The team behind Sen Khao has a new quick-service sandwich pop-up open in Tysons Galleria’s Urbanspace.

LaoWich recently opened at the mall, according to Tysons Galleria.

The sandwich pop-up shop is located on the third level next to Saks Fifth Avenue, across from Sen Khao.

“Chef Seng is here to cure your sandwich sads with a unique menu of Laotian eats served on brioche buns, all slathered with her signature sen-sauce,” according to Tysons Galleria.

Diners can find a rotating menu of Asian sweets and drinks from 4-6 p.m. at LaoWich.

Photo via LaoWich/Facebook

(Updated 10/24/19) A Mediterranean restaurant and dumpling eatery are some of the newcomers headed to Falls Plaza in the the City of Falls Church — and they are hiring.

Tasty Dumpling and Plaka Grill have “now hiring” signs in their windows at the shopping center at 1200 W. Broad Street.

For Tasty Dumpling, interested people can contact Linda at 703-946-6037 and 703-269-1752. For Plaka Grill, people can send resumes to [email protected] or call 571-484-9446.

Plaka Grill is moving into a roughly 3,500-square-foot space by Giant, while Tasty Dumpling will occupy a 1,400-square-foot space between CVS and Staples, according to the shopping center’s brochure.

Plaka Grill, a locally-owned Greek restaurant, is relocating its Falls Church location from 513 W. Broad Street to Falls Plaza. The restaurant also has a spot in Vienna.

“With the move to the new location in Falls Plaza, the restaurant will be expanding its footprint with additional kitchen space that will allow the restaurant to expand its catering offerings,” according to a press release from the restaurant.

The restaurant is planning to open in November, the press release said.

“We’re thrilled to move to a location with abundant parking to better serve our customers,” Peter Drosos, the restaurant’s owner and chef, said in the press release. “Falls Plaza is ideally situated, and we’re excited for the opportunity to be more accessible to our guests whether they’re choosing to dine in with us or get carry-out, delivery or catering.”

Sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s and Rania’s Love Vegetarian Restaurant also have signs saying they are coming to the shopping center.

A spokesperson for Jersey Mike’s said that the eatery is aiming for a December opening.

(Updated 10/26/19) MarginEdge, a Merrifield-based restaurant software startup, has raised millions of dollars in a recent funding round.

The company recently raised $5 million in Series A funding — bringing their total funding to $10.4 million, according to a press release.

“Osage Venture Partners led the round, with participation from In Good Company… and other restaurant owner investors,” the press release said.

Headquartered at 8315 Lee Hwy, MarginEdge processes invoices for restaurants. Restaurant employees send pictures of receipts and invoices to the company, which then processes them and connects the restaurant to point of sales partners.

“We’re excited to see this approach resonating, with a dozen of our clients investing in the company and a 12-month customer retention rate of 94%,” the company’s CEO Bo Davis said.

The company said in the press release that it plans to use the money to expand geographically and add new partnerships.

MarginEdge also recently signed its 1,000th restaurant, according to the press release.

Some of the restaurants the company works with include District Taco, Chef Geoff’s, South Block and Hank’s Oyster Bar.

“MarginEdge allowed our team to go from being an accounting department to being more of a finance department,” Javier Retamar, the chief financial officer of Maple Street Biscuits, said. “Now, it’s not just about inputting things after the fact; we have the time and tools to analyze.”

Photo via MarginEdge/Facebook

New Mexican cuisine is coming to the Vienna area.

A liquor license is pending for El Sol at 262 Cedar Lane SE, Suite C in the Cedar Park Shopping Center.

Restauranteur Alfredo Solis is behind El Sol, which currently has a D.C. spot, along with Mezcalero and Little Havana — also in D.C.

The restaurant plans to let diners build their own tacos and order other items like quesadillas and tortas with a fast-casual style service for lunch and sit-down dining for dinner, Washingtonian reported. Diners can expect El Sol to open in Vienna this fall, Eater reported.

Tysons Reporter reached out to the leasing agent and property owner of the shopping center and will update this story if they respond.

Photo via El Sol/Facebook

A Tysons-based entrepreneur struck a big deal with the founder of KIND Snacks on reality television last week.

Things were looking down financially for TahDah Foods before CEO John Sorial decided to appear on the season 11 premiere of “Shark Tank” on ABC — ultimately making a deal with Daniel Lubetzky, the CEO of KIND Snacks.

TahDah Foods began as a frozen falafel wrap line, which offers customers several flavor varieties. The products are naturally gluten-free since they are made with chickpeas. The company also donates 25% of profits to charity, aiming to help end hunger and inspire social change, according to the website.

The food has been in stores for some time — including Wegman’s, Whole Foods Market, Harris Teeter and MOM’s Organic Market. Recently, the company ran into a supply problem and was losing money because the product wasn’t being produced quickly enough.

Four people were doing the job of 12, he told the sharks. “I would stay up with the staff and was shoveling chickpeas myself.”

Sorial is the son of Egyptian parents, who fled to the U.S. because of political persecution. After working in chemical engineering, he decided to transition to a career he felt was more fulfilling.

“I took authentic foods from the motherland and gave them a fresh new taste and look,” he said, adding that the idea of helping his family and people around the world motivates him to succeed.

After some debate and competition with another shark, Sorial accepted a $500,000 deal in exchange for 25% of the business — not the original $300,000 in exchange for the 10% of the business, that he was seeking originally.

“Your story resonates a lot with me,” Lubetzky said, adding that he thought Sorial’s original goal wouldn’t be enough to get him out of the financial hole.

Photo via Facebook

Almost one year after it’s expected opening date, Archontiko just started serving up modern Greek dishes in McLean.

The restaurant opened about one week ago, an employee told Tysons Reporter.

Archontiko occupies the former spot of Evo Bistro, another Mediterranean restaurant, at 1313 Old Chain Bridge Road. The restaurant’s opening was delayed multiple times due to construction work and the inspections from Fairfax County.

Diners can find a crab burger, vegetarian entrees, pikilia (a plate of mixed appetizers) and sandwiches served over pita bread with lemon potatoes and salad on the lunch menu. Meanwhile, the dinner menu features seafood and lamb entrees, vegetarian entrees and salads — including Greek salad.

For dessert, there’s baklava, rice pudding with cinnamon, yogurt cake and more.

Executive Chef Markos Baladimas creates dishes inspired by traditional Greek cuisine, “which is combining the simplicity of the raw materials with the richness of their flavors,” according to the restaurant’s website.

The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays, the employee said.

Photo via Archontiko

Tysons Galleria has welcomed a new restaurant focused on steak and fries.

“We are a new restaurant specializing in Steak Frites… We prep our ingredients daily in order to ensure only the highest quality food is served,” according to job postings on Snag for Butcher’s Cut.

The restaurant has line cook, cashier and server positions open and pays $15-$18 per hour.

Butcher’s Cut is one of 10 full-service restaurants at the mall, including Lebanese Taverna and the Cheesecake Factory.

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!

Thursday (Oct. 10)

• Design Lab: Drawing Treehouses — noon-1:30 p.m. at the Apple Store (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — This event will teach attendees how to design a treehouse on an iPad while keeping sustainability and the environment in mind. This is event is free and open to the public; iPads will be provided.
• Stars & Stripes Benefit for the Troops — 7-11 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton (1700 Tysons Blvd) — This prohibition themed networking gala will benefit the troops. Tickets start at $95 and include food, drink, raffles and activities. Attendees are encouraged to dress in 1920s attire.
• Power of Pink Tysons — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Equinox (8065 Leesburg Pike) — Join Equinox for a lunch and workout fundraiser to benefit the Arlington Free Clinic and Breast Care for Washington DC, which helps local women fight breast cancer. This event is donation-based, and all of the proceeds will go towards the cause.

Saturday (Oct. 12)

• Farm Day — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cherry Hill Farmhouse (312 Park Avenue) — The Cherry Hill Farmhouse will host the community and have activities including horse-drawn hayrides, a petting farm, pony rides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making, live music, tours of the farmhouse and barn, blacksmith demonstrations and food. Admission is free but there may be fees for specific activities.
• Halloween Window Painting Festival — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mr. Brown’s Park (223 Little Falls Street) —  The community is invited to pitch ideas for window painting. The event is free but those wishing to participate must email Marty Behr at [email protected] with a design idea for approval.
• NAACP Candidates Forum — 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Vienna (450 Orchard Street NW) — This event allows the public to hear from Commonwealth’s Attorney and School Board At-Large candidates representing the NAACP. There will also be voter registration opportunities.

Sunday (Oct. 13)

• Free Koren Language Lesson — 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Shilla Bakery (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — Anyone who speaks Korean or is interested in learning can join this free event to practice their language skills and get to know others curious about Korean language and culture.

Photo via Cherry Hill Historic Farm

To better fit in with nearby urbanization, the owners of Valo Park want to open the office complex to the public — and add restaurants, a 9/11 memorial and a bocce court.

The roughly 785,000 square-foot office park is currently home to the headquarters of the newspaper giant Gannett and cloud computing company Appian. The building currently has a fitness center, conference facilities, a 300-seat auditorium and lots of open space.

London-based Tamares acquired 7950 Jones Branch Drive for $270 million four years ago.

The private investment group is now looking to redesign roughly 19,000 square feet of the ground floor space and some areas of the garage to accommodate new retail and restaurants, according to the applications submitted to Fairfax County.

The developers are considering repurposing two corner areas of the building into restaurants — one would take 7,000 square feet of front corner space and the second would occupy 12,000 square feet of rear corner space. Meanwhile, 5,000 square feet of the garage’s rooftop would get converted into a craft beverage production establishment or restaurant.

The plans also include an outdoor gaming area with a bocce court, horseshoes, cornhole and a fire pit. The public would be able to use a 20,000-square-foot health club, along with a possible rock climbing facility.

“A 9/11 memorial is currently under construction on the property for further activation of open space,” according to the application.

The office park is located in the North Central neighborhood of Tysons, which has a luxurious four-building residential project at Park Crest, office space at Tysons Overlook and the residential Highgate. A massive mixed-use development called The Mile was approved earlier this year for the area.

“The underlying objectives for the proposed applications is to better incorporate Valo Park into the surrounding neighborhood fabric and better align the site with the goals of the Tysons Plan,” according to the application.

More from Tamares about how the changes fit the comprehensive plan for Tysons:

The proposed applications would render the site more compatible with the Comprehensive Plan’s goals for the North Central District to redevelop as a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with local-serving retail. The proposed restaurants and site modifications would create a more outward facing development that is more accessible to the surrounding community.

A public hearing for the Planning Commission has not been announced yet.

Photo via Valo Park

A refugee chef is planning to serve up traditional Afghan cuisine at Harth as part of a pop-up event series later this month in Tysons.

Hilton McLean Tysons Corner (7920 Jones Branch Drive) teamed up with Tables Without Borders on the limited dinner series featuring dishes by Chef Nejat Ahmadollah, which diners can experience with the tasting menu or a la carte, the Hilton press release said.

Some of the menu items will include:

• Kabuli — braised rice with lamb topped with raisins and slivered carrots
• Kadoo — baked pumpkin with yogurt sauce, garlic and mint
• Chicken kabob with an Afghan spice blend and cilantro chutney

Ahmadollah, an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan, came to the U.S. with his wife and kids in 2015.

“I’m looking forward to sharing my passion and love for cooking and Afghan cuisine with guests at Hilton McLean,” Ahmadollah said in a press release.

To prepare for the pop-up event, Ahmadollah plans to work with Harth’s Executive Chef Philip Thompson to create a menu that will focus on locally-sourced and traditional Afghan ingredients, the press release said.

Hilton is promoting the event as part of its “Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals” — the hotel chain’s strategy of encouraging sustainable, global travel.

“By 2030, we plan to double our social impact investment and cut our environmental footprint by half,” the press release said. “We track, analyze and report our environmental and social impact at each of Hilton’s nearly 5,900 hotels.”

The dinners will take place from 5-10 p.m. on three Fridays — Oct. 18, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.

Part of the proceeds from the dinners will benefit HIAS, a nonprofit focused on refugee resettlement and advocacy.

“Tables Without Borders enables me to showcase authentic dishes representative of my country’s history and timeless traditions while adding a modern twist,” Ahmadollah said.

Photo courtesy Hilton McLean Tysons Corner