As the calendar flips to 2025, the grand opening of a new dining option at Fair Oaks Mall is on the horizon.
The New Jersey-based Ugly Dumpling is targeting March to open its restaurant within the mall, a company spokesperson told FFXnow.
Replacing On the Border, a Tex-Mex cantina that closed in May 2022, the new restaurant will fill a nearly 6,700-square-foot space on the mall’s second level, near Elevation Burger, Panda Express and Auntie Anne’s, according to a map.
The forthcoming restaurant will mark the chain’s second eatery in Fairfax County, following July’s opening of an “express” location in Springfield that has drawn rave reviews.
“Ugly Dumpling Express has been met with tremendous enthusiasm since opening, which has been great,” Margaret Farrell, head of marketing for parent company Vertex Hospitality, said. “People seem to love having something new and different in town.”
Unlike the Springfield location, however, the Fair Oaks location will be a full-service restaurant, which a spokesperson says will offer a “very different experience.”
A sample menu for the location features the chain’s soup dumplings, which allow diners to choose from six different protein fillings accompanied by a savory soup broth.
Also available will be nearly a dozen different dim sum dishes and other traditional items, including fried rice, wontons and stir-fried noodles.
For drinks, Ugly Dumpling offers a variety of milk teas and iced teas, as well as brown sugar boba, fruity yogurt drink and more.
In September, Fairfax County issued a permit allowing for the installation of a new sign above the restaurant’s space, according to the county’s permitting website. Interior renovations have been underway since a work permit was approved in April.
Fair Oaks Mall is also awaiting an indoor climbing gym from Movement, a national company whose 37,000-square-foot facility will include a yoga studio and fitness areas in addition to rock-climbing walls. Originally expected to open by the end of 2024, the gym is now aiming for a late 2025 launch, per its website.
