(Updated at 4:05 p.m. on 1/2/2024) The Rincon family business has officially staked a claim in Merrifield.
The Tex-Mex chain Guapo’s, which the Rincons have owned since 1990, welcomed diners to its new location in Gatehouse Plaza for the first time last Thursday (Dec. 21). The building at 3052 Gate House Plaza was last occupied by Chevys Fresh Mex, which closed over four years ago now, per Annandale Today.
Guapo’s soft opening came months later than its originally anticipated launch of early 2023, but the initial response from the community suggests the wait was worthwhile.
“People have been expecting it for a while now, and yesterday was very, very busy,” Guapo’s marketing manager told FFXnow by phone on Friday (Dec. 22). “So, customers are really, really happy that we brought it to Merrifield.”
Residents of Virginia since the late 1970s, the Rincon family opened its first Guapo’s in D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood in 1990. The flagship location has operated at 4515 Wisconsin Ave. NW ever since, though there were reportedly plans to move down the street in 2016 that got nixed.
According to Guapo’s, the business is now run by the founders’ children, who all graduated from Fairfax County schools and universities. It has expanded to Arlington, Fair Lakes, Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Georgetown, and the spin-off Charcoal Chicken and Taqueria can be found in Herndon and Manassas.
The expansion to Merrifield was inspired by the family’s history, according to the marketing manager.
“When the family first came from Colombia to Virginia, they lived in Gallows Road that’s why they chose Merrifield to honor their beginnings in the United States,” she said.
All locations are owned and operated by the Rincons, who haven’t tried franchising. Guapo’s says they plan to “stay local for now before we decide to expand nationwide.”
While the look of the Merrifield restaurant is more modern, the owners were committed to keeping the same recipes and level of customer service seen at other locations, according to the marketing manager.
The menu features many staples of Tex-Mex cuisine, including enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, tacos and a variety of meat, seafood and chicken dishes. There are also salads, soups and brunch options, such as omelets and eggs benedict.
Guapo’s is open in Merrifield from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the week and from 10 a.m. until midnight on Saturday and Sunday. A grand opening celebration planned for Jan. 10 will be highlighted by a live DJ and salsa music from a band at 5-10 p.m.
(Correction: This story previously misstated Guapo’s hours of operation and timing of the band’s performance at the upcoming grand opening.)
Located northwest of the Route 50 and Gallows Road intersection, Gatehouse Plaza is also home to Sweetwater Tavern, Uno Pizzeria and Grill, a Wendy’s, Starbucks, Panda Express and a Sunoco gas station.
A growing, Florida-based Asian street food chain has its sights set on Merrifield.
Hawkers is planning to open a restaurant in the Mosaic District next year, an employee at the company’s Arlington location confirmed to FFXnow.
According to Fairfax County’s permit database, the 5,312-square-foot eatery will be located at 8190 Strawberry Lane, Suite 1 — the space occupied by the Vietnamese restaurant Four Sisters until it closed on May 14, concluding 30 years of business in Fairfax County.
Hawkers was created in 2011 by four friends who wanted “to bring the bold flavors of Asian street food to the streets of Orlando,” according to its website. The company has since expanded to 15 locations across seven states, breaking into the D.C. area with a Bethesda restaurant in 2020 and a Ballston one that opened last year.
Drawing from a mix of East Asian cuisines, the menu features dim sum, meat and shrimp skewers, noodles, fried rice, green papaya salad, a Po Po Lo’s curry based on a family recipe and more. The beverage menu includes cocktails, sake, wine, beer and Japanese whisky.
Oath Pizza has closed
In other Mosaic District news, Oath Pizza appears to have closed, but it’s not entirely clear whether the shutdown is temporary or permanent. A sign posted to the restaurant’s door since late November states that it “will be pausing pizza operations for a short period of time.”
“We look forward to fulfilling your delicious pizza needs again soon,” says the notice signed by the Oath Pizza team. “Thank you all for your ongoing support and we look forward to serving you our brand of Feel Good Pizza again soon.”
However, the company’s website no longer functions, and other locations have also reportedly closed, including in D.C. and its home state of Massachusetts. According to the Nantucket Current, the slew of closures might stem from a lawsuit filed by investors in May that accused Oath Pizza CEO Andrew Kellogg of self-dealing.
Even with the lawsuit, though, Oath Pizza has continued adding franchises, including its first California location, which opened in early August. The Mosaic District restaurant (2920 District Avenue, Suite 150) opened in October 2017 as the chain’s first expansion outside the Boston area.
Oath Pizza didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Just a couple of doors away, interior renovations have begun on a store from the Beaufort Bonnet Company, which sells baby and children’s clothes. The shop will be 1,344 square feet in size and located at 2920 District Avenue, Suite 143.
Signs posted to the storefront indicate that the shop is “coming soon.” The company didn’t respond to inquiries from FFXnow by press time.
Hat tip to Adam Rubinstein
Updated at 1 p.m. — Hiep Van Vo, the suspect in Sunday’s shooting at the Fairview Park Marriott, was arrested at 11 p.m. yesterday outside a Giant in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Fairfax County police said today (Monday).
Vo is in custody at the Montgomery County Detention Center “awaiting extradition back to Fairfax County,” according to police.
Earlier: Fairfax County police are looking for an Annandale man believed to be the suspect in a fatal shooting at the Marriott hotel near Merrifield early yesterday (Sunday) morning.
Detectives obtained warrants last night for 43-year-old Hiep Van Vo, charging him with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm as a felon, the Fairfax County Police Department announced.
Police and fire units were called to the hotel at 3111 Fairview Park Drive around 12:42 a.m. after a 911 caller reported that someone had been shot in the chest and arm, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department personnel, who happened to be at the building after responding to an unrelated fire, found Charles Anthony Ashe Jr., 44, of Maryland “near the elevators suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper body,” the FCPD said.
Ashe was transported with life-threatening injuries to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he died that morning.
Witnesses reported that the shooting took place on the hotel’s sixth floor, and an officer said they found blood near the elevator, according to the scanner.
The FCPD says its detectives have determined that the shooting occurred after Ashe entered a hotel room where Vo was staying with four other people.
“Inside the room, Vo shot Ashe. No one else was injured,” the FCPD said. “Ashe was able to exit the hotel room and was carried by friends, who heard the gunshots, to the elevator. Vo fled from the hotel…Evidence of narcotics was discovered inside the hotel room.”
Police believe Ashe and Vo knew each other, and the shooting wasn’t a random act. The FCPD advises anyone with information about Vo to call 703-691-2131 or send a tip through Crime Solvers.
Detectives are on scene investigating. The victim, adult man was pronounced deceased at the hospital. #FCPD
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) November 19, 2023
CRITICAL HOTEL SHOOTING— Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park at 3111 Fairview Park Drive in Annandale. Firefighters from Engine-418 were on an unrelated call when gunfire was reported. They found one person shot with life-threatening injuries. h/t @HCBright10 cc: @ffxnow… pic.twitter.com/i2TUt0sTAP
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) November 19, 2023
Image via Google Maps
Three men have been arrested for coercing women into sex work at “high-end” brothels in Massachusetts and Virginia, the Department of Justice announced yesterday (Wednesday).
Locations used for the brothels include units in Hanover Tysons and Avalon Mosaic, apartment buildings in Tysons and Merrifield, according to a court affidavit by a Department of Homeland Security special agent.
Federal prosecutors have charged Massachusetts residents Han Lee and Junmyung Lee as well as California resident James Lee “with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts said in a press release.
According to the DOJ, since at least July 2020, the men enticed primarily Asian women to travel to and work in the brothels, whose clients included “politicians, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants.”
Specifically, the defendants allegedly rented high-end apartment complexes as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained. The monthly rent for the brothel locations were as high as $3,664. It is further alleged that the defendants coordinated the women’s airline travel and transportation and permitted women to stay overnight in the brothel locations so they did not have to find lodging elsewhere, therefore enticing women to participate in their prostitution network.
The locations in Tysons and Merrifield were advertised on a website claiming to be for nude photography models, but the DHS agent says he believes the ads are a “front” for commercial escort or prostitution services.
“Approximately twenty (20) sex buyers were interviewed in connection with this multi-yearlong investigation,” the agent said in the affidavit.
Clients were charged anywhere from $350 up to $600 per hour that they paid in cash, the DOJ says. Prosecutors allege that the defendants concealed “hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash” from the prostitution ring through deposits in their personal bank accounts and “peer-to-peer transfers.”
“Additionally, it is alleged that the defendants regularly used hundreds of thousands of dollars of the cash proceeds from the prostitution business to purchase money orders (in values under an amount that would trigger reporting and identification requirements) to conceal the source of the funds,” the press release said. “These money orders were then used to pay for rent and utilities at brothel locations in Massachusetts and Virginia.”
The defendants could face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $250,000 under the sex trafficking charges, according to the DOJ.
Han Lee and Junmyung Lee appeared in a federal court in Boston yesterday after getting arrested that morning, while James Lee was arrested in California and “will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The best place to eat in Northern Virginia right now is an upscale restaurant tucked away in an office building outside Merrifield that also houses the U.S. headquarters of defense contractor BAE Systems.
At least that’s the designation bestowed upon 2941 by Northern Virginia Magazine’s food critics, whose ranking of the 50 best restaurants in the region for 2023 hit newsstands on Friday (Oct. 27) as part of its November issue.
While the full list can only be found in print, reviews for the top 10 restaurants are online, led by 2941. Located at 2941 Fairview Park Drive, the restaurant impressed the magazine’s critics with the artistry of both its cuisine and setting, which features landscaping, a koi pond and a view of an artificial lake.
“Inside the soaring space, a talented contemporary American kitchen staff transforms top-flight ingredients into culinary art,” the review said, highlighting a five-course tasting menu curated by Executive Chef Bertrand Chemel as well as a la carte dishes like a “grilled rib-eye with crisped potatoes.”
Self-described on its website as “one of the most celebrated restaurants in the metropolitan area,” 2941 previously topped Northern Virginia Magazine’s annual rankings in 2021 and came in second last year. It has also been recognized in the past by Washingtonian, Eater DC and the Washington Post.
“We’re ecstatic to share that we’ve been ranked as the #1 restaurant in Northern Virginia!” the restaurant said in a Facebook post. “This recognition wouldn’t be possible without our incredible team and the support of our loyal customers. Thank you for making…us the best in the region.”
2941 isn’t the only Fairfax County restaurant to place in the top 10. It was joined by Nostos in Tysons (No. 6), L’Auberge Chez François in Great Falls (No. 8), Trummer’s in Clifton (No. 9) and Trio Grill in Merrifield proper (No. 10).
Praised for proving that there’s “much more to Greek cuisine” than gyros, Nostos (8100 Boone Blvd) was among Washingtonian’s “very best restaurants” in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Its owners are behind Vienna’s incoming Yellow Diner, which is expected to open at 501 Maple Avenue West early next year.
L’Auberge Chez François has been operating at 332 Springvale Road since 1976, when it moved from its original home in D.C. Also recently lauded by Washingtonian, the French establishment is a “captivating destination for celebrating life’s special moments” with “masterful cuisine” and “exquisite service,” according to Northern Virginia Magazine.
Trummer’s (7134 Main Street) originally opened as a fine dining restaurant in 2009, but it has been steadily evolving into a more casual American bistro, dropping the “on Main” portion of its name in 2019. Northern Virginia Magazine highlights its “skillful” blending of “Austrian and regional American traditions.”
Near the Mosaic District at 8100 Route 29, Trio Grill comes from Metropolitan Hospitality Group, which is also behind Open Road, Circa and El Bebe. When it opened a decade ago, Northern Virginia Magazine dinged the eatery for not taking more risks with its menu, but it now says Trio Grill offers “a night of fine food and camaraderie.”
Falls Church was also represented with Ellie Bird at No. 5 and the Vietnamese restaurant NUE coming in seventh. Both restaurants opened earlier this year in the city’s new Founders Row development on West and Broad streets.
A D.C. man was arrested at Unique in Merrifield yesterday (Monday) for allegedly peeping at a woman in the thrift shop’s restroom.
Officers were called to the store at 2956 Gallows Road around 5:30 p.m. for a report of a suspicious person, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“The officers learned Anderson had followed a woman into a restroom and pushed open her door while she was inside the stall,” the FCPD said in a news release today. “The victim yelled for the suspect to leave, and the suspect left the restroom but remained at the entrance of the store.”
The 33-year-old man was arrested “without incident,” police said. He has been charged with peeping and public intoxication.
According to the FCPD, there were outstanding warrants for the man, who is in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond. Court records show he was arrested for indecent exposure on Feb. 10, but the misdemeanor charge was dropped.
“Based on information from store employees, officers believe there may be additional victims,” the FCPD said.
The department advises anyone with potential information about this case or previous incidents to contact its detective at 703-556-7750. Anonymous tips are also accepted through Crime Solvers by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.
Fairfax County is designing a new layout for Prosperity Avenue near the Dunn Loring Metro station.
The new configuration will reduce the roadway from four to two lanes by adding a road diet and protected bicycle lanes between Gallows Road and Prosperity Metro Plaza, the two-building office center whose tenants include U.S. Customs and Immigration Services’ D.C. field office.
The project will also convert existing on-street bicycle lanes that start to the west and continue until Hilltop Road into protected bike lanes.
Design funding will come from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), whose Transportation Planning Board awarded $80,000 to the project last week as part of its Transit Within Reach program.
COG is “excited” about the county’s proposed improvements to Prosperity Avenue, which currently has a “very wide” design that “encourages drivers to speed and discourages people from walking and biking,” according to John Swanson, the principal transportation planner for the regional nonprofit.
The affected section of Prosperity Avenue has a 35 mph speed limit. A 19-year-old man from Chantilly was killed in a crash on the road last December, but that occurred to the south between Route 29 and Arlington Blvd.
“This part of Fairfax is undergoing a lot of change and the county is really committed to making the Dunn Loring station the center of a vibrant, walkable community,” Swanson said. “…This kind of project will make a real difference at the local level and will serve as a model for the region.”
The idea for the Prosperity Avenue safety project emerged out of discussions that started in April between representatives of businesses along the roadway and Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik’s office.
Since then, the district office has been working with county and state transportation staff to develop their proposal.
“I am delighted to see that this project design was approved for funding!” Palchik said in a statement. “After hearing from local businesses about safety concerns for their staff and visitors, my office worked diligently with FCDOT and VDOT on a proposal for a road diet for Prosperity Avenue. This design work will help improve safety for our pedestrians, especially for staff and community members visiting the USCIS offices or attending naturalization ceremonies.”
The Transit Within Reach funds will cover the project design up to 30% completion, according to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. That will encompass the bicycle lanes from west of the Metro station to Hilltop Avenue, which is expected to be completed around the end of 2024.
The COG funding will also give the county an estimate for how much it’ll cost to implement the project.
“Once complete, FCDOT will identify funding to complete the design and construct the project,” a department spokesperson said.
Launched in 2021, the Transit Within Reach program provides consulting services for the design and preliminary engineering of “small, high-impact bicycle and pedestrian projects,” per COG.
The Transportation Planning Board approved a total of $250,000 in funding from the program at its meeting last Wednesday (Oct. 18). The other projects were a shared-use path in Gaithersburg and a sidewalk in D.C.
FCDOT is also working on a separate study to identify potential improvements on Gallows Road. Staff told community members at a meeting last month that traffic congestion, crashes, a lack of sidewalks and general pedestrian, bicycle and transit safety are all issues on the 7-mile corridor, Annandale Today reported.
While that study won’t assess or make recommendations for Prosperity Avenue, it could “be informed” by the road diet and bicycle lanes project, according to FCDOT.
Image via Google Maps
There’s a new shop in Merrifield focusing on an eclectic, “curated collection” of handcrafted goods.
Vivid Chill hosted a grand opening this past weekend in the Mosaic District, moving into Suite 150 at 2910 District Avenue from a spot in Great Falls.
The shop offers everything from jewelry and clothing to books, face oils and playdough.
According to Vivid Chill’s website, its focus is on “handcrafted, ethically made, sustainable, nontoxic, eco-friendly” goods.
Originally opened at Great Falls Village Centre in early 2021, the shop won a spot on Washingtonian’s Best New Shopsof 2021 list, which highlighted owner Marika Tsombikos’s dedication to selling only the best assorted items she can find, typically with clean design and bright colors.
Vivid Chill’s website says the store is open from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) The Mosaic District has reeled in a different kind of seafood restaurant.
Kreole, a new concept that blends flavors from Creole and Asian cuisines, will open in the Merrifield neighborhood tomorrow (Tuesday) next Monday (Oct. 23) at 2985 District Avenue, Unit 115. The news was first reported by Eater DC.
“We felt that there were no other concepts that connect the dirty south and far east in this area,” Kreole chef and owner Chad Sparrow said. “The food diversity in Mosaic has most things covered, but this hasn’t been done. We also think it will be a destination spot as so many ppl love seafood and the way we are preparing it is unique and bursting with flavor.”
Kreole takes the place of Junction Bar & Bistro, which opened last fall and comes from the same Alexandria-based restaurant group, Common Plate Hospitality.
Sparrow says the company determined it wasn’t “getting the legs that we had hoped for” from Junction, which still has locations in Alexandria, Capitol Hill and Chevy Chase. But Common Plate Hospitality is confident that Kreole will be a more successful catch for the Mosaic District.
“We thought that this concept is very different and would work better in this space,” Sparrow said.
Located next door to Urbano, a Tex-Mex eatery that also came from Common Plate, the 3,000-square-foot restaurant will have 90 indoor seats and 15 seats outside.
The menu consists of seafood “catches,” including crabs, lobster, shrimps, clams and oysters, that can be customized with different sauces, spice levels and add-ons, such as corn, potato, sticky rice or cajun fries. There are also some items like krispy wings and shaky beef that are designed to be shareable, along with soups and salads.
Hours of operation for the new restaurant will be 4-10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
An aerial dance studio based in Maryland will swoop across state lines this fall with an expansion into Merrifield.
Aerial Candy is transforming an industrial space at 2801 Merrilee Drive that was being used for storage into a studio where dancers can train with aerial silks, hoops and other specialized equipment.
On track to open in November, the new studio will become the “main” location for Aerial Candy, which currently operates inside Takoma Park’s Dance Exchange, owner Candy Cantu says.
“This is a wonderful location because it’s right off of the highway and I actually live in Virginia,” Cantu told FFXnow. “…I wanted something kind of more central, a little bit more of like a hub where it’s easier to have access to because it’s off 495, it’s off 66, it’s next to the Metro, it’s close to D.C. So, it just is right at that perfect spot.”
Established in 2019, Aerial Candy offers classes for both adults and children 6 and up in what Cantu calls “circus arts,” including aerial hoops and silks — the kinds of acrobatics you might see at Cirque du Soleil.
In fact, Cantu was scheduled to show the new, roughly 2,800-square-foot space to some Cirque du Soleil performers last week in the hopes they may use it for future photoshoots or rehearsals. The circus has been in Tysons since early September with the debut of its new show “ECHO.”
“Because it’s so close to their show, it kind of works as a nice place for them to either do photos or get some extra rehearsal times in,” Cantu said.
In addition to introductory, intermediate and advanced classes on silks and aerial hoops, also known as lyras, the Merrifield studio will likely offer contortion and flexibility training and possibly a static trapeze class, Cantu says. There will also be open gym sessions.
Cantu anticipates that having a second location will expand Aerial Candy to a new client base, but with the kids’ sessions at Takoma Park consistently filled to capacity, some patrons may shift over to Merrifield. Those who purchase a class pass or membership will be able to use them at either location.
As the studio build-out nears completion, including the installation of a mural by artist Christopher Lynch, Cantu says she’s excited to have a location closer to home and provide a creative space in an area where local artists are starting to find a foothold.
“There are some other studios that are slightly similar to what I’m trying to do, but I just think mine is going to be a little bit unique and different, and they’re so far and few in between,” Cantu said. “I’m just really excited about meeting all the people in the area. I’m really excited about building a community. That’s my favorite part.”
