A new clothing store focused on “sustainability” and social impact has opened in the Mosaic District.
Faherty opened its newest store over the weekend at 2905 District Ave. It was first announced in early 2023. This is the company’s third location in the D.C. area, including stores in Bethesda and Georgetown.
Faherty is known for its beach aesthetic along with the mission of being sustainable by “using recycled and renewable fabrics.”
The company also aims to have a social impact, particularly by acknowledging that the brand sells items with patterns inspired by indigenous Native Americans. The company says now it has a “mission as a brand to model a mutually beneficial relationship between Native artists and non-Native companies for collective healing.”
The Fairfax location’s webpage notes that the store sits on Nacotchtank, Piscataway, and Pamunkey lands.
Mosaic District has seen a slew of openings in recent weeks. Last month, Pottery Barn opened while, in July, Latin wine bar Grand Cata started serving. Jewelry store Brilliant Earth also opened earlier this year as well.
Arlington-based ice cream shop Mimi’s Handmade is set to begin scooping soon too.
Pottery Barn is now open and operating in the Mosaic District.
The home furnishings and decor business started serving customers in the mixed-use Merrifield neighborhood on Friday, Aug. 18, a store employee told FFXnow.
The store occupies close to 15,000 square feet at 2905 District Avenue, Suite 100, where Nieman Marcus and GreatGatherings had previously set up shop. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
“Pottery Barn offers expertly crafted furniture and home decor,” the company says on its website. “Come by and learn more about the complimentary decorating and design services offered by our Design Studio Specialists. We also have registry experts ready to help you create a well rounded wedding registry.”
Now based in San Francisco, Pottery Barn was founded in 1949 by brothers Paul and Morris Secon in Manhattan, New York. It was later sold to Gap and then, in 1986, Williams-Sonoma, which had 188 Pottery Barn stores, as of 2022.
The Merrifield store supplanted Pottery Barn’s longstanding Tysons Corner Center location, which has closed, a mall spokesperson confirmed. The Tysons mall has been home to Pottery Barn since at least 2008, according to its Yelp reviews.
Pottery Barn didn’t return requests for comment by press time. It also has a store in Fair Oaks Mall.
Other recent additions at the Mosaic District include the Latin wine bar and restaurant Grand Cata and the jewelry store Brilliant Earth. The clothing store Faherty’s is on track to open a couple of doors down from Pottery Barn this Friday, Sept. 1, a spokesperson told FFXnow.
The ice cream shop, Mimi’s Handmade, is still in the works, but no opening date has been announced yet.
Summer Restaurant Week starts later this month across the region, with more than 30 Fairfax County businesses scheduled to participate.
The biannual event by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) is intended to encourage diners to eat out during a sometimes-slow time of the year for restaurants.
Hundreds of restaurants are participating during this year’s summer edition, including several Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport eateries — a first for the campaign.
“This year’s Summer Restaurant Week cycle is a special one,” RAMW President and CEO Shawn Townsend said in the press release. “Not only does the promotional week take place during the DC Jazz Festival, we have multiple restaurants participating from our region’s airports, allowing both locals and travelers to the area to take part in the special offerings.”
The restaurants offer brunch and lunch menus for $25 a person and dinner for $40 or $55 a person. There will also be alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink specials as well.
There will be 32 Fairfax County restaurants participating in the upcoming edition, which will run from Monday, Aug. 28 through Sunday, Sept. 3.
Dulles Airport
- Bistro Atelier — French cuisine
- Bracket Room — Sports bar
- Carrabba’s — Italian food
- Chef Geoff’s — American food
- Devil’s Backbone — Gastropub fare
- District Chop House — Steakhouse
- The Washington Burgundy and Gold Club — American classics
Merrifield
- 2941 Restaurant (2941 Fairview Park Drive) — French cuisine
- Alta Strada Mosaic (2911 District Avenue) — Italian food in the Mosaic District
- B Side (8298 Glass Alley) — American food in the Mosaic District
- Matchbox (2911 District Avenue) McLean, and Reston locations) — Pizza in the Mosaic District
- TRIO Grill (8100 Lee Highway) — American food
Reston
- Founding Farmers (1904 Reston Metro Plaza) — Locally sourced food and bar at Reston Station
- Matchbox (1900 Reston Metro Plaza) — Pizza at Reston Station
- North Italia (11898 Market Street) — Italian food at Reston Town Center
- Morton’s (11956 Market Street) — Steakhouse at Reston Town Center
- PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive) — Seafood restaurant at Reston Town Center
- Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar (1871 Explorer Street) — Peruvian food at Reston Town Center
- The Melting Pot (11730 Plaza America Drive) — A fondue restaurant
Tysons/McLean
- Agora Tysons (7911 Westpark Drive) — Greek/Mediterranean/Turkish
- American Prime (1420 Spring Hill Road) — Steakhouse
- Circa at The Boro (1675 Silver Hill Drive) — American bistro
- Earls Kitchen + Bar (7902 Tysons One Place) — American food at Tysons Corner Center
- Founding Farmers (1800 Tysons Blvd) — Locally sourced food and bar at Tysons Galleria
- Jiwa Singapura (2001 International Drive) — Singapore cuisine at Tysons Galleria
- Joon (8045 Leesburg Pike, Suite 120) — Persian food in Fairfax Square
- Matchbox (1340 Chain Bridge Road) — Pizza in McLean
- North Italia (1651 Boro Place) — Italian cuisine at The Boro
- The Capital Grille (1861 International Drive) — Steakhouse and seafood restaurant in Tysons Corner Center. The Fair Lakes location at 12169 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive is participating as well.
- Wildfire (2001 International Drive) — Steak and seafood in Tysons Galleria
- Wren (1825 Capital One Drive South) — Japanese restaurant at Capital One Center
Grand Cata recently made a grand entrance at the Mosaic District.
The D.C.-based Latin American wine bar and store opened the doors of its first Virginia location on July 18, according to an Instagram post.
The modest, 910-square-foot space is located next to B-Side in the former Poke Bar at 8298 Glass Alley, Suite 100. It includes a counter bar and table where visitors can drink wine and eat food, along with shelves of wine for retail sale and a market with sauces and other pantry items.
“We are so happy to be part of the @mosaicdistrict community and we are ready for you,” the business said in a social media post last week.
Started as a retail shop in downtown D.C. in 2016, Grand Cata was founded to fill what founders Pedro Rodríguez and Julio Robledo saw as a gap in the region’s wine market for options from Latin America.
The business expanded in 2019 with its first bar at La Cosecha in Union Market.
The Mosaic District store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. It’s closed on Monday.
Tenants still to come to the Merrifield neighborhood are Pottery Barn, the beach-inspired clothing store Faherty and the ice cream shop Mimi’s Homemade. In addition, farmers market operator FreshMarket announced last week that it will expand onto Strawberry Lane starting this Sunday (Aug. 6).
The Tysons area will have no shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables for the rest of this year, as one farmers market prepares to make its introduction and another expands its presence.
A brand-new Tysons farmers market will launch at noon today (Thursday) at The PARC at Tysons (8508 Leesburg Pike).
Run by Potomac Farm Market, the market will return every Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. through Oct. 19. It will have “seasonal fruits and vegetables, fresh cut flowers, and other locally sourced specialties” from area farmers and food producers, according to Celebrate Fairfax, the nonprofit that operates The PARC.
“We’re thrilled to work in partnership with Potomac Farm Market and host the farmers market at The PARC,” Celebratate Fairfax President and CEO Ashley Morris said. “The market provides an opportunity to bring neighbors together to connect over fresh, locally sourced food while also supporting local farms.”
To mark today’s launch, Celebrate Fairfax has planned a grand opening event with free ice cream from Tysons Creamery, while supplies last. The giveaway is a nod to National Ice Cream Month, but it will also likely be welcome for patrons on a day expected to get dangerously hot.
The farmers market is currently scheduled to be held outside, but organizers say it could be relocated indoors if necessary.
“We are monitoring the weather and have the ability to move the farm market inside The PARC if needed,” Celebrate Fairfax Director of Community Events and Engagements Trinity Yansick said.
Mosaic District farmers’ market set to expand
Looking south of I-66, nonprofit FreshFarm announced yesterday that it will expand its popular farmers market at Merrifield’s Mosaic District.
Operated by FreshFarm since 2019, the Mosaic market is open year-round on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It typically occupies more than two blocks along District Avenue from Strawberry Lane to Penny Lane, requiring the road to be closed to vehicle traffic.
Starting on Aug. 6, the market will extend its reach onto Strawberry Lane, increasing its vendor line-up from 45 produce, food and craft stalls to almost 60.
Covering the equivalent of three city blocks, the expanded market will be “in the running to be the largest farmers market in Northern Virginia,” FreshFarm says. Offerings will include “a wide array of fresh fruits and vegetables, artisanal baked goods, pastured eggs and meats, locally roasted coffee, prepared foods” and more.
“The expansion into Strawberry Lane means we can connect even more farmers and producers with the community while also providing local residents with a wider variety of fresh and healthy options,” FreshFarm Director of Agricultural Programs Rebecca Chávez said.
She added that the nonprofit hopes the bigger market will draw more participants for its Fresh Match program, which allows SNAP and other federal benefit recipients to get a dollar-for-dollar match on any benefits they spend at the farmers market.
“[It] both helps shoppers take home more nutritious produce and local foods while creating and sustaining new revenue streams for local growers,” Chávez said.
The Mosaic market’s expansion will coincide with the first day of National Farmers Market Week, which is recognized annually by the national nonprofit Farmers Market Coalition.
Earlier this year, workers for FreshFarm — whose other markets include ones in Reston and Oakton — unionized with United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400.
Farmers markets are also underway from the Fairfax County Park Authority, which runs 10 markets that appear from the spring into the fall, or even December in some cases.
Fairfax County residents don’t have to cross the Potomac to taste some of the best cuisine that the D.C. area has to offer, as decreed by the 2023 RAMMY awards.
Announced at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C. on Sunday (July 9), the annual honors from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) feted four restaurants with ties to the Fairfax area — including three in Merrifield’s Mosaic District.
Kirby Club owner Rose Previte was named Restaurateur of the Year by the association, which represents and advocates for the region’s food service industry.
Previte launched Kirby Club (2911 District Avenue) with co-founders Mike Schuster and Mayu Horie last December. Since then, the Mediterreanean restaurant has drawn praise for its atmosphere and flexible portions, landing a spot among the top newcomers in the Washington Post’s spring dining guide.
In addition to Kirby Club, Previte is a co-owner of D.C.’s Maydān, which also focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, and Compass Rose, which serves food from around the world. All three restaurants are part of No White Plates, a collective she co-founded that aims to showcase the culture and stories behind each meal.
“I’m still in shock about this incredible win,” Previte said. “It’s been nearly 10 years since I was working around the clock to open Compass Rose and as anyone in hospitality can tell you it takes a village to run a restaurant, let alone three. Opening Kirby Club was a new level of learning and every day I am grateful for the team that makes every day possible.”
This year’s RAMMY winners also include the fast-casual Indian chain RASA, which was chosen as the region’s Favorite Fast Bite in one of five categories determined by a public vote.
Started by two friends in D.C. who wanted to introduce the area to the diversity of flavors in Indian cuisine, Rasa opened its first Fairfax County location at the Mosaic District (2905 District Avenue, Suite 160) on July 30, 2022. Its menu includes salads and rice and noodle bowls, with chef-created and build-your-own options.
“We are absolutely humbled and thrilled to win the Favorite Fast Bites RAMMY this year,” Rasa co-founder Rahul Vinod said. “Our team works tirelessly day-in and day-out so it is amazing for them to be recognized by the community. We are excited to continue sharing our food and culture with more people!
In addition to the main awards, the RAMMYs bestowed honorary awards on several area restaurants that reached notable milestones, including Artie’s — which has been in Fairfax City for 45 years now — and Four Sisters.
For the latter, the recognition of its 30th anniversary was no doubt bittersweet. Started at Falls Church’s Eden Center in 1993, the family-run Vietnamese restaurant relocated to Merrifield in 2008, but it closed up shop at the Mosaic District in May.
The Lai family is still operating Four Sisters Grill in Clarendon and the 4 Sisters Snack Bar in Ashburn.
Determined by the public or a panel of anonymous judges, depending on the specific category, the RAMMY awards are intended to celebrate the accomplishments of the D.C. area’s food service industry. Last year, the only winner with local ties was Annandale’s A&J Restaurant, which won the Best Brunch category.
The Mosaic District is hanging up its roller and ice skating plans — at least for now.
The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) agreed Wednesday (June 14) to indefinitely defer Rink Management Services Corporation’s request for a special permit that would allow it to operate a skating rink in the Merrifield neighborhood on a seasonal basis.
This is the sixth deferral of a decision on the application since the board held a public hearing on July 13.
“This case has been a bit of a moving target,” said Brent Krasner with the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development. “…At this point, after conversations with the applicant, I think they are reevaluating their plans for these types of activities, both the winter ice skating and summer roller skating activities. Essentially, their plans are not settled yet, and so they agreed that an indefinite deferral was the best route.”
First submitted back in April 2022, the proposal from Rink Management and EDENS — the developer that owns the Mosaic District — sought to turn the Mosaic Skateland roller rink that popped up during the past two summers into an annual occurrence.
Going forward, roller skating would be provided for 90 days each year from April to the end of June. During the winter months, an ice skating rink would be provided instead.
The operator estimated that the rink would draw approximately 15,000 skaters each season, according to the application.
However, at the public hearing, community members raised concerns about noise, traffic and access to their homes, and the BZA suggested the applicants’ public outreach efforts were insufficient.
Earlier this year, county staff confirmed to the BZA that Mosaic Skateland wasn’t going to return this summer, but Rink Management and EDENS left open the possibility of ice skating. Now, that has also been taken off the table.
“If they decide they’re going to go ahead this winter, they would let us know and reactivate [the application] — or next spring for example — but at this point, they don’t have any immediate plans,” Krasner said.
Updated at 12:20 p.m. on 6/23/2023 — The Mosaic Live kick-off event on Saturday has been canceled due to forecasted inclement weather, according to Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik. The series will instead begin on July 1 with the Munit Mesfin Band.
Earlier: Live music will take over Strawberry Lane at Mosaic District this summer.
A new “Mosaic Live” concert series is set to kick off on Saturday, June 24 at 5 p.m. It’s the latest addition to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s annual summer entertainment lineup, which is underway with 118 live performances scheduled at 20 different venues around the county.
The Mosaic Live kickoff event will be headlined by Groovalicious, a band that pays tribute to disco and other 1970s music. The Vienna Singing Princesses will serve as an opening act, with local elected officials expected to attend, according to the Providence District office, which helped organize the series.
Future concerts will begin at 6 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 19:
- July 1: Munit Mesfin Band
- July 8: Los Three Baritones
- July 15: School of Rock from Vienna
- July 22: Brian Cunningham Project
- July 29: Centro Cultural Bolivia
- Aug. 5: Patrick Alban & Noche Latina
- Aug. 12: Tobago Bay Calypso Band
- Aug. 19: Ocho de Bastos
(Correction: This story initially said future concerts would begin at 6:30 p.m.)
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik’s office is also bringing back Nottoway Nights, a concert series that will take place on Thursdays at Nottoway Park (9601 Courthouse Road) in Vienna.
Nottoway Nights concerts will begin on July 6 and continue through Aug. 24, running from 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Last year, the Providence District office and FCPA tried out a Global Music & Dance series at the Graham Road Community Building, though the program isn’t returning this year.
The full Summer Entertainment Series schedule can be found on the park authority’s website.
Thrilled to share that in addition to Nottoway Nights in Vienna, we also bring you the Mosaic Live series at @mosaicdistrict! All shows are free, outdoors, and appeal to all ages. If you would like to volunteer for the event, email Providence@fairfaxcounty.gov to coordinate. pic.twitter.com/daudTFlnzv
— Dalia Palchik (@SupvPalchik) June 2, 2023
An Arlington-based ice cream shop that brings together flavors from around the world is planting its flag in the Mosaic District to further an ambitious expansion plan.
Mimi’s Handmade will take up residence in the Merrifield neighborhood at 2985 District Avenue, Suite 160, replacing 520 Ice Cream and Tea after the cafe closed late last year.
Currently expected to open around mid-August to early September, the new store will closely resemble the original Mimi’s, which opened in Pentagon City in December 2021, owner Rollin Amore says.
“You’ve got to have consistency across the board, consistency in the quality of your ice cream, consistency in your offerings,” Amore told FFXnow. “I mean, I want to appeal to a broad base. I want to appeal across the age span from 8 months old to 80 years old.”
Mimi’s is a family affair, dedicated to Amore’s daughters — Mimi and Alexandra — and inspired by gelato, custard and sweets recipes passed down by his Italian and German grandmothers, according to the website.
Venturing into ice cream after retiring from a nearly 40-year career as a banker, Amore has developed a diverse assortment of over 40 flavors, from classic options like French vanilla and chocolate to bolder scoops like sweet corn or wasabi peas — one of several to incorporate ingredients he encountered while traveling in Asia.
Mimi’s has 32 flavors on display at any given time, all made in-house with “real” ingredients, not flavoring, Amore says. About 70 to 80% of them are fixtures, while others rotate based on the season or their creator’s inclinations.
“If I get inspired, I’ll try a new flavor,” Amore said. “As an example, a couple of weeks ago, I started making a red guava sherbet…It’s more summer. I’ve been making fresh watermelon and fresh cantaloupe, and I just pureed a few fruit and then add a little sugar and make a sorbet out of them.”
Calling the Mosaic District “a good spot to be in,” Amore says he has always envisioned Mimi’s as “a small chain of stores.” The business is also coming to Chevy Chase in two weeks and Rockville in three months.
Looking into 2024, leases have been signed for locations in Annandale and West Falls Church, though Amore couldn’t share the exact addresses yet. A Sterling shop is also a possibility, along with a commissary kitchen where all of the ice cream production will ultimately be consolidated.
Despite the aggressiveness of the planned expansion, he expressed confidence that Mimi’s can maintain the quality that has earned it near-universal acclaim on Yelp and a nod from Northern Virginia Magazine as one of the region’s best restaurants.
“Ice cream stores, the whole dynamic is changing,” Amore said. “We went from two years ago the Baskin Robbins, the Ben and Jerry’s to now a new generation of more artisan ice creams. There’s a bit of shift in the industry, and I think I’m on the edge of that in terms of my flavor strategy, my preparations and so forth.”
Fairfax County is winding down its groundbreaking experiment with self-driving public transportation.
The autonomous, electric Relay shuttle will cease operations after June 23, concluding almost three years of bussing passengers around the Dunn Loring Metro station and the Mosaic District in Merrifield.
Since launching on Oct. 22, 2020, the shuttle has provided 356 trips, as of last Thursday (June 1). While attracting riders was a struggle at times, the pilot project was successful at demonstrating the potential and challenges of using the technology for public transit, Fairfax County Department of Transportation Chief of Operations John Zarbo says.
“I would think we would determine it as a success,” Zarbo told FFXnow. “Our ultimate goal of the project was sort of to be a test bed and to learn about the technology and sort of have an infrastructure area that we could see what the vehicle did. Ridership was extremely important to us, but it wasn’t everything…There was so much more to it.”
The first state-funded test of its kind in Virginia, the Relay pilot was intended to last just one year but got funding for multiple extensions, as the county and Dominion Energy, which owns the vehicle, waited out the hit that public transportation took nationally during the pandemic.
According to Zarbo, ridership has increased in recent months as the sense of COVID-19 as an emergency has faded. He also attributes the uptick to changes to the shuttle’s route and schedule that took effect on Dec. 5.
Originally, the shuttle traveled from the Dunn Loring Metro down Merrilee Drive, crossed Route 29 onto Eskridge Road, and looped around Merrifield Cinema Drive to stop by the Mosaic District’s Barnes and Noble.
The project team expanded the route to include three stops along District Avenue, giving them the chance to see how the vehicle handled a busier street.
“The vehicle does really well interacting with the pedestrians, which was a concern of ours at the beginning, but it did really well adjusting and driving autonomously on its own with very little interaction from the safety steward,” Zarbo said, referring to the on-board operator who assists riders and can take manual control if needed.
The current schedule of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday also “definitely worked better” than the original Monday to Thursday timeline, according to Zarbo, though the county wasn’t able to get approval for Saturdays.
The vehicle technology, provided by EasyMile, also improved throughout the pilot. A software upgrade enabled the shuttle to better navigate vegetation so it didn’t detect every overhanging tree branch as an object to be avoided. Read More
