After months of anticipation, the pizza eatery Union Pie is finally open at Jammin’ Java in Vienna.

Union Pie specializes in thin-crust, bar-style pizza, according to its website, which added that the menu offerings at this new location will be similar to other locations through the D.C. area.

To celebrate, Union Pie and Jammin’ Java are hosting a social distance grand opening this Saturday (May 30) from noon to 9 p.m., according to the Facebook event page.

“Dear friend and supporter — inspired and motivated to create some type of lifeline during this difficult time for all small businesses, we’re thrilled to announce that we are officially opening another location of Union Pie right inside the front door of Jammin Java,” the event page said.

People will be able to pick up sample alcoholic premade drinks and menu items at the party, according to the page.

Jammin’ Java, a local concert and event venue, was previously home to a South Block smoothie joint, but the owners decided to switch up culinary offerings, according to a Union Pie spokesperson.

Anyone interested in trying the food before the grand opening event can order online.

Photo via Union Pie/Facebook

A new restaurant plans to start serving up a “traditional” Cantonese brunch this spring in Tysons.

The upcoming HAN Palace (7900 Westpark Drive) will feature an all-day dim sum menu and will be the first restaurant in the D.C., Maryland or Virginia area to do so, according to the location’s owner Chris Zhu, who added that most restaurants only offer dim sum for lunch.

The eatery plans to open in April, according to Zhu. She plans to host a soft opening with VIP promotions before the grand opening later next month once supplies from China arrive, she said.

Dim sum is a form of Chinese small-plate dining that traditionally allows families and groups to gather for a communal meal. Items usually include various types of dumplings and sweets served in a steamer basket.

People familiar with China Garden (11333 Woodglen Drive), which recently relocated to Rockville, Md., may recognize the style of cooking since the restaurants are both owned by Zhu.

HAN Palance will be open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day and feature happy hour specials on drinks from 4 to 7 p.m., Zhu said.

Two hours of free garage parking will be offered on weekdays, and free validation will be offered after 6 p.m. on weekdays and for six hours on the weekends, according to the restaurant’s Facebook post.

Photos courtesy Chris Zhu

Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.

Showplace Icon doesn’t officially open until March 6, but the new theater in Tysons is offering free movies starting today before its grand opening.

Earlier this week, Tysons Reporter got a tour of the 72,000-square-foot theater (1667 Silver Hill Drive) in The Boro development near the Greensboro Metro station.

The theater has 14 auditoriums ranging in size with seating for 1,795 people. Inside the auditoriums, the recliners turn into love seats when the armrest is up and people can warm up with the seat heaters.

The theaters are split between two floors. Along the hallways, movie-goers can spot posters of films from 1963 — the same year the Leesburg Pike and Route 123 interchange contract was awarded, morphing the country crossroads into an urban area.

People can dine at the ICON Bistro and The Lobby Lounge and bring food, like bacon popcorn, into the auditoriums.

A spokesperson for the theater told Tysons Reporter that the goal with the dining options is to appeal to non-movie-goers as well.

During the theater’s soft opening from today (Friday, Feb. 28) until Wednesday (March 4), people who are Extra Club Members — a free membership available online — will be able to watch free movies with free popcorn and drinks. (There’s also a paid membership option as well for people who want more perks.)

The movies on the big screen for Friday-Sunday include:

• “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey”
• “1917”
• “The Gentlemen”
• “Little Women”
• “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
• “Frozen 2”
• “Jumanji: The Next Level”
• “Knives Out”
• “Ford v. Ferrari”
• “Uncut Gems”
• “Just Mercy”
• “Dolittle”

Tickets are available an hour before each movie and must be reserved in person, according to the theater’s website.

This will be the movie theater chain’s seventh location, according to a press release.

Stationery and gift company Paper Source is set to open its doors in The Boro tomorrow (Thursday).

An employee at the store told Tysons Reporter about the store’s planned opening at 1643 Boro Place.

Paper Source has nearby locations in Reston, the Mosaic District and D.C. At the store, shoppers can expect to find stationery, cards, crafts supplies, decorations and gift wrap.

The store will be the latest newcomer in the Tysons development near the Greensboro Metro station — North Italia and Fish Taco opened a few weeks ago.

The store will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays, the employee said.

Here’s what to expect when a popular Latin nightclub in Arlington brings a new rhythm to The Palladium in Tysons.

The Palladium’s owners — two brothers named Victor and Franco Villarreal — recently announced that their salsa club in Arlington will soon close to relocate to the Tysons location.

The Salsa Room is set to close its 7,5000-square-foot space, one-level in Arlington to move to its new 15,000-square-foot, two-level home (1524 Spring Hill Road) in late March. Tickets are available for the grand opening in Tysons from March 25-29 and start at $20 per person for general admission.

Ahead of the change, Tysons Reporter talked to Victor Villarreal about why the club is moving to Tysons, what Palladium club-goers can expect and why he loves The Salsa Room.

Tysons Reporter: I just have to say I’ve been to The Salsa Room in Arlington, but I haven’t been to The Palladium in Tysons.

Victor Villarreal: The Tysons one, when we opened it up [in late 2018], we made it more of an event place than an actual club. It’s been more events from all over the world.

TR: What prompted the move?

VV: We’ve been in South Arlington since 1992. It’s a pretty old building. The buildings up and down Columbia Pike are starting to get torn down.

We know eventually that’s going to happen to us. It could be in the next year. It could the next two to three years at most. We didn’t want to wait and get caught up in trying to find something at the last moment.

We decided a couple of years ago to start looking for a spot. We came across Iris Lounge and we decided it was a great spot. We saw a lot of potential in Tysons Corner that can be a great hope for this type of venue.

Our location in Arlington, again, it’s an old building. There’s a lot of investment that needs to be done to upgrade it and keep it modern and it’s really hard for us to invest any money knowing we may only be there a couple more years. This move was planned a long time ago.

TR: How long ago?

VV: About two-and-a-half years. It took us about a year-and-a-half to build and we’ve been open a year in Tysons.

A lot of the events we did in Tysons weren’t catered to the salsa events we do at The Salsa Room. It’s been more concerts from Mongolia, Thailand, Madagascar — all of these different countries that affect a sense of a diverse community.

We didn’t want to compete against ourselves because this was a short-term gap until we move.

TR: And you’ve personally been in this area awhile?

VV: We grew up in the McLean and Burke areas.

TR: How do you think this move will affect the nightlife scene in Tysons?

VV: I remember in the early 2000s, there wasn’t too much to do, but [eCitie] was insanely successful. And they had a 10-year run. You couldn’t even get in on most nights. 

I think Tysons, maybe five years ago or so, there was not much. There were good restaurants, but I don’t know that there’s a good nightlife scene here.

There have a couple of spots that have opened recently. It’s just the growth of Tysons and how much development there is going to be. I’m sure businesses that are getting priced out in developments closer to D.C. may find some opportunities in Tysons.

When we’ve done events in the last year, we got support. People came from Maryland. [The Tysons club] is more central to a lot of places. We’re extremely excited about being here and helping to grow a night scene.

TR: How do you think your clientele will be different or similar to Arlington?

VV: We’re definitely going to lose some clients because it’s a different area, but I do believe there are some pretty loyal clients who will still come to us.

[Tysons] is a new pool of clients. We feel pretty confident that we’ll have the support of the community.

TR: Will The Salsa Room entirely take over The Palladium or just a part of it?

VV: It will take over the whole thing. It’s going to be completely The Salsa Room.

All the employees are coming from [Arlington] — the DJs, the instructors. Because it’s so much larger, it’s going to let us bring things that we were not able to do in Arlington. We’ll be able to get bigger acts. We have a stage.

TR: Do you have a favorite aspect of The Salsa Room?

VV: The history. Some of the best salsa artists in the world have played there, like Marc Anthony. He’s a super megastar. He performed there three different times when he was starting his career. There are so many stories. That’s really helped us develop a loyal client base.

People will come from all over the world. They will take a picture and tag us [on social media]. We’ve had paintings of people like Marc Anthony with original signatures. People tag us and those are awesome.

We have YouTube videos that have millions of hits that were filmed there and so [The Salsa Room] is really well known in the salsa community.

We definitely didn’t want to close it down. We need to continue that.

The interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity. 

Photo (1) via Facebook; images (2-4) via Google Maps

After more than 20 years in Arlington, a popular Latin nightclub and bar plans to bring the beat to Tysons.

The Salsa Room recently announced that the Arlington location (2619 Columbia Pike) is set to close in early March ahead of its grand opening in Tysons later that month.

A Facebook post says that The Salsa Room is coming to The Palladium, a 15,000-square-foot nightclub with two levels at 1524 Spring Hill Road.

“Brothers Franco and Victor, [the] owners of The Palladium and The Salsa Room, have decided to move the iconic Arlington Salsa Room to the current Palladium location in Tysons,” according to The Palladium.

The Palladium opened in late 2018, adding a new option to Tysons’ budding nightlife scene.

Starting today (Friday), tickets are available for the grand opening in Tysons from March 25-29. Tickets for each night cost between $20 per person for general admission and $495 for six VIP attendees.

Until the grand opening, people can expect The Palladium to stay open with its usual events.

Meanwhile, the Arlington location plans to host closing parties between March 4-7.

“After 20+ years in Arlington, and countless, amazing memories, TSR would like to thank all of the artist, dancers, instructors, Djs and you for supporting us,” the Facebook post said.

Photos 1 and 2 via Facebook; image (3) via Google Maps

(Updated 4 p.m.) ShowPlace Icon has made its opening plans to bring movies to The Boro in Tysons.

The 72,000-square-foot theater plans to officially open at 1667 Silver Hill Drive on March 6, according to the theater’s spokesperson.

People who are Extra Club Members — a free membership is available online — will be able to watch free movies with free popcorn and drinks during the theater’s soft opening between next Friday, Feb. 28 and Wednesday, March 4.

This will be the movie theater chain’s seventh location, according to a press release.

“We are thrilled to share our passion for creating an unparalleled movie going experience with the dynamic local communities,” CEO Tony Kerasotes said in the press release. “The ever-growing Tysons neighborhood seemed like the perfect choice when deciding where to plant our roots in the [D.C. area].”

The Tysons theater is set to have 14 auditoriums with seating for 1,795 people, seat heaters and food and drinks from the ICON Bistro and The Lobby Lounge, the press release said.

Photo courtesy TAA Public Relations

Rania’s Love Vegetarian Restaurant is now serving up Vietnamese vegetarian food in Falls Church.

Located near Staples in Falls Plaza (1200 W. Broad Street), a banner outside of the restaurant says that a grand opening was held earlier this month.

The menu includes starters, like salt and pepper oyster mushrooms, and noodle soup, including lemon leaf chicken soup and beef meatball noodle soup.

The restaurant is open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays, according to signage on the door.

Within the last weeks, there have been several changes at the Mosaic District.

After Neiman Marcus closed in the Mosaic District, home goods store Great Gatherings decided to take over the vacant spot at 2905 District Ave.

The store’s new location opened a couple of weeks ago, according to the manager, who added that the business decided to switch spots because it is a slightly smaller space and more visible to traffic.

Employees were in the process of putting finishing touches on the store when Tysons Reporter stopped by yesterday (Feb. 13).

Down the street at the former spot of Brine (2985 District Ave, Suite 120), it appears that crews are doing work at the location. It is unclear what will move into the unoccupied space.

Nearby, Black Dog Beer Shop (2672 Avenir Place, Suite M) opened for business today (Feb. 14).

The location offers a variety of brews for consumption off-site and will be open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., according to the website.

Customers can purchase specialty brews not found anywhere else except the breweries themselves, Jeff Kirkland, the store manager, told Tysons Reporter, adding that there are almost 300 varieties of beer at the shop.

A craft beer store inspired by the owner’s dog has delayed its grand opening near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.

Owner Tyler Cohen, who lives in the Mosaic District and has been blogging his tours of breweries across Virginia, previously told Tysons Reporter that his black dog, Ash, inspired the name Black Dog Beer Shop.

The store is now set to hold a grand opening at 2672M Avenir Place on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), according to the website.

More from the website:

Black Dog Beer Shop has a robust selection of craft beers from around Virginia as well as regional and national craft brands. We have 16 taps for growler fills and tons of cold refrigerator space. Whether you’re looking for a good, local cider of the newest double dry-hopped DIPA, we’ve got you covered.

The store plans to be open from 9:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays, according to the website.