As her friends were leaving home for college, Caroline Trotter was leaving her home in Vienna for the van life.
Caroline’s decision to live a van, touring the country instead of beginning her freshman year of college in a classroom during a pandemic was a “genius” move in hindsight, her father Paul Trotter said.
Instead of following tradition and moving into a cramped and static dorm room somewhere, Trotter opted for a mobile one — a white, 2016 Ram ProMaster. Caroline, 18, left just after Labor Day and has far made it as far as Colorado, posting photos along the way.
With the COVID-19 pandemic closing college campus and keeping students stuck in dorms, Caroline’s decision in January to opt out of the normal freshman experience and to drive around the U.S. in a van seems like a prophetic move. The James Madison High School graduate was always “a bit of a non-conformist” her father said, so when his daughter came to him with the idea, he wasn’t surprised.
“I think it looks genius now,” Paul said. “It takes it from kind of being a weird idea that she thought of to being a pretty smart decision, to be honest. Especially with a lot of her peers are either back at home or are stuck in their dorm rooms kind of isolated and locked down.”
But just because is living in a van, doesn’t mean Caroline won’t be in school. While her father Paul said her travels will be a learning experience for his daughter she will be taking online classes for at least a year before she decides to give up the van life.
Paul who considers himself “handy” had to consult YouTube videos on how to convert the used-van into a fully-livable mobile apartment, complete with a toilet, sink, stove, bed and shower. The van is partially powered by solar panels on the roof with an internal ceiling fan that helps keep the van cool inside.
“We wanted it to be something that she could live out of basically full-time,” Paul said.
While she has no set plans, her father said, she will follow the warm weather around the country as falls becomes into winter, but just like her peers in schools, she will still have to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, Paul said.
And for those who question a father who let his daughter forgo the traditional college life in favor of the van life, Paul has an answer.
“No one ever goes to see their therapist in their 30s because their parents supported them too much,” he said.
Photo courtesy Paul Trotter
(Updated 10/23) –Hawk & Griffin, a new British pub coming to Vienna will offer guests the chance to enjoy British culture.
Located at 435 Maple Avenue West, the restaurant and bar will offer a place for people to hang out with friends and family, according to co-owners Michael Burgess and Thomas Kyllo.
The space will feature amenities such as a stage for live music performances and viewing parties of sports like rugby and soccer, a regular dining area, a bar, an outdoor sitting area, an area for patrons to toss around some darts and two “snugs.”
Originally intended as a “proper” place for women to hang out in British history, Kyllo said that two snugs included in the space will be meant for small group gathering places where people can host book clubs, parties or even use as a space for musical jam sessions.
The exterior of the building itself is designed after the Edwardian Era, which ranged from 1900-1915, according to Kyllo.
Menu items will include traditional British fare, according to award-winning chief Burgess, who also owns Pure Pasty in Vienna.
Along with dinner and lunch, the pub will also offer brunch on weekends, the owners said.
The inspiration for the eatery came to the owners after they felt there was a gap in the market for a mid-range, mid-price place around town that emphasizes the comfort of its guests.
“We’ve got great restaurants in Vienna, there’s no shortage of that,” Burgess said, but added that there isn’t anywhere where people can feel like they’re walking into a small British village for a pint.
Tieing the eatery back to the community, the owners said they decided to name the pub after James Madison High School and Marshall High School, where Kyllo volunteers as a coach and whose mascots are the Warhawks and Griffen.
“We want everything down to the name to reflect the community we are in,” Kyllo said.
The anticipated opening date for the pub is March 1, 2021, according to Kyllo, who said that the COVID-19 pandemic threw a curveball into their plans.
“Early next year hopefully we’ll have a better path out of this and people will be used to going back into restaurants and indoors,” said Kyllo.
Images courtesy Hawk & Griffin Pub
Jennifer McLaughlin, owner of the Caboose Brewing Company, is just starting to catch her breath and take a look back at the last few months of the local brewery not only trying to survive, but do some good for their communities.
It has not been an easy road for Caboose, which operates Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE) and Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road).
“It’s been quite a whirlwind,” McLaughlin said. “Back in March, when this all went down, we had to let go of a lot of people. They don’t have a ton of resources. It was awful. We were letting go of people we weren’t sure would be able to pay rent and buy food and all those things. We lined them up with resources as best we could but that wasn’t really enough.”
As the pandemic worsened, McLaughlin said they began to hear stories about how hard fresh food was for people to come by. It was difficult for people to get to grocery stores and many food banks carried only canned goods, but McLaughlin said it occurred to them that they could access fresh food supply chains through their own vendors.
“So we started a grassroots effort with local schools and a couple of churches,” McLaughlin said. “At one point, we were doing hundreds of grocery donations a week.”
McLaughlin said Caboose was delivering milk, proteins, and produce to families in need. At its peak, the program was delivering hundreds of grocery boxes. In total, McLaughlin said Caboose has put together and delivered 915 grocery boxes.
The grocery boxes were delivered by volunteers and Caboose received donations, though never enough to fully cover the cost of buying the groceries.
“The numbers are way less than they used to be, ” McLaughlin said. “We’re now down to 10 families, which is down from 40 last week.”
Caboose also donated a total of 869 meals to Inova Hospital.
Caboose Tavern in Vienna was closed for a while when the pandemic started. Caboose Commons at the Mosaic district never closed, but it was also not very active during the worst of it. McLaughlin said the space gave management a chance to take a step back and assess the restaurant’s values and priorities.
Vienna local Sydney Lehrman quit her job a week before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down, and then couldn’t find work. So with free time on her hands, she turned to one of her favorite pastimes — cooking.
When Lehrman decided to compile the recipes she’d made over the course of the pandemic into a basic Google document, she hadn’t anticipated the overwhelming, positive community feedback she received. The collection of recipes turned into a 49-page document, the Quarantine Cookbook, with recipes for dishes such as jambalaya, salted caramel pretzel snickerdoodles and sausage tortellini soup.
“I love the desserts because I have such a sweet tooth,” said Lehrman.
Back in March, Lehrman was quarantining with her boyfriend’s family in Maine and was unable to find a new job because of the coronavirus. Lehrman and the family turned to cooking many nights, so she decided to commemorate their favorite recipes.
“I put all of them together in a way that I could keep them and remember, and have something positive to look back on,” said Lehrman.
In the middle of August, Lehrman posted in the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook group asking if anyone was interested in a copy of the cookbook, and if so, she would direct message it to them. After receiving more than 200 messages of interest, she shared the link to the cookbook to the entire Facebook group.
“I still got a ton of messages from people thanking me,” said Lehrman. “I’m really happy that other people like it. Life is too short not to enjoy good food.”
Lehrman is contemplating publishing a recipe book in the future as a gift. In the meantime, readers can view the Quarantine Cookbook via the public Google document.
Photo by Sydney Lehrman
Prompted by the pandemic, a Tysons based company is stepping up to fill orders for personal protective equipment in the D.C. area.
Personal Protective Equipment USA offers a variety of products including face shields, sneeze guards, custom masks and gloves, the website said.
So far, notable local customers include Vienna Va Foodies, Inca Social and The Town of Vienna, according to owner Ramiro Parada.
“Vienna Foodies have already ordered close to 1000 masks from us to raise funds for first responders and underprivileged families,” Parada said. “It’s been a great hit.”
Though the fundraiser is now closed, according to the Vienna Va Foodies Facebook page, the group was selling red, baby blue and black masks for $10 each.
Unlike similar products, the masks by Personal Protective Equipment USA include “Nano Silver Antimicrobial Technology” which Parada said is supposed to be more comfortable and breathable.
Along with Vienna based groups, over 700 orders have been placed with businesses in the D.C. area so far.
“Orders keep pouring in,” he said.
In the near future, Parada said the company will be doing its own fundraiser to collect toys for kids at the Children’s Hospital in Fairfax. After his own son was previously diagnosed with stage four cancer at age three, Parada decided to help other kids fighting for their lives.
Anyone who is interested in placing an order can visit the shop’s website.
Updated 2 p.m. — The location for the ceremony has been moved to the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street) due to concerns about weather.
Earlier: American Legion Dyer-Gunnell Post 180 is set to host a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony in the Town of Vienna.
The ceremony — which is free to attend — will begin at 9 a.m. at the Town Green, located at 144 Maple Avenue E, behind the Freeman House on Friday, Sept. 11. The annual ceremony — which Post 180 plans to continue hosting each year — marks the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
The ceremony is set to recall the attacks of 2001 while honoring the bravery and service of first-responders, and lives lost that day.
Typical attendance in previous years has ranged between 75-200 people.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. and current Post 180 Commander Guillermo Guillén will be giving the remarks for the ceremony.
Photo via Google Maps
On Sept. 2, with the help of the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook group, Kiln & Custard (455 S. Maple Avenue) provided the Vienna USPS with custard at the end of their workday.
In addition to custard, the Facebook group collected handwritten letters from all over the community. The group received dozens of letters to pass out.
The celebration of the local post office came after a month of national discussion about management of the United States Postal Service and concerns about policies that could disrupt mail-in voting efforts.
Lydia Russo, one of the founders of the Vienna VA Foodies group, helped organize the delivery.
“Today, we are showering the Vienna Post Office with so, so much love!!” said Russo in the Facebook group.
Russo said gift was largely appreciated by the Post Office employees, who hung up many of the letters around their office.
“I truly appreciate everything the community has done, especially the Vienna foodies who have organized this delivery with Kiln & Custard,” said Tyler Miller, a supervisor at the Vienna Post Office, in the Facebook group. “I had them deliver it early today that way every employee (clerks, rural carriers and city carriers) can get one after their hard day at work. I also took all the great thank you cards and put them on the wall so all the employees can see how much the community appreciates them. Also I wanted to say thank you to all of my employees who work so hard everyday. I truly appreciate you all.”
Photo by Vienna VA Foodies/Facebook
Bike Theft and Car Broken Into –“A bike theft on Spring Street, someone broke into a car along W. Broad St. and a simple assault in the Eden Center in this week’s Crime Report in the City of Falls Church.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Vienna, Dunn Loring Metro Stations Reopen After Labor Day –“The DC Metrorail system’s Vienna and Dunn Loring stations reopened Tuesday following a summer platform rehabilitation project.” [Patch]
Vienna Plan to Limit Council Meetings Has Some Exceptions Attached — “In practice, exceptions built into the new rules leave open the possibility that some meetings still will last late into the night.” [INSIDE NoVA]
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue To Host Virtual Open House — “Activities And Events For Fire Prevention Week.” [Twitter]
Easter is usually the busiest time of year for the Polish Market in Vienna, but this year, the family-owned grocery store couldn’t invite customers inside and instead offered curbside pick-up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Oskar Skrzeszewski, who helps his parents run the business, told Tysons Reporter that they had to “do a 360” with operations when the pandemic hit.
“We were one of the first stores to implement safety glass in the beginning of the pandemic,” Skrzeszewski said. “We soon realized this wasn’t enough and we had to close the store completely to foot traffic. We operated on a curbside pick basis only, which was extremely difficult since we’ve never done anything like that before.”
Located at 431 Maple Ave W., the market has served Polish customers and people of Polish heritage for six years, selling pierogis, kielbasa, cabbage rolls, packzi, beer, New York cheesecakes and more, Skrzeszewski said.
The last few months have taken a toll on the business by completely changing its operations and taking a financial hit.
“Our revenues are about 30% down and we have fewer customers coming into the store,” Skrzeszewski said.
At the start of the pandemic in Northern Virginia, Skrzeszewski said that they had trouble finding personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, but eventually were able to order gallons of hand sanitizer from a company. Masks were also hard to come by, but customers who worked in the medical field were able to help.
Currently, customers can only access about half of the store and safety glass is everywhere inside. The limited capacity has led to a dramatic decrease in the shelf space.
“We have to pick and choose the items we order a lot more carefully now,” Skrzeszewski said.
Despite the inconvenience, the Skrzeszewski said shoppers seem to be taking the public health measures well: “Our customers have been tremendously supportive and we’re very grateful for that.”
Over the last few months, Skrzeszewski said he’s seen consumer demand change a little as more shoppers stock up on kielbasa, beer and mustard for barbecues and camping.
Elsewhere in Vienna, a new small grocery store is also working to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Owner Rami El-Hasrouni told Tysons Reporter he was glad he converted Bey Lounge into the LB Food Market (303 NE Mill Street) in late 2019 after the lounge got in trouble multiple times over the Town of Vienna’s noise ordinance.
The market sells Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food and is right next door to Wooden Bakery. Both stores are operated by D.C.-based Woodfire Brands.
After deciding to end the lifespan of Bey Lounge, he decided to expand the small market that was in the bakery into its own concept
While he’s glad that he doesn’t have to worry about how the former restaurant and club would have stayed open during the pandemic, he said the grocery store transition has been tough.
El-Hasrouni said he was already in the process of rebuilding his customer base for the small supermarket — “Everybody is used to this location as a restaurant with nightlife, not a grocery location” — before the pandemic hit.
Night club aside, the location doesn’t help either.
“We are in a hidden location,” he said. “Nobody expects a grocery store to be in the warehouse district. That’s the toughest part for us. If we’re on the main street, people walking by them might see us.”
For the grocery shoppers the store has attracted so far, El-Hasrouni said that the fresh pita bread is the big draw. Shoppers can also find Mediterranean specialty items, like Lebanese olive oil, spinach cheese pies and homemade hummus, along with standard groceries: milk, eggs, vegetables.
Even though LB Market is essentially an expanded version of the grocery section in Wood Bakery, El-Hasrouni is hopeful that the name “is something new” that will also catch people’s attention.
As the pandemic continues, El-Hasrouni said he’s working to get online ordering available on the website, along with mailing people coupons and flyers to help spread the word.
Photos (1-2) via Polish Market/Facebook, photo (3) via LB Food Market/Facebook
The Town of Vienna said it has investigated a pair of claims made online in late August about police harassment and said the events weren’t quite as sensational as they sounded on social media.
The town said in a press release that no formal complaint was submitted, but the claims were still investigated internally by the Vienna Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit.
“The claims posted on social media have been determined to be unfounded and, in large measure, inaccurate and untrue,” the police said.
The Town of Vienna provided a full review of the claims investigated:
According to the posted statement, the 20-year-old complainant said that he was detained without cause while walking home. He then claimed that he was transported in the back of a Vienna police vehicle to his home where a second officer also responded. There the two officers allegedly attempted to “pressure” the complainant’s mother into making false accusations against her son related to a broken wall in an attempt “to use that as a way to arrest me.”
In reality, and confirmed by the Fairfax County Public Safety Communications Department, the complainant called 911 on that date seeking police help related to a domestic incident involving his mother. In the recorded phone call, the complainant says that his mother is infringing on his constitutional rights. Vienna police did respond to this domestic disagreement related to room cleanliness and a hole in the wall that the complainant allegedly caused. Police mediated between the two parties and then left the residence. A review of in-car video shows that the complainant was not transported in the back of a Vienna police vehicle for any reason on that date.
As part of the investigation of alleged improper police conduct, Vienna detectives spoke with the mother briefly before her son ended the conversation and asked police to leave the home. When asked by investigators, she said that there was “no problem” with how officers responded to the June 25 incident. There were no issues, she said, and she was unclear why officers were following up on the incident. Investigators attempted to interview the complainant, but he declined to speak with officers.
After an extensive investigation, the Town of Vienna finds these allegations unfounded and the investigation is closed.
The second claim deals with a woman who said claimed she was interrogated by Vienna Police at Yeonas Park while eating lunch with her two adult children in her vehicle:
After an investigation, the Vienna Police Department finds the officer in this incident to be in compliance with normal police procedures, and no improper police conduct occurred.
In-car video shows that the Vienna officer’s conduct not only was appropriate but his interactions courteous and kind. The officer ran the vehicle’s tags because it was parked across three parking spaces at the Vienna Little League fields, which is posted as private property. When he did so, he learned that there was an outstanding Missouri warrant for the vehicle’s owner, who is the woman who posted the complaint; however, Missouri declined to request enforcement of the warrant due to the expense of transportation and nature of the criminal charge involved. The officer asked the woman to step out of her car so that he could discuss with her the warrant, including possible ways to address the situation, without disclosing it to her children. She was informed that she was free to use the adjoining Town of Vienna Park, which is open to the public.
The Vienna Police Department has attempted to contact the woman who posted the complaint; she has not responded to requests to be interviewed or to file a formal complaint.
Despite finding the two claims of harassment to be unfounded, the Town of Vienna said in the press release that if there are any complaints about a police officer’s behavior, they should be reported to the police department by calling 703-255-6366 or sending an email to [email protected]. Civil rights claims can also be filed with the Department of Justice.
“The Vienna Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously, and officers are expected to interact with all individuals, regardless of skin color, appropriately, respectfully, and, whenever possible, courteously,” the town said.
Photo via Facebook
