Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, and the holiday means it’s time to take a look at which community sites will be open, and which will be closed. 

City of Falls Church government offices will be closed, along with City Hall and the Mary Riles Styles Public Library. 

The city will air a pre-recorded Veteran’s Day Ceremony on Falls Church Community Television Channels and Youtube starting at 11 a.m.

All Fairfax County government offices will be closed. Libraries and courts will be closed as well.

The Fairfax Connector will be operating on its Holiday Weekday Service, with several routes altered. 

Fairfax County Public Schools will hold an all-virtual, two hour early release day for all students. 

All parks in Fairfax County will be closed with the exception of Frying Pan Park, which will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The county’s nine RECenters will be open, offering free service to all veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their families for the day. A military identification is needed to receive the complimentary access. Due to COVID-19, reservations will be required. 

The McLean Community Center and the Vienna Community Center will both be closed for the day.

Photo by Aaron Burden/Unsplash

Labor Day is around the corner and there will be closures around the area.

All Fairfax County government offices, public schools, and public libraries will be closed on Monday (Sept. 7), according to the county website.

Trash and recycling will be collected on a regular schedule if community members are customers of Fairfax County, the website said, which added that people with a private company should contact the company directly. However, the administrative office will be closed on Monday.

The Fairfax Connector will be running on a Sunday Schedule on Monday.

The Metro will be running on a Sunday Schedule from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Monday, according to the WMATA website.

The Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church (120 N. Virginia Ave) will be closed on Monday, according to the website, along with all city offices.

In the Town of Vienna, all government offices and the Vienna Community Center will be closed but waste collection will run on a regular schedule, according to the website.

The McLean Community Center will be closed on Monday.

Tysons Reporter will also have the day off Monday.

Photo via Jon Sailer/Unsplash

Peet’s Coffee won’t reopen its doors in the Town of Vienna.

A Peet’s spokesperson confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the Vienna location (332 Maple Ave E.) is permanently closed. The spot is still listed at “temporarily closed” on the coffee chain’s website.

The spokesperson did not respond to questions about when or why the Vienna store closed and instead offered a statement saying that Peet’s opens and closes coffee locations each year for different reasons.

“While not easy decisions, regional adjustments to our coffeebar presence are important for effectively managing our resources and for developing our business,” the statement said.

The statement went on to say that Peet’s works with employees from its closed shops to find them jobs at other Peet’s locations.

While the company is no longer in Vienna, coffee drinkers can still find Peet’s in the Tysons-area.

The Peet’s mobile app shows that the Tysons location (8150 Leesburg Pike) is accepting orders. Tysons Reporter reached out today (Monday) about the status of the shop at Tysons Station and will provide an update.

Image via Google Maps

After construction-related closures, commuters can expect several Silver Line stations to reopen ahead of schedule, according to a press release from the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority.

On Aug. 16, WMATA plans to reopen the McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East stations along with the West Falls Church station.

“Assuming the platform work continues at its current pace, the remaining three west-of-Ballston stations (Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church) are expected to reopen around Labor Day,” the press release added.

The timely completion of the projects can partially be contributed to the drop in ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the press release said, adding that ridership is down 90% from this time last year.

“Metro has been working to efficiently use track access time during a period of historically low ridership,” the press release said. “Earlier this year, the transit agency combined Orange Line platform reconstruction and Silver Line signal integration into a multi-month summer shutdown of the nine rail stations west of Ballston”

Free shuttle busses will replace trains until the stations reopen, the press release said. “However, Vienna and Dunn Loring customers will be able to connect to Metrorail at West Falls Church, rather than Ballston.”

After temporarily closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Pizza Hut location in Vienna has shuttered permanently.

The location previously at 541 Maple Ave W. said on its Facebook page that it is “permanently closed,” but there was no post explaining why. Additionally, the location’s page was removed from the list on the eatery’s corporate website.

Just last year, the chain closed more than 500 locations nationally, according to USA Today.

People hungry for pizza in the area can check out a variety of other pizza parlors near Maple Ave, such as Lombardi’s and Church Street Pizzeria (115 Church Street) and the newly opened PizzaRoni (235 Maple Ave E.)

Photo via Pizza Hut/Facebook

The Boston Market in McLean is closed for good, according to the property’s realtor.

Though it is unclear when or why the company decided to shutter the location (1408 Chain Bridge Road), another Boston Market shuttered recently in Arlington.

Tysons Reporter reached out to Boston Market’s corporate office for comment and has not received a reply.

The chain served home-style food like chicken, meatloaf and a variety of sides, according to the website, which no longer lists the Arlington and McLean locations. The closest one now is in Fairfax, according to the website.

Image via Google Maps

COVID-19 restrictions have started to ease up around Fairfax County today (Friday).

Now that the county is joining the first phase of Gov. Ralph Northam’s reopening plan, here’s what people who live and work around the Tysons area need to know about county-operated facilities.

Parks and Recreation 

Parks and parking lots controlled by the Fairfax County Park Authority are open with the exception of dog parks, visitor centers, playgrounds and public restrooms, according to the website.

Athletic fields will officially open for unpermitted groups of 10 or less on Friday (May 29) under phase one of plans to reopen the county.

Both publicly and privately run pools are currently not allowed to open yet, the website said, adding that certain pools might open for lap swimming during phase one. Pools run by the Park Authority will not open at all this summer.

At schools in Fairfax County, both the tracks and tennis courts have been reopened but playgrounds, basketball courts and athletic fields will remain closed for the time being, according to the website.

Fairfax County summer camps have already been canceled, according to a press release.

For people indoor entering public spaces, the Virginia Department of Public Health announced that they are required to wear a mask or protective face covering. This order will go into effect on Friday (May 29) but the Centers for Diseases Control have suggested for weeks that people cover their mouths and noses to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Anyone with additional questions can check out the website or email staff members from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Farmers Markets

Farmers Markets will look different this year with the implementation of preorder options and social distancing guidelines.

In the City of Falls Church, people can visit the market only to pick up preordered goods. Shopping and browsing will not be allowed, according to the website. A list of vendors at the Falls Church Farmers Market can be found online.

The future of the McLean Farmers Market, which is run by the county, is still unclear. Opening dates have not been announced yet, according to the Fairfax County website.

Libraries

All Fairfax County Public Library branches will be closed until further notice, according to the website — but this doesn’t mean that libraries aren’t offering online resources for patrons.

Anyone with a library card can check out digital resources such as e-books, audio files, online magazines and videos.

People can also pick up a new hobby like learning a new language, redesign their home using tips from the library and even learn about family heritage, according to the website.

(Updated 5/20/2020) Before Orange and Silver line stations temporarily close this Saturday (May 23), Fairfax County officials for the Tysons and Vienna areas want to know more about the closures’ impact.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn plan to hold a virtual town hall on Thursday (May 21), according to staff from Palchik’s office.

The discussion will include representatives from WMATA and the county’s transportation department.

All Orange and Silver line stations west of the Ballston station will be closed through the fall for platform reconstruction at the four Orange Line stations and work to connect the Silver Line with the upcoming stations running from Reston to Ashburn.

The town hall is set to start at 6:30 p.m. People can register online.

The McLean Community Center won’t have fireworks for the Fourth of July due to public health concerns.

The community center recently announced that it plans on canceling almost all of its summer events and activities. These cancellations include McLean Day, which was set to be held this Saturday (May 16), all summer camps and the Independence Day fireworks and corresponding celebration at Langley High School, according to a press release.

“MCC has chosen to announce this decision now to allow patrons and their families the opportunity to make alternative summer plans,” the press release said.

Still, the community center plans to have things to keep people busy during this time of social distancing and staying inside.

“We will be offering, at no-cost, two- or three-day virtual activities during the time when we would have been holding camps,” George Sachs, MCC’s executive director, said in the press release.

Depending on what happens later in the summer, Sachs said that staff may reconsider hosting modified in-person camps once it is safe.

The McLean Community Center recently announced that it’s canceling McLean Day and events in April and May due to coronavirus concerns.

The annual event usually draws roughly 10,000 people to Lewinsville Park for laser tag, bubble ball and live entertainment, according to Visit Fairfax.

The event also always people to vote for candidates running for the McLean Community Center’s Governing Board.

The board decided yesterday (Wednesday) to cancel the center’s sponsored events for those two months following concerns that the events could draw large crowds, according to a press release.

Previously, the center, which is home to the Alden Theatre, galleries for the McLean Project for the Arts, the Susan B. DuVal Art Studio and meeting rooms, announced it would be closed through April 12.

Now, the center is closed “until further notice.”

As for the election, absentee voting is currently underway through 5 p.m. on May 13.

“The McLean Day in-person voting, stipulated in the Center’s Memorandum of Understanding, will be held at MCC, 1234 Ingleside Ave., as scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16,” the press release said.