Tysons Corner Center is closing out 2024 with the addition of a few new dining options.
Though it was dark when FFXnow visited the mall around lunch time this past Sunday (Dec. 22), Popeyes has indeed opened its new stall on the first floor between Panda Express and Chef Lin, a Tysons Corner Center spokesperson confirmed.
The fast-food chain started serving fried chicken, biscuits and other Southern cuisine at the mall in late November, according to the spokesperson.
Popeyes has more than a dozen locations across Fairfax County, including in Vienna, Merrifield and Fairfax City. The company didn’t return a request for comment on the Tysons opening by press time, but On the MoVe reported that it plans to reopen its Hybla Valley restaurant (7832 Richmond Highway) early next year after the building was damaged in a fire on Nov. 23.
Tysons Corner Center also recently welcomed the Cheesecake Factory, which moved from Tysons Galleria on Dec. 5, and Rice Culture, a shop that specializes in ice cream and taiyakis — a fish-shaped, waffle-like Japanese treat.
Located in the third-floor food court, Rice Culture’s kiosk officially opened on Dec. 18, offering free ice cream to its first 30 customers.
“We kept this one hush hush because we weren’t sure if we would pull through. But we did it!” the business said when announcing the soft opening date on Instagram. “We are so thankful for our small team who worked very hard to get the stall opened before the end of the year.”
Started as a home-based business by MikkiJo Bayawa in early 2021, Rice Culture focused on deliveries and pop-ups at farmers markets, shopping centers and festivals before launching its first brick-and-mortar cafe near the Dunn Loring Metro station on Nov. 30, 2023.
With the Tysons kiosk now up and running, Bayawa’s team has a third location in the works at the Chantilly Crossing shopping center (14408 Chantilly Crossing Lane). The business anticipates opening the approximately 1,600-square-foot space in early March 2025, but suggested in a recent Instagram update that the buildout could finish sooner, pending HVAC and plumbing work.
The new year will bring more changes to Tysons Corner Center, including the arrivals of Maggiano’s and Level 99 in the east end that’s being reimagined as a “dining and entertainment wing,” according to the mall’s website. Construction on updates to the wing’s common area, including new lighting, flooring and ceiling, is slated to finish next March.
The first-floor food court where Popeyes is located will add the Chinese shop HeyTea and the Turkish chicken restaurant chain Gagawa’s first U.S. location. Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe is also still opening a stall on the first floor near Macy’s, though it’s unclear when.
In addition, some retailers are getting relocated within the mall, including:
- Brooks Brothers: moving from the second floor to the first floor near Macy’s
- Under Armour: expected to open in summer 2025 on the second floor near Uniqlo
- Sunglass Hut: consolidating two second-level stores into one space on the first floor next to Bath & Body Works
