The opening timeframe for Reston Town Center’s new theater has been pushed again.

LOOK Dine-In Cinemas is now expected to open by the third quarter of 2023, which would be this fall, a company spokesperson told FFXnow. The opening estimate was first pushed in late 2022 and then delayed to sometime in the first half of this year.

A spokesperson for the company said that once a date is available, it will be shared on the cinema’s website.

In a statement to FFXnow, the spokesperson said it was not clear why the date changed, adding that sometimes things get pushed or delayed.

This is the first location in the D.C. area for the company, which is renovating the Reston theater. Other features of the “luxury” brand include a food, beverage and cocktail menu, according to the company’s website.

LOOK replaces BowTie Cinemas, which closed in May 2022 after more than a decade at 11940 Market Street.

A spokesperson for Reston Town Center said that there was no information to share on any openings in the town center, including CitySwing and the Peruvian restaurant Pisco Y Nazca.

Space-oriented cybersecurity company SpiderOak has expanded its web of operations to Reston Town Center.

The U.S.-owned and operated software company opened its Reston office (11911 Freedom Drive) last month.

CEO Dave Pearah told the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) that the company chose to relocate from Kansas and Chicago to Fairfax County because customers in the space industry were seeking “complementary solutions for space.”

“The fact that we’re now in the space cyber resiliency market is a fun, exciting, and a surprising evolution of the company,” Pearah told the FCEDA. “I think that’s also true for Fairfax County in general terms of space development. It has taken off in the last few years.”

The county is a major hub for the defense and space industry, hosting offices for corporations like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin.

Pearah added that the company was also drawn to the area because of the amenities in Reston Town Center.

“We are at this unique intersection of space, cybersecurity, and embedded hardware utilizing distributed ledger technology,” he said. “We need people with that same diverse mix of interests, which Reston delivers.”

The company is affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm.

Photo via Adi Goldstein/Unsplash

A clinic that provides liposuction, laser hair removal and other cosmetic services is ready for its big reveal next month in Tysons.

LightRx Face & Body will introduce itself to Pike 7 Plaza (8365 Leesburg Pike, Suite C) with a grand opening on June 8. The “premiere party” will run from 5-8:30 p.m. and feature an appearance by Miss Virginia 2022 winner Victoria Chuah, the medical spa announced last week.

The event will also offer live demonstrations, discounts, the chance to meet staff, and gift bags for the first 150 visitors with product samples, merchandise and coupons.

“Everyone deserves to feel confident and beautiful on their own terms, regardless of budget, lifestyle or circumstance,” LightRx President Rich Morgan said in a statement. “That’s our vision — and we can’t wait to offer our services at Tysons…to help people regain their natural confidence and bring out their inner light.”

Founded in 2014, LightRx had 88 locations across the U.S. by 2018, but the Michigan-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2019 amid growing consumer complaints and financial challenges attributed to its rapid expansion. At one point, a Reston location was in the works.

Since then, the company has downsized to 27 locations, with the Tysons spa representing its fourth in Virginia. There is also a location at Beacon Center (6700 Richmond Highway) in Groveton.

The expansion to Tysons gives LightRx a “perfect, centralized location” to serve the D.C. area, Morgan said.

The spa provides free consultations for laser liposuction, laser hair and fat removal, body contouring, cellulite reduction, skin tightening, and other non-surgical body sculpting treatments.

Other tenants expected to open at Pike 7 Plaza this year include the grocery store Lidl and Dave’s Hot Chicken. Fairfax County also issued permits on May 17 allowing construction on a new, 2880-square-foot drive-thru building for Shake Shack on the northeast corner of the shopping center’s parking lot.

A Vienna warehouse recently vacated by the U.S. Postal Service is being eyed as a potential storage site for classic cars.

Roadhouse Development Company LLC is seeking to lease the existing, 34,241-square-foot warehouse at 831 Follin Lane SE for indoor car storage, according to a certificate of occupancy application scheduled to go before the Town of Vienna Planning Commission tonight (Wednesday).

The USPS exited the warehouse earlier this year after utilizing it “on an irregular basis when mail loads are high,” town staff said in a report to the commission.

“This is an opportunity for owners of classic and exotic vehicles to store their vehicles in a climate-controlled environment and use them as desired,” Walsh Colucci lawyer Lynne Strobel said in a statement of justification for the applicant.

Dating back to at least the 1960s, the warehouse is located at the rear of the site where it backs up to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. The parcel also has an office building that’s currently occupied by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, according to town staff.

Designated by the town’s comprehensive plan as a corporate office park, the site has been approved for additional office development, but staff concede that that vision is unlikely to materialize soon.

“The market for such office development is weak, and the location of this building is particularly challenging in terms of marketability as it is not easily visible from any major transportation corridor,” the staff report says.

Roadhouse Development has proposed operating the storage facility as an interim use until the future office development moves forward.

According to the application, the business will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Vehicle owners will be required to provide 24-hour notice for deliveries and pickups, and only the approximately four on-site employees will be allowed to actually drive the vehicles into and out of the building.

Owners can park other vehicles on the site for up to 48 hours while using their stored car. Storage contracts will be available on a monthly or annual basis.

In addition to storage, the warehouse will have an interior detailing bay and provide maintenance services, such as weekly tire pressure checks and battery monitoring, according to Roadhouse.

The application says only “cosmetic” improvements are proposed to the building’s exterior, and no road or driveway changes are needed.

Even though the business is focused on vehicle storage, it’s expected to have “little to no impact on the surrounding road network,” because most trips will be scheduled outside of peak traffic hours, according to Strobel.

“Owners typically want to use their vehicles on weekends or for a specific trip and not on a daily basis,” Strobel wrote. “Given the requirement of 24 hours advance notice…the Applicant can easily stagger arrivals as needed. It is anticipated that the proposed use will generate tax revenue for the Town and will also bring people to the Town who will patronize restaurants and businesses.”

Town staff said they concluded the proposal is a “reasonable” use for the site. However, after getting the planning commission’s recommendation, it must be approved by the Vienna Town Council because warehouse storage isn’t a permitted use in the property’s current zoning district.

Photo via Ryan De Hamer on Unsplash

A new tea spot is opening soon in Herndon’s Worldgate Centre.

Sharetea, a franchise that specializes in tea drinks, is expected to open soon at 13043 Worldgate Drive, according to signage posted at the door.

The business kicked off in Taiwan in 1992. It currently has more than 300 locations across 13 countries.

Virginia has three locations in Fairfax, Falls Church and Chesapeake. The business didn’t immediately return a request for comment from FFXnow.

Items on the menu include a variety of milk teas, fruit tea, blended ice beverages, and tea mojitos.

It replaces 1,053-square-feet of space previously leased by Pivot Physical Therapy.

The shopping plaza — which is anchored by Worldgate Athletic Club & Spa and AMC Theaters — has one 921-square-foot vacancy, according to the property owner’s website.

A data analytics and intelligence firm is the latest tenant to sign a lease at Comstock’s massive Reston Station project.

Babel Street will lease 10,200-square-feet of space at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza. The company offers advanced data analytics and intelligence for government and commercial clients with an aritificial intelligence-enabled platform. It’s currently located at 1818 Library Street.

Comstock is “thrilled to welcome Babel Street to our roster of tech and IT security office tenants at Reston Station,” the developer’s Chief Operating Officer Timothy Steffan said in a statement.

Having recently signed several new retail and experiential brands including VIDA Fitness, Puttshack, and Ebbitt House, the first ever expansion of the iconic Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, D.C., we continue activating the Reston Station neighborhood to be a dynamic mixed-used and transit-oriented neighborhood that provides exciting dining, fitness, and entertainment options for our growing list of corporate office tenants and residents alike.

Babel has other offices in Tokyo, Tel Aviv, London, Canberra and Ottawa.

Roughly 3,000 additional residences are planned at the mixed-use neighborhood, including 420 units currently under construction. Two hotels are also planned, along with a flagship VIDA Fitness and Spa facility, Puttshack, and Ebbitt House — the first expansion of the Old Ebbitt Grill brand.

The development’s tenants are Founding Farmers, Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse and Starbucks.

A jewelry store that says it sells ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones has opened at the Mosaic District in Merrifield.

Brilliant Earth, which officially opened its doors yesterday (Thursday), takes up a little over 2,000 square feet of space at 2905 District Avenue in Suite 105.

This is Brilliant Earth’s second Virginia store, although there are other locations in Georgetown, Baltimore and Bethesda.

Taylor Jacobs, a spokesperson for the company, said the location “marks the digital-first jewelry company’s second showroom opening in Virginia.” The company, which is headquartered in San Francisco, has other locations in the works.

The Merrifield location includes services like walk-in consultations, “ethically sourced” jewelry, and gifts like engravable pieces and birthstone pendants.

The business was founded 2015 in order to foster a “more transparent, sustainable and compassionate jewelry industry,” FFXnow previously reported.

The home furniture store Pottery Barn and Faherty, a family-owned clothing business, are also expected to open in the Mosaic District at 2905 District Avenue this summer.

The “Lil Deli” from D.C. hot spot Call Your Mother is now serving up bagels, coffee and more in McLean.

Representing the self-described “Jew-ish” deli’s first foray into Virginia, the mobile truck opened for business in parking lot of the Chesterbrook Shopping Center (6216 Old Dominion Drive) yesterday.

“We’re stoked to bring good carbs and good vibes to the people of North Virginia who have been asking us to expand into their neighborhood for awhile,” Call Your Mother founder and co-owner Andrew Dana said in a press release. “We built this ‘Lil Deli’ to be able to take the CYM experience to more places and are excited that McLean will be its first home.”

Started by Dana and his wife, chef Daniela Moreira, as a farmers market vendor, Call Your Mother opened its first brick-and-mortar location in D.C.’s Petsworth neighborhood in 2018. The business has expanded to 11 locations now, including the one in McLean, a trolley in Bethesda and farmers markets.

Designed to resemble a quaint mobile house, the truck features a walk-up window and patio seating. The deli’s full regular menu is available, including its popular bagels, sandwiches, drinks and desserts such as babka muffins and black-and-white cookies.

Also available will be seasonal items and new products created by the company, like the vegan peanut butter line One Trick Pony that it launched in December.

Lil Deli is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. While the truck can be moved, the location is currently being treated as permanent.

“The Lil Deli is on wheels, so we dig the flexibility, but don’t worry we’re here to stay!” Dana said. “The mobile spot immediately grabs your attention when you drive past; they’re fun, vibrant and match the energy we like to bring to the table.”

Now that it has entered Virginia, Call Your Mother has started looking beyond the D.C. area with another location under construction in Denver.

The business also has its fingers crossed for a deli in Old Town Alexandria. FFXnow’s sister site ALXnow was told in March that it could open this summer, but a lease hadn’t been finalized at that time. There are no new updates to share regarding that location, a Call Your Mother spokesperson told FFXnow yesterday.

Barnes & Noble has revealed when its next chapter will open in The Spectrum at Reston Town Center.

The bookstore chain plans to host a grand opening on June 14, the company announced yesterday (Tuesday) in an Instagram reel.

The reel described the opening date as “tentative.”

“Mark your calendars because we’re going to have so much fun!” the post reads.

The bookstore takes space at 11816 Spectrum Center previously vacated by Office Depot. Barnes & Noble previously had a store at The Spectrum that closed in 2013.

The shopping center will also soon welcome Whole Foods Market, which plans to relocate from its current spot at Plaza America.

 Photo via Barnes & Noble/Instagram

(Updated at 11:40 a.m.) IKEA is slated to open a new urban-format concept in Fairfax Corner, according to a report by Washington Business Journal.

The Swedish furniture giant expects to open a “plan-and-order point” with pick-up options in Fairfax Corner, according to the report. The business will replace a nearly 4,458-square-foot location that was the former home of South Moon Under.

A spokesperson for Peterson Companies, which manages Fairfax Corner, confirmed to FFXnow that Ikea will open a store there.

Ikea is also slated to open a store in Rio in Gaithersburg sometime later this year, along with a smaller location this summer in Pentagon City.

According to WBJ, customers will be able to meet employees to consult on furnishing designs and planning. The locations in Fairfax and Gaithersburg will have the option of picking up items in the store. But at the Pentagon City location must be shipped to the customer’s home or business.

Fairfax Corner, owned by Peterson Cos., is currently home to retailers like REI, P.F. Chang’s, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Cinemark. An apartment building is also slated to open there this summer.

According to the WBJ, Fairfax Corner will also undergo some construction this summer on a new retail building for the home decor store Arhaus, which will be relocating within the shopping center.

Peterson Cos. also announced that it will break ground in June on a 36,000-square-foot, two-story retail building at Fairfax Corner, in an existing surface lot across from Coastal Flats, where Arhaus, an existing tenant, will relocate in the fall of 2024. Arhaus, a higher-end furniture and home decor store, will take 19,000 square feet of that building, including a 4,000-square-foot open-air second floor that will showcase outdoor items…

…”With renewed interest in retail leasing and customers looking for centers that feature quality-of-life amenities, Fairfax Corner and Rio will provide expanded choices with Vista providing more options for convenient, luxury living,” Paul Weinschenk, Peterson’s president of retail, said in a statement.

Correction: This article initially said Ikea would be a tenant in the new retail building with Arhaus, but the Peterson Cos. spokesperson clarified that it’s a separate project. Photo via Jueun Song/Unsplash