vienna, Dunn Loring and East Falls Church stations.
The bus routes will be:
- between East Falls Church and Ballston
- between Vienna, Dunn Loring and West Falls Church
- express bus between Vienna and West Falls Church
Riders can expect trains to single track through the East Falls Church station. The West Falls Church station will stay open.
“Customers on Ballston-bound Orange Line trains who are continuing on to West Falls Church should exit the train at Virginia Square for a same platform transfer,” according to the website.
More than 300 Dominion Energy customers are without power this morning (Friday) in Falls Church.
The power outage, which is affecting 327 customers, is between S. West and S. Washington streets, according to Dominion’s power outage map.
The map notes that a “broken pole” is the cause.
Dominion Energy does not have an estimate yet on when power will be restored.
Map via Dominion Energy
