Updated 1/10/20 — The Casual Pint has delayed its opening to later this month.
Earlier: Hungry for more food options around Tysons? Foodies are in luck — several eateries are set to debut this winter.
In Falls Church, The Casual Pint, a chain watering hole, is scheduled to open this month. The owner of the local franchise told Tysons Reporter that he plans to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6410 Arlington Blvd.
Jersey Mike’s is opening a new spot at 1108-A West Broad Street in Falls Plaza on Wednesday (Jan. 8), according to the sandwich chain’s website.
Over in Tysons, North Italia, an Italian restaurant chain, plans to open Feb. 5 at 1651 Boro Place. The restaurant would be the latest of several newcomers to The Boro development — Flower Child and Whole Food’s food hall and bar opened last year. For job seekers, there’s an ongoing job fair at the restaurant.
In the Town of Vienna, a new tavern is revamping a building along Maple Avenue. Bear Branch Tavern is set to open this winter with two bars, a patio, indoor and outdoor fire pits, an oyster bar, frozen drink machines and bike racks at 133 E. Maple Avenue.
While not a restaurant, Black Dog Beer Shop is set to start selling craft beers near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station in February. The owner told Tysons Reporter in December that the new store plans to debut at 2672M Avenir Place in early February.
Photo via The Casual Pint/Facebook
Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre plans to kick off 2020 with a show about the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion in the U.S.
Inspired by real events, “The Royale” is set to come to bring the story of Jay “The Sport” Jackson and a crooked boxing promoter to the theater’s stage later this month.
Back in the fall, 1st Stage received a grant from ARTSFAIRFAX, letting the theater co-produce the show with Maryland-based Olney Theatre. The show was at Olney from in the fall.
The play starts on Jan. 30 and runs until Feb. 23.
Performances for “The Royale” are:
- Thursdays — 7:30 p.m.
- Fridays — 8 p.m.
- Saturdays — 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Sundays — 2 p.m.
General admission tickets are $42 or $39 for seniors. Students and military tickets are $15.
Foodies rejoice — Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week will soon offer dining deals around the Tysons area.
From Jan. 13-19 (Monday-Sunday), people can visit over a dozen locations with lunch and brunch specials for $22 or dinner deals for $35. Meals from each participating restaurant will include multiple courses or specialty foods.
Anyone curious about the menus at each participating location can check online to see if the menu is posted yet or call ahead and ask the restaurant directly.
For example, Wildfire (2001 International Drive) in Tysons is offering guests a three-course meal. People can choose from either a choice of salad or soup for a starter, chicken, salmon or pork chop for main and then either key lime pie or flourless chocolate cake for dessert.
To accommodate those with food allergies, the restaurant is also offering gluten-free options.
People should note that some restaurants only offer dinner or lunch. For example, Chima Steakhouse (8010 Towers Crescent Drive) will only offer the dinner deal while Maple Ave Resturant will offer brunch, lunch and dinner deals.
Here are the local restaurants around the Tysons area that plan to participate:
Tysons:
- Wildfire
- Eddie V’s Prime Seafood
- Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse
- American Prime
- Founding Farmers
- Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks
- Agora Tysons
- 2941 Restaurant
- Chima Steakhouse
Merrifield and Falls Church area:
Vienna:
Mosaic District
Vienna police say Skorpio’s Maggio’s Greek Family Restaurant was vandalized several times during the holidays.
The first incident happened between Dec. 28 at 11 p.m. and Dec. 29 at 4 a.m. at 421 Maple Avenue E.
“An unknown person smeared ketchup on the windows of the restaurant and the restaurant’s van,” according to the police report. “There was also profanity written on the windows and sidewalk.”
Police said that they also observed additional vandalism to holiday decorations after the initial report.
In a separate incident that happened sometime on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, “an unknown person threw an unknown liquid on the front window of the restaurant.”
A spokesperson for the police department told Tysons Reporter that “it is too early to tell” if the incidents at the restaurant are related.
Image via Google Maps
Diners looking to eat Greek cuisine at the newly opened Archontiko in McLean will need to wait a month.
The restaurant is temporarily closed, according to a sign in the window.
“Due to remodeling and [the] hire of [a] new executive chef we will be closed until January the 29th,” the sign says. “We are sorry for any inconvenience and hope to see you all again soon with exclusive tasty Greek dishes and our vast variety of wines.”
After a year of delays, the restaurant opened in the former spot of Mediterranean restaurant Evo Bistro (1313 Old Chain Bridge Road) in the fall.
While Tysons Reporter isn’t sure when the sign first appeared, a tipster emailed us about the sign yesterday.
Still have a holiday tree and wondering what to do with it? Here’s where and how to recycle it if you live in the Tysons area.
Christmas tree recycling rules vary depending on where people live. Here’s information for residents in Fairfax County, the Town of Vienna and the City of Falls Church.
Fairfax County
Fairfax County will be recycling Christmas trees less than 8 feet tall for the first two weeks of January. Residents are asked to place the trees outside their single family house or townhouse community.
Have a fake tree? People can drop them off at the donation stations at the the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill Complex.
For $7, Fairfax County residents also can drop off their trees the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill Complex.
City of Falls Church
Little City residents can have their Christmas trees collected from the curb on Wednesdays in January and February — although the city urges residents to do so during the first two weeks of January.
For people in apartments or condos, their trees can get recycled at the brush collection area at the Fairfax County Citizens’ Disposal and Recycling Facility (4618 W. Ox Road) in Fairfax.
Town of Vienna
The Town of Vienna will collect Christmas trees curb-side on collection days this month.
Tip: People looking to recycle their trees should first remove all decorations, tinsel, bags and rope.
Updated on 11/16/20 — Prosecutors dropped charges against Hou in October. A reason was not given. The prosecutor’s office declined comment, noting that charges could be re-filed within a year.
Earlier: Fairfax County police arrested a man who offers private music lessons in the Tysons area for allegedly inappropriately touching a minor.
Vienna resident Jun Hou, 56, runs Jun Hou Classic Music LLC (8850 Lee Hwy), which provides private music lessons, mostly to children, and music camps in the summer, police said.
Police arrested and charged Hou with aggravated sexual battery on Monday (Dec. 23). “He was released on Dec. 30 after posting $10,000 bond,” police said.
Fairfax County detectives said they would like to hear from anyone who is concerned their child may have had inappropriate contact with Hou.
More from FCPD:
The investigation began in September when a juvenile disclosed being inappropriately touched by Hou. Our detectives worked to corroborate the allegations and received authorization from the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to obtain warrants…
Victim specialists from our Victim Services Division have been assigned to ensure that the identified victim receives appropriate resources and assistance.
Detectives are asking for anybody with information about this event to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 3. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES (274637). Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1000 dollars if their information leads to an arrest.
Photo via Fairfax County Police Department
For art lovers across the community, the McLean Project for the Arts will host a talk next week featuring the artists responsible for the latest showcase at the Emerson and Atrium Galleries.
Eve Stockton and Kyujin Lee will be at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) on Sunday (Jan. 12), sharing stories about their artwork from 2-4 p.m.
Though the showcase opened about a month ago, this event gives visitors the chance to learn more about the process behind “Origin Stories” by Stockton and “Replay and Reshuffle” by Lee.
“Combining the spontaneity of surrealist automatism with refined illustrative skill, Kyujin Lee draws on the world of fairy tale to compose paintings exploring dreams, identity and personal transformation,” a press release said.
Meanwhile, Stockton’s works are inspired by nature and science, according to the press release, which added that woodworking is her specialty.
Admission is free and the event is open to everyone.
Photo courtesy McLean Project for the Arts
Fairfax County police said gang activity may be behind the New Year’s Day shooting that injured three people in the Spring Hill area.
In an update today (Thursday), police said that two men and one woman had gunshot wounds after a shooting in the 8600 block of Westwood Center Drive early in the morning on New Year’s Day.
The three people were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released from a local hospital, police said today.
John Lieb, a police spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter that one scene was located in the parking lot of the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, while another was in a breezeway of the buildings.
Lieb was not able to confirm if any of the people involved in the shooting had been staying at the hotel.
“The suspects were described as black males,” police said. “Detectives believe this shooting is gang-related.”
Map via Google Maps
Work is set to start on Friday to rehabilitate the Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) bridges over Leesburg Pike (Route 7).
The Virginia Department of Transportation announced today that drivers can expect lane closures on both routes mostly during the night for the next several days.
The schedule is:
- Sunday-Thursday: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Friday: 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Saturday: 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
State and federal State of Good Repair funding is paying for the $2.5 million project, according to VDOT. Construction is slated to finish in late 2020 and includes:
- repairing and resurfacing the concrete bridge decks
- repairing the bridge piers, abutments and bearings
- painting the steel bridge beams
- repaving Route 123 adjacent to the bridges
Once completed, VDOT says that the northbound and southbound bridges will be safer for drivers and pedestrians and lengthen the lifespan of the bridges, which were built in 1965.
“At the bridges, Route 123 averages up to 30,000 vehicles a day and Route 7 averages up to 86,000,” according to VDOT.
Photo courtesy VDOT
