When Andy’s Pizza had to close, along with dozens of other restaurants and stores in Tysons Galleria, co-owner Emily Brown figured it would be around three to six weeks before they reopened. Seven months later, the restaurant has reopened, but the local pizza spot that had a steadily growing business at the start of the year is now fighting for survival.

“We worked really hard to build what was starting to take off,” Brown said.

Brown said shutting down was the right decision, but it was still hard on small businesses. Even with Andy’s Pizza officially reopening around two weeks ago, Brown said the office lunch crowd that was a mainstay of the business has all but disappeared.

“90% of our business was lunch, and the happy hour was starting to take off, all from offices,” Brown said.

Andy’s Pizza was one of the restaurants that helped launch Taste of Urbanspace in Tysons Galleria in 2018, a replacement to quick collapse of Isabella Eatery that put together smaller outlets of beloved restaurants and food vendors throughout the region.

Throughout late 2018 and 2019, restaurants like Stomping Ground, Donburi and Andy’s Pizza built a community on the upper floors of the mall and established a dedicated local following. Andy’s Pizza even launched a pop-up with Stomping Ground’s Del Ray location. But that community is now in jeopardy as the local hospitality and office markets remain devastated as a result of the pandemic. Read More

Tysons Corner’s first Restaurant Week kicks off next Monday and runs Oct. 12 through Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Guests can eat in or take home food from fixed-price lunch and dinner menus that were designed specifically for Restaurant Week and showcase classic dishes, seasonal options, and fan favorites. The Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event.

Restaurateurs say they hope the week will bring customers back to their establishments after they experience the coronavirus precautions that have been put in place. They also hope that patrons who work and eat lunch in town but do not live there return to Tysons as a destination for foodies.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has obliterated the food service industry, with 37,000 jobs lost in Fairfax County, according to a recent report. The findings are the first step in a recovery strategy commissioned by Fairfax County and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

Even after restaurants reopened, customers remain uncomfortable dining out.

“We realized that we can’t just open our doors and hope people go through them,” Dane Scott, the managing partner of Seasons 52, said.

Restaurants are taking extreme safety measures, Chamber of Commerce Chair Andrew Clark says.

“The irony is that restaurants are probably the cleanest places in town, but it will take a while for people to assimilate,” he said.

Tony Bass, the general manager of Urban Plates, is ready to change how people view Tysons with Restaurant Week.

“What I’m excited to show is that Tysons is a destination for food,” he said.

People who are dining for the first time since the pandemic started will see that things in the restaurants look different.

At Urban Plates, customers can still observe chefs making their food in the open kitchen, but can no longer approach the chefs, Bass said.

P.F. Chang’s has poured money into presentation, said operating partner Eric Padilla. The plateware is new, and dishes are served with a new flair.

“You’re not able to go to the movies, so we want to put on a show in the dining room,” he said. “Dinner is the main show: Come in, relax, have a good time, and take your mind off what’s going on.”

Scott, who sits on the Chamber of Commerce, said it has stepped up to care for Tysons’ businesses.

When Clark took over as chair this summer, he implemented some new initiatives. The chamber filmed a documentary on food safety and later threw a whisky-tasting event outside American Prime, complete with temperature checks and mask monitors.

Clark credited Restaurant Week taking off to volunteer photographers, videographers, printers and graphic and designers.

“There’s no money to be made,” he said. “They just love the community.”

Image via Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce

Officially, there is no Oktoberfest in Vienna this year.

Unofficially, Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Road NE) is preparing to launch a weekend of German food and Caboose beers starting tomorrow (Friday).

“Vienna Oktoberfest may be cancelled this year, but you can still enjoy some German inspired food and some Caboose beers all weekend long!” Caboose Tavern said in an event listing. “Join us October 2-4 at Caboose Tavern!”

The event is scheduled to run daily from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Among the beer selection is Oktoberfest Marzen, described as a malty German amber lager.

The celebration comes after a summer of hardship and fundraising for Caboose, which ran a food donation program to help local families.

Image via Caboose Tavern/Facebook

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering a move to allow closed or partially-closed tents for outdoor dining in Fairfax County as temperatures continue to dip in the coming weeks.

At a board meeting on Tuesday, Board Chairman Jeff McKay proposed an emergency ordinance that would allow restaurants and fitness businesses to set up the tents.

“This is an important step we can take to safely help our local restaurants through this difficult time,” McKay wrote.

Currently, restaurants and fitness businesses are allowed to  use outdoor areas, including portions of parking lots and sidewalks. That ordinance is set to expire six months after the county’s state of emergency ends.

A public hearing on the matter is set for Oct. 20.

Today, I asked that the Board to authorize a public hearing to extend the ordinance and to allow tents to be partially or completely closed to help as weather cools. This is an important step we can take to safely help our local restaurants through this difficult time. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/nmZ7DBuXde

— Jeff McKay (@JeffreyCMcKay) September 29, 2020

Photo via Melissa Walker Horn/Unsplash

This October, beer fans and animal lovers can head over to Lost Dog Cafe to sip Solace Brewing Company’s Rescue Ale and support rescue efforts for dogs and cats.

The charity brew, which benefits the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, will hit shelves at Solace Brewery on Oct. 8 and will start being poured at all Lost Dog Cafe locations on Oct. 9. A portion of all sales of Rescue Ale will be donated to LDCRF.

There are five Lost Dog Cafe locations, with one in Dunn Loring (2729A Merrilee Drive) and one in McLean (1690A Anderson Road).

The brewery will host a distanced adoption event, and an online auction will offer winners a tour of the brewery as well as  pooch and beer-themed merchandise.

Lost Dog Cafe is a long-time supporter of the rescue and donates a portion of its revenue to support the care of animals rescued by LDCRF. Local breweries have brewed a Rescue Ale in support of LDCRF for the last four years, and this is Solace’s second year making the charity beer. Read More

A month after opening Bansari Indian Cuisine (2750 Gallows Road) in Merrifield, Yash Bhatt picked up the phone.

It was Tim Carman, a food critic for The Washington Post.

He had been ordering takeout from the new Punjabi-style restaurant, enjoyed the food, and was writing a review.

“We had no clue,” Bhatt said. “We were serving him like a normal customer.”

His favorable review, published last week, buoyed the team.

“You feel that sense of pride when, not knowingly, you were doing the right thing the whole time,” he said.

The reward came after months of work and new obstacles caused by the shutdown. With regulatory agencies reachable only by mail or email, obtaining permits was slow going, but Bhatt “can’t complain.”

News of the restaurant is spreading. Outdoor dining fills up quickly, but people are skittish to eat indoors, he said.

The small team he has is “going crazy” trying to keep up, but Bhatt said “it is exciting to hear the phone ring all the time.” Bhatt wonders if it’s time to hire more wait staff.

The restaurant used to be Punjabi by Nature, but the owners wanted out of the business, Bhatt said. His wife Nirali and head chef Deepak Sarin, who used to cook for Punjabi by Nature, became co-owners in June. The space was closed for renovations and opened in mid-July. Read More

The Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant had once taken up a key corner spot in Tysons Corner Center, right across from the Barnes & Noble. But while other restaurants are reopening from pandemic closures, Gordon Biersch is gone for good.

The closure is a latest for the franchise, which had four other regional locations close earlier this year. While the Tysons location was reportedly “not on the chopping block” in March, according to eater, the following months put additional challenges on many restaurants.

With the Tysons location gone, the closest Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant is in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Tysons location still held a special place in the heart of some locals, though, which took home the Great American Beer Festival gold medal in 2018 for a Czech-style pilsner, DC Beer reported. The Tysons Corner Center location brewed beer on-site and offered tours in pre-pandemic times.

Photo via Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

A new cafe could be coming to a former drive-thru United Bank at 7787 Leesburg Pike.

Applicant Mohamed Rafaei is seeking a permit from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 15, to convert the first floor of the building (built in 1980) into a restaurant.

“The proposed sit-down restaurant will replace the first-floor financial institution,” a report on the project noted. “The proposed hours of operation for the restaurant are 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., 7 days a week. Approximately 4 employees and a maximum of 72 patrons are proposed.”

The application noted that the second floor of the building is currently an office, which would continue to be in use after the restaurant change. Given that the site is zoned for office buildings and hotels, a special exception is required for a restaurant use, but a staff report said the restaurant could support the surrounding offices and is “in harmony” with the Comprehensive Plan.

There was once a local Tysons establishment called Mint at 8346 Leesburg Pike, next to the former Tysons Biergarten, but it’s unclear if the two are related.

Photo via Google Maps

(Updated 12/22/2020) Like many independently-owned restaurants, the pandemic has taken a giant slice of revenue from local pizzerias. Owners in the Tysons area say “tremendous” community support is the key ingredient helping them survive.

Tysons Reporter talked to five owners to find out what it’s like running an independent pizzeria during the pandemic. All but one of the restaurants are currently open and taking orders.

Most of the owners noted they saw prices soar for popular pizza ingredients. “Cheese and pepperoni are through the roof,” Marty Volk, the owner of Church Street Pizzeria and Lombardi’s Pizza in Vienna, said. “The pricing almost doubled.”

Some pizzerias chose to raise their prices, while others didn’t. “If you don’t increase the price of your pizza with the cheese doubling, you’re just taking profit out of our pocket so you have to pass it on to the customer,” Volk said, adding that pizzas with cheese now cost an additional $0.75.

Here’s what the owners had to say about how they have adapted their operations to keep making the dough and why they are grateful for the local community. Read More

Restaurants and businesses in the Town of Vienna can take advantage of outside spaces for the next seven months.

Last night, the Vienna Town Council voted to extend a temporary waiver on commercial activity outside in hopes of helping local businesses stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses are utilizing parking lots and sidewalks in hopes of attracting more customers as they operate under state and local rules capacity restrictions and social distancing guidelines. As the pandemic continues, customers are gauging how safe they feel inside or outside — with some people opting to limit their time inside businesses.

“We have got to do this to keep our businesses going,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen said.

The Vienna Town Council first approved the emergency ordinance on June 1 and then readopted it on June 15. Before the town officials voted last night, the temporary waiver was set to last until Sept. 30.

Now, town businesses will have until March 31, 2021 to apply for and use temporary emergency outdoor commercial activity permits, which Town Manager Mercury Payton authorizes. Payton can also waive regulations for signage and conditional use permits for outdoor dining activities.

After Councilmember Nisha Patel pushed the town to consider a similar waiver for non-commercial zones, Colbert suggested calling for an emergency session on Friday for the Vienna Town Council to consider the proposal.

Patel said that she knows of private schools that would like to use outdoor space for teaching. “If you can get the kids out of the classroom and out into the open air, I think is safer in general,” Patel said.

Photo via Vienna Business Association/Facebook