Details are emerging about A Taste of UrbanSpace, a new food hall planned to replace the Isabella Eatery on the third floor of Tysons Galleria.

According to the Washington Post, the new eatery will bring together eight restaurants from across the Washington area. So far, five of the eight new restaurants have been announced. They are:

• Stomping Ground — A coffee shop and bistro in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.
• Thip Khao — A popular Laotian restaurant in Columbia Heights.
• Donburi — A Japanese rice bowl restaurant with locations in Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle.
• Ice Cream Jubilee — An ice cream location with locations on the Capitol Riverfront and 14th Street NW, with another location soon to open in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.
• Andy’s Pizza — A pizza-by-the-slice shop from the D.C. frozen pizza company Eat Pizza.

The new food hall is scheduled to have a quick turnaround, opening this coming Wednesday (Nov. 28), completely replacing Isabella Eatery and its in-house restaurant brands while maintaining the same kitchen and dining spaces.

UrbanSpace, the company running the new eatery, specializes in food halls and markets that support smaller restaurateurs and entrepreneurs. The company runs Broadway Bites and Mad. Sq. Eats, among other markets in New York City.

‘Fish Taco’ Coming to Boro in Tysons — “Fish Taco, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant with three locations in Maryland, plans to open its first Virginia store at the Boro development in Tysons… by June next year. A rep for Fish Taco tells Eater the new location in the mixed-use development will have space for 60 customers to consume taco platters, salads, rice bowls, burritos, and quesadillas — all utilizing local and seasonal ingredients.” [Eater]

Mall Hours for Black Friday — “Tysons Corner Center… will be open for 28 hours straight. This year, the mall opens at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 22 and will remain open Friday, Nov. 23 from midnight-10 p.m. Across Chain Bridge Road, Tysons Galleria will be closed on Thanksgiving. On Black Friday, hours will be 8 a.m.-9 p.m.” [Patch]

Dulles Toll Road Rates Going Up — “The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors voted Nov. 14 to increase rates on the toll road again, starting this coming January. Drivers of two-axle vehicles, who now pay $2.50 at the main toll plaza, will see that rate jump to $3.25, and those entering or exiting tolled ramps will pay $1.50, up  from the current $1.” [InsideNova]

Herndon Site Still in the Running for Apple — Though Apple is “seriously” looking at a site in Tysons for a large new East Coast office, the company is also eyeing some other locations, like the 26-acre, state-owned Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon and sites in Raleigh, N.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. [Washington Business Journal]

McLean Blood Drive Was a Success — “With the holiday season quickly approaching, hospitals are continuously using blood products faster than donations are replacing them. With an urgent blood drive, sponsored by McLean Dermatology and Skin Care Center, volunteers and staff aimed to reach a goal of getting 40 donors during this Sunday’s drive — in which the goal was met.” [WJLA]

Parks Dept. Riffs on Facebook Outage — A tweet this morning from Fairfax County Parks: “Facebook and Instagram are down. Seems like a great excuse to take a walk and enjoy some face-to-face conversation in a park.” [Twitter]

Stomping Ground Coming to Tysons Galleria — “Stomping Ground, a coffee shop and biscuit-themed restaurant that after more than three years in business has become the epicenter of Del Ray’s Mount Vernon Avenue, will open a second location inside of the former Isabella Eatery space in Tysons Galleria.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Fairfax Schools on Two Hour Delay — All Fairfax County public schools are opening two hours late due to concerns following yesterday’s snowy weather. School offices and central offices opened on time. [Twitter]

Track Testing for Silver Line Phase II — “Workers constructing Phase II of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project recently rolled out a strange-looking piece of equipment called an Amberg IMS 5000… The tool, which somewhat resembles a yellow scooter, has been employed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority… to survey and assess project data on Phase 2 of the Silver Line.” [VivaTysons]

New Vienna Mural Almost Done — “Despite crummy weather and vehicles and pedestrians passing close by, two artists nearly have completed a panoramic mural of Vienna landmarks on the Vienna Shopping Center’s rear wall.” [InsideNova]

It’s one day after Halloween and Tysons is already getting into the Christmas season.

Santa will be coming to both Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria this fall. “Santa HQ” will be located on level 1 of the Tysons Corner Center near the Nordstrom, where guests are invited to take pictures with Santa and participate in an augmented-reality “Magic Mirror”.

Santa HQ, which is sponsored by cable channel HGTV, will run from Sunday, Nov. 11 to Christmas Eve (Dec. 24). Reservations for a photo with Santa can be made online (warning for those at work: the site auto-plays a loud video).

The Santa events kick off next Thursday, Nov. 8 with Snappy Hour With Santa. The event is a networking opportunity for professionals around Tysons (and the North Pole), running from 5-7 p.m. at Santa HQ before it officially opens.

On Dec. 2, the Tysons Corner Center will host its 2018 Santa Breakfast. The event will run from 8-10 a.m. outside the AMC theaters. Guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Admission to the events is free with an unwrapped toy to donate to the Holiday Giving Toy Drive. This year the drive will be benefiting Second Story, a local youth shelter.

Santa Claus is also scheduled to make an appearance at the mall’s Thursday, Nov. 15 tree lighting ceremony, which will be emceed Lance Bass from *NSYNC. More on that from the Tysons Corner Center website:

Come celebrate Wash-FM’s Kick off To Christmas and the annual lighting of Tysons Corner Center’s signature 51 foot Christmas Tree on The Plaza emceed by Lance Bass from *NSYNC!

Join Tysons Corner Center, Lance Bass from *NSYNC, 97.1- WASH-FM’s Chili & Toby, Chief  Meteorologist Bill Kelly, and Tysons very own Santa Claus as they light the tree, followed by a very special holiday performances by the The Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet, The District, The Shiloh Baptist Church Choir, and Mahi Gudi.

Pre-event, guests also are invited to make a reservation to explore the immersive, engaging Santa HQ, the digitally enhanced visit with Santa presented by HGTV. Post-Event, have a warm beverage at Earls Kitchen & Bar, Shake Shack, or Barrel & Bushel, all located on The Plaza.

Meanwhile, the Tysons Galleria, the Santa’s Workshop will open on Friday, Nov. 16 for professional photoshoots with Santa.

Maggiano’s Little Italy in the Galleria will also be hosting its annual Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 15. Tickets are $25 for adults and $35 for children.

Photo via Facebook

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.

Theater for Tysons Galleria? — “We’re starting to get a glimpse of the next round of change coming to the high-end Tysons Galleria, as the mall’s owner may look to replace the Macy’s there with a theater, among other tenants, according to documents submitted to Fairfax County.” [Washington Business Journal]

Sales Tax Receipts Up — “Sales-tax receipts distributed to the Fairfax County government by the state government in September totaled $14.9 million, an increase of 3.7 percent from September 2017, according to new figures from the Fairfax County Department of Management and Budget.” [InsideNova]

Transportation Projects Slowing — “The organization… projects transportation revenue growth to be flat through 2024, and VDOT construction allocations are at their slowest since 2013 when the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 2313, legislation intended to generate more revenue for transportation projects.” [Fairfax Times]

Isabella Eatery was the crown jewel of Tysons Galleria, a sprawling food court that took up most of the building’s third floor. Then it was all gone.

Isabella Eatery debuted in December 2017, but was a ghost town by the end of August the next year. According to Washingtonian, Isabella Eatery faced declining sales that were only compounded by a sexual harassment lawsuit from Chloe Caras, former Director of Operations for Isabella Eatery, against owner Mike Isabella.

The lawsuit was settled in May, but the Isabella brand was irrevocably damaged.

Today, Isabella Eatery’s absence dominates the third floor of Tysons Galleria. While a number of restaurants and shops remain open on the mall’s third floor — including Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s and Wildfire — much of the space is empty and cordoned off.

The “food emporium” had eight distinct dining options, a cocktail bar, and a private dining space spread out over 41,000 square feet of Tysons Galleria.

A Tysons Galleria employee told Tysons Reporter that the mall is currently in negotiations with an as-yet unnamed tenant to fill at least part of the Isabella Eatery space. The employee said the new occupants are still looking at using the space as part of a dining facility.

There is no date set for the release of more information about the prospective tenant, we’re told.

Launch Day for Tysons Reporter — Today is the official launch date for the website you’re reading, Tysons Reporter. Find out more about us here. Have a news tip? Email [email protected]. As we do on our sister sites, we’ll be starting most mornings with our “Morning Notes” — links to interesting articles and social media posts around Tysons, McLean and Vienna.

New Dining Options Coming to Tysons — “More dining options are coming to Tysons Corner with the arrival of a new Tex Mex restaurant called Rango’s and a trio of Hawaiian-inspired Pokeworks locations starting next month.” [Eater]

Theater Chain Mulling Tysons Galleria Lease — “Experiential movie theater chain iPic Theaters could soon open its second D.C.-area location at the Tysons Galleria mall.” [Bisnow]

Driver Drives Down W&OD Trail — “A motorist was traveling northbound on Park Street, S.E., on Sept. 18 at 11:54 a.m. and was intending to turn into the parking lot at the Vienna Community Center when the driver mistakenly turned onto the Washington & Old Dominion Regional Trail instead, Vienna police said.” [InsideNova]

Road Closures Near Vienna Community Center — “The Town of Vienna has announced road closures near the community center for repair work during the day this week.” [Patch]

McLean 5K Scheduled Next Month — “The McLean 5K is set for Saturday, Oct. 6, at 8 a.m. This is the tenth time the event has been held in McLean.” [McLean Connection]

Madison HS Teams Awarded Plaques in Vienna — “The Madison High School Women’s Swim and Dive team, Men’s Swim and Dive team, Girls Soccer team, and Softball team were recognized for both their successes in competition and the classroom. Each 2018 team was awarded a plaque by Mayor DiRocco for their accomplishments.” [Twitter]