For the next two weeks, Reston area restaurants will take part in the Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week.

Beginning Mon., Jan. 25 and through. Sunday, Feb. 7, restaurants around the DC region will offer prix fixe meals for two or four people.

A lunch meal for one is $22. The first dinner option includes a $60 meal for two and a $120 meal for four. The second option includes a $100 meal for two and a $200 meal for four.

The launch of the annual restaurant week, which is organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, delayed by one week “in consideration of the fluid nature of activities and regulatory measures” in effecting the area, according to the restaurant’s website.

The following local restaurants are taking part in the promotional week

• The Melting Pot – Lunch and dinner only
• Founding Farmers Reston – Lunch and dinner only
• Mon Ami Gabi – Lunch and dinner only
• Clyde’s of Reston – Dinner only
• Morton’s The Steakhouse – Lunch and dinner only
• PassionFish – Lunch and dinner only

The complete list of participating restaurants is available online.

Photo via Mon Ami Gabi/Facebook

The regional Summer Restaurant Week — an event organized by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington — returns August 17 through 30  with some modifications.

The week was extended to allow patrons more time to participate. Events DC and JBG Smith are also covering the costs for local eateries to take part in the regional event. Restaurants are also offering takeout deals in addition to dine-in specials.

Here’s a list of local restaurants joining:

• Founding Farmers (1904 Reston Metro Plaza Drive)
• McCormick & Schmick’s (11920 Democracy Drive)
• The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive)
• Morton’s The Steakhouse (11956 Market Street)
• PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive)

Currently, only Founding Farmers at Reston Station and Morton’s The Steakhouse are offering to-go meals for the restaurant week. Both restaurants and The Melting Pot are also including a paired wine or cocktail.

Fixed-price offerings include $22 for brunch or lunch and either $35 for $55 for dinner. Family-style to-go dinner meals are also being offered.

More restaurants may be added over the next several days.

File photo

Weather-related Road Closures — Although no roads are closed in Reston, a number of areas throughout the county remain impacted by yesterday’s storm. [Fairfax County Police Department]

Reston Association Board Meets Tonight — The Board of Directors will meet virtually today at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place via Zoom. [Reston Association]

Founding Farmers, Comstock to Deliver Food to Shelter — “Comstock Companies and Founding Farmers are partnering to provide breakfast and boxed lunches to the the Embry Rucker Shelter over the next month. Embry Rucker, which is located at 11975 Bowman Towne Drive, is a 70-bed residential shelter that provides housing for individuals and families in Reston.” [Reston Patch]

Photo via Marjorie Copson

A customer at a local Reston restaurant left a big welcome gift on Northern Virginia’s first day of reopening on Friday (May 29).

The customer left a $1,000 tip for Founding Farmers’ opening day team in Reston Station (1904 Reston Metro Plaza). The order’s total was $213.59.

“Congrats on re-opening. We have missed you,” the customer wrote. “Please share with re-opening day team.”

The restaurant’s co-owner Dan Simons, who shared the receipt on Twitter, said he was moved by the customer’s generosity.

“Brought tears of appreciation to my eyes when I saw what one of our amazingly kind and generous guests left for our service team today,” Simons wrote.

Like other local businesses, the restaurant’s servers had been out of work after the COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants and other businesses to switch to delivery, pickup or curbside service.

The restaurant’s patio is open, but reservations re required. The Reston location is also offering some grocery items for purchase.

The company also put together a reopening resource guide to detail protocols and procedures created due to COVID-19.

Brought tears of appreciation to my eyes when I saw what one of our amazingly kind and generous guests left for our service team today. @FoundingFarmers #BetterTogether #DineLocal #DC #supportsmallbusiness pic.twitter.com/UVBpHisJCA

— Dan Simons (@DanSimonsSays) May 30, 2020

Photo via Dan Simons/Twitter

To adapt to changing demands brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic, an eatery in Reston is adapting to offer a selection of grocery items.

Founding Farmers Reston (1904 Reston Metro Plaza) now delivers groceries and allows customers to sign up for a curbside pickup time slot, according to its website. Called Founding Farmers Market and Grocery, the service will offer booze to go, meals typically made through the eatery’s kitchen and groceries.

Market products include bread, snacks, milk, eggs, meats, pre-sliced deli items, fresh produce, desserts like cookie dough and household items such as paper towels, hand soap, laundry detergent and trash bags.

The grocery market program began on April 17, according to the eatery’s Facebook page and continues to expand its menu.

Customers can choose delivery or curbside pickup time from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., according to the website.

With each grocery order, a $6.99 surcharge will apply to the total, the website said, regardless of the total cost.

Those interested in testing out this service can fill out a virtual cart through Founding Farmer’s online portal and choose a time for pickup or delivery.

As a way to support people struggling during this time, Founding Farmers is offering 50% off for first responders, those in the medical field and employees, the website said.

Photo via Founding Farmers Reston/Facebook

State Gov. Ralph Northam recently ordered restaurants, bars, and gym to enforce a 10-person limit in their establishments.

Unlike DC and Maryland where restaurants were ordered to close earlier this week, many local restaurants are continuing operations. Some are open with reduced hours and while others are shifting entirely to carry out and delivery.

Small businesses are reporting financial distress as COVID-19 continues to spread. So far, the county’s health district has 16 confirmed cases — a number that’s expected to rise as more people receive tests.

Here’s a list of spots to check out for takeout and delivery options. Please note that restaurants are updating hours and policies on a daily basis.

Carryout and Delivery

• Amphora: Reduced bakery hours on weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call ahead for curbside delivery
• Ariake: To-go orders only between 11:30 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• Bobby’s Bagel Cafe: Carryout and delivery offered
• CAVA: Some locations have closed, but the Reston location is open for pick up orders
• CarPool Herndon: Carryout offered; 10-guest limit for dine-in
• Charred: Customers can grab a $10 cheeseburger with chips and drinks all week.
• Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant: Foodservice discontinued, but the tasting room remains open
• Elden Street Tea Shop: Customers can place an order online
• Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern: Delivery and pick-up only via Doordash. Free delivery is offered within a 10-mile radius. The kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
• Lake Anne Brew House: A new “taproom to go” site was launched yesterday (Thursday)
• Lucia’s Italian Ristorante: The restaurant is also open for dine-in
• Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls — The owner tells us the Reston Town Center location is open from noon to 7 p.m. Carryout, curbside pickup and free delivery in RTC are available
• Mission BBQ: Open for take-out and delivery only. Free delivery for all orders of $25 or more through March 31
• Founding Farmers: Delivery and takeout offered, with first respondents. Current and formers employees get 50 percent off for curbside pick up orders.
• Finn Thai: Open for dine-in, delivery and carryout
• Glory Days (North Point and Fox Mill Locations) — Carryout, online ordering and delivery
• Gregorio’s Trattoria: Open and also offering delivery and carryout
• Kalypso’s Sports Tavern: Free delivery and takeout
• Mezeh Mediterranean Grill: Pickup and delivery available. Buy one bowl, get one free.
• Morton’s The Steakhouse: Takeout offered from noon to 8 p.m. daily. Half off of select wines with purchase of food.
• Nando’s Peri-Peri: Delivery and carryout
• Nordic Knot: Orders can also be placed online
• North Italia: Delivery and carryout offered only
• Silver Diner (11951 Killingsworth Avenue): Carryout, curbside, and delivery online available
• Ted’s Bulletin: Dine-in is open “with strict sanitation and health checks,” according to the company
• The Counter: Online orders open
• The Melting Pot: Reduced hours from Sunday through Thursday, with an early closing time of 9 p.m.
• The Counter: Online orders open
• Virginia Kitchen: Open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Curbside service highly encouraged
• Weird Brothers Coffee: The Worldgate Metro Plaza location is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The roasting factory is open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The coffee shop is also offering takeout, curbside delivery and local delivery

Temporary Closures

• Big Bowl
• Bombay Velvet
• Crafthouse: Gifts cards available for purchase online
• Mon Ami Gabi
• Not Your Average Joe’s
• PassionFish
• Uncle Julio’s

Help us update this list by commenting below with the name of the business and a link with details

Photo via Lake Anne Brew House/Facebook

Four Reston eateries will be participating in the Metropolitan Washington Winter Resturant Week later this January.

Foodies around the area can enjoy lunch for $22 and dinner for $35 from Jan. 13 through 19.

A few places around the D.C.-area offer brunch specials — but not at any of the Reston locations.

Offerings vary from restaurant to restaurant, and places will feature either a specialed menu or a multi-course option.

PassionFish will offer lunch and dinner specials featuring nine different appetizer options like the Peruvian-style ceviche and main courses from their regular menu, as well as one of three desserts such as the almond biscotti crème brûlée.

A few items on their menu, such as the crab cakes, will include a $10 upcharge.

Other participating eateries in Reston include The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive), Founding Farmers (1904 Reston Metro Plaza Drive) and McCormick & Schmick’s (11920 Democracy Drive).

Anyone interested in taking advantage of the deals can either call ahead to reserve a space at the individual locations or make a reservation on OpenTable.

Photo via PassionFish/Facebook

Several local restaurants are offering special deals for the annual Northern Virginia Restaurant Week, which ends on Sunday (September 15).

The week, which is organized by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, features special menus and deals by local restaurants. This year’s event kicked off on Monday (September 9).

The following restaurants are participating:

• Carrabba’s Italian Grill
• Mon Ami Gabi
• Not Your Average Joe’s Kitchen & Bar
• Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant
• Founding Farmers Reston Station

Restaurants will offer menus specifically designed for the event. Reservations are highly encouraged.

The event is sponsored by Boston Properties and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

Photo courtesy Mon Ami Gabi

Foodies can enjoy discounted prix fixe meals in mid-August during the Metropolitan Washington Summer Restaurant Week.

More than 200 restaurants in the District, Maryland and Virginia are set to participate in the event, which takes place from Monday, August 12 to Sunday, August 18. Restaurants will offer brunch and lunch for $22 and dinner for $35.

In Reston, four eateries will provide discounted lunch and dinner:

• Founding Farmers (1904 Reston Metro Plaza)
• The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive)
• Morton’s The Steakhouse (11956 Market Street)
• PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive)

Restaurant menus have not yet been posted on the event’s website. Guests taking part in restaurant week can also sign up for a diner rewards program, which gives guests who opt-in exclusive access to deals on meals and prizes.

The event is organized by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, a regional trade association that represents restaurants and the food-service industry in the DC-area.

Photo via RAMV

FCPS statement — Fairfax County Public Schools recently released a statement on seclusion and restraint after “special education advocates, concerned parents and community members have raised concerns in light of recent media reports.” [FCPS]

YP Connections events — Head to Founding Farmers from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for a networking event. Registration closes at noon, and tickets cost $15 for chamber members or $25 for guests. Light refreshments and one drink ticket will be provided. [Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce]

Get Woke! Book Club — Scrawl Books has a progressive book club that focuses on reading titles that cover timely political issues. This month’s book is “Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal” by Aviva Chomsky. The discussion starts at 7 p.m. [Scrawl Books]

Photo courtesy Navid 

Updated at 9:35 on Jan. 10 — Includes McCormick & Schmick’s. 

Four restaurants in Reston are among the 250 places in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. on the roster for Winter Restaurant Week in January.

Winter Restaurant Week will run from Monday, Jan. 14, to Sunday, Jan. 20, with prix fixe menus — $35 dinner and $22 lunch.

Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington announced yesterday (Dec. 20) that Founding Farmers, The Melting Pot and PassionFish will offer both lunch and dinner during the event. McCormick & Schmick’s is also on the roster as of Jan. 10, 2019.

Two of the restaurants have certain restrictions.

Located at 1904 Reston Metro Plaza, Founding Farmers will have its regularly priced buffet brunch instead of the prix fixe lunch available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekend of Jan. 19.

The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant located at 11730 Plaza America Drive, Suite 100, will not allow diners to share or split entrees or ask for substitutions.

Seafood-focused eatery PassionFish at 11960 Democracy Drive and McCormick & Schmick’s at 11920 Democracy Drive do not have any dining restrictions posted on Winter Restaurant Week’s website.

Photos via Passionfood Hospitality, PassionFish, Founding Farmers Reston and Google Maps

This story has been updated

Artists behind the artwork of Founding Farmers in Reston Station will offer explanations of their work at an “Art Reveal” tonight from 6-8 p.m.

The interior of the restaurant includes work by local and regional artists, all centered around the theme of Thomas Jefferson and Monticello. Featured artwork includes a North Dakota Farmers  Union Laundry line, which hangs from the restaurant’s ceiling.

The piece was made from pieces of cloth from farm owners that were hardened into place with glue and paint.

Other pieces include colorful farm animals dispersed on the wall of the restaurant and an image of Sally Hemings, an enslaved women who had a relationship with Jefferson.

Co-owner Dan Simons and creative director Leah Frankl will be on-site to answer questions about the art in the restaurant. Tickets are available online.

Photos via Gina Carroll

Several Reston restaurants will participate in this year’s Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Summer Week, which begins on Monday (August 13).

Restaurants throughout the greater Washington region will offer three-course lunch and brunch menus for $22 and a three-course dinner for $35 at fixed prices. The annual event is sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, a regional trade association that represents restaurants and the foodservice industry in the DC-area.

Restaurants in Reston that are participated are:

• Founding Farmers (1904 Reston Metro Plaza Drive)
• McCormick & Schmick’s (11920 Democracy Drive)
• The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive)
• Morton’s The Steakhouse (11956 Market Street)
• PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive)

Special menus for the week, which runs from Monday through Aug. 19, are available online.

File photo

Founding Farmers, a 13,000-square-foot restaurant, is now open at 1904 Reston Metro Plaza.

The restaurant by Farmers Restaurant Group is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch.

Founding Farmers also offers on-the-go breakfast for customers at the “First Bake Cafe.” Reservations are available online. Validated parking is available in the Wiehle-Reston East parking garage, as well as valet parking for customers who pull up their vehicles to the plaza.

Here’s more from the restaurant:

Founding Farmers Reston will have many guest favorites, such as house-made pastas and our Southern Fried Chicken & Donut. Our chefs are also particularly excited to share a nice range of cuts from our Steak House, such as our classic 48-Hour Salt-Cured Prime Rib. Some of us can’t wait for the comforting and wholesome grain and protein bowls, or the decadence of our homemade desserts and hand-churned ice cream. Of course, we will be serving our large selection of craft cocktails made with spirits from our own distillery in DC, Founding Spirits.

The restaurant has been is built with the same sustainably-minded practices we use across Farmers Restaurant Group, pursuing LEED and Green Restaurant Association certifications. We also have amazing artwork from a great group of original artists to share with our guests and to help tell our story.

Sweet Leaf, a cafe adjacent to the new restaurant, also recently opened at Reston Station Plaza.

Photo via Founding Farmers Reston

Founding Farmers, a restaurant owned by Farmers Restaurant Group, will open on April 11 at Reston Station, a major mixed-use development by Comstock.

The restaurant, which pushed back its opening date several times since 2016, will take up a two-level, 10,000 square foot location at 1904 Reston Metro Plaza.

The location features a private dining space to seat 40-50 people, a large mezzanine, and a bar with cocktails from their D.C.-based distillery. Their First Bake Cafe will offer freshly-baked goods, sweets and a Compass Coffee blend. The cafe is designed for Metro users and others who looking for a quick bite.

The second floor is dedicated to the kitchen, requiring staff to speed up and down stairs to serve orders.

The build out was complicated by a lengthy permitting process and the unique design of the restaurant, which requires an elevator due to limited space for loading fresh deliveries, staff said.

Founding Farmers relies on daily fresh deliveries and has limited kitchen space for freezing products. It serves weekday breakfast, lunch and dinner and a weekend buffet brunch. According to promotional material, the restaurant’s dishes are made with “pure ingredients honoring the farmers and their hard-earned bounty.”

Parking, which is not free at Reston Station, will be validated. Valet parking will be offered for $3, allowing guests to pull up their vehicles at the plaza.

No word yet on when Sweet Leaf, a community cafe near the Founding Farmers location, will open.

The restaurant has other locations in the District, Tysons Corner, Montgomery County, Md., and King of Prussia, Pa.

Photos by Fatimah Waseem