Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Mosaic District skating rink proposal skids to a halt until next year

Published October 21, 2022 at 2:30PM

A few skaters use the Mosaic District's roller rink in July 2022 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

There will be no ice skating at the Mosaic District this winter.

The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals agreed on Wednesday (Oct. 19) to postpone a decision on Rink Management Services Corporation’s special permit request for a rink in the Merrifield neighborhood that would have roller skating in the spring and ice skating in the winter.

Around Town

Coco’s Sodas + Sweets, opening today, introduces the ‘dirty soda’ to Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 21, 2022 at 10:15AM

Coco's Sodas + Sweets specializes in dirty sodas, which blend soft drinks with syrup, cream and other flavors (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Coco’s Sodas + Sweets is ready at last to give Vienna its first taste of “dirty sodas” — flavor-spiked soft drinks that originated as a coffee substitute in Mormon-heavy Utah.

The soda shop officially opened today (Friday) in The Village Green shopping center at 513 Maple Avenue West, Suite 110. Details about a grand opening on Oct. 28 will be shared on the business’ Instagram and Facebook pages, co-owner Ben Cichelli told FFXnow.

News

Construction ‘practically’ finished on Vienna Market development

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 20, 2022 at 1:30PM

Vienna Market brings townhouses and retail space to Maple Avenue (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After a noisy couple of years, construction is wrapping up on the Vienna Market development that now looms over Maple Avenue.

Replacing the former Marco Polo restaurant at 245 Maple Avenue West, the complex consists of 44 condominium townhomes and 8,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space. It broke ground in mid-2019 after a lengthy planning and design process.

News

Scuba company takes over Vienna dive shop, plans to build new swim center

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 20, 2022 at 9:30AM

A rendering of Diventures' planned swim and scuba center (courtesy Diventures)

A Vienna dive shop has been subsumed into Diventures, a swimming and scuba franchise from Nebraska that hopes to build a new aquatics facility to serve the D.C. area.

The company announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it has expanded into Virginia with the acquisition of the local scuba shop Nautilus Aquatics, which has two locations in Vienna (510 Mill Street NE) and Sterling (1007A Ruitan Circle).

Countywide

Below freezing temperatures possible in Fairfax County early Thursday

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 19, 2022 at 3:45PM

The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning for the D.C. area on Oct. 20, 2022 (via NWS alert)

Temperatures could drop below freezing overnight in Fairfax County, continuing a cold streak that took hold earlier today (Wednesday).

The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning that will take effect from 1 to 9 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday), stating that sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit can be expected.

Around Town

NEW: Venchi chocolate and gelato store opens at Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 19, 2022 at 3:00PM

Venchi has opened a new chocolate and gelato store at Tysons Corner Center (courtesy TimeLine Media)

Tysons now has its first ChocoGelateria.

Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates officially opened its new chocolate and gelato shop at Tysons Corner Center around noon today (Wednesday), slightly behind the late summer opening anticipated when the store was first announced.

News

JUST IN: D.C. man arrested in sexual assault of woman at Tysons hotel

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 19, 2022 at 11:50AM

Metro surveillance video showing a man police believe to be the suspect in a sexual assault at a Tysons hotel (via FCPD)

A 30-year-old man from D.C. has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman at a hotel in Tysons West earlier this month, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today (Wednesday).

According to the department, community tips based on surveillance footage shared publicly on Monday (Oct. 17) led police to identify Patrick Craig Locke as the suspect in the assault, which occurred on Oct. 1 in the 8600 block of Westwood Center Drive.

Around Town

Madeleine Proust bakery closes after just one year in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 19, 2022 at 11:00AM

The bakery Madeleine Proust has permanently closed in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Another local French bakery has closed its doors for good, leaving the Tysons area with dwindling options for macrons, cookies and other Parisian desserts.

Madeleine Proust shuttered on Oct. 1, only about a year after it first opened in Vienna’s Wolftrappe Shops at 448 Maple Ave East. The business didn’t provide an explanation for the closure but confirmed it would no longer be operating in any capacity after that date.

News

UPDATED: Woman dies after crash on Lorton Station Blvd

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 18, 2022 at 6:45PM | Updated October 19, 2022 at 3:46PM

Lorton Station Blvd at Lee Masey Drive (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 3:45 p.m. on 10/19/2022) A pedestrian died this morning (Wednesday) after a driver hit her while she was crossing Lorton Station Blvd yesterday (Thursday), police say.

Helen Bahta Oukubazghi, 52, of Lorton was hospitalized with injuries that were considered life-threatening from a crash near the Lorton Station intersection with Old Beech Court and Lee Masey Drive.

News

Tysons gas station hit by tornado nears approval for convenience store

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 18, 2022 at 2:15PM

Tysons Sunoco and Mobil gas stations were damaged by a storm Thursday night (staff photo by David Taube)

The Mobil gas station by Tysons Corner Center was looking to make some changes before it got hit by a tornado this spring, but the damage resulting from that storm added a new sense of urgency to the project.

When it meets tomorrow (Wednesday), the Fairfax County Planning Commission is poised to approve a renovation of the station at 1953 Chain Bridge Road that would replace the existing vehicle service bays with a convenience store.