Lake Anne Plaza — the original Reston’s village center that is about to embark on a revitalization project that developers hope will transform the area — has had a string of business turnover news in 2014.
To recap:
- Jasmine Cafe, longtime restaurant, evicted for non payment of rent
- Lake Anne Pharmacy, sold after more than 40 years on the plaza so owner could retire; Slated to close in September
- Cafe Lakeside, food counter within Lake Anne Pharmacy, closed as space was sold and owners retired
- Cupcake Ladi, closed in August after four years
- New Family Naturals, closed in August after two years
- Lake Anne Coffee House, for sale
- Lake Anne Florist, Virginia Wine and Gourmet, business for sale after more than 30 years; owner retiring
Is it a streak of bad timing, a sign of the economic times or a changing of the guard?
A little bit of all three, says Rick Thompson, president of the Lake Anne of Reston Condo Association, which oversees commercial space as well as residences at the plaza.
Thompson points out that many of the recent closings are from longtime store owners who had businesses at Lake Anne for dozens of years.
“Any set of businesses in any location are always going to go through periods of change,” he said. “Tastes change, businesses go through cycles. I think there are a lot of different reasons at work here.
“Take the cupcake store. She rode the cupcake trend, but that’s probably in the rearview mirror now. Jasmine — he was in business 25 years, but he did not continue to invest in his business and it atrophied. Larry (Cohn, owner of the pharmacy) held on way past retirement. Linda Fuller (of Lake Anne Florist) ran her business a long time. She wasn’t ‘working for the man’ somewhere.”
So what will open at Lake Anne Plaza? It takes a certain type of business owner, but Thompson says he thinks space at Lake Anne will appeal to independent-minded, cost-savvy entrepreneurs. While there is no rule against chain stores at Lake Anne, the size of most storefronts usually deters businesses looking for a more uniform space.
“If it is the kind of business that makes sense here, it is a great location in a growing area,” he said. “It is an affluent economic [area] and there will be redevelopment nearby.”
Rents are far lower at Lake Anne than they are at many other Reston shopping centers or at Reston Town Center, says Thompson. At Reston Town Center, for instance, business owners are bound by management rules. Space at Lake Anne is individually owned with fewer rules.
But that can also work against the plaza, which has a voluntary merchants committee. Some shopkeepers keep irregular hours or do not maintain property properly.
Also impeding progress is Lake Anne Plaza’s historic designation. That means that the “horseshoe” part of the plaza cannot be altered, even if it means outdated entryways or tight fits for delivery trucks.
“There is no way to roll back the historical designation,” said Thompson. “It is already in the county code. Is it better to have free reign and let the architecture go to hell? I don’t think anyone would want that.”
David Peter, president and CEO of Republic Land Development, which is redeveloping Crescent Apartments and the land surrounding Lake Anne Plaza, says the vacancies do not worry him. In fact, they help boost his plan that the Lake Anne area is ripe for higher density and renovation.
“I think this bolsters what we have been saying for two-and-a-half years — that this place needs to be revitalized,” he said. “We think we have a plan that will achieve that. Obviously, we hope other people will pick up where the others left off.”
Peter said Republic’s goal is to start construction in mid or late 2015.
Plans to open a Pure Barre studio on Market Street at Reston Town Center have fallen through, a company spokeswoman said.
Pure Barre, a franchised exercise studio with locations nationwide, announce in December that it had signed a lease for space at 11990 Market St., on the ground-floor of the Midtown Condo.
A local rep had said the studio expected to open in February, but little action towards building out the space could be seen as time went on.
The spokesman said that “unforeseen issues with permitting in our intended space for the Reston studio,” led to the cancellation.
Barre exercise — as in ballet barre — is a recent trend where participants do small muscle movements, similar to the workouts of ballet dancers, to create long, lean muscles. Fees are $25 for single 55-minute class, but packages are available. There are nearby Pure Barre locations in Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Fairfax, Rockville and McLean.
Photo courtesy of Pure Barre
Linda Fuller, owner of Lake Anne Florist, Virginia Wine & Gourmet, says her shop at Lake Anne Plaza is for sale.
Fuller is 65, and she says that after selling flowers and other gift products in Reston for 40 years, it is time to go.
Fuller started her business in 1974, selling flowers from a van in the Lake Anne Plaza parking lot. She opened her first Lake Anne store in 1976, and eventually moved to a larger space in Herndon and a kiosk at Hunters Woods Village Center.
Lake Anne Florist returned to the plaza in 1996, and in 2007 moved into its current space at 11426 Washington Plaza, where Fuller stocks local food products and wine, and Chesapeake Chocolates leases space.
The business has morphed from flowers into gift baskets, wine pairings and gourmet foods. The store is the site of many special events, including wine tastings and food samplings.
“I need to find someone that has the energy to do the marketing to move the business forward,” Fuller said. “I’m not going to wait around for the redevelopment. I have been waiting for 15 years.”
Fuller is speaking of the Lake Anne revitalization project, which will bring more density to the area around Lake Anne, as well as hopefully revitalize the retail area in the historic area of the plaza. Fairfax County chose Lake Anne Development Corporation, a division of Republic Lane Development, last summer to redevelop the aging, 181-unit Crescent Apartments nearby.
LADC plans more than 1,000 housing units, as well as nearly 200,000 square feet of retail and office space, but work has not yet begun on the project.
But meanwhile, it is a period of transition for the existing businesses. In the last six weeks, Lake Anne Florist neighbors The Cupcake Ladi and New Family Naturals have closed up shop.
Earlier in the year, Lake Anne Pharmacy, the oldest continuously operating business at Lake Anne, was sold. If a tenant cannot be found by the end of this month, that store will close. Earlier in the year, Cafe Lakeside, the lunch counter operation within the drugstore, closed.
Also this year, Jasmine Cafe, a longtime Lake Anne restaurant, was shut down after failing to pay the rent. And the Lake Anne Coffee House remains for sale.
Fuller says someone with vision could come in and create a larger and especially viable business that would be well established by the time redevelopment occurs. She added she will stay open at least until the end of the year or until a buyer is found.
The asking price Lake Anne Florist, Virginia Wine & Gourmet is $24,995.
Independent technical consultant Josh Steinhouse is a self-admitted fan of all things “geek.”
Steinhouse, otherwise known as The Geek Balloonist, can create more than 300 characters from cartoons, movies and video games, and has done so for the past 10 years.
“What I do is make people happy,” said the Reston resident and part-time balloon artist. “They ask for their favorite characters, I make them out of balloons, and then they’re happy.”
From the Disney princesses to characters from “Pulp Fiction,” Steinhouse creates using balloons, some Sharpies and a handful of balloon designs, which he constantly invents, perfects and updates.
“I look at everything and go, ‘hey, how would that look in balloons?'” Steinhouse said. “Any balloonist can go to a birthday party and do the princesses or the superheroes, but I do everything from Ironman to the princesses to Hannibal Lecter.”
Steinhouse and his partner Liz Starkey, create on-site at birthday parties, community events and pop culture conventions. They also make large balloon structures for conventions, like a 9-foot-tall Buzz Lightyear.
The Geek Balloonist prices vary based on which service the duo provides. On-site balloon making starts at $125 for one hour and increases at different increments to $800 for ten hours. To order a large-scale display, it costs $500 for one, $800 for two, $1,200 for three and $1,500 for four. Steinhouse also offers “performance shows” and “balloon décor” for events at a range of prices.
“I only do geek-related, pop culture-related things,” Steinhouse said. “Whatever is new and exciting, that’s what I like doing.”
Although the Philadelphia transplant started out making balloon characters at Pennsylvania’s Sesame Place the summer before college, his part-time business expanded after returning from a full time corporate marketing events job at Disney’s Shanghai location in March 2013.
Since returning home, Steinhouse said he has done balloon work for comic conventions all over the country, including Baltimore Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con and Phoenix Comic-Con. He made characters at Awesome-Con in D.C. last April, and plans to work at the official Stargate SG-1 Atlantis Convention in Chicago Aug. 15 to Aug. 17.
“I’ll go to these conventions, get pictures with the celebrities, and send them out to the organizers,” Steinhouse said. “That’s what I did with Richard Dean Anderson, and that’s how he got the [Stargate] gig this year.”
Steinhouse said the stars of the AMC reality show “Comic Book Men” commissioned him to create a version of the superhero from their original comic book out of balloons, which later appeared on their first issue’s cover. The Comic Book men then revealed the issue at Baltimore Comic-Con last year.
“For me, that was when I could die happy,” Steinhouse said.
For the premiere of “The Guardians of the Galaxy” earlier this month, Steinhouse made a different character of the movie and posted a picture to his Twitter page each day of the week before its release on Aug. 1.
“The geek characters are not only what people want,” Steinhouse said, “but they’re what I would want if I was looking for a balloonist.”
Steinhouse said he hopes to grow his venture so he can employ balloon artists all over the country, and take a break from traveling so often for events. However, he would only hire “true geeks.”
“You would have to know at least two-third of the characters I know,” Steinhouse said. “I don’t expect anyone to know them like I do. My brain is a pop culture encyclopedia.”
Work has begun on the interior space for Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco, two new restaurants that will open soon at Reston Town Center.
Crews are busy building out the 10,000-square-foot space on the ground floor of The Avant residential building at Town Square Street and Explorer Street. The restaurants are expected to open in the fall.
The Connecticut-based restaurant group announced last fall that it signed a lease for the Reston locations.
Barcelona has several East Coast locations, including one at Logan Circle in D.C.. The restaurant is known for tapas and other Spanish food, as well as a long wine list — featuring, of course, lots of Spanish wine.
Bartaco has five locations (three in Connecticut and one in Atlanta) and is known for craft margaritas and interesting twists on Mexican food. The restaurant is an inexpensive, very casual taco stand, but with unusual ingredients (in addition to the usual favorite ones) such as felafel, tofu, or fried oyster tacos.
With World of Beer and CVS already open on The Avant’s ground floor, the street level is fully leased. There are residential units in the luxury apartment building that are currently available for rent.
More than six months after the Lakeside Inn closed its doors at Reston’s South Lakes Village Center, renovations for future tenant Red’s Table have finally begun.
Lakeside Inn left the space in October 2013 after 22 years as a popular, but slightly worn-around-the-edges, watering hole.
The space is currently being gutted, and Red’s Table owners Ryan, Pat and Matt Tracy have ambitious plans for their business.
The Tracy brothers, all of whom grew up in Reston, are planning an open space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Thoreau. The closed-off bar area will be gone. The new restaurant will have an Aerican Regional Cuisine menu, an open kitchen and two outdoor patios, Ryan Tracy said.
“The place will look totally different than before,” Ryan Tracy said in a previous interview with Reston Now. “It will have a rustic feel, taking advantage of its space by the lake. I think it will be a huge hit. People can sit out on the lake and really enjoy it.”
Tracy say he is planning to open later in 2014.
World of Beer is planning to open at Reston Town Center on May 26, says owner Evan Matz.
Construction is ongoing at 1888 Explorer St., a 4,500-square-foot space on the ground floor of The Avant at Reston Town Center.
World of Beer is a Florida-based national franchise. Metz also owns the WOB in Ballston, which opened in summer 2012. WOB has about 500 different beers that rotate through the menu, including 50 on tap, says Matz.
The restaurant will also have a full menu.
WOB will also have drink specials nightly and happy hour Monday through Friday, as well as live music Thursdays through Saturdays.
WOB is one of several ground-floor tenants in The Avant, Boston Properties’ new luxury residential building across from Reston Town Square Park. The Avant welcomed its first tenants in late 2013 and has units available for lease.
Other new tenants planned for the building are a CVS store, Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco Restaurant.
Jasmine Cafe, a mainstay of the Lake Anne Plaza dining scene, has abruptly closed.
A “no trespassing” sign has been placed on the chained door.
Chef and owner Eduardo Faubert says he was just made aware of the situation Tuesday afternoon. He said he did not close the restaurant and the lock was placed by the property owner.
Faubert says he does owe the owner some money, but hopefully the situation will be settled quickly.
Jasmine Cafe had been located at Lake Anne for more than 20 years. The restaurant has a local following for Faubert and his seasonal menu, as well as outdoor seating on the plaza.
Unlike most retail centers, which are owned by one company, Lake Anne Plaza storefronts are owned by individual owners.
If you shopped at the Michaels store in Reston last summer, your credit card information may have been at risk.
The craft store said Thursday that nearly 2.6 million customers’ information had been stolen from its point-of-sale system. The company said security firms had found that criminals broke into Michaels’s system using “highly sophisticated malware that had not been encountered previously by either of the security firms.”
The Reston store, one of eight in Northern Virginia affected, was breached from May 8, 2013 – July 29, 2013, Michaels said.
The stolen information at both stores includes credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates. Customer names, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and addresses were not affected, the company said.
Michaels said it would offer customers free credit monitoring services for one year.
“We previously informed our customers and relevant regulators that we might have experienced a data security issue,” the company said in a statement. “Since the announcement, we retained two independent, expert security firms to conduct an extensive investigation. We also have been working closely with law enforcement authorities and coordinating with banks and payment processors to determine the facts. As soon as available, we provided data about potentially affected payment cards to the relevant card brands so they could take appropriate action.”
The store chain says the problem has been fixed and it is now safe to use credit and debit cards at the store.
They are advising customers to contact their bank or credit card company if they think they might be at risk. Customers can also call Michaels at 1-877-412-7145.
The Burger King at North Point Village Center closed its doors on March 31.
No word yet on what will reopen in its place, but that means more time for Restonians to play one of their favorite games: What should open here?
Tell us your wish list in the comments section below.
Reston residents have a new option for working on their sore muscles. Massage Envy at North Point opened its doors on Tuesday.
Massage Envy is a national franchise of massage therapy clinics. There are more than 900 locations nationwide, including one at nearby Fox Mill Center in Herndon.
The Reston office, located at 1412 North Point Village Center, is offering introductory rates of $59.99 for a one-hour massage and $89.99 for a 90-minute massage. The business mainly operates on a membership basis: members pay a monthly fee that covers massages and facials at a price much lower than other area spas and salons.
The Reston location will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; and
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Visit Massage Envy’s website or call 703-689-2600 for more information.
As searchers from several nations continue to sweep the Indian Ocean for signs of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, they are using complex technology to pinpoint the “pings” that could be coming from the plane’s black boxes.
A company with headquarters in Reston could help them. Metron Scientific Solutions, located at Reston Town Center since 1991, was instrumental in finding Air France flight 447 after that plane went missing in 2009.
Metron is scientific consulting firm that develops solutions to challenging problems in national defense, says company vice president Maribeth Dwyer.
“We do this through applying advanced mathematical methods,” she said via email. “We provide our clients with sophisticated analysis, simulation tools, detection and tracking tools, design engineering, and easily accessible software products.”
Officials called on Metron to help find the Air France flight, which disappeared on June 1, 2009 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Metron’s expertise in applying Bayesian Search Theory to problems, such as the 1968 hunt for the missing submarine Scorpion and the 1986 search for the SS Central America, made the company uniquely suited to the complicated underwater search for the missing plane, Metron says.
“Metron’s staff, in particular, Dr. Lawrence D. Stone, have been involved in other high profile searches of this nature,” Dwyer said. “We were asked to assist in the search for Air France 447 by producing a probability map for the location of the aircraft which took account of all available information including two years of unsuccessful search and the possibility that the beacons (or “pingers”) on the black boxes failed to operate.
“At the beginning of the third year of search, the French decided to begin their search in the high probability area of the map and found the wreckage within six days of search,” said Dwyer.
So far, Metron has not received the call to assist in the search, which is now focusing on 30,000 square miles off of Perth, Australia. However, Dwyer says Metron has spoken with U.S. Navy officials and others involved in the effort.
“We stand ready to help should our assistance be requested,” she said. “The technology and hardware being used in the present search is similar to that used during the search for Air France 447. Likewise, the analysis required to apply Bayesian search theory to this problem would be similar, however on a much larger scale.
“We, like the rest of the world, are extremely hopeful that the recent pings detected will quickly lead to the discovery of the plane.
Photo: CNN
Goldfish Swim School, a kids’ swim lesson franchise, plans to open a nearly 10,000-square-foot indoor facility in a Reston office park later this year.
The location at 12340 Pinecrest Dr. would be the first east coast location for Goldfish, which was founded in Michigan in 2006 and has expanded to 16 Midwest locations.
The Reston location will be owned and operated by Gina and Ryan Bewersdorf of Michigan. The couple, a doctor and lawyer, respectively, were introduced to Goldfish when their son learned to swim there after not embracing any other previous lessons, says Gina Bewersdorf. Goldfish franchisees pay about a $1 million to start their own swim center.
“Goldfish has figured out how to do it in a safe, fun environment,” she said.
Goldfish heats the 25-meter pool to 90 degrees and keeps its air temperature a similarly warm temperature, Bewersdorf said. The environment is very kid-friendly, with tropical-themed decor, a “Treasure Island Shack” and birthday party space.
Reston and surrounding areas have many swimming options for children. Among them: the Reston YMCA; 15 Reston Association outdoor pools; the indoor Reston Community Center pool; Lifetime Athletic; Pinecrest Swim Club; and Worldgate Sport & Health and the Herndon Community Center in Herndon. RCC and the Fairfax County Park Authority are also considering building a new, 50-meter indoor pool at Baron Cameron Park.
Bewersdorf said they spent about a year doing research and know there is a lot of competition. However, “we think there is a need that exists for kids; they can safely learn to swim and then join a club team,” she said.
Goldfish will offer lessons for ages four months through 12 years old. There are no more than four kids in a class, said Bewersdorf. Classes are “perpetual,” meaning you sign up for a day and time and continue to go until you stop, rather than starting and stopping in session increments.
Bewersdorf said she hopes the Reston location will open by the end of 2014.
PassionFish,the upscale seafood restaurant at Reston Town Center, will expand into Bethesda next year.
PassionFish, part of chef Jeff Tunks’ local collection of dining spots, opened at 11960 Democracy Dr. in 2008. It has been a consistent top restaurant pick in Washingtonian Magazine’s “100 Very Best” list. It also was named one of America’s “20 Best Restaurants of 2009” and “15 Restaurants Not to Miss” by Esquire Magazine.
This will be the first Maryland location for Tunks’ Passionfood Hospitality company. He also owns DC Coast, Acadiana, Ceiba, DC Coast, District Commons, Burger Tap & Shake and Fuego Cocina y Tequileria.
The Bethesda PassionFish will be will be located at the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues as part of Lot 31, a residential and retail development. It will be on the ground floor of The Darcy, a luxury condo building.
“Announcing PassionFish as our first retail tenant for the project is the right choice given the tremendous success that has been achieved by all the Passion Food Hospitality restaurants in the Metro DC area.” Monty Hoffman, CEO of PN Hoffman, one of the building’s developers, said in a statement.
Photo of Reston PassionFish courtesy of Passionfood Hospitality.
Ted’s Bulletin, the Capitol Hill-based restaurant serving American comfort food, will open at Reston Town Center on Jan. 30, a restaurant spokesman said.
Ted’s is located at 11948 Market St., in the space formerly occupied by Uno’s. Uno’s closed last spring, and Ted’s, which is owned by the matchbox food group, spent the last several months giving the space an extreme makeover.
“We first opened Ted’s Bulletin in 2010 as a tribute to my father and a simpler way of life; since then Ted’s has come to mean something special not just to our family but to those of our guests,” says co-owner Ty Neal. “We are grateful for the opportunity to join the Reston Town Center and expand into Virginia.”
Ted’s will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in Reston. The space has been outfitted with antique bulletin boards and old-time fixtures to harken back to an old city restaurant. Ted’s has a projection screen that will show cartoons and family shows from the 1930s and 40s.
The dining room features 151 seats, including a semi-private meeting and event space in a sunken dining room. The location will also open a large patio in the spring.
Some of Ted’s specialities: the “walk of shame” breakfast burrito (marinated skirt steak, scrambled eggs, cheddar, and green chili sauce); the short rib sammy (stacked high with tender meat, Vermont white cheddar, arugula and red wine gravy served in between two slices of grilled texas toast); buttermilk country fried steak; meatloaf with mingo county ketchup glaze; and Drew’s peanut butter bacon burger.
Ted’s is also known for milkshakes (with or without liquor) and homemade Pop-Tarts.
The Reston location will be open Sunday-Thursday from 7 am – 10:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. and breakfast is available all day.
Photo Courtesy of Ted’s Bulletin
