Stationery and gift company Paper Source is set to open its doors in The Boro tomorrow (Thursday).
An employee at the store told Tysons Reporter about the store’s planned opening at 1643 Boro Place.
Paper Source has nearby locations in Reston, the Mosaic District and D.C. At the store, shoppers can expect to find stationery, cards, crafts supplies, decorations and gift wrap.
The store will be the latest newcomer in the Tysons development near the Greensboro Metro station — North Italia and Fish Taco opened a few weeks ago.
The store will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays, the employee said.
Fairfax County is seeking proposals that would revamp the former home of the Container Store into a pop-up space.
The site sits across from Embassy Suites by Hilton by the Spring Hill Metro station. After the Container Store relocated from 8508 Leesburg Pike to 8459 Leesburg Pike in 2018, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors bought the site.
The county announced yesterday (Monday) that the new Department of Economic Initiatives has an inaugural pilot aiming to “transform vacant commercial spaces into economic development destinations,” and its first commercial space will be the Leesburg Pike spot, according to the press release.
Rebecca Moudry, the new department’s director, told Tysons Reporter that the “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” project is a “bold initiative” focused on supporting small businesses, encouraging creative placemaking and supporting the Made in Fairfax Network, which helps local producers.
Moudry, who started as the director in October, said that the “pretty small” department is staffed by 11 people and is embedded within a larger county structure that works with partners like the planning, transportation and economic development departments.
The department chose “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” as its first project to fit into the bigger picture of people moving away from suburban and office environments to urban, multi-modal options, she said.
“It’s actually what we’re trying to do,” she said about the project’s name. “We literally want to activate this particular space.”
Currently, the county plans to add a new street that would connect Leesburg Pike and Greensboro Drive, the Washington Business Journal reported last year.
Moudry said that it could take three to five years before the county kicks off the road work. Until then, the initiative looks to turn the vacant 19,000-square-foot storefront into a useful space.
While Moudry said that other programs in the region and around the country have focused on pop-ups and activities, Moudry said that “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” is looking for pop-ups that will last longer than usual.
“We’re not talking a weekend or a couple of months,” she added.
The county is accepting applications that intend “to develop, implement, manage and market an activation program” until April 20, the press release said.
“Dynamic pop-up, cultural, artistic or community-oriented programming aligned with these goals will be encouraged to ensure that the space functions as a vibrant asset and experience for residents and visitors,” the press release said.
Moudry said she hopes the applicants generate new ideas and innovate concepts. “We have a set of goals and parameters for what we’re looking for within the space,” she said.
Two tours of the space for applicants and their potential contractors will be held at 1 p.m. on March 9 and March 23, Moudry said.
Once the application window closes, Moudry said the staff will take a few weeks to review the proposals and talk with potential operators about lease agreements. The goal is to launch the chosen proposal this year — potentially in the fall.
People interested in learning more can visit the Fairfax County website’s Activate Fairfax page.
Image via Google Maps
After Reggie Holmes was laid off from his job, he decided to take control of his career path and begin his own business, Enthuse Creative.
Since its founding in Tysons around 2013, the company has branched out to offer customers a variety of branding, strategy and design services — helping clients develop a unique sense of identity, according to Holmes.
Enthuse Creative operates as a multi-functional branding agency to help companies distinguish their talents and focus their efforts. Though the final product will vary depending on a clients’ needs, Holmes said he wants to help people target their own sense of identity and market.
Regarding the creation of Enthuse Creative in 2013, Holmes said he “wanted to be in a position where I could create my own opportunities,” adding that the ability to be creative and think outside of the box in his professional career is important for him as an art degree graduate.
When Holmes was in the process of the career transition, he said he realized that creative positions were “tenuous,” especially if someone wasn’t a high-up and wanted to solidify their career.
Coming up with the name for his company, Holmes said that “‘to enthuse’ means to build joy or happiness, so at the end of the day I want to help businesses be enthusiastic about their brand.”
Since the beginning of 2020, Enthuse has worked with roughly 20 different clients, many of whom come from different backgrounds and need various degrees of assistance, Holmes said.
One of the most inspiring projects Holmes said he worked on was a campaign for Meridian International Group, which promotes global leadership and U.S. diplomacy efforts.
For the group, Holmes said he helped to create an annual report, as well as marketing materials and a logo for a specific program.
“It’s great to know work I’m doing is being seen outside the United States,” he said, adding that he found it humbling to help improve the quality of life for people he will likely never meet.
As a one-man-show, Holmes said he often hires freelancers and partners from around the area to help him keep up with the workload.
In the summer of 2019, Holmes became the co-chair of marketing for the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce and is now on the chamber’s board. He said he volunteers with the group, working to align upcoming businesses with the chamber, promoting economic success and helping to organize events such as Tysons 2050.
Currently, the group is trying to rebrand their image, according to Holmes, who didn’t feel at liberty to expand.
“We recognize the need to go a little bit deeper and create a compelling case as to why a business should partner with us to keep growing,” he said.
Photo courtesy Reggie Holmes
The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.
We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Tysons Reporter also created a list of events happening for Mardi Gras, which is tomorrow.
Tuesday (Feb. 25)
- National Pancake Day — 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at IHOP (6655 Arlington Blvd) — The community is invited to enjoy a free small stack of pancakes.
- Cherish The Ladies — 8 p.m. at The Barns (1635 Trap Road) — This musical event includes step dancing, instrumental music and vocal arrangements. Tickets start at $27.
Wednesday (Feb. 26)
- Black Eminence: A Tysons-Wide Mixer — 5:30 p.m. at The Tower Club (8000 Towers Crescent Drive) — This event invites people to come together and play trivia to celebrate Black History Month while shopping from local businesses and enjoying music. Tickets are $15 for the public or $10 for members.
Saturday (Feb. 29)
- Battle of the Bands –– 6 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 E. Maple Ave) — This event invites people to listen to the final band perform a concert in a 22 session event. Tickets range from $10-$20. All ages are welcome.
- Zumba Dance Party — 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — The Marshall High School PTSA is hosting this event to raise funds for the seniors’ graduation celebration. Tickets are $10-$20 for the work-out dance sessions. All ages are welcome to this Zumba event.
Sunday (March 1)
- Sunday AcaFunday — 1 p.m. at Jammin Java (227 E. Maple Ave) — The co-ed acapella group “Impitched” will sing a variety of popular pop songs and will be accompanied by groups such as TBD and The District. Tickets are $10 before the event or $15 at the door.
- DC St. Patrick’s Parade Fundraiser — 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Ireland’s Four Provinces (105 W. Broad Street) — This event celebrates Irish culture and will help to support the 2020 DC St. Patrick’s Parade. There will be food, drinks, live music, drawings, prizes and live auctions.
Photo via Ireland’s Four Provinces/Facebook
Here’s what to expect when a popular Latin nightclub in Arlington brings a new rhythm to The Palladium in Tysons.
The Palladium’s owners — two brothers named Victor and Franco Villarreal — recently announced that their salsa club in Arlington will soon close to relocate to the Tysons location.
The Salsa Room is set to close its 7,5000-square-foot space, one-level in Arlington to move to its new 15,000-square-foot, two-level home (1524 Spring Hill Road) in late March. Tickets are available for the grand opening in Tysons from March 25-29 and start at $20 per person for general admission.
Ahead of the change, Tysons Reporter talked to Victor Villarreal about why the club is moving to Tysons, what Palladium club-goers can expect and why he loves The Salsa Room.
Tysons Reporter: I just have to say I’ve been to The Salsa Room in Arlington, but I haven’t been to The Palladium in Tysons.
Victor Villarreal: The Tysons one, when we opened it up [in late 2018], we made it more of an event place than an actual club. It’s been more events from all over the world.
TR: What prompted the move?
VV: We’ve been in South Arlington since 1992. It’s a pretty old building. The buildings up and down Columbia Pike are starting to get torn down.
We know eventually that’s going to happen to us. It could be in the next year. It could the next two to three years at most. We didn’t want to wait and get caught up in trying to find something at the last moment.
We decided a couple of years ago to start looking for a spot. We came across Iris Lounge and we decided it was a great spot. We saw a lot of potential in Tysons Corner that can be a great hope for this type of venue.
Our location in Arlington, again, it’s an old building. There’s a lot of investment that needs to be done to upgrade it and keep it modern and it’s really hard for us to invest any money knowing we may only be there a couple more years. This move was planned a long time ago.
TR: How long ago?
VV: About two-and-a-half years. It took us about a year-and-a-half to build and we’ve been open a year in Tysons.
A lot of the events we did in Tysons weren’t catered to the salsa events we do at The Salsa Room. It’s been more concerts from Mongolia, Thailand, Madagascar — all of these different countries that affect a sense of a diverse community.
We didn’t want to compete against ourselves because this was a short-term gap until we move.
TR: And you’ve personally been in this area awhile?
VV: We grew up in the McLean and Burke areas.
TR: How do you think this move will affect the nightlife scene in Tysons?
VV: I remember in the early 2000s, there wasn’t too much to do, but [eCitie] was insanely successful. And they had a 10-year run. You couldn’t even get in on most nights.
I think Tysons, maybe five years ago or so, there was not much. There were good restaurants, but I don’t know that there’s a good nightlife scene here.
There have a couple of spots that have opened recently. It’s just the growth of Tysons and how much development there is going to be. I’m sure businesses that are getting priced out in developments closer to D.C. may find some opportunities in Tysons.
When we’ve done events in the last year, we got support. People came from Maryland. [The Tysons club] is more central to a lot of places. We’re extremely excited about being here and helping to grow a night scene.
TR: How do you think your clientele will be different or similar to Arlington?
VV: We’re definitely going to lose some clients because it’s a different area, but I do believe there are some pretty loyal clients who will still come to us.
[Tysons] is a new pool of clients. We feel pretty confident that we’ll have the support of the community.
TR: Will The Salsa Room entirely take over The Palladium or just a part of it?
VV: It will take over the whole thing. It’s going to be completely The Salsa Room.
All the employees are coming from [Arlington] — the DJs, the instructors. Because it’s so much larger, it’s going to let us bring things that we were not able to do in Arlington. We’ll be able to get bigger acts. We have a stage.
TR: Do you have a favorite aspect of The Salsa Room?
VV: The history. Some of the best salsa artists in the world have played there, like Marc Anthony. He’s a super megastar. He performed there three different times when he was starting his career. There are so many stories. That’s really helped us develop a loyal client base.
People will come from all over the world. They will take a picture and tag us [on social media]. We’ve had paintings of people like Marc Anthony with original signatures. People tag us and those are awesome.
We have YouTube videos that have millions of hits that were filmed there and so [The Salsa Room] is really well known in the salsa community.
We definitely didn’t want to close it down. We need to continue that.
The interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
Photo (1) via Facebook; images (2-4) via Google Maps
When a Honda van T-boned a sedan near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons, a third driver caught it all on camera.
The crash happened on Tyco Road near the Adaire apartment building. The van pulled out of the parking lot for the Audi Service Center and Tysons Collision Center right before hitting the sedan, which was in the left-hand, southbound lane.
The video shows the driver of the van throw his hands above his head right after the crash.
The sedan’s fender and the van’s front bumper appeared damaged after the vehicles both pulled into the parking lot.
A Reddit user posted yesterday the minute-and-a-half video capturing the crash. Already, the post has 436 upvotes and 136 comments.
“The irony that he was pulling out of an auto service center vastly improves this,” another user said in the comments.
After more than 20 years in Arlington, a popular Latin nightclub and bar plans to bring the beat to Tysons.
The Salsa Room recently announced that the Arlington location (2619 Columbia Pike) is set to close in early March ahead of its grand opening in Tysons later that month.
A Facebook post says that The Salsa Room is coming to The Palladium, a 15,000-square-foot nightclub with two levels at 1524 Spring Hill Road.
“Brothers Franco and Victor, [the] owners of The Palladium and The Salsa Room, have decided to move the iconic Arlington Salsa Room to the current Palladium location in Tysons,” according to The Palladium.
The Palladium opened in late 2018, adding a new option to Tysons’ budding nightlife scene.
Starting today (Friday), tickets are available for the grand opening in Tysons from March 25-29. Tickets for each night cost between $20 per person for general admission and $495 for six VIP attendees.
Until the grand opening, people can expect The Palladium to stay open with its usual events.
Meanwhile, the Arlington location plans to host closing parties between March 4-7.
“After 20+ years in Arlington, and countless, amazing memories, TSR would like to thank all of the artist, dancers, instructors, Djs and you for supporting us,” the Facebook post said.
Photos 1 and 2 via Facebook; image (3) via Google Maps
The Great Eight snapped a photo with local firefighters responding to a call at a house near his own in the McLean area.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue tweeted out the photo this morning (Friday). The firefighters were all smiles with Caps star Alexander Ovechkin, sporting a hooded Nike sweatshirt, posing in the middle.
“Yesterday after a false alarm next door, this really GR8 neighbor checked in with E442, Wolftrap, to make sure all was well,” the tweet said.
The Washington Capitals captain lives about two miles north of Tysons.
Photo via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue/Twitter
Happy Friday! Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:
Job Shadowing For High School Students — “Approximately 20 local businesses and organizations are hosting Fairfax County Public Schools students in job-shadowing events that began in January and will run through March.” [Inside NoVa]
Local Pizza Places Now Hiring — “Baddpizza, a takeout restaurant bringing Buffalo-style pizza and wings to Northern Virginia, are hiring for future locations in McLean and Falls Church.” [Patch]
Tysons Building For Sale — “The Tysons office building where Booz Allen Hamilton maintains its global headquarters is under contract to trade for $10M less than its previous sale.” [Bisnow]
Local Company Tops Fortune List for Best Workplaces — “The business magazine Fortune, in partnership with analytics firm Great Place to Work, has released its annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States… McLean-based Hilton took home the top spot on the list for the second year in a row, with Ultimate Software and Wegmans Food Markets rounding out the top three.” [Patch]
Former Dranesville District Supervisor Dies — “Barbara Phillips, a former ballet dancer and interpreter who once ran for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, died in her sleep Feb. 11 at age 85.” [Inside NoVa]
Starting this Sat, Feb. 22, there will be 13 #absenteevoting locations open across #FairfaxCounty for the March 3 Democratic Presidential Primary. Hours & addresses: https://t.co/HTUvwhSY0b#2020election #supertuesday #virginiaprimary #presidentialprimary #vote pic.twitter.com/m2xG7mhJJr
— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) February 21, 2020
(Updated 11 a.m.) Presidents’ Day is almost here and there will be closures around the area.
All Fairfax County government offices, public schools and public libraries will be closed, according to the county website.
Trash and recycling will be collected on a regular schedule if community members are customers of Fairfax County, the website said, which added that people with a private company should contact the company directly.
The Fairfax Connector will be running on a Holiday Weekend Schedule on Monday.
The Metro will be running on a Saturday schedule from 5 a.m. until 11:30 p.m., according to the WMATA website.
The Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church (120 N. Virginia Ave) will be closed, according to the website, along with all city offices.
Since waste collection falls on a Wednesday in Falls Church, it will not be affected by the holiday.
In the Town of Vienna, all government offices will be closed but waste collection will run on a regular schedule, according to the website.
The McLean Community Center will be closed on Monday.
Tysons Reporter will also have the day off on Monday.
Photo by Lucas Sankey via Unsplash
