Frequenters of Reston Town Center can expect more sip-and-stroll-style events this year.

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (May 9), the board approved Reston Town Center Association‘s request to increase the number of licenses it has per year for designated outdoor refreshment areas. 

RTCA can now host up to 50 events — up from 16 — this year through additional Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) licenses.

The organization’s president, Robert Goudie, told the board that the request came after an overwhelmingly positive response to sip-and-stroll events at the town center last year. 

RTCA patrons can expect at least 12 Darden and Friends jazz events in the spring and fall, sip-and-stroll events on the first Saturday of the month, and the return of Reston Concerts on the Town.

Goudie said RTCA pilot-tested the sip-and-stroll concept last year. Physical barricades will also be added to designate the area — a move that Goudie says goes above and beyond what is required by law. 

“We don’t want to turn Reston Town Center into a constant pub for all,” Goudie said.

The board voted unanimously in favor of the proposal.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity lauded the effort as a major placemaking initiative. 

“That’s all I could think when you were talking,” Herrity told Goudie. 

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Reston Town Center Association wants to increase its number of sip-and-stroll-style events in the town center.

But RTCA needs the approval of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to increase the number of licenses it has per year for designated outdoor refreshment areas. The matter heads to the board for a vote tomorrow (Tuesday).

If approved, RTCA would have permission to host up to 50 events — up from 16 — with Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) licenses.

The association will work with the Fairfax County Police Department for security purposes. It is also working with an on-site security team to maintain the perimeter where alcoholic beverages are allowed.

The request comes after the association hosted several sip-and-stroll events last year in the town center, allowing individuals to purchase alcoholic drinks at participating restaurants into the streets or park.

The association’s board has approved similar events for this year, including at least 12 Darden and Friends jazz events for the spring and fall. There will also be 14 Reston Concerts on the Town, a concert series that returns this year after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic and renovations at the pavilion and Mercury Fountain.

Another half-dozen events are proposed on Saturdays.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) can increase the frequency and duration of events after Fairfax County adopts an ordinance formally requesting an increase, according to a county memo.

“I don’t think there is any controversy here,” Robert Goudie, RTCA’s president said. “ABC is aware that we would be seeking an increase to the cap. Last year’s events were well-received and well-managed.”

RTCA is expected to reach its 16-event limit by July. In 2021, the General Assembly amended state code to create the licenses. A licensee is currently only allowed up to 16 events — each of which can last up to three consecutive days.

RTCA’s board is expected to vote on the issue on May 9 at 4 p.m. following an introduction of the proposal at the board meeting tomorrow.

Great Falls will officially have a Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) retail store.

The business will open on Wednesday, April 12 at 10:30 a.m. at 9843 Georgetown Pike in the Great Falls Center.

“This new store means Great Falls residents no longer have to drive to Reston or the Tysons area to purchase their spirits,” Virginia ABC Chief Executive Officer Travis Hill said. “We hope to continue to offer a high level of convenience to our customers, both here and elsewhere in the commonwealth.”

The public is invited to the grand opening ceremony for the roughly 2,000-square-foot store, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m on Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

This is the authority’s 399th location in Virginia. Store inventory includes 232 different brands and sizes of American whiskeys, 132 cordials, 174 vodkas and 124 tequilas.

A traveling exhibition looking at the ins and outs of Prohibition in Virginia is coming this month to Reston Museum.

The Library of Virginia’s Teetotalers & Moonshiners exhibit will be on view between tomorrow (March 21) and April 29. Reston Museum will also showcase artifacts from its own collection of Bowman Distillery items.

The exhibition tells the story of Virginia’s Prohibition, including its history as part of a social reform movement, the economic and social costs of Prohibition and the role of government in overseeing public health.

Here’s from Reston Museum on the exhibit:

Distilled from the Library’s 1,200 square foot exhibition (on view through December 5, 2017), Teetotalers & Moonshiners uses the Library’s deep and compelling collections on this era, from humorous sheet music mocking the absurdities of Prohibition to blazing headlines in anti- and pro-liquor newspapers and broadsides. At the core of the story are the records of the state’s Prohibition Commission, which record the daily activities of its agents. A digital interactive component documents statewide prohibition trends and tells the personal stories of commission agents, bootleggers, and moonshiners. The exhibition is supported in part by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association. The Virginia Distillers Association provided support for the traveling exhibition.

Teetotalers & Moonshiners addresses the important and long-lasting effects of Prohibition on Virginia and America, including the prohibition movement as part of a social reform movement, the economic and social costs of Prohibition, including the closing of businesses and conflict within communities, and the rise of illegal alcohol production and sale as an underground culture and economy, the role of government in overseeing public health, and prohibition’s legacy–from NASCAR to the creation of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to the rise of the modern brewing and distilling industry.

The Library of Virginia was founded in 1823 to preserve the state’s printed and manuscript holdings. The exhibit is made possible in part with support from Virginia ABC and the Virginia Distillers Association.

Located at Lake Anne Plaza (1639 Washington Plaza North), Reston Museum is a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve Reston’s past, inform its present and influence the future of Reston.

(Updated at 2:25 p.m. on 2/21/2023) Great Falls will soon have its own Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) store.

The wine and liquor business plans to open at Great Falls Center (9843 Georgetown Pike).

Patrick Kane, a spokesperson for the ABC, told FFXnow now that a firm opening date has not yet been determined.

The store is a little over 2,000 square feet in size, Kane said.

Virginia ABC determines new locations of stores based on the location’s demographics, traffic patterns, rental rate and population density.

“It also considers the distance of a location to existing stores, sales at those stores, tenant mix at the shopping center, and the accessibility and deliverability to the location,” the authority says on its website.

The center includes tenants like Bollywood Bistro, Starbucks, Subway, Great Falls Barbershop and Long & Foster Realtors. An animal hospital and pho bar are also slated to open soon at the center.

Virginia ABC has more than 390 stores throughout the state, according to the website. This will be the only location in Great Falls, whose residents currently have to travel to Reston or the Tysons area to find a store.

Tempers ran hot at a hypothermia prevention shelter in Vienna on Friday, Feb. 3.

Police were called to the Church of the Holy Comforter (543 Beulah Road) — which was hosting the seasonal shelter — three separate times that evening to handle fights between residents, according to the Vienna Police Department’s highlights for Feb. 3-9.

By the end of the night, two people were arrested and taken to jail.

Suspicious Event 23-001081
Church of the Holy Comforter
FACETS Hypothermia Prevention Shelter
543 Beulah Road, NE
February 3 between 7:00 p.m. and 7:17 p.m.

Officers responded to the report of a fight between two individuals staying at the shelter. Neither party wished to pursue charges.

Arrest – Drunk In Public 23-001082
Church of the Holy Comforter
FACETS Hypothermia Prevention Shelter
543 Beulah Road, NE
February 3 10:25 p.m.

Officers responded to the report of a fight at the shelter. The staff advised an individual was acting disorderly and antagonizing the others in the shelter. Upon the officer’s interaction with the man, they detected signs of impairment.

Ofc. Reed arrested the 55-year-old man with no fixed address. He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he was charged with Drunk In Public.

Arrest – Assault 23-001083
Church of the Holy Comforter
FACETS Hypothermia Prevention Shelter
543 Beulah Road, NE
February 3 11:11 p.m.

Officers responded to the report of a fight at the shelter. The staff reported one of the residents was provoking another resident, began throwing chairs, and yelling profanities, resulting in a fight when the other resident tried to defend himself.

Ofc. Rodriguez arrested the 28-year-old man with no fixed address. He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he was charged with Simple Assault.

The fights mostly involved different people, though one individual was mentioned in two of the three incidents, according to VPD spokesperson Juan Vasquez.

The hypothermia shelter is operated by the nonprofit FACETS, which partners with faith communities to give people experiencing homelessness a place to spend the night each winter. It runs from the Sunday after Thanksgiving to April 1, changing locations weekly. Read More

The possession and consumption of alcoholic drinks could be allowed in some public areas in the Town of Herndon.

The Herndon Town Council is considering legislation that would allow the town to create Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas (DORAs) in the Downtown Herndon Arts District. Businesses will need licenses for outdoor refreshment areas from the ABC.

Town staff met with Downtown Herndon restaurants in July to explore the idea, according to Dennis Holste, the town’s economic development manager.

So far, the fiscal impact of the project is unclear, Holste wrote.

“These resource commitments will include such budget categories as labor, most likely overtime or contractor support, vehicles and equipment used for road closures, and increases to insurance premiums. A non-profit taking over as the DORA sponsor would help to reduce the town’s fiscal commitment,” he wrote.

Any alcohol within the area must be purchased from an ABC-licensed vendor within the designated DORA.

Each licensee is limited to certain conditions. For example, businesses cannot have more than 16 events where alcohol beverages are sold in the DORA area. Each event also cannot exceed three consequence days.

If the proposal is approved, the town would install signage along public sidewalks near the DORAs. Each sign will delineate where alcohol consumption is not allowed or restricted between midnight and 10 a.m.

Any private property owner within the DORA could prohibit the consumption of alcohol on their property. People also won’t be allowed to consume alcohol within town-owned buildings or facilities — unless otherwise approved — or on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.

The Herndon Police Department plans to patrol the DORAs to monitor compliance and ensure enough security is present for special events within those areas.

If passed, the legislation won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2023. The state recently enacted legislation allowing localities to establish DORAs.

The council plans to discuss the matter a meeting tonight (Tuesday).

A Fairfax County police officer is on administrative leave after he was arrested in Stafford County for driving under the influence. 

Police officer Stephen Copp, who has worked with the police department for 15 years, was arrested while he was off-duty. He was driving a county vehicle at the time of the arrest, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. 

“The county vehicle was found with front-end damage,” according to FCPD. 

An international affairs bureau investigation is underway. Copp was assigned to FCPD’s criminal investigation division. 

Photo via FCPD/Facebook