Construction coming soon to replace Vienna’s Outback Steakhouse with a Chase Bank

Vienna’s former Outback Steakhouse will soon be demolished — and yes, it’s getting supplanted by a bank.

With Chase Bank taking over the site, a chain-link fence has been erected around the now-vacant, standalone building in the Maple Avenue Shopping Center, where the restaurant had operated for 25 years before closing in August 2020.

Fairfax County processed a demolition permit for 315 Maple Avenue West in March, and a permit to disconnect the property’s water and sanitary utilities was issued on June 10, according to county records.

Construction on the new Chase Bank will start “in the next few weeks” in anticipation of a December opening for the branch, a company spokesperson told FFXnow last week.

While this will be Chase’s first location in the town, it will have plenty of company along Maple Avenue, joining branches from Wells Fargo, TD Bank, Bank of America, Freedom Bank of Virginia, Northwest Federal Credit Union, Apple Federal Credit Union, Truist, United Bank, and Burke & Herbert.

There’s even a PNC Bank in Maple Avenue Shopping Center, but Chase Bank doesn’t seem concerned about oversaturating the market.

“Although there may be other banks in the shopping center, there is only one Chase,” Angie Royster, Chase’s Northern Virginia market director, said. “At Chase, we are committed to being the bank for all, serving our community, supporting small businesses, and helping our clients with all of their financial needs through a team of experts.”

Royster says the site is ideal for both Chase and its customers, because the area is heavily trafficked and has “easy accessibility to other necessary establishments such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants.”

The bank will be 3,300 square feet in size and feature a drive-through ATM facility that will provide service 24 hours a day, though the main building will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays, according to a Town of Vienna staff report.

Since the new building will only be about half the size of the 6,400-square-foot Outback Steakhouse, the lot has the space for a drive-through.

“We strive to make banking easy, giving clients options to bank where and how they like,” Royster said. “Not all of our branches have the real estate to accommodate a drive-through ATM, so we are excited to have it at our Vienna location.”

The Vienna Board of Zoning Appeals granted Chase Bank a conditional use permit for the drive-through facility on Dec. 15 — despite a lack of support from the Vienna Planning Commission, which voted 5-1 on Aug. 25, 2021 against recommending approval.

Commissioners primarily took issue with the facility’s proposed location, which was parallel to Maple Avenue and just 15 feet away from the street’s sidewalk. The drive-through was later repositioned to be perpendicular to Maple and moved approximately 117 feet from the sidewalk.