The McLean Chocolate Festival will be back in action for a 12th year this Sunday (Jan. 28).
Organized once again by the Rotary Club of McLean, the annual celebration of all things cocoa will take over the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The D.C. region’s biannual restaurant showcase is cooking up a return next week.
Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington has enlisted dozens of establishments to participate in this year’s Winter Restaurant Week, which will run from Monday, Jan. 15 to Sunday, Jan. 21.
A new District Taco quietly opened its doors last fall in the Old Keene Mill Shopping Center.
The Mexican-inspired fast-casual chain began welcoming customers at its West Springfield location in September 2023, according to a spokesperson for District Taco.
A Merrifield bakery that specializes in poffertjes — a traditional Dutch snack that resembles puffed-up pancakes — has closed up shop.
Poffy ceased operations during the weekend after Thanksgiving, opening its doors in the Mosaic District (2985 District Avenue, Suite 170) for the last time on Nov. 25, the business announced on Instagram.
A bakery that regularly appears at farmers’ markets around the D.C. area recently opened a permanent production facility and shop in Chantilly.
Toimoi Bakery announced the soft opening of its new “croissant hub” at 4520 Daly Drive in Chantilly Square on Nov. 20. During the week, the shop focuses on making the buttery, flaky pastries that are its specialty, but it opens to walk-in customers on Saturdays and Sundays.
Rice Culture is now serving taiyakis and ice cream just outside the Dunn Loring Metro station.
The pop-up bakery, a regular at several D.C. area farmers’ markets, kicked off the soft opening phase of its first brick-and-mortar shop last week on Nov. 30. Its location in the Shops at Avenir Place (2672D Avenir Place) had been vacant since Bruster’s Real Ice Cream closed in 2020.
Cornerstones, a Reston-based nonprofit organization, has expanded into Sterling.
The nonprofit organization — which has offered food and other supports for individuals and families in need since it was founded in 1970 — opened the Free from Hunger Center last week.
Fairfax County’s annual Stuff the Bus food drive has gone virtual, allowing people to make online donations directly to local nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance in the county.
This is the county’s 12th year partnering with local nonprofits to participate in the campaign, according to a county release. Previously, people could only make physical donations directly inside Fastran buses parked outside grocery stores or libraries.
A nonprofit that has been serving free meals made at Lewinsville Senior Center throughout the COVID-19 pandemic hopes to establish a permanent presence at the McLean facility.
Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS), which operates the senior center at 1613 Great Falls Street, applied in late 2022 for a special exception amendment that would let SevaTruck Foundation keep using the center’s kitchen to cook, store and package food.
Several Reston organizations are partnering once again for an annual Thanksgiving food drive.
Reston Community Center, the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and the nonprofit Cornerstones are collecting donations of non-perishable food and other items through Nov. 20.
