After more than a decade on Church Street, Caffè Amouri has some competition in the Town of Vienna’s independent coffeehouse scene.

As shared by Vienna Business Association Executive Director Peggy James on the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook page, newcomer 29th Parallel Coffee opened its doors just down the road in Windover Square (106 Lawyers Road), the shopping center occupied by Plaka Grill and Papa John’s Pizza, on Nov. 21.

While they share a similar neighborhood-centered mindset, 29th Parallel differs in focusing on pour-over or hand-drip coffee and bringing in a variety of roasters, while Caffè Amouri roasts its own beans.

Co-owner Amir Khalil describes the shop as “counterculture” to chains like Starbucks, catering more to coffee connoisseurs who might prize craft over convenience.

“Everything is to-go, very fast. We take our time [with an] artisan kind of coffee,” Khalil told Tysons Reporter last week. “You come in, you order, and it takes a couple of minutes, but if you don’t have that [time], we have a different way to please that client.”

29th Parallel also has a coffee shop in Fairfax Station Square on Ox Road that opened in 2017.

The name comes from the 29th parallel south circle of latitude, which passes through countries like Brazil, Australia, and South Africa with strong coffee cultures. It also coincidentally nods to the business’ original Fairfax location on Route 29, according to Northern Virginia Magazine.

Like the rest of the food service industry, 29th Parallel has grappled with its fair share of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, surviving by pivoting to online ordering and reducing its operating hours to manage labor costs.

However, the team also saw an opportunity to expand. Drawn to Vienna’s small-town atmosphere, they landed a space previously filled by Oreck Vacuum.

“I think this is a great fit for the community here,” Khalil said.

Like its Fairfax Station counterpart, the Vienna 29th Parallel gets beans from a couple of primary roasters — in this case, Delaware-based Brandywine Coffee Roasters and Black & White Coffee Roasters from North Carolina, with Annapolis-based Ceremony Coffee Roasters as another mainstay.

Starting next year, the shop will also rotate through different guest roasters, including Corvus Coffee Roasters and, potentially, Norway’s Tim Wendelboe, who Khalil describes as “a rock star of coffee.”

In choosing its distributors and vendors, 29th Parallel emphasizes community-based, independent businesses as much as possible, even bringing in milk from Amish farmers in Pennsylvania.

“It’s just how the economy and money stays within the community,” Khalil said. “…Locals coming to support local coffee shops, and we support local distributors and all those things. It’s all connected.”

Currently in soft-opening mode, 29th Parallel operates from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Khalil expects to have a grand opening sometime around Christmas or New Year’s Day, after which the shop will expand to regular 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. hours and offer a full menu of beverages and food, including sandwiches and pastries.

The gradual rollout stems in part from the global supply chain issues that have disrupted industries from grocery stores to automobile manufacturers. For 29th Parallel, those issues have affected product deliveries as well as the construction process. Replacing the building’s HVAC system, for instance, took two months, according to Khalil.

In the meantime, Khalil hopes community members in Vienna and the surrounding area will stop by to see what makes 29th Parallel different.

“People really loved it over there [in Fairfax], and I’m hoping that is the case here,” he said.

FCPS Settles Lawsuit Over Treatment of Students with Disabilities — “Three disability rights organizations…and the families of six students with disabilities had sued in 2019, alleging that students with disabilities in Fairfax schools experienced discrimination, trauma and physical harm through the excessive and improper use of seclusion and physical restraint. As part of the agreement reached Tuesday [Nov. 23], Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will ban all seclusion practices and curtail its use of physical restraint by the next academic year.” [The Washington Post]

Black Friday Shoppers Return to Tysons Corner — Traffic and sales at Tysons Corner Center were roughly on par with 2019 for Black Friday, according to a senior marketing manager for the mall. She said the return of pre-pandemic crowds wasn’t surprising, since the shopping center has seen a steady increase in traffic over the past three weeks. [WTOP]

Fire and Rescue Department Offers Hanukkah Safety Tips — “Hanukkah starts this evening [Sunday] and runs through December 6. It is a joyous time, so please ensure you and your loved ones stay safe as the holiday season is the peak time of year for home candle fires. Get in S.T.E.P. (Safety Takes Every Person) With FCFRD This Holiday Season and candle with care!” [FCFRD]

McLean Rotary Club Recognizes Front-Line Service Workers — “Under the leadership of president John McEvilly, the Rotary Club of McLean has initiated a new program — ‘Dignity of Work’ Award. According to former McLean Rotary President Lynn Heinrichs, who chairs the initiative, the award ‘is designed to recognize and promote the great people working in the McLean community.'” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]

Retirement Puts Vienna Tree Assessments on Hold — “Due to staffing shortages stemming from a retirement, the Town is temporarily unable to conduct tree assessments on private property.  Tree assessments on private property are expected to resume in March 2022 after appropriate staffing levels have been restored.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

A proposed pedestrian and bicycle improvements project near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station is taking shape and now includes plans to accommodate community needs in the interim.

During a virtual public hearing on the design of the $9.5 million project last Wednesday (Nov. 17), Virginia Department of Transportation staff shared an interim plan to improve the bicycle and pedestrian network north of the Vienna Metro station and Oakton High School.

The interim plan will support the needs of bicyclists in the area while taking into account the timeline for the larger Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which will add more than 11 miles of trails from Gallows Road in Dunn Loring to Centreville, according to VDOT.

The interim project calls for:

• New signs and pavement markings
• A buffered bicycle lane on Sutton Road between Sutton Green Court and Country Creek Road
• A two-way, street-level cycle track on eastbound Country Creek between Sutton and the Metro’s north parking lot entrance

Work is expected to begin in mid-2022 — around the same time the I-66 Trail network is complete.

VDOT project manager Zamir Mirza estimated that the interim project will be completed in late 2022. It’s intended to serve the needs of bicyclists until the permanent project is finished, which isn’t expected to be until early 2026, with construction starting in late 2024.

This interim plan is not funded as a part of the original project, however, and has an estimated cost of $1 million. It utilizes the existing roadway width and is not expected to affect utilities or require any right-of-way acquisitions.

Mirza added that the only component of the interim project that will remain permanently is some pedestrian push buttons to improve the traffic signaling.

Aside from the proposed interim plan, the Vienna Metro improvements project is largely unaltered from March, according to Mirza. He added the location of the shared use path and bicycle track remain the same along the three road segments.

For the permanent project, VDOT will construct a 10-foot-wide, shared-use path on Blake Lane and Sutton from the I-66 bridge to Country Creek Road. Crosswalks and refuge islands will be added at Blake Lane and the Oakton High School entrance, along with a raised crossing at Sutton Green Court.

Sutton will also get 12 or 13 street parking spaces added on the northbound section and 16 to 18 more spaces on the southbound.

Country Creek improvements include hatched shoulder areas with a 12-foot-wide, two-way bicycle track and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk, with crosswalks at Sutton Road and the I-66 ramp/Village Spring Lane.

A new traffic signal at this location will realign the I-66 ramp “to be better oriented with Village Spring Lane” and eliminate the free-flowing right turn currently there, according to Mirza. An additional eight to 10 parking spaces will be added on the westbound side of the road.

The Virginia Center Boulevard improvements include a two-way, 12-foot-wide bicycle track and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk. There will also be a Capital Bikeshare station, crosswalks at the Metro bus entrance and exit, and intersection improvements at Vaden Drive.

Mirza confirmed that there will be no private property taken from individual landowners, but “slivers” of land will be acquired from homeowners’ associations, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

The new parking added by the project is currently slated to be free, but Mirza said he was unsure of the county’s future intentions for those spaces.

Community members can submit comments on the project until Dec. 3 via email, phone (703-259-1794), mail, online, or in-person by request during business hours at VDOT’s Northern Virginia District office.

Emails should be made out to [email protected] with a reference to “Vienna Metro Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements” in the subject line.

Mail can be sent to Zamir Mirza, VDOT’s Northern Virginia District, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Virginia Hospital Center Expands into Tysons — “The Arlington health system has purchased a building at 1760 Old Meadow Road where it’s setting up an orthopedic outpatient surgery center, according to VHC CEO Jim Cole. The hospital is now renovating a 14,900-square-foot area of existing building in a project expected to cost $6.4 million including construction and equipment…The facility is slated to open in mid-2022.” [Washington Business Journal]

County Releases FY 2023 Budget Forecast — Fairfax County anticipates a 5.7% revenue increase of approximately $279.6 million for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1, 2022. However, the gains will be offset by continued declines in real estate values for office buildings and senior care facilities due to the pandemic. [Fairfax County Government]

County Police Focus on Recruitment and Violent Crimes — “While monitoring disturbing trends such as domestic homicides and increasingly violent vehicle thieves, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis hopes to hire more officers and implement changes to modernize the police department. The county’s overall crime rate now is down by slightly more than 12%, or about 3,500 fewer victims compared with the previous year.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]

Town of Vienna Offices Closed Tomorrow — “Town offices and the Community Center will be closed Nov. 25 for Thanksgiving. There will be no trash collection on Nov. 25, crews will pick up along that route the next day. The Community Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 26, while Town offices will be closed.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

Visit Fairfax Launches Holiday Gift Guide — “Ali Morris at Visit Fairfax, the county’s official tourism and hospitality promotion group, created the Fairfax County 2021 Holiday Gift Guide to showcase gift-worthy products created right here and the artisans behind the creations. You can shop by these categories: art and designs; body; chocolate; coffee; food; kids; pets; stocking stuffers; textiles; wine, beer and spirits.” [FCEDA]

Theresa Ayotte likes outdoor dining as a general concept, but her support wavers when those diners sound like they’re hanging out in her backyard.

Ayotte’s house sits behind the complex at 111 Church Street that contains Blend 111 and Bazin’s on Church, two of the 22 restaurants that have taken advantage of Vienna’s temporarily relaxed rules for outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She and her husband Howard Uman were among several Wilmar Place NW residents who urged the Vienna Town Council to limit outdoor dining for restaurants next to residential properties at a public hearing on Monday (Nov. 15) about making the simpler permitting process permanent.

“The noise from dining is intrusively loud and constant,” Ayotte told the town council. “…We have tolerated it for the past 18 months as our way of supporting the community during the pandemic, but we are totally opposed to it becoming a permanent fixture in our neighborhood.”

The town council agreed to postpone a vote on outdoor dining until its next meeting on Dec. 6 so they can discuss lingering questions about the zoning ordinance amendments, including how to address potential conflicts over issues like noise and parking.

“I have no issue at all with outdoor dining when backed up against commercial,” Councilmember Nisha Patel said. “I think when you’re backed up against residential, we do need to listen to the residents, but we also do need to support our businesses, and I do think there’s room for compromise.”

Prior to the pandemic, the Town of Vienna required a conditional use permit for outdoor commercial activities like food service, a roughly three-month-long process involving a $1,500 fee and reviews by both the planning commission and board of zoning appeals.

First proposed on Oct. 11 and supported by the planning commission earlier this month, the new ordinance would let restaurants use a patio, roof garden, or off-street parking spaces for outdoor dining with just a review by a zoning administrator.

The outdoor dining spaces would still need to meet certain conditions, primarily related to maintaining accessibility for pedestrians and people with disabilities, and all furniture and tents must be approved by the Vienna Board of Architectural Review.

Dining areas in parking lots have to be set up so that they could easily be converted back into parking, and restaurants would be limited to 20% of their required spaces, though businesses on Church Street could utilize more spaces with the town council’s approval.

“Some of the restaurants within the Church Street Vision buildings, they have a different parking standard, so 20% of their required parking is, in some cases, one parking space,” Vienna Planning and Zoning Deputy Director Michael D’Orazio explained. “You’re not able to utilize that very well.”

While much of Monday’s nearly two-hour public hearing focused on the Wilmar Place residents’ noise concerns, council members, restaurant owners, and even some of those residents expressed appreciation for the expanded availability of outdoor dining during the pandemic. Read More

The Town of Vienna has a new source of Nepali cuisine, and it happens to occupy the same space as the previous source.

Royal Nepal Bistro has been serving diners since Sept. 30 out of 131-A Maple Avenue W., the site filled by Mo:Mo House until that restaurant closed permanently on Aug. 28.

Manager Sunil Chaudhary says Royal Nepal Bistro has no connection to Mo:Mo House. Instead, it’s a spin-off of Royal Nepal, a restaurant in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood that wanted to expand its reach.

“This is one of the central points where Tysons is next to us. McLean is very close,” Chaudhary said when asked why Royal Nepal chose Vienna for its second location. “We have Oakton very close…so we thought this was the perfect location where we’d be able to expand.”

The team looked at a couple of other possible venues in Vienna before selecting the former Mo:Mo House space due to its cozy size, which seemed more appropriate for a bistro than the larger dining room that the restaurant has in Alexandria.

Chaudhary says the COVID-19 pandemic “slowed some things down,” with some steps taking a week or two longer than anticipated, but the process of setting up the new eatery was generally “sound and smooth.”

The bistro has been well-received by customers, garnering almost entirely five-star ratings on Yelp and warm mentions on the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook page.

“The response has been great from the community,” Chaudhary said. “They’ve been supporting us a lot, so we’re happy that we’re here in Vienna. It’s been an amazing response from the community.”

In addition to lamb, chicken, and vegetable momo dumplings, Royal Nepal Bistro’s menu features a variety of meat plates, curries, nasi goreng, salads, and Nepalese street food. It diverges from the Alexandria restaurant both in the kinds of dishes offered and their presentation style.

Chaudhary says the menu is different, because the goal is to cater to each community’s preferences. For instance, the popularity of healthy food-oriented eateries like Sweet Leaf Cafe and Chopt in Vienna suggests salads would be a good fit there.

Even though Royal Nepal Bistro has been open for over a month now, patrons can expect to see “a lot of changes” to its interior design, as those renovations are still underway, according to Chaudhary. He says the menu will also be revamped by the new year based on customer feedback.

“We’re looking for the response of the community, and we’ll update everything accordingly,” Chaudhary said.

The Town of Vienna has moved one step closer to permanently implementing the outdoor dining rules for restaurants that have been lessened temporarily due to the pandemic.

During the COVID-19 era, nearly two dozen businesses in the town have expanded their outdoor dining capacities by using parking spots, thanks to the relaxed rules.

Last Wednesday (Nov. 3), the town’s Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended streamlining the permitting process for outdoor dining. Instead of getting Board of Zoning Appeals approval and paying a $1,500 fee, a restaurant would get yearly permits through an administrative review (subject to the Board of Architectural Review) and a $100 application fee.

No one from the public commented aside from the town’s economic development manager, Natalie Monkou, who expressed her support for the change.

“We did as a town pull together all of our resources to be able to support our businesses…but it allowed businesses to survive in a safe way,” she said of the emergency policy changes amid the pandemic. “I also think we have to consider the future of outdoor dining and outdoor spaces.”

Monkou suggested the town help restaurants know whether they could winterize outdoor spaces with appropriate furniture, heating, and other investments.

How the Parking Formula Would Work

The changes to the town’s code would mean a typical business could go through the administrative process and use up to 20% of its minimum parking spots needed for dining.

So, if a business needed to have 10 parking spots, it could use two spots for a dining area. If a property had extra spots beyond that minimum, that parking could also be used for dining, too.

For businesses along Church Street, which are covered by a distinct zoning ordinance known as the Church Street Vision, use of parking spaces would be approved by Town Council. For all areas, the outdoor dining spaces would still have to be able to be removed easily.

Previously, the town approved the emergency, temporary relief on June 1, 2020 and has extended the measure repeatedly. The ordinance is slated to expire Dec. 7, 2021 but can be extended up to Dec. 31.

Planning Commission Chair Stephen Kenney directed staff to continue surveying businesses about whether a 20% threshold was being used still. He suggested while that amount was necessary at the start of the pandemic, it might be more than what’s needed at this point.

The commission’s vice chair, David Miller, suggested the ordinance last for a limited time frame each year, such as from April 1 to Oct. 1 or Nov. 1, noting how snow and other weather can limit patrons’ enjoyment outside.

The town council will hold a public hearing on the matter on Monday (Nov. 15).

Transportation officials will hold an online public hearing next Wednesday (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. about changes to roads to add cycling paths and more by the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station.

The project involves temporary and permanent changes to Country Creek Road, Virginia Center Boulevard, and part of Sutton Road with the aim of improving traffic flow and safety.

As part of the $9.2 million project, the Virginia Department Transportation and Fairfax County are temporarily adding a two-way cycle track, buffered bike lane, upgraded pedestrian signals, and other improvements.

“As part of the improvements we are going to adopt a road diet on the eastbound sections of Country Creek Road and Virginia Center Boulevard where there is [additional] capacity in roadway width to introduce a two way cycle track and sidewalk,” project manager Zamir Mirza said in an email.

According to a project page, the proposed final changes include the following:

• Constructing shared-used paths along Blake Lane and Sutton Road from the I-66 bridge to Country Creek Road
• Creating a separated two-way cycle track along Country Creek Road/Virginia Center Boulevard
• Realigning the I-66 westbound ramp to Country Creek Road
• Modifying the traffic signals at the intersections of Sutton Road and Blake Lane, Country Creek Road and the ramp from westbound I-66, and Country Creek Road and Vaden Drive.

According to a meeting notice, people can give their comments during the public hearing. Alternatively, they can comment by Dec. 3 through an online comment form, by email to [email protected] with “Vienna Metro Station Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements” as the subject line.

Letters can also be mailed to Zamir Mirza, Virginia Department of Transportation, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.

The project is happening in conjunction with the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, where 11 miles of a trail network for cyclists and pedestrians is being constructed parallel to I-66, connecting with existing trails.

Interim road changes by the Vienna Metro are slated to begin in fall 2022, and final construction could start in summer 2024.

Tensions are brewing in the Town of Vienna should pursue adding sidewalks.

Most, and possibly all, of the neighbors on Alma Street SE have voiced opposition to a new sidewalk there, signing a petition to try to prevent the project that’s being evaluated for the western side of the street.

Meanwhile, others argue that a lack of sidewalks creates safety and accessibility issues, where vehicles and pedestrians share the road and visual obstructions can heighten the potential for danger.

Town leaders have been racing to advance a slate of sidewalk projects — primarily in residential neighborhoods — and use money in a $7 million trust left by former Councilmember Maud Robinson after her death in 2019.

The money dedicated to the Robinson Trust Sidewalk Initiative, which seeks to fill gaps in the town’s network, expires in fall 2024.

How should the town proceed? Should Vienna use its right-of-way to build sidewalks as a public good, even if they cut into a resident’s lawn or driveway, or should the town only build projects when it has the support of adjacent properties?

Photo via Google Maps

The Town of Vienna will hold a public hearing on Nov. 15 to receive feedback about possible changes to how many years a councilmember will serve.

It comes after a new state law ended all local May elections, shifting them to November. The Fairfax County Office of Elections previously said the move will improve voter turnout and save the town from paying certain election-related expenses.

Town council members and the mayor currently serve for two years, with three council seats opening every year and mayoral elections coming on even-numbered years.

Vienna residents will be able to weigh in on options the town has been considering for amending the elections section of its charter at the public hearing. They can also share their own ideas.

“Other options can be submitted by the general public,” town attorney Steven Briglia said at a town council meeting on Monday (Nov. 1). “It’s not limited to any one of the options [that have] been sort of discussed.”

Proposals have included the following:

• No changes to the two-year term length
• Three-year terms for the 2022 election before switching to four-year terms in 2023 and all elections thereafter
• Three-year terms for 2022, then switch to two years for all seats with the 2023 election and subsequent elections
• Two-year terms for three council seats and four-year terms for the other half of the council as well as the mayor

In the last scenario, candidates for the town council would choose whether they want to run for two years or four years.

Councilmember Chuck Anderson said the idea was inspired by an approach used by college boards. The council asked Briglia to investigate whether it would actually be allowed.

The proposals stem in part from a suggestion that the town should hold its elections on odd-numbered years. Councilmember Ed Somers said that would prevent the local races from getting caught up in national elections.