A new tavern coming to Vienna will cater to beer lovers and W&OD Railroad Regional Park visitors.
Construction on the upcoming Bear Branch Tavern, owned by Chris Lefbom and Adam Lubar, began last week after city officials gave the green light on June 20. The faculty will serve a full restaurant menu, cocktails and more than 20 draft beers, Lefbom said.
Located at 133 E. Maple Avenue, the tavern will offer a large variety of amenities for patrons including two bars, a patio, indoor and outdoor fire pits, an oyster bar, frozen drink machines, bike racks as well as water coolers for people along the nearby W&OD trail.
“We took over an old bank so we decided to keep the framed drive-thru area and turn it into a three season-enclosed porch area with operable windows,” co-owner Chris Lefbom said.
The owners hope to open the tavern for operation in February 2020. Lefbom said that they will have “a little more clarity on the menu” once they hire a chef, which they are still in the interview process for.
“Adam and I have lived in Northern Virginia since we were toddlers and have always loved the small-town feel of Vienna,” Lefbom said. “We feel the area could use the addition of a neighborhood tavern and we love being next to the W&OD trail in the heart of Vienna.”
Image via Google Maps, second image via Vienna Planning Commission
The Market at Tysons Corner finally reopened after moving to a smaller location.
The new convenience store location made its debut on July 30 on level two of the mall. Patrons can find it near the Nordstrom.
The market continues to offer a variety of goods to customers, including soft drinks, snacks, toiletries and other items someone would expect to find in a convenience store. The shop will also sell packs of beer and bottles of wine.
The Tysons Market won’t be the only convenience store in the mall — 7-Eleven is expected to open on level one of the mall. A sign indicated that 7-Eleven applied for their license to sell alcohol.
Hours of operation for the Market are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
For the entire month of August, Falls Church Distillers will celebrate the now-closed Mad Fox Brewing Company.
Michael Paluzzi, a co-founder of Falls Church Distillers, told Tysons Reporter that he wanted to honor Bill Madden, the owner of Mad Fox Brewing Company, who Paluzzi called “a legend in D.C. for brewing.”
Even though Falls Church Distillers is focused on spirits instead of beer, Paluzzi said, “We’re all artisans. We’re all in the craft industry.”
The distillery will have Mad Fox beers on tap, including Defender APA, Broad Street IPA, pilsners, Big Chimney Porter and a Barleywine-style beer, Paluzzi said.
The celebration lasts “until either the end of August or the beer runs out in distribution,” according to the Facebook event. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are endless draft ticket days for $30 from 4-8:30 p.m.
Paluzzi said that he talked to Madden about the planned celebration, and “he was very supportive of the idea.”
Paluzzi said that he and Madden go back about 15 years. Last year, Falls Church Distillers and Mad Fox Brewing Company collaborated on turning beer into a coffee liquor.
“I think Falls Church loved Mad Fox and Bill and what they were doing,” Paluzzi said. “If I can extend that to those people by providing access to the beer, that is our honor.”
Photo via Falls Church Distillers LLC/Facebook
Beer lovers have not one but two events this week on Thursday and Friday that they can celebrate around Tysons.
Tomorrow is National IPA Day, a which falls annually on the first Thursday in August, to celebrate the beer known as India Pale Ale Beer. International Beer Day, which falls on Friday, Aug. 2, toasts the craft of brewing.
National IPA Day (Aug. 1)
- National IPA Day at Urbanspace (2001 International Drive, third floor): People at Andy’s Pizza can taste five local and out-of-market IPA’s and pair them with pizza in Tysons Galleria.
- National IPA Day at Caboose Brewing Company (Merrifield or Vienna): The brewery will have the “fan favorite” Fog IPA available in six-packs at Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road) and Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE).
International Beer Day (Aug. 2)
- International Beer Day at the Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike): Tysons Biergarten will have a “Happy Hour Power Hour” where all of the main floor beer will have happy hour prices from 3-4 p.m.
- International Beer Day at Caboose Brewing Company (Merrifield or Vienna): The brewery plans to celebrate at both Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road) and Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE).
Photo via Tysons Biergarten/Facebook
Come this Sunday, Mad Fox Brewing Company will close its doors in Falls Church.
CEO and Executive Brewer Bill Madden announced the closure earlier in July on Facebook right before the brewpub’s ninth anniversary.
Madden, who got his start at Capitol City Brewing Company before working at Founders and Vintage 50, opened Mad Fox Brewing Company in 2010, taking inspiration from Euro gastro brewpubs.
Just days away from closing, Madden shared with Tysons Reporter more details about the closure and some of his favorite memories at Mad Fox Brewing Company.
Tysons Reporter: What comes next?
Bill Madden: For me? I’m thinking about whether I do something else — another type of brewing project — because that’s what I’m trained to do or whether I go into what they call ally trade.
I really haven’t had a chance to think about it that much because we were working hard to try to make this happen, and I couldn’t go public with anything until last Tuesday so I couldn’t really reach out and talk to people for fear that it might tip the scale or reveal my hand.
It’s tough when you have a business that you know is about to close. You have to do it the right way and we wanted to talk to the bank, talk to the landlord let them know so it wouldn’t be a big surprise and let our management team and let our employees know. And then we went to the public rather than surprising everybody and locking the door.
TR: It sounded like from the Facebook post that the reason why you’re closing is because of the abundance of breweries that have popped up in the area. Is that why?
BM: Well the result is our sales have reached a historic low and as much as the landlord and bank were trying to work with us, we couldn’t come to anything that was even break even. When you’re at that point, you have to say, “It’s time to close.”
So what has happened since the rules were changed in 2012 and it’s specific to Senate Bill 604 — that a food component was not required to sell a pint of beer. Once that happened, we had a whole number of breweries that opened up.
When that changed, we went from 40 breweries in the state of Virginia to 250 plus and we’ve slowly seen our beer sales go down each year from then.
TR: It looked like from the Facebook comments that several breweries around the area were thanking you for your support and your help.
BM: We were at the forefront. We were at the beginning of this new explosion of breweries or whatever you want to call it. So a lot of those brewers came through here asking questions, asking how you do it. And I was always willing to help and talk to people and be very honest about what we were doing here. And a lot of folks learned from us and then a lot of folks learned from those people.
I wasn’t the first brewery in Virginia. And there were other breweries that paved the way before me — Jerry Bailey of Old Dominion and Tom Martin of Legend Brewing in Richmond.
TR: But you were the first brewery in Falls Church.
BM: Yes — ever, that I can find record of. I always like to do a little historical research on any location I’ve worked in. Unless some of the taverns in the colonial period brewed their own, we were the first in Falls Church.
TR: There are 450 plus comments on the Facebook post.
BM: I never realized so many people had their first dates here or maybe proposed here or had their rehearsal dinner here. Or decided to have kids. There was one person who said they decided to have kids here. And I was like, “Oh my god! That’s an interesting conversation to have in our brewpub.”
It’s bittersweet. We have a lot of memories and we have a lot to be proud of. We hold our heads high for everything that we did. We collaborated with local businesses. We had rehearsal dinners and birthdays and parties.
TR: What are your fondest memories looking back over the last nine years?
BM: The early days when everything was still very new and fresh and a lot of breweries were starting to open up. We would hold events here with those [new] brewers — DC Brau, Port City, Three Stars. All of them that had started after us that were so excited and so eager to promote themselves and we were the space that did it for them in the early days. And a lot of those guys and gals came through here and gave us a lot of great experiences and now a lot of them are very, very successful.
TR: How was the anniversary party last Saturday?
BM: It was unbelievable busy — business like we haven’t seen since we opened. Probably was many [people] as the fire marshall would allow. There’s been a great outpouring of love. I think what’s happened — it’s affirmation for what we did in the beginning.
We would have folks who would come from great distances away — Vienna, Centreville, Reston — to come and experience what we had to offer here because there wasn’t anything like that in their area. Since the growth of all the breweries, now they have a brewery in their town that maybe they go to, but they remember what a great time they had here. And they realized they had a limited time to experience that again, and they’ve been showing a lot of love.
TR: Many commenters said they are going to miss the Orange Whip IPA. Do you have a favorite beer?
BM: They’re all my children.
As its nine-year anniversary celebration nears, Mad Fox Brewing Company plans to close in Falls Church in less than two weeks.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the brewpub’s Facebook page had the following message:
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I inform you of the closure of Mad Fox Brewing Company. Our last day of business will be Sunday, July 21st.
The decision to close has been an extremely difficult one to make. We have witnessed restaurant competition in the 2.2 square mile Falls Church City become fierce since our opening in 2010 with multiple businesses opening in the last year alone. As much as we tried to compete, there are an overwhelming number of choices for the local population. Sales have been on a slow decline over the last several years and, unfortunately, staying open is no longer sustainable.
On the brewing side of our business we continue to see more breweries opening in Virginia with two new Taprooms setting up shop within a mile of Mad Fox in the last year. When we opened in 2010, there were 40 breweries in Virginia. Now there are close to 250. The Brewpub business model is a tough one to maintain compared to a Brewery Taproom with little overhead, lower rents and outsourced food trucks. Our draw from the surrounding areas has dwindled in what has become an extremely competitive craft beer market, which has resulted in this final decision.
We attempted to work with our Bank and our Landlord for more favorable terms and while both were willing, we ultimately could not come to agreement that would allow Mad Fox to be break even or better.
We plan a closure date of Sunday, July 21st; however, we plan to continue with our 9 year Anniversary Party on Saturday, 13 July to honor you, our investors, our staff and the Falls Church Community. Words cannot express how proud I am of the Mad Fox legacy and the opportunity to be a member of such a wonderful community, if even for a short while. We opened the first brewpub in the City of Falls Church and have won numerous medals at the Great American Beer Festival as well as the Virginia Beer Cup. We have celebrated christenings, birthdays, weddings, retirements and many holiday gatherings. You, our guests, along with our spectacular Mad Fox team have enabled us to build tremendous notoriety over 9 years in business. I thank you for allowing Mad Fox to be a part of your lives. Thank you for your years of support and I hope to see you at the Pub in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Bill Madden
CEO and Executive Brewer, Mad Fox Brewing Company
With more than 350 comments on the post as of 8 a.m. today (Wednesday), many people grieved the closure announcement, saying they would miss a favorite place to frequent and the food and beer — especially the Orange Whip IPA.
“I have so many fond memories and so enjoyed the beer, food & ambiance. It is a sad day indeed. Thank you Bill,” one person wrote.
“So very sad to read this post… we have been fans of Mad Fox since 2015 and have brought family and friends over the years,” another commenter said. “We loved the food (especially the meatloaf and the frickles!), the beer (my favorite is Orange Whip) and all the wonderful events and celebrations.”
“My girlfriend and I had our first date at Mad Fox in 2011. We always enjoyed stopping in for the good food and great beer or the special events,” wrote another person.
Several brewery founders commented under the post thanking Madden for his support for their breweries.
Stein Sellier, the president and president of Beltway Brewing Company in Sterling, wrote, “I am grateful for all you did to help me start Beltway and all the advice you’ve shared over the years — I know I am not alone.”
Sarah Meyers, one of the founders of BadWolf Brewing Company, also thanked Madden for supporting BadWolf in the early days. “You guys brew excellent beer and we support you and Jeremy [Meyers] and I are here if you need anything or someone to talk to… we love you guys,” Meyers wrote.
Inspired by Euro gastro brewpubs, Mad Fox Brewing Company opened its pub and on-site brewery July 2010 in downtown Falls Church.
Over nine years, Mad Fox Brewing Company racked up more than three dozen awards and accolades.
The brewpub plans to celebrate its anniversary on Saturday (July 13), from 11 a.m.-close with rare beers on tap, live music and a glass giveaway at 444 W. Broad Street, Suite I.
Photos via Mad Fox Brewing Company/Facebook
As the summer heat wave continues to sizzle this week, locals may be looking for a glass or a pint or a mug of beer.
Here are some breweries and distilleries around the Tysons area for when you want to buy local while wetting your whistle.
- Sweetwater Tavern (3066 Gate House Plaza): One of the three Sweetwater Tavern microbreweries is located in Merrifield. Visitors can find hand-crafted brews and lunch and dinner menus.
- Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. (2822 Fallfax Drive): This Falls Church Nano brewery, which brews beers from IPAs to kolschs, has a taco stand inside and indoor and outdoor seating.
- Audacious Aleworks Brewery and Taproom (110 E. Fairfax Street): Near downtown Falls Church, the small craft brewery specializes in small batch ales, and the taproom has up to 20 beers on tap at any given time along with free popcorn and board games.
- Caboose Brewing Company (Merrifield and Vienna): The 15-barrel-brewhouse is behind both Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road) and Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE). Caboose Commons includes a coffeehouse and beer garden behind the Mosaic District, while Caboose Tavern is a brewpub off of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
- Mad Fox Brewing Company (444 W. Broad Street): Inspired by Euro gastro brews, Mad Fox Brewing in Falls Church has a brewery and restaurant.
- Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (7861 Tysons Corner Center): Located in Tysons Corner Center, the Gordon Biersch restaurant brews its beers on site and even offers a view of its brewing facilities and brewery tours.
While not a brewery, the Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) has more than 100 American craft beers and live music until 2 a.m. daily.
If beer isn’t your thing, the Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Suite A) produces several small-batch spirits including vodkas, gins, rums and whiskeys. In addition to the distillery, there’s a restaurant that serves up Italian fare and a bar.
“Battle of the Brews” Voting — Several Tysons-area breweries are featured in a beer bracket to determine the best brewery in Northern Virginia. Voting for the second round begins today. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Metro Study Looking for Infrastructure Solutions — “Metro is launching is a two-year study of the Blue, Orange and Silver Line in order to find long-term options to meet future regional needs.” [Reston Now]
Falls Church Student Shares Story — “Junior Niharika Singhvi has attended Falls Church City Public Schools since 2006. In April of 2018, her parents’ work visas expired, and she was forced to return to India. Four months later, she arrived back at George Mason High School.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Local Restaurants Make Washington Post List — Fahrenheit Asian and Amoo’s in McLean made the “The 25 best casual restaurants in the D.C. area” list. [Washington Post]
Tysons Bartender Included in Photography Pop-Up — Shakara Ellison, a bartender at the Founding Farmers in Tysons Corner, was included in a photography project highlighting bartenders of color. [Washington City Paper]
MicroStrategy Sold Domain Name for Millions — “Tysons-based MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) has struck a deal to sell the “Voice.com” domain name to a blockchain-based company for $30 million in cash — and that could be just the beginning of a domain name selloff at the business intelligence software firm.” [Washington Business Journal]
Little Library Memorializes Falls Church Kids — Lemon Road Elementary School opened a little library to remember three Falls Church kids who were killed in a collision with an alleged drunk driver. [NBC4]
Photo courtesy Caboose Brewing Company
A boy reported to Vienna Police that another kid smeared berries on his bicycle.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. Friday, June 7, in the 500 block of S. Center Street, according to the police report.
Other local crimes include stolen and recovered beer from the Giant Food (359 E. Maple Avenue) that same Friday.
Shortly after 11 a.m., an employee reported to the police that five kids took a case of beer and ran out of the store, according to the police report.
“The employee was able to recover the beer,” the police report said. “However, the juveniles fled the area.”
Later that day, between 7-8 p.m., police said two kids attempted to steal a 30-pack of beer, but a loss prevention officer confronted the kids.
“The juveniles ran away from the officer leaving behind the beer,” the report said.
Photo via Facebook
Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). This week’s Guide is written by David Birks and Arash Tafakor of Dominion Wine and Beer.
In 2012, Other Half founders Matt Monahan, Sam Richardson and Andrew Burman signed a lease on a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York.
Matt and Adam were working in the restaurant industry as aspiring chefs with a serious side passion for home brewing. Sam, beginning his brewing career at a small brewpub in Oregon, then to Pyramid Brewing and later on at Green Point Brewing in Brooklyn, New York where the three met and became close friends.
Their collective vision and goal, ability to utilize a culinary approach, creativity and unique approach to branding and design brought a level and quality of beer never before seen in New York City.
Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. New York wasn’t exactly ready for the craft beer boom back then. Craft breweries were considered manufacturers of products. As with that designation, they were subject to strict zoning laws that delayed the opening of their brewery until 2014.
Founders Matt, Sam and Adam found a way to weather the storm for almost two years and what they’ve been able to create, can be only described as a rose that grew from the concrete. They’ve recently opened up a second location, in Rochester, New York. Same idea; brew world-class beer, with a vibrant taproom experience. Business seems to be going quite well for the trio, and rightfully so.
Other Half is a true powerhouse in the craft beer world. Like clockwork, frequently enjoying long lines for their beer and a bustling taproom. Their success can be credited to a combination of clever artwork, branding, design and intelligent marketing, combined with constantly evolving and innovating brewing techniques. Other Half is always ahead of the curve.
Matt, Adam and Sam have become experts in seeking out the highest quality hops and ingredients from all over the world. Highly respected within the industry for their talents, frequently brewing collaborative projects with the best of the best. At the end of the day brewing is cooking and cooking is brewing, and these guys are producing at a Michelin Star quality level.
Don’t believe me? Read this article in the New York times which speaks to how long people are willing to wait in line just to get their hands on some of Other Half’s beers.
