Local bazaar Thieves Market Antiques is pulling out of McLean and moving back to Old Town Alexandria.

Today (Tuesday) is the last day the store in McLean (6811 Old Dominion Drive) is open. By 11 a.m., much of the store’s merchandise had already been moved outside into a truck.

Cap Cohen, the owner of Thieves Market, said new developments are planned for the small shopping center where the store had been located and so he decided it was time to move.

“It’s been wonderful in McLean,” Cohen said. “A lot of good people. It’s been great here.”

The move back to Alexandria is something of a homecoming for the store. The store has hopped around from place to place across Northern Virginia since it was founded in 1952 and for several years, the store was located in Alexandria.

No specific location has been chosen, Cohen said they are currently deciding between two, but he said they are looking to open in around eight to 12 weeks — after giving the employees a little vacation first.

(Updated at 1 p.m.) Independence Day is coming up on Thursday (July 4). Check this list in case you are planning to visit government facilities around Fairfax County later this week — they might be closed.

Photo by Warren Tobias on Unsplash

Years ago, there was a stinkbug invasion at a farm in Vienna. They were a source of concern for everyone on the farm except Clarene Vickery, who turned catching and collecting the bugs into a game for her children.

Ray Vickery Jr. remembered his mother, who died last Wednesday (June 26) at the age of 101, as a woman who could turn challenges into fun opportunities.

“She was a real life force,” Ray said. “She was able to meet and overcome problems.”

Clarene founded the Parkwood School in Vienna in 1956 and — over her 64 years as director and owner — helped teach more than 10,000 students. Ray said his mother founded the school at a time when there was no public kindergarten in Virginia and education for young children wasn’t seen as a priority.

“She started Parkwood in our living room,” he said. “She was still running the school months before her passing.”

Ray said his mother loved working with children and was able to communicate with them on a personal level.

In addition to her time running Parkwood School, Clarene was a founder of the Virginia Association of Early Childhood Education and a founding member of Providence Baptist Church in Tysons. In recent years, Clarene received recognition from a variety of public officials and a formal resolution commending her life work from the Virginia General Assembly, where her son Ray was once a member.

“She taught us it’s really important to value people for themselves, not for status or money,” said Ray.

When she wasn’t teaching, Ray said his mother liked to drive. She would take long solo trips back to Mississippi, where she was born. When she was too old to drive safely, Ray said she would take the car to the church parking lot and drive around “just to keep her hand on the wheel.”

A service will be held at Vienna Baptist Church (541 Marshall Road SW) at noon today (Tuesday). Clarene will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with her husband.

“She appreciated that there was still a small town atmosphere [in Vienna],” Ray said. “She wanted to maintain that person to person connection.”

Photo via Mark Keam/Facebook

Fairfax County police are looking for the burglar or burglars who broke into three stores in downtown McLean over the weekend.

The McLean Hair Center (1438 Center Street), Figuroes Salon (1439 Center Street) and McLean Pizza (1434 Center Street) all were broken into overnight on Sunday (June 30) and had cash taken, according to police.

Elsewhere, police said someone broke into the Rosenthal Nissan Mazda of Tysons Corner dealership (8525 Leesburg Pike) and stole a 2017 Hyundai Accent and a 2016 Nissan Altima around midnight on Saturday (June 29).

Image via Google Maps

A shopping center near the Greensboro Metro station will soon have a Burlington store.

Formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, the national off-price department store chain recently announced that it will open this fall in Sports Authority’s former spot at 8355 Leesburg Pike.

“This new location brings jobs to the community and provides a great shopping experience for the entire family,” Tom Kingsbury, the chief executive officer and chairman of Burlington Stores, said in a press release.

Burlington will occupy 42,900 square feet in the shopping center, filling one of its more noticeable vacancies. “Whether they’re looking for brand name clothing, stylish home decor items, or anything for baby, customers will enjoy significant savings and discover new merchandise arrivals each week,” Kingsbury said.

The new store will be the 20th Burlington location in Virginia, according to the press release.

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Monday (July 1)

• Laughs in The Lobby Bar — 5-8 p.m. at The Lobby Bar (227 E. Maple Avenue) — A free comedy open mic will take place at the bar in Jammin’ Java.

Tuesday (July 2)

• “The Cat Returns” — 7 p.m. at Angelika Film Center & Café at Mosaic (2911 District Avenue) — The anime movie follows a schoolgirl’s journey into a feline world. Tickets cost $14.50.

Wednesday (July 3)

• Women’s World Cup — 3-5 p.m. at Strawberry Park (2910 District Avenue) — People can watch the semifinal game featuring Netherlands vs. Sweden for free starting at 3 p.m. in the park in the Mosaic District.
• Jackson Browne — 8 p.m. at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — The singer-songwriter from the 1970s is coming to Wolf Trap. Tickets start at $45.

Saturday (July 6)

• Help Meow-t! Cat Adoption — 1-4 p.m. at Loyal Companion (2905 District Avenue) — The Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation is hosting an on-the-spot cat adoption event.
• Sean Chuyn at Caboose Commons — 1-4 p.m. at Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) — D.C.-area musician Sean Chuyn will perform live music at the beer garden and coffee house.
• Athena Styles Patio Pop Up — 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Famille (700A W. Broad Street) — Outside on the Famille patio, an Athena Styles pop-up shop will sell handmade jewelry, accessories and gifts.

Sunday (July 7)

• Summer Sunday Concerts in the Park with Dupont Brass — 5 p.m. at the McLean Central Park Gazebo (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd) — The free concert series continues with a “new” brass band playing everything from songs by Miles Davis to Jay-Z. Free parking will be at the McLean Community Center or the Dolley Madison Library.
• Josh Groban — 8 p.m. at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) — The singer, songwriter and actor is coming to Wolf Trap during his Bridges Tour. Tickets start at $42.
• AIR [An Outdoor Experience] — 8-11 p.m. at Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) — Every Sunday this summer, the beer hall has dancing, DJing, food, hookah and drinks. Tickets cost $5 for early bird registration or $10 at the door.

Last week, Tysons Reporter rounded up a list of local Fourth of July events.

Photo via Sean Chuyn Music/Facebook

New rules could put community gardens on Tysons rooftops, but if you have a green thumb and can’t wait that long, there are two community gardens in the area where you can start planting.

One is in the back corner of Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) in McLean and the other is at Nottoway Park (9537 Courthouse Road) in Vienna.

To rent a garden plot in Fairfax, you must be a resident of the county with a valid mailing address and email address. Residents can sign up for a waitlist for multiple parks, but only one plot is permitted per household.

The annual rental cost of most garden plots is $130, which includes access to a shared water supply.

Dick Black has been gardening at Lewinsville Park for around eight years after retiring.

“It’s a lot of work, but I consider it a workout,” said Black. “I’ll come out [and garden] instead of going for a run.”

Black grows tomatoes, arugula and other vegetables to give to neighbors or for his wife to take to work.

For those planning to get started, Black reiterated that growing a garden is a commitment. Locals should make sure it’s something they’re willing to put the sweat and time into. But if they decide that they are, Black said growing a garden is an extremely fulfilling experience.

“I still get joy after seven or eight years,” Black said. “[It’s about] going in with the right attitude.”

There is currently a waitlist for garden plots, though new regulations could soon open up more spaces throughout the county. The regulations adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 25 allow community gardens in a wider variety of residential, commercial and industrial properties than previously allowed.

According to the Fairfax County website:

Previously, the county’s zoning rules limited community gardens to planned residential communities like Burke or Reston. These gardens now are allowed without restriction in open spaces as long as they are under two acres, and they aren’t the principal use on a property… Now, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and plants can be grown from the rooftops of office high-rises in Tysons to opens spaces at houses of worship to the common areas of suburban homeowners associations.

(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) A crash along Old Dominion Drive in downtown McLean seriously injured a pedestrian.

Fairfax County police responded shortly before 11 a.m. to the crash outside the Wells Fargo Bank at 6844 Old Dominion Drive.

“The pedestrian was taken to a hospital with serious injuries,” the police department tweeted. Shortly after noon, the police department tweeted that the pedestrian’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

No word yet on whether the driver was injured.

Police told Tysons Reporter that a driver struck a pedestrian in the parking lot and then drove into the side of the building.

A reporter for Tysons Reporter noted that the Wells Fargo is currently closed up by the police tape.

The crash remains under investigation. The pedestrian's injuries are believed to be not life threatening.https://t.co/M6railseqs

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) July 1, 2019

Catherine Moran and Vernon Miles worked on this story.

Map via Google Maps

In the wake of Capital One opening the region’s tallest office building, the nearby McLean Metro station has had a sharp increase in Metro traffic.

New data from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission compared Metro ridership in January, February and March with the same period in 2018. All of the Silver Line stations in Virginia saw an increase in ridership over the previous year, part of an ongoing trend.

Overall the McLean Metro station had the largest increase in ridership with 20.6 percent growth.

The Greensboro Metro station, site of The Boro development and other projects aiming to compete with Tysons Corner Center as a commercial hub, also saw substantial ridership increase with an 18.4 percent growth.

The most popular station is Wiehle-Reston East — the end of the line — with 1,018,980 total riders over three months. In Tysons, the most population station was Tysons Corner with 490,212 riders over three months.

The Spring Hill Metro station had previously seen a 2.9 percent decline in ridership between last winter and the one before, but in the three months that followed the station saw a modest 2 percent increase in ridership over the previous year.

Photo 2 via Tysons Partnership/Twitter

The City of Falls Church Police Department is seeking the public’s help to identify one of the suspects in the recent armed robbery in West End Plaza.

The police department released two photos of the main suspect. “The suspect appears to be a black male, about 30 to 40 years old, about 6′ tall, medium build, with a shaved head, beard and mustache,” according to police.

Police said the robbery on Thursday, June 20, involved four men.

Anyone with information is asked to call the City of Falls Church Police at 703-248-5053.

Photos courtesy City of Falls Church