There are a few stores opening, or shuffling around, at Tysons Corner Center mall over the next few months.

Arabian Oud, an oil and incense store, is scheduled to open sometime in early 2019 and signs on the store exterior say it is currently hiring staff.

The store’s oils and perfumes are higher end, with many priced over $100. The Royal Oud Set, described as a blend of roses and musk from Cambodia, will set you back $1,500.

Francesca’s, a trendy women’s clothing store on the mall’s second floor, is opening a new location on the mall’s first floor across from the food court. The store offers a variety of clothes, accessories and some home decor.

Next door, Aldo is also opening a second location in the mall sometime this spring. The store specializes in leather shoes and bags.

Photo via Facebook

A brand new suite of retail options has just been announced for The Boro, a large development near the Greensboro Metro station planned to compete with the Tysons Corner Center mall as a commercial hub.

The largest of the new tenants is a two-story Ethan Allen furniture store, according to a press release from the Meridian Group. The store is relocating from a Route 7 location and opening a 11,500-square-foot location at the corner of Boro Place and Westpark Drive.

Six other new retail locations were also announced, including:

• Colour Bar Studio: a hair salon offering a variety of services including coloring and haircuts. The 3,400-square-foot salon, Colour Bar’s second in Northern Virginia, will be on the second floor of The Loft along Boro Place.

• Paris Baguette: a French bakery offering an assortment of breads, pastries and cakes baked daily, as well as chef-inspired sandwiches and salads. Paris Baguette’s second location in Northern Virginia, the 2,600-square-foot café will be located on the ground floor of Boro Tower at the corner of Broad Street and Solutions Drive.

• Akira Ramen & Izakaya: a restaurant that makes its own Soba noodles and features an open kitchen. This is Akira Ramen’s second location and they are opening a 2,000-square-foot restaurant on Boro Place, across from Whole Foods Market.

• Tysons Nail Lounge: the lounge will be an expansion of Mint Nail Lounge, a premier manicure, pedicure and waxing lounge in the Mosaic District. The 1,600-square-foot location on the second floor of The Loft.

• Poki DC: a 1,400-square-foot location offering poke as well as freshly-brewed bubble tea. Poki DC will open on Boro Place, adjacent to Akira Ramen.

• Verizon Wireless: will offer phones, accessories and support services. Its 1,400-square-foot store will be on Greensboro Drive.

The new stores are scheduled to open alongside the 69,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market, ShowPlace ICON Theaters, and other retail sometime later this year. The exact date has not been announced.

Hoagies are on the horizon for Fairfax County.

Wawa, the convenience store chain with a cult following, just reiterated its commitment to opening stores around the county, and said that the store models may be unique to the area.

“Fairfax County and Northern Virginia is a really important market for us,” Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens was quoted as saying in a WTOP article Thursday. “We are looking at strategically bending our store model to get more access to that area and plan to announce some openings in that area coming up.”

Wawa currently has two stores in Northern Virginia — in Sterling and Chantilly. It also has two locations in the District — a store new Dupont Circle that opened late last year and a new location in Georgetown that opened yesterday.

A Wawa rep confirmed to Tysons Reporter last month that it was “actively looking for new locations in Vienna and look[s] forward to sharing confirms plans and locations as they take shape,” leading to julibation on social media. The company has previously said that it is hoping to open 30-50 stores total in the D.C. area.

Photo courtesy Grant/PoPville.com

Wawa is still coming to Vienna, but not to the former BP station site at Maple Ave and Park Street in Vienna, as reported earlier.

“I apologize for confirming the Maple Ave and Park Street address,” a Wawa spokeswoman said via email. “This was incorrect and is not a location we are considering. We are still actively looking for new locations in Vienna and look forward to sharing confirms plans and locations as they take shape.”

The convenience store and gas station chain has been expanding throughout the Washington, D.C. area with plans to add 30-50 stores in the region.

News of Wawa’s plan to come to Vienna was greeted with jubilation on social media from the chain’s fervent fans.

“As a Philly native, I am thrilled to hear this!” said a reader on the Tysons Reporter Facebook page.

“Our new go-to lunch spot,” wrote another.

Tysons Reporter initially asked Wawa about plans for the site after hearing from a tipster and, subsequently, two local business owners that they heard that the company would be opening a new store there. It is unclear where else in Vienna Wawa may now be looking.

Update on 11/30/18 — A Wawa spokeswoman says the company is still looking to open a store in Vienna, but not at the site discussed below.

Wawa is working to open a new store at the busy corner of Maple Ave and Park Street in Vienna, TysonsReporter.com has learned.

The store will replace a shuttered gas station at the corner and an adjacent property that houses two well-liked businesses: a tailor shop and the Arthur Christine salon.

The Vienna Town Council approved the redevelopment of the properties into a new gas station and 2,500 square foot convenience store — the identity of the store operator was not revealed — by a 5-2 vote in May. The development includes 11 parking spaces, wider sidewalks and the placement of utility lines underground, the Sun Gazette reported.

In response to an inquiry from Tysons Reporter, Wawa confirmed that it was working to open a new store at the location, though no opening timeframe has been set.

“We are pursuing this site in Vienna,” said Wawa Public Relations Manager Lori Bruce. “While it’s too soon in the land development phase to confirm a timeline for construction, we can say that we are excited to have the opportunity to bring Wawa to this community.”

Wawa has been expanding across the D.C. area after announcing plans last year to add 30-50 stores in the region. The convenience store chain currently has locations in Sterling, Chantilly and the District.

Mr. Foutah, the owner of the tailor shop that is set to be redeveloped, said his lease expires in June 2019 and he has been told that the building will be torn down.

Foutah, who prefers to only go by his last name, said he has been in the location at 109 Park Street NE for 20 years. He added that he is planning to move to a new storefront somewhere in Vienna.

“I’m optimistic about the move,” he said. “It’s a lot of memories, but the way I think about it is that it’s going to give me a good opportunity to clean up the place.”

Rachel Grante, who co-owns the Arthur Christine salon with her husband, said the business moved out of the 113 Park Street NE location on Oct. 1, after seven years there, and is now temporarily operating out of the nearby Michel Rene salon at 165 Maple Ave E. She called the move “bittersweet,” adding that “it will be interesting how the town adjusts” to the new Wawa store.

Dusan Grante said the couple is looking for a new, permanent location and “trying our best to stay here” in Vienna, though they’re also scouting storefronts in Merrifield and Reston.

Photo via Google Maps

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) Local flower delivery startup UrbanStems and other digital-native retail brands, in addition to long-time mall staple DKNY, opened this weekend at a new physical location in Tysons Corner Center mall.

BrandBox, a project launched by mall operator Macerich, adds physical foot traffic to the mostly digital companies. Tysons Corner Center was the first location for the retail experiment, which opened this past Saturday (Nov. 17).

The first group of startups in the location will be:

• Naadam — a Mongolian cashmere apparel company.
• Winky Lux — a cruelty-free facial cosmetics retailer.
• Interior Define — a home furniture store specializing in custom-built pieces.
• Nectar — a memory-foam mattress retailer.
• UrbanStems — a same-day flower delivery service in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

For some startups, like Nectar, the Tysons Corner Center location is their first physical storefront. The company is offering $125 off mattresses and two free pillows starting today.

“Nectar’s space features an installation with hands-on components and a beautiful visual tour through a year of sleep to celebrate the brand’s one-of-a-kind 365 Night Trial with a vignette for each season,” said a PR rep.

DKNY, the New York-based fashion house, will use its BrandBox location to try new limited edition products and designs.

Erin Condren, a stationary and supplies store, had a soft-launch yesterday (Wednesday) for the company’s new Mosaic District location.

The store at 2905 District Ave is the first East Coast location for the chain, which started in 2004 in as a note card business. Since then, the company has expanded to organizers and notebooks and opened brick-and-mortar locations, including a flagship store in Austin, Texas.

“It was great,” said Kelsey Anderson, the manager of the Mosaic District store. “It’s been fun, people have been walking by wondering when it was going to open.”

Anderson said the customers were a mix of those who were fans of the brand and those who were passing by and stopped in to check it out.

The official grand opening of the store won’t be until February when Condren herself — the company’s founder and namesake — will be out to celebrate the store’s opening. Anderson said it was decided to hold the grand opening after the holidays.

The store is currently looking for a part-time sales associate.

🥁Drumroll please…🥁 The #ECMosaicDistric Retail Store is officially OPEN! Come visit our stunning retail space in Fairfax, Virginia for a dose of color, inspiration & of course, ORGANIZATION! Fact: there's no happier place to do your holiday shopping. https://t.co/BDKOrPqWjH pic.twitter.com/3OyOfDCBoR

— Erin Condren Design (@ErinCondren) November 15, 2018

McLean Citizens Reject Ramp Closure Resolution — “After debating nearly two hours over a pair of conflicting resolutions regarding the Virginia Department of Transportation’s proposal to temporarily close an on-ramp to northbound Interstate 495 during weekday afternoon peak hours, McLean Citizens Association (MCA) board members on Nov. 7 rejected both resolutions.” [InsideNova]

Fire at Madison High School — A fire broke out in a classroom at Vienna’s Madison High School Friday night, but was brought under control by a sprinkler system. [Twitter]

Vienna Legislative Priorities — “The Vienna town government’s draft 2019 legislative agenda looks decidedly similar to ones of yore and continues to ask the General Assembly to maintain adequate state funding and not further reduce local authority.” [InsideNova]

New Retail Concept Coming to Mall — “Macerich this weekend is launching a concept known as ‘BrandBox’ at Tysons Corner Center just outside Washington, D.C., one of the most valuable shopping malls in the U.S. There, it will house six brands, including apparel retailer Naadam and makeup company Winky Lux, for six to 12 months. Each brand will have its own mini store inside an 11,000-square-foot space, with new retailers funneling in and out each year.” [CNBC, Glossy]

Opioid Epidemic Discussion in Vienna — “It might be a scary topic, but still an important conversation to have: TOV’s Club Phoenix is hosting a parent discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, on Understanding the Opioid Epidemic.” [Twitter]

While Tysons Galleria is still putting together plans to replace the vacant Isabella Eatery, there are a handful of new stores coming to the mall by the end of the year.

The first is Santa’s Workshop, a yearly pop-up that allows kids to chat with Santa and take photos for holiday cards and keepsakes.

Santa’s Workshop will be open Nov. 16 to Dec. 24, from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Reservations can be made online to skip the line and save $5 on a photo package. A standard $39.99 package comes with six photos of varying sizes, a digital download, and a short video. The $49.99 version has ten photos, digital downloads, and a premium video.

In addition to traditional Santa photos, the Workshop will host “Ugly Sweater” days on Nov. 16 and Dec. 13 and Pet Nights every Monday from 5-8 p.m.

Two other retailers are under construction and expected to open in December, according to a mall employee. Among them:

• Lafayette 148 New York, a high-end women’s clothing store founded in 1996. The Galleria location will be one of only three locations outside of New York.
• Lik Fine Art, a gallery specializing in the landscape photography of Peter Lik.

The Tysons branch of The Container Store, a national chain of stores selling all types of storage and organization supplies, is moving across the street this weekend.

The store is relocating from 8508 Leesburg Pike to 8459 Leesburg Pike near the Best Buy on Route 7. While the distance is slight, the new location promises a completely new feeling for the store.

In a press release, the Container Store announced the new store will include a revamped store design with unique interactive technology elements that aim to make shopping for containers more convenient and customized. This store will be the first of a “new generation” of container shopping, following on a prototype store that opened in Dallas in June, the company said

The location opens at 10 a.m. this Saturday (Oct. 20). The opening weekend will include giveaways every hour on the hour, including a $1,000 Elfa custom closet with installation, both Saturday and Sunday.

The Container Store is also hiring new full-time and seasonal employees, with applications available online.

Photo via The Container Store