Evan Matz, owner of Reston’s World of Beer, says the restaurant will open on June 2.
WOB had been planning a May 26 opening, but delays in the Fairfax County permitting process have pushed the date back, Metz said.
Crews are putting the finishing touches the space at 1888 Explorer St., on the ground floor of The Avant at Reston Town Center.
This will be the 56th location for World of Beer, a Florida-based national franchise. Matz 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 Metz.
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.
Matz said there will be a special Pre-Grand Opening Party for Facebook and Twitter fans and followers during the third week of May. For more information and the announcement of the event date, visit their Facebook page.
WOB Reston will be open for lunch and will have dedicated meeting space for business groups. Managers can reserve space equipped with IP-based video and wall monitor systems, said Matz.
Photo courtesy of World of Beer
More than 200 artists and artisans will line the streets of Reston Town Center May 16-18 as the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival returns for its 23rd year.
The festival benefits the Greater Reston Arts Center, which provides exhibits, outreach programs and programming for all ages here in Reston.
The festival is open Friday, May 16 from 5 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Rain or shine. Suggested donation for entry is $5. Children under 18 are free.
Some festival highlights:
Opening Night Party — Friday at 5 p.m. The upscale party in the pavilion will feature creative cuisine and cocktails, as well as a silent auction. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased online.
Wide Range of Works — The festival will feature paintings, sculpture, jewelry, furniture making, as well as other mediums. This is a juried show with artists from all over the country. Visit the festival website to see the full list of artists.
Volunteers Needed — The festival still could use your help. In return, you will get discounts at Reston Town Center restaurants and the opening night party. Find out more about what’s needed on the festival website.
Entertainment Abounds — There will be many performing acts, including the South Lakes High School band, jugglers, unicyclers, hoopers and face painters. Click here for the full schedule.
Children’s Fun — There will be art-based activities for kids, as well as a public art project for all ages.
For more festival info or to purchase advance admission, go to NorthernVirginiaFineArtsFestival.org.
Photo: Sculpture at 2012 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival/File photo
The Pet Fiesta returns to Reston Town Center on Saturday, so grab Fluffy and Spot and head for the more than 100 booths offering pet supplies, pet services and pets for adoption.
This is the 10th annual event, and it recent years it has drawn more than 10,000 visitors. The fiesta runs from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. and admission is free. The event is organized by and some of the proceeds benefit GoodDogz.org, a nonprofit that supports rescue groups and other pet services.
Some of the highlights of the day:
The Tails on Trails Dog Walk, 10 a.m. — Take a walk with your dog for charity.
Dog House of Style Fashion Show, 12 p.m.
Pet Costume Contests — Enter your dog in the Best Dressed, Best Trick, Best Howl/Bark or Fastest Frosty Paw Treat Eating contests. They can win a doggie swag bag, and your $10 donation will help GoodDogz. 12:30 p.m. Sign up in advance here.
Kids activities such as balloon animals and face painting, all day.
File photo/2012 Pet Fiesta
The Washington Post’s Reliable Source column reports that actress Susan Sarandon, her mother Lenora Marie Criscione and a others dining at Reston Town Center’s Passionfish on Tuesday night. From the Reliable Source:
According to our tipsters, Sarandon, who graduated from Catholic University in 1968, and her group of five were tucked away at a private corner table.
They entered through the restaurant’s discreet side door, not because the Oscar-winner feared flashing iPhones but because of Tuesday’s downpour. Passionfish’s general manager greeted the group outside with an umbrella and led them inside.
No word as to why Sarandon and company were visiting Reston.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Plans are still in the works to turn Reston Town Center’s last remaining surface parking lot into a mixed-use development.
There has been little movement on the proposal since August, when developer Boston Properties filed plans to redevelop the six acre spot with a 21-story residential building with more than 500 units, up to 25,100 square feet of retail/restaurant uses and more than 275,00 square feet of office space.
However, a county staff report on the proposal is slated to be published in late May, and the Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the development June 11.
Boston Properties purchased the site at Fountain Drive and New Dominion parkway in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, Boston Property executives said they planned to change the zoning from office space to residential
Boston Properties owns much of the Town Center, including the newer portion south of Market Street, the Fountain Square buildings, and Block 16, where it recently constructed the Avant Apartments (and ground floor retail).
Nearly adjacent to the surface lot are the blocks-long planned redevelopment of the Spectrum, as well as a 23-story tower at 1760 Reston Parkway. The board of supervisors gave approval to both of those projects in 2013, but there has been no movement on them. The Spectrum project may not get underway for many more years, developers have said.
Construction crews have made a lot of progress building CVS at the Corner of Town Square and St. Francis Streets at Reston Town Center. Outdoor signs promoting the store were recently installed.
The space will take up a large portion of the ground floor of The Avant, a luxury residential building that began leasing last fall.
Reston Town Center has long been without a convenience store or drugstore in the town center itself, so residents have said they are looking forward to the store’s opening.
No opening date has been set.
Also opening soon on the ground floor of The Avant — World of Beer (May), Bartaco and Barcelona wine bar (later this year).
There is a new place in town for big thinkers, startups and other creative communities.
Refraction, a 12,000-square-foot co-working space at Reston Town Center hopes to attract new companies and inspire innovation.
Refraction was launched by James Quigley, CEO of Reston-based mobile startup Canvas, and Rachael Stott, co-founder of The Dandelion Support Network and a former Canvas “Ante Up” award winner honoring nonprofits.
Canvas had been operating a co-working space in its previous Reston location across Reston Parkway. That location helped served as a launchpad for several successful area startups, many of whom have moved into the new space along with Canvas, says Quigley.
“The Greater Washington region already boasts sufficient co-working locations for early-stage tech startups and young entrepreneurs looking to hatch ideas and companies,” Quigley said in a press release. “As evidenced by our diverse group of initial tenants, Refraction is focused on startups and organizations from the vibrant tech, nonprofit and artist communities in Northern Virginia that are past the ideation stage and looking to scale.”
Refraction Reston, located at 11911 Freedom Dr., Suite 850, expects to eventually house 20-30 organizations. Some of the tenants already signed include Intellinote, the Washington West Film Festival, App Tapp, TidWiT; and Right Source Marketing.
Entrepreneurs and organizations interested in locating at Refraction can secure offices and desks on an ongoing, monthly or daily basis.
The space will also have a launch party on Wednesday, April 30 from 5 to 9 p.m. To RSVP: https://nvite.com/refractionlaunch/party.
World of Beer, the large bar and restaurant slated for the ground floor of The Avant apartment building, is eyeing a mid-May opening.
The restaurant is also now hiring for several positions, including bartenders and servers.
Interested in joining the team? Stop by 1888 Explorer St. You can also send your resume to [email protected] or visit the Reston location’s website. Training for employees will start in April, according to the World of Beer Reston Facebook page.
World of Beer is part of a national franchise. Evan Matz, the Reston owner, also owns the Ballston location. Metz said last spring he though the youthful energy at Reston Town Center made it an ideal place for a World of Beer.
The 4,500-square-foot location will feature about 500 beers (about 50 on tap) that will rotate throughout the menu, as well as a full menu featuring specialities such as crab pretzels, flatbread pizza and sandwiches.
WOB will also have drink specials nightly and happy hour Monday through Friday. There will be live music Thursdays through Saturdays, as well large-screen TVs for live sports events. There will be patio seating in warm weather.
Meanwhile, World of Beer’s Ballston location is also touting itself as a place for corporate meetings and other daytime work activities.
Photo of World of Beer’s Ballston location/Credit: ARLnow.com.
Crews were busy on Wednesday breaking up the last bits of ice at the Reston Town Center pavilion.
The pavilion is home to an outdoor skating rink from October to early March. The last day of skating season was Sunday.
The ice-free pavilion hosts concerts and other special events from March to October. The surface will be ready for Clyde’s of Reston’s 4th annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday.
The snow has caused a Valentine’s Day cancelation.
Friday’s horse-drawn carriage rides at Reston Town Center have been called off due to the snow.
Rides were scheduled to take place 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to benefit Volunteer Fairfax.
Photo courtesy Reston Town Town Center.
CVS is set to begin construction on its new store at Reston Town Center in the next week or two, a Boston Properties spokesman said.
CVS will be the first drug- or grocery store to be located at Reston Town Center. It will be located on the ground floor of The Avant, the new luxury residential building that recently opened at 12025 Town Square St. The store will be located on the right side of the building, where Town Square Street intersects with St. Francis Street.
While Reston Town has many restaurants and clothing stores, residents have long lamented the lack of a place to pick up necessities within the town center. Read the comments on a June story on the subject on another website.
No opening date has been announced.
Other ground floor tenants of the building include World of Beer, which is also beginning construction, and Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco.
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 new restaurant from The Matchbox Food group, will open its doors at 11948 Market St. at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30.
On Sunday, they offered a sneak peak to friends and family, who sampled the hearty breakfasts, homemade Pop-Tarts and other specialities. The Matchbox Group, owners of the local restaurant chainlet, gutted the old Uno’s space.
The new look — with antique fixtures, stamped-tin ceilings and chairs that harken back to a 1940s classroom – gives Ted’s the feel of an old-time city restaurant.
Ted’s will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, beginning on Jan. 30.
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
Have a New Year’s fitness resolution? You can get started at Reston’s Crunch Gym, which opened its doors on Jan. 1.
The new facility — the only dedicated fitness center inside Reston Town Center — is located at 11951 Freedom Dr.
The gym features lots of cardio equipment and weights, a full slate of fitness classes, personal training and Bliss bath products.
Some of the class offerings include Belly, Butt and Thighs Bootcamp, Tread N’ Shed treadmill workouts, Zumba, and BodyWeb with TRX.
Visit Crunch Reston Town Center’s site for membership rates.
Crunch will have lots of competition in the fitness area. Lifetime Fitness recently opened in Reston, and Reston Sport & Health and the YMCA Reston are popular established gyms. A Pure Barre studio will also open soon at Reston Town Center, and Fusion360 Fitness is coming to South Lakes Village Center.
