Virginia Declares State of Emergency Over Gas Supplies — Gov. Ralph Northam gave the state and local governments increased flexibility and funding yesterday (Tuesday) after a ransomware attack disrupted the Colonial Pipeline, which provides 45% of the East Coast’s gasoline supply. 7.5% of the state’s 3,880 gas stations reported running out of fuel, a shortage primarily attributed to panic buying. [WTOP]
ABC Stores Will Resume Pre-Pandemic Hours on Friday — “After more than a year of reduced operating hours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) stores will return to pre-pandemic operating hours on May 14, 2021. All stores will open by 10 a.m. every day, apart from some stores which regularly open later on Sundays…Closing times vary by store.” [Virginia ABC]
Herndon Robbery Suspect Still Unidentified — An armed robbery of a business in the 1000 block of Elden Street on Thursday (May 6) is still under investigation. Police say “an unknown subject” entered the business shortly before 10 a.m., displayed a weapon, and demanded money. The business and amount of money taken have not been disclosed. [Herndon Police Department]
Fairfax County Warns About “Phone Spoofing” Scam — Multiple Fairfax County residents have reported receiving calls from 703-324-1000 saying that their data has been compromised and they need to set up fraud protection. While the number appears to be from the MyFairfax online portal, it is a scam, and the county says people should not call any secondary number or give out their personal or county information. [Fairfax County Government]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
ABC Stores Now Offering Curbside Service — Of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s 15 stores in Northern Virginia that are now offering curbside pick-up, one is in Herndon (378 Elden Street) while another is in Reston (1454 North Point Village Shopping Center). [Inside NoVa]
Sports Stalled —“The Virginia High School League’s Executive Committee voted Thursday to cancel the spring sports season altogether for rest of the 2019-20 calendar year due to the coronavirus outbreak.” [Inside NoVa]
Hospitalizations Rising Again in Virginia — “The number of coronavirus patients in Virginia hospitalized and on ventilators has increased since Tuesday, according to the latest data from the state hospital association. Despite the increase, the number of ventilators in use in Virginia represents only 20 percent of the total number in the state.” [Patch]
Photo courtesy Marjorie Copson
Updated at 9:45 a.m. — Includes information from Starbucks and Virginia ABC.
Four businesses closed up shop in Woodland Park Crossing in Herndon last year, adding to its list of retail vacancies.
The mixed-use development, which includes a Harris Teeter and UFC Gym, currently has nine vacant retail spaces, according to a list from Rosenthal Properties.
Marion Myers, a spokeswoman for Rosenthal Properties, told Reston Now that some of the closures were not surprising. “It’s normal in the retail cycle when leases come up for renewal for there to be churn,” she said.
While the development saw several closures in 2018, it has upgrades in store for this year.
“We are working to improve the customer experience at Woodland Park Crossing,” according to Rosenthal Properties, adding that upgrades include LED lighting along with more parking and a new green space that will get added in the first quarter of 2019.
The Starbucks closed last year at 2309 Woodland Crossing Drive, which Myers said was a part of Starbucks’ larger plan to shutter 150 stores in fiscal year 2019.
A spokeswoman for Starbucks told Reston Now that the Woodland Park Crossing location, which closed on Nov. 30, was “special to our customers and our partners.” Now, those customers can go to the nearby store at 2465 Centreville Road, and the partners have been relocated to other nearby stores, she wrote in an email.
“As part of Starbucks standard course of business, we continually evaluate our business to ensure a healthy store portfolio,” the spokeswoman said. “After careful consideration, we determined it was best to close the store at [Woodland Crossing Drive].” She added that Starbucks expects to grow its store numbers by 3 to 4 percent in the U.S. at a rate of 550 new stores per year.
Cleaners located at 2310 Woodland Crossing Drive, Suite 1 closed at some point last summer, according to employees at businesses near the former cleaners.
Next Day Blinds at (2976 Highland Crossing Drive, Suite A) closed its doors on Nov. 21 and now services Herndon customers out of the Sterling, Va. location, according to its website.
“We are still here for you, for life. We look forward to seeing you in Sterling,” the website says.
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority relocated its store at 12950 Highland Crossing Drive, Suite B to the Village Center at Dulles (2435 Centreville Road) on Aug. 22, Dawn Eischen, a spokeswoman for the Virginia ABC Authority, told Reston Now. “We chose the new location because of potential profitability and better parking,” she wrote in an email.
Next to the parking lot, an existing building that used to house a Capital One bank branch that closed in 2016 is currently getting torn down, Myers said. The demolition started last fall and is slated to wrap up this quarter, she said.
Between 1,135-square-foot to 6,512-sqaure-foot retail spaces are cuurently available for lease, along with 2,589-square-foot and 4,641-square-foot office/retail spaces.
“We are currently looking for the right mix of retail and restaurants and feel it’s worth being strategic, even if it takes some time,” according to the commercial real estate company. “There are new leases in the pipeline, but they cannot be discussed until finalized.”
Image and map via Rosenthal Properties
This story has been updated
Two Reston Startbucks stores are still in the mix to take part in the new “Starbucks Evenings” program, but the process is going to take a while, a Starbucks spokeswoman said.
In August, it was announced that Starbucks stores at South Lakes Village Center and North Point Village Center were among those nationwide selected to participate in the program, which offers beer, wine and “savory small plates” for customers.
Both Reston stores have liquor (beer and wine) license applications pending with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control board.
“We’re in the very early stages of considering Reston for the Evenings menu,” a Starbucks spokeswoman said in an email. “It’s a long and thoughtful process and the permit filing is just one of many steps we take.”
Other Northern Virginia Starbucks seeking to add beer and wine service are in Arlington, Purcellville, Chantilly, Sterling and Great Falls.
The Starbucks Evenings program rolled out in August in New York City, Denver, Miami, Orlando and Northern California. It now has several hundred alcohol license applications filed nationwide.
Some of the highlights of the Evenings menu:
A secletion of craft beer
About a dozen wine selections (by the glass or bottle), including Alamos Malbec (Argentina), Erath Pinot Gris (Oregon), Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington), Â and Villia Sandi Orisecco (Italy).
Small plates include truffle mac and cheese; spinach and artichoke dip; chicken skewers; truffle popcorn; and a cheese plate.