A new occupant for Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken’s longtime spot in Idylwood Plaza has already been identified.
Quickway Hibachi, the fast-casual Japanese chain, will open a roughly 1,188-square-foot restaurant at 7511 Leesburg Pike, according to a site plan for the shopping center. Astro Doughnuts vacated the space in July after nearly nine years in business.
The new restaurant is expected to open in March 2025, a Quickway spokesperson says.
Founded by Bob Liang in 2012, Quickway opened its first restaurant in Gaithersburg, Maryland, SouthBmore.com reported when a new Baltimore location launched last October. The chain now has 50 locations across Virginia, Maryland and D.C., including in Herndon, Fair Oaks Mall and Centreville.
The upcoming Idylwood restaurant will bring Quickway back to the Tysons area after a location in the Shops at Avenir Place near the Dunn Loring Metro station closed last year. The chain is in the midst of an expansion that will bring 15 new stores by the end of 2024.
Aiming to provide teppanyaki-style cooking in a quick-service format, Quickway offers create-your-own bentos with choices of grilled chicken, beef, shrimp, salmon or tofu as the entree accompanied by mixed vegetables, noodles or rice. The menu also includes sushi rolls and poke bowls.
“We set out to make fresh, great food without sacrificing quality and taste,” Liang said in a statement. “Between our homemade sauces, protein that’s cooked to order, and our use of fresh ingredients and no MSG, I believe we’ve done that very well.”
Quickway is among several eateries coming to Idylwood Plaza. After welcoming Chicken Salad Chick on Aug. 7 and Halal Bowl on Aug. 30, the shopping center is expected to add the Japanese noodle restaurant Kajiken, the Indian restaurant Mumbai Central and the daytime cafe First Watch in the coming months.
Mumbai Central owner Sunil Bastola, who also serves as executive chef and co-owner of Bollywood Bistro in Fairfax City, says he’s targeting an opening around the end of this year or early next year for his new concept. The restaurant will replace Jason’s Deli at 7505 Leesburg Pike.
First Watch anticipates opening in Idylwood before the end of 2024, a public relations manager told FFXnow. Located at 7501 Leesburg Pike, the approximately 4,000-square-foot cafe will include an indoor/outdoor bar, similar to the patio at the Fair Lakes location that opened on July 1.
“Upon opening, the Falls Church restaurant will feature our core First Watch menu, which takes an elevated approach to traditional breakfast, brunch and lunch offerings,” the PR manager said. “All dishes are made to order using fresh ingredients in a kitchen without heat lamps, microwaves or deep fryers.”
First Watch is also expected to serve its seasonal menu in Idylwood for the first time early next year. The chain offers a revolving seasonal menu five times a year “that follows the position of the sun to source fresh ingredients.”
