After nearly half of a century, The Treasure Shop in McLean has announced its closing date is Tuesday, June 30.
For patrons interested in browsing one last time, the store is hosting a final sidewalk sale out front on Thursday and Friday (June 25-26) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The boutique and consignment shop made the decision to close after 49 years of business because of the COVID-19 setbacks and increasing operational costs, according to a statement from the store.
The shop will be following recommended protocols to protect patrons during their final sale, including maintaining social distancing, requiring masks and allowing no more than three individuals in the store at a time.
“A lot of people really love the treasure shop. I would say it’s going to be missed,” said Amiee Freeman, the spokesperson for the Navy Marine Coast Guard Residence Foundation, which owns The Treasure Shop. “It’s kind of the end of an era.”
The Treasure Shop has been a major part of McLean and the Vinson Hall Retirement Community for decades. The store said the decision to close “was not made lightly,” and many members of the community are saddened by the closing.
“I am truly sad to hear this,” one person wrote on the store’s Facebook page. “The Treasure Shop has been such a unique and beloved place to me for many years, both to shop and to consign. I am really sorry to see you go.”
“So sorry to hear this. I love your shop. It always has wonderful items from all over the world,” another person wrote.
The Treasure Shop originally opened in 1971 in Vinson Hall as a way of selling unneeded items to military personnel as well as raising funds to assist residents, according to the Vinson Hall Retirement Community website. From there, the store grew into a widely-known consignment shop where people could find unique and interesting items.
The store moved into the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in 2009 due to the need for more space and parking.
The shop credits its success to the volunteers, consignors and donors who helped support the establishment over its 49-year run.
Photo courtesy of Amiee Freeman
Treasure Shop Closing in McLean — “The Treasure Shop in McLean announced it will close after 49 years in business due to the COVID-19 situation and increasing costs. The last day is June 30.” [Patch]
Latest on COVID Cases — “The Virginia Department of Health reported 551 additional cases of the coronavirus Sunday, a lower increase after four consecutive days of new daily cases increasing. The latest cumulative totals are 57,994 cases, 5,840 hospitalizations, and 1,611 deaths.” [Patch]
Restaurant Struggling — “A longtime business in McLean seeks support to avoid closing due to the coronavirus pandemic’s financial impact. McLean Family Restaurant, a 51-year Kapetanakis family operation, made the plea to customers Wednesday on Facebook.” [Patch]
FCPS May Add Holidays to Calendar — “The Fairfax County School Board is considering a 2021-22 Standard School Year Calendar… Version A has the school year beginning on Monday, August 23, 2021, and ending on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Four religious holidays would be observed: Rosh Hashanah on September 7, 2021; Yom Kippur on September 16, 2021; Diwali on November 4, 2021; and Eid al Fitr on May 3, 2022.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Mall Issues — “Brookfield is chasing small retailers to pay thousands of dollars in rent on outlets that were forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic, even as the Canadian investment group skips payments on its mortgages and asks lenders for forbearance… Brookfield has requested forbearance from lenders who are owed payments on a dozen of its malls, according to reports circulated to credit market participants who have bought the debt.” Brookfield operates Tysons Galleria. [Washington Business Journal]
The final phase of the Echols St road reconstruction project will take place over next two weeks, weather permitting. Rolling traffic mgmt strategies (rather than a detour) will be utilized; traffic delays may be experienced. If possible, travelers may wish to avoid this area. pic.twitter.com/eqLjrkxQDb
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) June 21, 2020
Robert Ames Alden was a “walking institution” in the D.C. area, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust recently told his fellow county officials.
Alden died at the age of 87 from complications from Alzheimer’s disease on June 7, the Washington Post reported. Foust shared highlights of Alden’s career and life during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ meeting last week.
Born in D.C., Alden worked as a sportswriter for the Cleveland Press before joining the Washington Post in 1952, Foust said. Alden covered wars, riots, natural disasters and more during his nearly 50-year career at the Washington Post.
Alden was a founder of the National Press Foundation. Foust noted that Alden, who was the National Press Club’s president in 1976, was a “leading advocate” in the 1960s and 1970s to allow women to join the Press Club.
Foust remembered Alden as a “living legend in McLean.” On the local level, Alden advocated for the community complex that houses McLean Central Park, the Dolley Madison Library and the McLean Community Center.
Foust said that the then-governing board of the community center wanted to name the building after him.
“If you knew Bob, you know he refused,” Foust said. “That would not be acceptable to him. He wanted it named the McLean Community Center.”
The community center’s auditorium and theater were named after him instead.
“He was an amazingly successful, amazingly accomplished and unbelievably nice, friendly, courteous, kind guy,” Foust said. “We are going to miss him so much.”
Photo via Alden Theatre/Facebook
The McLean Project for the Arts sent out an all-call for artists for the upcoming summer exhibition.
Curators are seeking submissions for a display called”SHIFT,” according to a press release, which added artists from across the mid-Atlantic region are welcome to apply.
“The works in this exhibition will focus on the concept of shift, change or exchange in paradigm, position, direction, tendency, viewpoint, atmosphere, needs, dreams, schedules, interactions, environment, perspective,” the release said.
Submissions are due June 26, and the exhibit will run from July 15 through August 27.
There is no cost to submit a piece for consideration, and artists can submit up to two pieces of any size, medium, form or weight, according to the website. Two jurors will each pick their favorite pieces for consideration.
“It will be interesting to see how the exhibits differ from one another,” the website said.
Image courtesy McLean Project for the Arts
(Updated 9:15 a.m.) Hundreds of people chanted and marched in a Black Lives Matter protest led by six McLean High School students on Wednesday.
The protest kicked off around 2 p.m. in the parking lot of McLean High School with passionate speeches from students across Fairfax County and local elected officials calling on students and adults to fight racism.
“It’s kind of crazy I have to tell people I shouldn’t be killed, but here we are,” one student speaker said, later adding: “I don’t want my last words to be, ‘Don’t shoot.'” I want them to be, ‘We did it.'”
The speeches touched on a common theme: the fervor of youth activism.
“Our generation is the one that is going to change the world for the better,” Kendall J., a rising senior at McLean High School, told the crowd. Speakers encouraged parents to better support their kids’ activism.
People with voter registration forms circulated the crowd, encouraging teens about to turn 18 to vote in the upcoming elections.
For safety precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic, participants tried to social distance by spacing themselves out in the parking lot. Face coverings were required, and an organizer cleaned the microphone between each speaker.
Participants shouted chants like “No justice! No peace! No racist police!” and “Black Lives Matter!” At one point, the participants responded to a prompt of saying “I love you” to the people standing closest to them.
After a short prayer moment, the protesters took to the streets, flooding Clearview Drive around 4 p.m. “There are so many people here,” one of the organizers said into his walkie talkie as the march began.
“No justice. No peace. No racist police,” a young child with an adult on the corner of Westmoreland Street and Clearview Drive said as the march headed northbound on Westmoreland Street. Several drivers honked and waved in support.
Tysons Reporter witnessed a moment that punctured the peaceful and passionate protest: a white male driving by the protesters on Westmoreland Street shouted out his window that all lives matter and that they should “cut the bullsh*t.”
The protest was one of several anti-racism events in the Tysons area sparked by George Floyd’s death and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Like several protests and rallies in Falls Church, the McLean protest drew a diverse crowd spanning different generations and races.
— Catherine Douglas Moran (@c_douglasmoran) June 10, 2020
The Tysons area will have three blood drives this month via a partnership with local volunteer fire departments and Inova Blood Donor Services.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue announced today (Tuesday) four upcoming blood drives that will take place in the parking lots of the fire stations.
“Due to current events, blood supplies in Fairfax County and the nation are at dangerously low levels and dropping,” according to the fire department.
Here are the Tysons-area ones:
- Thursday (June 18) noon-6 p.m. at Station 13 in Dunn Loring (2148 Gallows Road)
- Wednesday (June 24) 1-7 p.m. at Station 1 in McLean (1455 Laughlin Ave)
- Thursday (June 25) 1-7 p.m. at Station 2 in Vienna (400 Center Street S.)
There will also be a blood drive at Station 5 (6300 Beulah Street) in Alexandria on Thursday (June 18) from 1-7 p.m. People can register on the Inova Blood Donor Services website.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue noted how the blood drives will address safety concerns with COVID-19.
“There will be plenty of space to spread out and use appropriate social distancing,” the post said. “To help protect our firefighters and paramedics, access to the fire station is prohibited.”
Photo via Facebook
The McLean Farmers Market is among four farmers markets in Fairfax County that will soon reopen.
Some of the county-run farmers markets, including the one in Reston, had already returned in phases with coronavirus restrictions.
Now, the McLean one, along with the ones in Oak Marr, Annandale and Kingstowne, will open this month, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.
More from the county:
When possible, shoppers are encouraged to preorder their items directly from the local vendors. Go to the Farmers Markets website and click on the Vendor Preorder List for a list of all market vendors and their ordering policies. You can also click on an individual market for details on the vendors at that market and preordering instructions.
At the markets, customers are asked to comply with all COVID-19 safety procedures, including limiting shoppers to two persons per household, wearing facial coverings, and maintaining 6 feet of distance from others. There may be a waiting line, and there will be a one-way path through the markets. To give everyone the best shopping experience possible, please consult the 2020 Market Guidelines infographic before your visit.
Starting Friday, June 12, shoppers can head to the McLean Farmers Market on Fridays from 8 a.m.-noon at 1659 Chain Bridge Road.
The Vienna Farmers Market, which is run by the local Optimist Club, plans to reopen on Saturday, June 13.
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
A Tysons-based program that supports adults with developmental disabilities recently received a $10,000 donation from a McLean family.
Langley Residential Support Services announced the donation yesterday, saying that it came from the Narang family through their Narang Foundation.
Langley Residential offers six homes across Fairfax County that house 24 people, along with drop-in services for about 30 other people living in Northern Virginia.
“These are just the kind of community enhancement and life-changing activities our family wishes to support,” RJ Narang, who is a board member of the foundation, said in a press release.
Betsy Schatz, the executive director of Langley Residential, said that the donation comes at a time of need: “We’ve been so affected by the pandemic.”
Photo courtesy Langley Residential Support Services
Fairfax County police said that a group of people burglarized McLean Pharmacy and shattered its front glass door.
Police responded to an alarm going off at the building (1392 Chain Bridge Road) around 12:30 a.m. today (Tuesday).
“The investigation revealed a group of individuals broke into the pharmacy, stole property and drove away in multiple cars,” police said.
In a separate incident early this morning, Fairfax County police said that a 19-year-old from Vienna spray-painted graffiti on concrete walls by Leesburg Pike and Spring Hill Road.
Police said that the teenager ran when they located him, but they caught him. The teenager was charged with two counts of felony destruction of property and misdemeanor destruction of property.
File photo
