Local Schools Receive “Common Sense Recognition” — Chesterbrook Elementary School in McLean and Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna are two of the 23 Fairfax County Public Schools recognized for their digital citizenship. [FCPS]
Ramen Chain Coming to The Boro — “A Japanese ramen chain that has 61 shops in 10 countries will make its D.C. area debut this fall, when it’s expected to open a branch in Tysons Corner… [Santouka] is expected open inside a modern, brick-lined space in the new Boro mixed-use development (1636 Boro Place, McLean) by early November.” [DC Eater]
Parking May Arrive Along Maple Avenue — “A consulting firm aiming to squeeze some additional parking in Vienna’s commercial core has come up with a unique option: Turn parts of Maple Avenue into parking strips.” [Inside NoVa]
Capital One Hosting Code Fest — “Girls Computing League, a nonprofit working to empower underrepresented groups in technology, will host its first national code fest InnovateGCL later this month. The Sept. 14 event at the new Capital One headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, will have over 150 students showcase and develop new ideas on the topics of artificial intelligence, health, finance, education and many more.” [WashingtonExec]
Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Falls Church Pawn Shops — “An Arlington man previously convicted of a pair of bank robberies in Alexandria is facing more jail time. Budder Khan, now 29, pleaded guilty today to robbing two pawn shops in Falls Church, federal prosecutors announced. [ARLnow]
USAID Deploys Fairfax County Rescue Team to the Bahamas — “Members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team [were] deployed to the Bahamas as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) responding to Hurricane Dorian.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Blue, Yellow Line Metro Stations Reopen — “The six Blue and Yellow line stations south of Reagan National Airpor — Braddock Rd, King St-Old Town, Eisenhower Ave, Huntington, Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield — will reopen as scheduled Monday, September 9, with completely rebuilt platforms and several customer improvements.” [Metro]
A new chicken-focused restaurant plans to open just a short walk away from the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
Building permits indicate that GAMA Chicken & BBQ is coming to 2727 Merrilee Drive, Suite G.
The eatery is looking to serve wine, beer and mixed beverages, according to the liquor license application in the window of the spot.
The restaurant will join a plethora of restaurants and retailers, like Lost Dog Cafe and Blackfinn Ameripub, on the ground floor of apartment buildings right by the Metro station.
Blend 111, a new restaurant and wine bar, wants to offer acoustic music to its diners in the Town of Vienna.
The town’s Planning Commission ok’d the restaurant’s application for a live music permit during its meeting last night (Wednesday).
The restaurant is set to open today (Thursday) at 111 Church Street NW, Suite 101.
The locally-owned restaurant will feature food and wine from Spain, France and Venezuela, a “micro-cafe” and cold-pressed juices.
“Our intent is to offer acoustic, that small type of performances,” Michael Biddick from Blend 111 told the commission. “We’re not a lounge. We’re not a bar. We’re not a disco. We are not a dance party scene in the middle of Church Street.”
Biddick said that while the restaurant wants flexible to try out live music during different types of the day, Blend 111 will most likely experiment with having two musicians per month.
Blend 111, which applied to have live music between 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, plans to have one or two musicians play acoustic instruments inside the restaurant, according to the application.
While Bey Lounge was recently stripped of its live entertainment permit, the Town of Vienna isn’t losing its musical performances at local eateries.
The upcoming Bear Branch Tavern (133 E. Maple Avenue) also wants to entertain patrons with live music.
Blend 111’s application is set to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 18.
Photo via Twitter
Blend 111, a new restaurant and wine bar, will celebrate its grand opening on Thursday in Vienna.
Touting itself as “the region’s first biodynamic restaurant and wine bar,” Blend 111 will feature food and wine from Spain, France and Venezuela, according to a press release.
The locally-owned restaurant (111 Church Street NW, Suite 101) will offer a prix-fixe lunch and dinner options, cold-pressed juices and a “micro-cafe” with organic coffee, pour-over-brewed coffee and espresso-based drinks.
Head Chef Nicolas Terrassin is from Châtellerault, a small village in France, and has worked in restaurants in France, Québec and the D.C. area. Michael Biddick is the restaurant’s owner, sommelier and chief coffee roaster.
The dinner menu includes choices like sustainable scallops and chickpea salad, while the brunch menu offers Venezuelan scrambled eggs and oatmeal brulee.
“Everything from your morning coffee, post work out organic cold press juices, to weekend brunch, happy hour and late-night dining is available at Blend 111 — all offering unique experiences,” the press release said.
Photo via Blend 111/Facebook
(Updated at 10:35 a.m. 8/12/19) 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.
Be sure to take a close look at the paintings if you dine at Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks— one of three new restaurants by Great American Restaurants at 8051 Leesburg Pike.
The restaurant’s five paintings not only feature some well-known faces, but also have some Easter eggs and surprising twists.
One shows Michelle Obama hugging former President George W. Bush. Another features “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffet strolling along the beach with billionaire Warren Buffet.
Jack Gable, the painter for all five pieces of art, is no stranger to Great American Restaurants (GAR). Diners can find his art at all but Mike’s American in Springfield and Best Buns — the second option at the Tysons spot.
An architect introduced Gable, a Maine-based gallery painter, to GAR CEO Randy Norton about 20 years ago.
“I’m willing to do different styles,” he said, adding that he’s painted everything from rowing to sports, from historical figures to cars.
While some artists stick to a particular style, Gable said that he enjoys the challenge of different techniques and methods. “The real joy is the physical act of creating the painting,” he said.
Norton said that he and his wife Patsy choose the subjects for the paintings in Randy’s, which include Patsy with her two favorite actresses — Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Norton said he calls that one “The Three Iconic Women.”
Norton said that the painting of Washington Capital’s Captain Alex Ovechkin “was the easiest one to pick.”
“I wanted to convey the message that we do not want the restaurant to be too serious,” Norton said, adding that the paintings are meant to add a lighthearted tone to the green mohair booths and mahogany carving at the restaurant.
The fifth painting shows Bruce Springsteen performing with Clarence Clemons. “It’s not a painting you would normally see in a ‘nice’ restaurant,” Norton said.
Meanwhile at Patsy’s — the final one in the Leesburg Pike trifecta — diners can find two murals by Gable and Christopher Cart that feature about 30 individuals in as slight caricatures in carnival scenes.
Randy’s is open from 4-9 p.m. on Sundays, 4-9 on Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. on Fridays.
New shops, restaurants and entertainment will start opening at The Boro development in Tysons this fall.
The development by The Meridian Group includes a 70,000 square-foot flagship Whole Foods set to open this fall, a 14-screen ShowPlace ICON Theatre and an onsite food hall and brewery.
The Boro recently announced that City National Bank will join The Boro’s line up.
Pick your favorite below and tell us in the comments which other ones you are ready for.
Image courtesy The Meridian Group
A new casual restaurant may open in Tysons as B.GOOD considers expansion to the area.
Though the new location or opening date has not been announced, a press release noted. In addition to the new Tysons location, the company is looking for people to open new franchise locations.
“People shouldn’t feel bad about going out to eat, and B.GOOD is a breath of fresh air to people who want to know exactly what they are eating. We are thrilled to bring our ‘Food with Roots’ to Tysons,” said Ed Yancey, the B.GOOD vice president of franchise development.
The eatery originated in Boston around 2003, and all locations offer a variety of grain bowls, salads, burgers, milkshakes and smoothies. They also have a kids menu, takeout, catering options as well as an on-site dining room.
The company updates its menu seasonally and do not use artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. They also claim to use locally sourced ingredients, according to the press release.
The company is looking for franchise owners who have restaurant management experience and embrace the “farm-to-table” concept.
Currently, there are 80 locations around the world — including a few others already in the Virginia area.
Photo via B.GOOD/Facebook
Another bubble tea shop is now open along Maple Avenue in Vienna.
TeaDM Mini recently opened a new location at 142 W. Maple Avenue — the former spot of E.G. Comics. The shop combines bubble tea with electronic dance music.
A grand opening celebration took place on June 30 — about a month after Gem Tea opened at 155 W. Maple Avenue.
The two bubble tea shops are less than 300 feet from each other, facing each other across Maple Avenue, according to Google Maps.
Photo via TeaDM Mini/Facebook
Kiin Imm, a Thai restaurant in Rockville, Md., is coming to Merrifield.
An employee at the restaurant said that the restaurant has a grand opening scheduled for Friday (Aug. 2).
The online menu indicates that the eatery will serve up Thai salads, veggie spring rolls, Tom Yum chicken soup and Thai street food like Kua Gai noodles and khao kha moo.
The restaurant has a pending application to serve wine and beer at 2676 Avenir Place, Suite A by the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
Kiin Imm will be open from 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, according to the website.
Photo via Kiin Imm Thai Restaurant/Facebook
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.
Tysons has a new Mediterranean restaurant that plans to serve up happy hour specials and a late-night menu.
After a long series of delays, Agora opened at the Nouvelle (7911 Westpark Drive) last week.
The 4,000-square-foot, split-level eatery features Turkish decor — the furniture is from Turkey — with seating for 150 people. The restaurant also boasts basket weave, mosaic lamps, kaleidoscopic inlays, a private dining area and a 12-seat chef’s bar by the kitchen.
The tapas-style menu from Lebanese chef Ghassan Jarrouj blends Turkish, Lebanese and Greek flavors, with dishes like veal tongue, pan-seared scallops served with grapefruit over saffron yogurt and fried cauliflower with tahini sauce and sumac.
While diners can also find Agora in D.C., the Tysons spot has new, exclusive dishes including Lebanese steak tartare, shredded duck confit flatbread with a fig balsamic reduction and tortellini with a yogurt and mint sauce.
Agora currently serves dinner. Lunch and brunch menus are set to roll out the week of July 29, according to a press release.
Photos 1-5 courtesy Agora
