Tysons’ first Restaurant Week, which ran from Oct. 12-18, was a “huge success,” according to restaurateurs.
When the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce followed up with each of the 19 participating restaurants, they each reported soaring sales.
“We followed-up with each restaurant, and they all reported significant sales increases, some as high as 50% since reopening after Covid-19,” said Dane Scott, the managing partner of Seasons 52. “And my restaurant is in that category.”
Guests had the option to 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 hosted the event.
Tony Bass, the general manager of Urban Plates, said his restaurant hit records.
“We actually had the busiest week of any week since we reopened, which was a huge win for us,” Bass said.
It was so successful that the overall company “is looking to replicate elsewhere what we did here,” he said.
The data is going to help Urban Plates keep up the momentum from Restaurant Week, Bass said.
The number-one feedback Bass said he received was, “Wow, I didn’t know you were open again.”
Although in-person guests were thrilled to be back, half of the total customers took advantage of take-out, he said.
Overall, “it was a much bigger event than personally I thought it was going to be,” Bass said.
Scott was nervous leading up to the weeklong event. Restaurant Week in D.C. was reportedly not as successful as in years past, and the Tysons Chamber had planned its restaurant week around not interfering with the week in D.C.
Although the Tysons chamber of commerce added a carry-out component — which is not offered during regular restaurant weeks — to give customers more than one way to participate, Scott still worried the event would be a flop.
“It was far from it,” he said. “Nineteen restaurants participated, and every restaurant said, ‘I had a great week — the best week since reopening. It really made me soar, I was so happy.”
Photo courtesy Andrew Clark
Falls Church Middle Eastern Restaurant Officers Discount for Guests Who Voted — “Sheesh Grill [in] Falls Church (8190 Strawberry Lane Ste 4) will offer diners who present their ‘I Voted’ sticker a discount off their meal from Oct. 26-Nov. 3.” [Sheesh]
Locals Help Science Teacher Clear Daniels Run Elementary Courtyard — “On #VolunteerFest weekend, students from Fairfax and Lake Braddock high schools help a science teacher clean up a courtyard at her school, Daniels Run Elementary.” [Twitter]
Tysons Chamber of Commerce Urges Greater Business Collaboration — “The chamber now is focusing on “business verticals” that encourage companies in complementary industries to purchase services from each other, said Andrew Clark, the chamber’s new board chairman.” [Inside Nova]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
An upcoming blood drive at The Boro will also double as a chance for folks to find out if that bad sickness they had might have been COVID-19.
Following up on a blood drive in July, which raised enough blood to save 38 lives according to a press release, Tysons development The Boro will host another blood drive tomorrow (Thursday) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Boro Station (1775 Greensboro Station Place).
“The American Red Cross is also currently testing all blood, platelet, and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies for a limited time and donors will receive the free results of their antibody test within 7-10 days through the Red Cross Blood Donor App or by logging in to the donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org,” the press release said.
According to the CDC, antibody tests can show if someone may have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, though the virus can’t be use to diagnose current cases.
Appointments can be scheduled to donate online.
As hospitals begin to reopen, the need for blood in previously-delayed surgeries is resurfacing.
“There is an urgent need for blood donations right now, to meet the needs of patients in hospitals, as surgical procedures and treatments that were temporarily paused due to the pandemic resume again,” the press release said.
Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn
Update 10/28 — The new parking district will relieve overparked residential streets near the Scotts Run Nature Preserve, not the Scotts Run development in Tysons East. According to Robin Geiger:
As you can see from the area of impact shown on the map above, this permit district is not in the Tysons East district and will have no impact on multi-family development. The permit district will instead provide relief to residents of communities adjacent to Scotts Run Nature Preserve, whose streets have been heavily impacted by the increased number of visitors to the park. You also indicated that guests could receive temporary passes for no more than two weeks. That also is not true. Permits and visitor passes are available only to residents of the permit district.
Earlier: Be careful where you park near Scotts Run, because some of those spots could soon become residents only.
New residential developments are coming in to Tysons East even as other developments, like the Capital One complex, are expanding or being added. To stem off future conflicts, the Board of Supervisors is set to review this afternoon whether to implement (public hearing item for 4:30 p.m.) a parking district for the Scotts Run District.
Residential parking districts can be a mixed bag, with residents secure in their parking but adding difficulty to finding parking for guests — back in a time when people could have friends over at their house. The Scotts Run Residential Permit Parking District document noted that guests could receive temporary passes for no more than two weeks.
The new district will be designated District 48 and would not be available to residents of new multi-family developments.
“One transferable visitor pass per address shall be issued in the name of a bona fide resident of said address,” the document said. “However, visitor passes shall not be issued to multifamily or townhouse addresses, which have off-street parking provided.”
Image via Fairfax County
Barry Biggar, President and CEO of Visit Fairfax, has a somewhat frank assessment of the state of the hospitality industry in Fairfax: not great.
“There’s one particular industry that’s been devastated, and that’s travel and tourism,” Biggar said, “and when people aren’t travelling, there are many elements that are affected.”
Biggar isn’t alone in that assessment. In an Economic Advisory Commission meeting, local hospitality industry leaders spoke with Biggar and members of the Board of Supervisors about the impact the pandemic has had on hotels and other hospitality services.
“This has perhaps been the most heart-rending experience of my entire career,” said Mark Carrier, representing DoubleTree Hotel in Tysons. “Many hotels are paying to stay open. In Fairfax, all hotels combined had an occupancy of just 32 percent over last three months, less than half a year ago. Same period in 2019 was 76 percent. Revenue has declined by 73 percent across the entire county. Cash flow has evaporated basically, operators fighting to sustain their business. Frankly, the sustained nature of the crisis has been a source of stress.”
Biggar told Tysons Reporter that the D.C. area, including Fairfax, is one of four regions in the country seeing occupancy below 50%.
“From middle of March to end of August, hotel revenue (generated here in our county) has seen a loss of $278,987,000, just between mid-March and August,” Biggar said. “May is generally a good month. In May of 2018, the hotel revenue in Fairfax County was $70 million. This May, that figure was $9.1 million.”
Biggar noted that those figures are just based on revenue from occupancy and don’t include the total loss from related services, like food and beverage or catering.
“When you add those up, it’s significant,” Biggar said.
As the Tysons plan reaches its 10-year anniversary, Supervisors John Foust and Dalia Palchik spoke candidly to the McLean Citizens Association last night (Wednesday) about some of the challenges facing the Tysons plan today.
While many of the issues were Tysons-specific, they are also challenges the entire region faces as Northern Virginia becomes more urbanized:
- Walkability
- Schools
- Affordable Housing
For some of these, the recent pandemic has both brought the issues into focus and helped present new opportunities.
“One of my favorite topics is walkability,” Palchik said. “[We’re] looking now at how we make Tysons more walkable.”
Palchik pointed to a recent success in temporarily closing a section of Tysons Blvd to allow for more cycling and walking. Palchik pointed to it as a step in the right direction, but said it also took a lot of work to make it happen.
“It took a month to get Fairfax and the Department of Transportation to agree on a location,” Palchik said. “I hope to see more flexibility to create a sense of place.”
Palchik pointed to the planned pedestrian and bike bridge going over the beltway as another upcoming walkability success. Tysons is also slated for more investments to connect the blooming city’s street grid.
“Sometimes, new streets can feel in conflict with existing conditions, but [we’re] trying to make it more walkable,” Palchik said. “Change can be hard, but we’re looking at the upsides and really listening.”
Palchik and Foust both repeatedly praised the foundation of the Tysons plan, but said there are things that need tweaking.
“One issue that continues to bother me is the fact that we don’t have a plan for delivering school facilities in Tysons yet,” Foust said. “We have gotten a proffer of land for an elementary school. That’s an issue that’s going to head up, going forward.”
Palchik said the county needs to be more flexible on how schools are built, for example, building smaller schools with less grade levels than traditional elementary, middle, and high school models.
“We’ve been working on proffers, because the county can’t buy land,” Palchik said. “We’re looking at being more flexible, knowing this area is urbanizing. Can we get five acres? Can portions of development be dedicated to classrooms?”
Foust said another issue that’s really been prevalent during the pandemic is the lack of affordable housing in the area.
“Our challenge is delivering housing for 80% below and 60% below [Area Median Income],” Foust said. “We’re working on that challenge to increase the amount of housing that is truly affordable.”
COVID-19, Foust said, has hopefully helped to highlight the role essential workers play.
“COVID, if nothing else, has opened up our eyes to who is truly our essential workers, and they’re not the people making the income that can put you in a luxury apartment in Tysons,” Foust said. “They’re the kind of people working in the department stores and grocery stores, the service providers, and they deserve to live in the community where they work.”
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
In 2010, a plan was approved to help turn Tysons into a fully fledged city. Now, the McLean Citizens Association is planing to talk to County leadership and learn about how those plans have progressed.
The MCA is hosting a conversation tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. with Fairfax County Supervisors John Foust and Dalia Palchik on how Tysons has changed over the last ten years since the new Comprehensive Plan was adopted.
“The session, moderated by MCA President Rob Jackson, will be in person at the McLean Community Center and live-streamed on our Facebook Page,” the MCA said in a press release. “Prior reservations are required for admission to the in-person session, and all county COVID-19 guidelines, including the wearing of masks at all times, and social distancing will be enforced.”
Each supervisor is scheduled to share their thoughts on how Tysons has changed, followed by a question and answer session and some closing remarks.
Attendance of the in-person event is for MCA members only, though anyone can view the Facebook livestream. No more than 50 people will be allowed in-person, including speakers and support personnel. Registration for the in-person portion can be made online.
Questions should be sent in advance of the session to [email protected].
Image via Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
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
Tysons-based MicroTech, which earlier this summer was working to address PPE shortages, has won a $38 million contract with the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (DUSA) to review the department’s organizational structure and operations.
MicroTech is a veteran-owned business that provides support for infrastructure, telecommunications, cyber-security to both private and public sector clients.
“MicroTech is elated to have received this DUSA contract from the U.S. Army,” said Tony Jimenez, President and CEO of MicroTech, in a press release. “As a Retired Army Officer who has served on the Army Staff, I am always excited for an opportunity like this to help the U.S. Army implement transformational changes to its organizational structure, governance, and business operations.”
The DUSA directs the Army Science Board and Analytics Group, oversees the Civilian Leadership Service Management Office (CLSMO), and serves as the Deputy Chief Management Officer to the Under Secretary of the Army, MicroTech said.
Photo via MicroTech/Facebook
Construction has finished on new condo complex The Bexley Condominiums (1761 Old Meadow Road) in Tysons.
Developer NVHomes said on the website that move-ins at the project started in September, with virtual grand opening celebration scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10.
The development is located along Old Meadow Road, just sound of the McLean Metro station and Capital One headquarters. The road in front is being realigned to be better connected to the Capital One facilities. The project is part of a slate of new developments aimed at transforming Tysons East into a fully fledged community.
The condo units start at $679,990 with a two bedroom, two bath unit and $1,199,990 for three bedroom, two-and-a-half bath units.
“Elegant condominium flat in a walkable McLean location near Tysons,” NVHomes said on the website. “Generous list of included features, such as quartz countertops, LG appliances, and owner’s spa bath.”
Photo via NVA Condos/Twitter
