The son of one of Reston’s first 500 residents is paying homage to his family and hometown with the launch of a new Belgian-inspired gastropub at Lake Anne Plaza.
Owner Jan Carlos Byl plans to open Common Ground in the next six months at the space formerly filled by Local VA, another local restaurant that abruptly closed up shop earlier this year at the plaza.
“This is a way for me to honor my father, my father’s legacy at Lake Anne and fulfill my childhood dream of one day owning a restaurant,” Byl told FFXnow.
Byl returned to Reston after his father, Adhemar Byl, became ill in 2021. After his death, Byl launched the business, which has the motto “good vibes, great food.”
“This is to honor my father and our very special Lake Anne community,” he said. “The Lake needs more watering holes and gathering places where you can break bread and drink with your neighbors and loves ones from just a short walk away.”
The son of a Belgian father and a Nicaraguan mother, Byl hopes to marry different culinary cultures from remote regions and bring together his exposure to different culinary traditions in one place.
Byl moved to Europe at age 21 and remained in Amsterdam for 10 years before returning to the U.S., where he became an investor and creative partner in some D.C.-based transitional bars and restaurants, he says.
In Europe, he spent nearly a decade managing platinum recording artists from around the world, he says.
For now, Byl returns to his roots. The name of the new restaurant fittingly pays homage to a daycare that occupied space above what is now Reston Community Center’s Lake Anne facility years ago: Common Ground Daycare.
It’s also where he and his brother went for daycare. An exact opening date is still pending as work continues on the site.
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Are you ready for summer? Live Fairfax has a bucket list of indoor activities, outdoor escapades and trips to explore this summer.
Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.
To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!
We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!
Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!
Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.
Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!
Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun
Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!
Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!
• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all
Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker
Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road
