McLean’s Chesterbrook adds French-inspired home decor store, veterinary clinic

A home decor store inspired by Parisian flea markets will say bonjour to the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean this week.

Le Village Marché will open a new boutique at 6234 Old Dominion Drive on Friday (June 9), marking the company’s first expansion within Northern Virginia since it began operating in Shirlington in 2007.

Inspired by founder and owner Angela Phelps’ past travels to Paris, the business sells kitchen, garden and bath products, along with candles, jewelry and other accessories, and notebooks.

“Owning a French-inspired gift shop has been a dream of mine since my very first trip to Paris over 20 years ago,” Phelps said in a press release. “McLean is the perfect place to begin expanding the franchise and we are thrilled to be opening our doors to a community with so much warmth and charm. From French tea towels and glassware to beaded chandeliers, we truly have it all!”

The McLean store marks a new chapter for Le Village Marché, as Phelps seeks to expand the company through franchising. She previously had another location in northwest D.C., but it closed permanently in 2020 when its lease ended and the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, according to its website.

Le Village Marché arrives during a period of transition for Chesterbrook Shopping Center, which created intentional vacancies as it began a major renovation last fall.

Property owner Federal Realty has started to refill those empty spaces, welcoming the juice bar South Block, a mobile Call Your Mother deli and the clothing store J.McLaughlin this year.

Next year, the shopping center will add Small Door Veterinary, a primary and urgent care practice for pets, Federal Realty announced earlier this week. Emphasizing its use of modern technology, the clinic will provide services from wellness exams to surgeries through a membership system.

According to Federal Realty, the planned “state-of-the-art facility” in McLean will be the company’s ninth location overall and first in Virginia, though it has four existing and upcoming sites in D.C.

“After establishing successful practices in New York, Boston, and D.C., we are thrilled to introduce our modernized approach to veterinary care in Virginia and extend our services to a wider community of pet owners,” Small Door Veterinary co-founder and CEO Josh Guttman said. “Our forthcoming location in Chesterbrook will provide a nurturing environment staffed with highly skilled veterinarians who will be dedicated to ensuring only the best care for pets and their owners.”

Federal Realty bought Chesterbrook in 2021 after previously serving as property manager for the 90,000-square-foot shopping center for nearly two decades.

The renovation is focused on modernizing the center’s storefronts and façades, a process expected to finish this year. New outdoor amenity spaces are scheduled to be completed in 2024.

“It is exciting to see the transformation of Chesterbrook attracting premier local and national brands,” Deirdre Johnson, Federal Realty’s senior vice president of asset management, said. “The recent openings…[create] the distinguished neighborhood destination envisioned to best serve our community.”