Urban Mattress — a family-owned franchise that opened in 2013, is officially closings its doors.
A store-closing sale will kick off on September 7. Owner Nathaniel Hoelk opened the business at 229 Maple Avenue E in an effort to create organic, all-natural mattresses made from eco-friendly and non-toxic materials, according to the company.
“Because we lost our lease, we must liquidate all our inventory and shut down operations. Our family is so grateful for all of the support we have received over the past 10 years,” said Hoelk.
Here’s more from the company on the closure:
The store-closing sale opens to the public September 7 and will feature deep discounts on top quality mattresses from name brands like Vispring and Tempur-Pedic as well as the Urban Mattress brand. Urban Mattress is located at 229 Maple Ave E in the center of downtown Vienna next to Jammin’ Java. Store management encourages early shopping for best selection.
Urban Mattress has consistently demonstrated their passion for giving back by participating in local organizations such as the Vienna Business Association and Chamber Board of Vienna and by donating to local charities like the Salvation Army and Second Story. The Hoelk family has also sponsored local school music programs and football teams.
(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) District Taco is wrapping up its time at Tysons West.
The last day of business for the Mexican street food chain’s Tysons location will come on Oct. 1, the company’s chief operating officer, Chris Medhurst, confirmed to FFXnow.
As District Taco’s 10th location, the restaurant’s opening at 1500-C Cornerside Blvd on May 26, 2017 was a notable milestone for the business, which began in 2011 as a humble food cart working the streets of Rosslyn.
“This means a lot for the company considering the dream started with just a taco stand,” District Taco CEO and co-owner Osiris Hoil said in a press release at the time. “Everything is possible when you work with smart and enthusiastic people and that’s what District Taco has, plus delicious food.”
In recent years, the company has turned its focus to expansion, reaching 15 locations across the D.C. area and Pennsylvania with an opening in McLean — its first franchise — and a pending arrival at Old Keene Mill Shopping Center in West Springfield.
District Taco says it decided to consolidate operations at the 2,063-square-foot McLean restaurant after seeing “a significant upwards trend” in online pickup and delivery orders after launching a new mobile app and loyalty program.
“The new, smaller floor plan in McLean has been optimized for carry-out ordering, but still maintains the same throughput capabilities, and allows us to serve the same great food with a more convenient customer experience,” District Taco said. “We are really excited about consolidating our Tysons location with McLean, which has its Grand Opening on August 30th.”
All of the Tysons employees will get the option to work at another District Taco location, and a bonus “for being a part of the transition,” the company added.
Medhurst says the majority of workers will likely relocate to the McLean restaurant, but others can go to different locations “depending on what is most convenient for their commute.”
As for what will replace District Taco, a site plan from Tysons West property manager Rappaport suggests a Japanese restaurant called Umai Ramen and Donburi is already in line to take over the ground-floor space at Cornerside Blvd and Westwood Center Drive.
It’s unclear if that restaurant is related to Umai Ramen and Rice Bowl in Herndon, which says it infuses Japanese cuisine with southeast Asian flavors. An employee directed FFXnow to the business owner, who didn’t respond by press time.
Anchored by Walmart, Tysons West is also home to Moby Dick Kabob and Roaming Rooster, among other retailers. A Club Studio Fitness is slated to fill the second-floor gym vacated by 24 Hour Fitness in 2020, though no opening timeline has been announced.
Tomorrow will be the chance to taste Blend 111’s tapas and cocktails.
The European and Latin American fusion restaurant will serve diners one final time on Saturday (Aug. 12) after more than four years at 111 Church Street in Vienna, an employee confirmed.
In its place, restauranteur Nancy Sabbagh and chef Roberto Donna, her husband, are preparing to open Le Bistro, a pop-up French bistro that will serve traditional dishes like snails with garlic and parsley and pâté.
The couple are behind Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano, which opened on Feb. 8, 2022 at 144 Church Street NW — less than a block down the street from where Le Bistro will set up shop. Their plans were first shared publicly by Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema.
“No chemicals, no magic, no special prix cuisine, just great French, authentic style,” Donna said when asked about the menu.
Opened in August 2019 by longtime Vienna resident Michael Biddick, Blend 111 brought a mix of food and wine from Spain, France and Venezuela. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it closed temporarily and reinvented itself with a new culinary team and a popular outdoor patio shared with next-door neighbor, Bazin’s on Church.
The restaurant later introduced a seafood tapas pop-up, and its brunch was named a finalist in the 2022 RAMMY Awards, though a public vote gave the win to A&J Restaurant in Annandale.
However, Biddick clashed with town leaders and some residents living near Church Street who took issue with the noise levels from the patio. He said he was “deeply saddened and shocked” when the Vienna Town Council adopted outdoor dining rules in May 2022 that prohibited the patio, which has since turned back into parking spaces.
It’s unclear whether the loss of outdoor dining played a role in Blend 111’s demise, but Donna told Washingtonian yesterday that Biddick opted to return to his day job in the information technology world. He and Sabbagh decided to buy the space once it hit the market on Aug. 1.
The couple told FFXnow that they were contemplating an expansion based on the town’s embrace of Roberto’s, which is run by Sabbagh and serves both regular and seasonal menus designed by Donna.
“We’re so happy by the warmth and the love the community has shown us,” Sabbagh said. “We love Vienna and our surrounding areas. The neighbors have been incredible to us, which is obviously why we wanted to expand our business to another restaurant here.”
They were initially exploring the possibility of a pizzeria, but given how it was built out for Blend 111, they decided it would better suited for a more upscale concept.
With no construction planned beyond some interior design changes, Le Bistro will open in “about a month, give or take,” Sabbagh says. Though it’s conceived as a pop-up, the couple hasn’t ruled out the potential of a more permanent establishment.
“We’re going to see how the market is and how the community receives it,” Sabbagh said. “There’s a need for a French bistro, and we want to see what our community really is asking for and wants, so it’s a fun concept for us to try. We don’t have any real limits on ourselves. If…it’s not the right niche, then possibly we’ll visit the pizzeria concept again.”
Two longtime family-owned restaurants in the Chantilly Park Shopping Center have closed their doors for good.
Located side-by-side to one another, Bravo Peruvian Chicken (14513 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway) and Picante! (14511-B Lee Jackson Memorial Highway) have both recently announced permanent closures.
Mexican restaurant Picante has serviced the area for the last 29 years, according to a statement released by owner Guillermo Manoatl on Instagram last Monday, July 31. The statement was also posted in the former storefront’s windows.
Dear Picante Loyal Customers,
Picante has closed its doors permanently as of today! We would like to thank you for letting us serve you for the past 29 years! It has been an honor to have been able to share my grandmother’s recipes with all of you!
Unlike Picante, Bravo Peruvian Chicken has yet to publicly confirm its closure or remove its signage from the shopping center, but it has been marked permanently closed on Google, and its phone number has been disconnected.
“We are a group of Peruvians who came to the United States to conquer the ‘American Dream’ while maintaining our roots and love for our culture!” Bravo Peruvian Chicken’s website reads. “Bravo Chicken is a proud example of it.”
The Boro’s Whole Foods has a void where Purée Juice Bar once stood.
Purée officially closed its stall in the Tysons grocery store at 1635 Boro Place on March 31 after struggling to establish a consistent customer base with limited foot traffic, according to a Purée spokesperson.
“The Whole Foods location never really got any traction and never really bounced back after COVID,” the spokesperson told FFXnow. “With so many Amazon shoppers, the location was not sustainable. We were very sorry to make the hard decision to close 3/31 of this year.”
Purée moved into the grocery store on Dec. 18, 2020 as a partner in its Friends of Whole Foods program, which offers store space to independent businesses and retailers.
The company previously had a location at the Mosaic District in Merrifield but closed that shop in August 2021, citing a decline in foot traffic and a desire to focus on the Tysons location.
With its departure from The Boro, Purée no longer has a physical juice bar in Virginia, but it provides delivery service to Northern Virginia as far as Loudoun County.
“Guests can place an order on our website and we will make the juice to order and deliver early in the morning on the date they choose!” the spokesperson said by email.
The company’s flagship store in Bethesda, Maryland, remains open, along with locations at Sibley Memorial Hospital in D.C. and Rockville.
Inside The Boro’s Whole Foods, customers can still find Allegro Coffee, Genji Izakaya, High Point Pub and PLNT Burger.
Hat tip to Adam Rubinstein. Photo via Google Maps
Brown Bag, a restaurant that sells salads, sandwiches and bowls, has officially closed its doors at Plaza America in Reston.
The business closed earlier this month. The company did not return a request for comment to clarify the exact date of closure by press time.
Brown Bag originally opened its Reston store in 2016. The restaurant still has physical locations in D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland, and it delivers catering to offices in Northern Virginia, including in Fairfax, Tysons and Reston, according to its website.
Taïm Mediterranean Kitchen, a fast-casual Meditteranean restaurant, will take over the vacated 2,000-square-foot location at 11692 Plaza America Drive.
A company spokesperson told FFXnow that the restaurant will now open in late fall — a slightly more precise estimate than previously reported.
Taim kicked off in 2005 in New York City and has since expanded to 13 locations, including planned restaurants in Vienna. A location in Pimmitt Hills opened last week.
At Taim, customers build a meal with a pita or bowl base, a choice of items like falafel, meatballs, shawarma, and kabobs.
Hat tip to Adam Rubinstein. Image via Google Maps
Zenola has permanently closed its kitchen in Vienna.
The Lebanese restaurant announced on Friday (July 21) that its owners, the Zeitoun family, had “made the difficult decision to close” after more than three years in Danor Plaza at 132 Branch Road SE.
“Our family-owned restaurant has been a place where friends and families gathered to share laughter, stories, and break bread,” the Zeitoun family and Zenola team said in a message to supporters. “It has been an honor to be part of your lives, to witness your special occasions, and to create a warm and welcoming environment for everyone who walked through our doors.”
Commenters on the restaurant’s Facebook page expressed sorrow at the news, with more than one person saying Zenola was one of their favorite places to eat.
“We will miss you a lot! No more spinach pies or chicken livers,” one person said. “I’m so sorry it had to come to this. Wishing the Zeitoun family and Zenola team all the best in the future.”
Opened on Sept. 6, 2019, Zenola began as a way for executive chef and founder Samer Zeitoun to put his own spin on the Lebanese dishes of his childhood by mixing them with a broader range of Mediterranean flavors.
Menu items included various grilled meats, pan-seared black bass, vegetarian lasagna, Lebanese shepherd’s pie, hummus spreads and wood-grilled Spanish octopus.
Keeping a restaurant in business was never easy, but it has proven especially difficult since COVID-19 hit the U.S. in early 2020. An estimated 70,000 restaurants closed permanently as a result of the hardships created by the pandemic.
In the Town of Vienna, casualties have ranged from hopeful newcomers to long-standing establishments, like 40-year-old Amphora Restaurant.
Zenola said its decision to close was fueled by a combination of factors, including the “lasting business effects of the COVID pandemic, increasingly higher rent payments with little landlord flexibility and the changing landscape of the restaurant industry.”
A request for comment sent to the restaurant’s email didn’t get a response by press time.
Despite its relatively short stay in Vienna, the Zenola team said they had formed lasting memories and strong connections with the local community, describing patrons and staff as “an extended family.”
“We cannot express enough how grateful we are for your loyalty and for choosing us as your go-to spot for celebrations, casual dinners, and even those quiet moments when you needed a comforting meal,” the message said. “We will forever cherish the memories created within these walls and the relationships forged through shared meals and conversations.”
Encouraging patrons to continue supporting small businesses, the Zeitoun family said they are “taking some time to rest and regroup,” but they’re hopeful that Zenola may return in some form in the future.
“We hope to find a way to continue offering Zenola menu favorites in a different format in the months ahead,” the team said.
(Updated at 7:10 p.m.) Permanent closures are coming for three auto dealerships near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons.
The Priority Nissan and Mazda shops, which share a building at 8525 Leesburg Pike, will close at the end of this month with either July 31 or Aug. 1 as their final day of business, a customer service representative told FFXnow.
Next door, Sheehy Infiniti of Tysons is set to leave 8527 Leesburg Pike on Aug. 10, an operator confirmed.
“All our services will be transferred to Chantilly,” the operator said, referring to the Sheehy Infiniti dealership at 4145 Auto Park Circle.
While unsure of the reason for the closures, the Priority representative said warranties for vehicles purchased in Tysons will continue to be honored, and customers can access services at other locations. The closest dealership is the Safford Brown Mazda and Nissan (11010 Fairfax Blvd) in Fairfax.
According to the Sheehy Infiniti operator, there are plans to build apartments on the site.
The roughly 12-acre parcel south of Route 7 near the Vesper Trail is part of the massive Dominion Square redevelopment plan approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2017.
Split into “east” and “west” portions along Spring Hill Road, the proposals from then-property owner Capital Automotive Real Estate Services (CARS) collectively envisioned replacing the existing auto dealerships with as much as 3.6 million square feet of mixed-use development.
About 2 million of that will be in Dominion Square East, which includes the Sheehy and Priority dealerships. The plan calls for six buildings, including multifamily residential, office, hotel and retail space, as well as new streets and recreational amenities, such as a public trail connection from the Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley to the Spring Hill Metro station.
CARS sold the land for $60.2 million in 2019 to LHL Dominion Square LLC, an apparent affiliate of the New York-based apartment developer Algin Management.
It’s unclear what the impending dealership closures mean for the future development. Algin didn’t return a request for comment by press time, and no new applications have been filed with the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development.
“[DPD staff are] not aware of any proposed development,” a county public information officer said.
While there has been little movement on Dominion Square East since the development was approved, construction on at least part of the 7.6 acres to the west could begin as soon as December.
That’s when the nonprofit Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing anticipates breaking ground on two 21-story, all-affordable residential buildings at 1592 Spring Hill Road. The plan, which includes a community center for Tysons, was approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in February.
Hat tip to Adam Rubinstein. Images via Google Maps (photo, map)
Correction: This article originally misstated the closing date of Sheehy Infiniti as July 10, and apologies to Adam Rubinstein for the initial misspelling of his name.
This weekend will be Voilà Pastry & Café’s last in business — at least for the immediate future.
The bakery announced late last month that it will permanently close its doors at the Huntington Station Shopping Center on Sunday (July 9), confirming that it opted not to renew its lease.
“We would like to thank you for the love, support, and your continued loyalty to Voilà Pastry & Café,” the business said in social media messages. “We have created a sense of family with many of you, and watched your children grow (our Voila babies as we like to call them). We would also like to thank you for allowing us to be part of your special occasions. It has been an absolute pleasure being able to serve you for the last 10 years.”
Owned by pastry Chef Mekdeswork “Mimi” Altaye, Voilà opened at 5908 N. Kings Highway near the Huntington Metro station a decade ago and has since grown into a neighborhood favorite for its pastries and coffee.
In response to the closing announcement, commenters on Facebook and Instagram lamented the news while praising the bakery’s sweets, including some fond recollections of its wedding cakes.
“Chef Mimi and team, we are so sad to see you go, but look forward to seeing and supporting what’s next for you,” one Instagram commenter said. “Your delectable sweets, treats, coffee and teas are too good to go away.”
The customers and neighborhood have been great, Altaye told FFXnow, but landlord A.J. Dwoskin has become “impossible to deal with.” She said she struggled to get in touch with the company, creating an “untenable” situation where she couldn’t get anything done.
A.J. Dwoskin didn’t return a request for comment by press time. Tom Regnell, chief operating officer for the real estate company, previously told FFXnow that it was “disappointed” to see Voilà leave, but “we were unable to come to terms on a new agreement.”
Fortunately for supporters, the experience hasn’t diminished Altaye’s passion for baking. She’s currently looking for a new potential location, but this time, Voilà hopes to buy a property instead of leasing, according to a spokesperson.
Though she lives in Stafford, Altaye hopes to keep the bakery in Northern Virginia, ideally Fairfax County, Arlington or Alexandria.
“It all depends on where we could find a property that is suitable,” the spokesperson said by email. “…We learned that location is not as important if you provide consistently good product people would come to you. Hopefully by then the economy will also be doing better & labor force will not be an issue (we hope). This is a hobby that turn[ed] into business and we are very passionate about it.”
Photo courtesy Voilà Pastry & Cafe/Instagram
Four Sisters will serve customers at the Mosaic District for the last time this Sunday (May 14).
The family-owned Vietnamese restaurant will permanently close after 30 years of business, about half of them spent anchoring the prominent corner of Strawberry Lane and Yates Way in Merrifield.
With the restaurant’s lease expiring, Four Sisters co-owner Lieu Lai says the family decided the time had come to wrap up their three-decade journey. She wants to spend more time at home with her kids, making Mother’s Day a particularly fitting final day.
In addition, Lai’s sister Le Lai — who has owned the restaurant with her since 2014 — and brother-in-law hope to travel, she told FFXnow.
Four Sisters has been a Merrifield mainstay since 2008, moving to what was then a mostly industrial area before it redeveloped as the Mosaic District in 2012.
Prior to helping jumpstart the mixed-use neighborhood, Four Sisters began life in 1993 as Huong Que at Falls Church’s Eden Center. Lieu and Le’s parents, Thanh Tran and Kim Lai, founded the modest restaurant with money they made selling hot dogs after they immigrated to the U.S. from Bien Hoa, Vietnam, according to the Washington Post, which broke the news of the impending closure.
Huong Que soon became a local favorite, expanding with a second restaurant in the Eden Center to accommodate its growing customer base and even appearing on the late chef Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations” in 2008, according to Viva Tysons.
When the restaurant moved to the Mosaic District, the family renamed it as a nod to Lieu, Le and their two sisters, acknowledging that the original name was too often mispronounced by non-Vietnamese customers.
Since then, the family has extended their reach elsewhere in Northern Virginia, opening the fast-casual Four Sisters Grill in Clarendon and the 4 Sisters Snack Bar in Ashburn. Both of those locations, which are respectively run by oldest sister Ly and youngest son Thuan Lai, will remain open, per the Post.
An eventual return of Four Sisters hasn’t been ruled out either. Lieu says her sister and brother-in-law may open another restaurant in the future after they finish traveling.
“Deep down, I think that potentially I may open another Four Sisters somewhere,” Le told Post food critic Tim Carmen. “That would make my mom and dad really happy, for sure.”
For now, supporters still have a few more days to get in a final order of pho or a vermicelli rice bowl, among other dishes on the menu of Vietnamese staples. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Mondays.
