A chain of bubble tea shops is adding another local link, this time in the Town of Vienna.
Vivi Bubble Tea anticipates opening its newest franchise at 233 Maple Avenue East in mid-April, according to Yaya Zhang, manager of both the upcoming Vienna location and the existing Fairfax City cafe (9974 Main Street).
The shop has moved into the former Elite Tutoring Place in Glyndon Shopping Center, filling out a row also occupied by Pizza Vienna and Bruster’s Ice Cream.
Zhang says Vivi Bubble Tea was interested in adding a franchise in Vienna for “many reasons,” including the opportunity to attract a different customer base than the people it sees in Fairfax.
“Vivi Bubble Tea would like to increase its brand presence and respond to customer demand, and we believe Vienna Town offers an attractive demographic profile and foot traffic,” Zhang said by email. “Compared to the Fairfax City branch, which faces customers with college students and nearby residents, the Vienna Town branch is looking to attract families, young professionals, and other nearby residents.”
Vivi Bubble Tea launched in 2007 with “cutting-edge technology for tea production,” according to its website. Since opening its first store in New York City, the company has expanded to over 100 locations across four continents and 13 countries.
The proliferation of chains like Vivi and Sharetea has fueled a surge in bubble tea’s popularity in the U.S., drawing attention to a longtime favorite of some Asian immigrant communities. First developed in Taiwan in the 1980s, the drink consists of cold, sweet milk tea and chewy tapioca balls, or boba.
In addition to both dairy and non-dairy milk teas, Vivi offers fruit and jelly teas, flavored hot tea, soda and slushes, which come in flavors like strawberry, lychee and Oreo cookie. The variety and ability to customize menu items with toppings and different sugar or ice levels sets the chain apart from other bubble tea shops, Zhang says.
The business also serves Asian street food, including popcorn chicken, bento boxes and takoyaki, a traditionally Japanese snack.
“We believe that by offering a range of food options alongside their bubble tea drinks, Vivi Bubble Tea can attract customers looking for a complete dining experience or those who want to enjoy a snack or meal with their beverages,” Zhang said.
Vivi’s Vienna shop will be its third franchise in Virginia, joining ones in Fairfax and at the Eden Center in Falls Church.
Zhang says the business plans to get involved in the local community, and customers can expect plenty of promotions and discounts.
“We can’t wait to open up and service everyone in Vienna,” Zhang said.
The roster of retailers coming to Tysons Corner Center continues to grow.
A fast-casual Turkish restaurant that specializes in chicken, fashion designer Kate Spade and a fitness clothing brand are all slated to open locations in the mall at 1961 Chain Bridge Road later this year, according to a press release.
Gagawa, the restaurant, started life in 2012 and has since opened more than 275 restaurants in Turkey, where its name Tavuk Dünyası translates to “World of Chicken,” per its website. The company adopted Gagawa as its global branding and began expanding outside Turkey around 2021, adding locations in Cyprus and Madrid, Spain.
Tysons Corner Center will be Gagawa’s first location in the U.S. It will be located on the mall’s first floor across from California Pizza Kitchen, replacing the Panera Bread that closed in late 2022.
Inspired by cuisines around the world, Gagawa marinates its chicken for 12 to 14 hours and serves it with pasta or rice and a Mediterranean salad. The menu also includes red meat fillets and a variety of starters, such as hummus and feta cheese and olives.
“We are very excited to open our first restaurant in the U.S. in Tysons Center,” Gagawa Chairman Ahmet Faralyalı said. “Our mission is to provide everyone with the opportunity to enjoy a high quality, delicious, affordable meal in an environment where one can feel appreciated. Our local consumer research shows that both our concept and product are very much desired by consumers, and we thrilled to unveil a new, unique experience soon.”
The restaurant will be preceded by Kate Spade New York, which is expected to open on Tysons Corner Center’s second floor near Nordstrom this summer. Launched in 1993, the women’s fashion store sells seasonal collections of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, gifts home décor and more.
Kate Spade can currently be found in Tysons Galleria at 2001 International Drive, Suite 1430. An employee confirmed to FFXnow that the outlet is relocating from the smaller mall, where it will close sometime in June.
“When customers walk into the store, we want them to feel that they are walking into a uniquely Kate Spade world,” Kate Spade New York CEO and Brand President Liz Fraser said. “…Designed to evoke the feeling of a great escape, this newly designed retail location at Tysons Corner Center will offer both comfort and possibility, inviting customers to feel instantly transported, while still feeling right at home.”
The final newly announced tenant is Vuori, a fitness, surf and yoga apparel store based in Encinitas, California.
Founded in 2015 by Joe Kudla, whom it describes as “an active yogi and surfer,” the company has stores in almost 50 cities around the world, including in Georgetown and Bethesda. Made with an emphasis on sustainability, its clothes can also be found at other retailers, such as Potomac River Running and CorePower Yoga.
Vuori is scheduled to open on Tysons Corner Center’s second floor near Macy’s in the third quarter of 2024.
“Tysons Corner Center is proud to offer our customers an expanded mix of sustainable focused brands like Vuori, who share our commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility,” said Jesse Benites, director of property management for Macerich, the mall’s owner and developer.
The mall has already welcomed a few new retailers this year, including the shoe store Rothy’s, the Pakistani clothing store Khaadi and the Indian restaurant Dhoom. Still in the works are fashion retailers Primark and Mango and Level99, a 40,000-square-foot playground for adults that’s coming in 2025.
In addition, the chain restaurants Maggiano’s and Cheesecake Factory will join Kate Spade in making the jump from Tysons Galleria. Maggiano’s is expected to move this summer, while the Cheesecake Factory is on track to follow in the fourth quarter of this year.
(Updated at 11:50 a.m. on 3/19/2024) A local wardrobe consultant who has worked with celebrities like Kim Kardashian is setting up shop in Tysons.
Nasrin Rashidi hopes to reopen Daniel’s Boutique, the women’s clothing store that she owns with her husband, Sasan, at 8150 Leesburg Pike in early April. Named after the couple’s son, the business had operated in Crystal City for 36 years until closing its location there on Dec. 17.
Located in Suite 120, Daniel’s Boutique will have slightly less space in Tysons than it did at its previous home in Arlington’s Crystal City Shops, but the storefront will be much more visible, according to Nasrin.
“We’re excited for something different, something still service-oriented and all of that, but a little different for the next phase of our business,” she told FFXnow in a recent interview. “We want to kind of elevate the whole thing [so] that we bring in clientele that are looking for a nice place to shop and get service.”
Immigrants from Iran, the Rashidis established their first business, L.A. Moves and Furs, at Beacon Center in Groveton in 1984 before moving to Crystal City and opening Daniel’s Boutique a few years later.
At one point, they ran three stores in Crystal City and a fourth at the former Skyline Mall in Bailey’s Crossroads. The business eventually consolidated into a single location at 2142 Crystal Drive in 2018.
Specializing in women’s designer fashion, including gowns, suits and furs, Daniel’s Boutique offers tailoring, wardrobe consulting, and fur storage and restyling services to all genders in addition to selling clothes as a retailer.
Though the shop accepts walk-in customers, Nasrin says most clients make appointments, which gives her time to assemble a wardrobe appropriate for their needs, whether they’re preparing for a job interview or a wedding.
“I don’t just bring out clothes to sell it,” Nasrin said. “I want to make sure this clothes would be the right item for the right person, and being honest about what I’m selling to them brings them back… Sometimes, I go out of my way to re-style the dress for them. They know I can do that. I add a sleeve to the dress or whatever to accommodate their needs for the events. So, that is a need that is not provided everywhere.”
Some of those clients have been bold-faced names, such as the aforementioned Kardashian and her then-husband Kanye West and actor Andy Garcia. Nasrin has also worked events like the National Christmas Tree Lighting in D.C., the Gershwin Prize ceremony at the Library of Congress and the annual Mark Twain Prize celebration at the Kennedy Center.
Even with its sometimes high-profile clientele, Daniel’s Boutique remains a decidedly family-oriented affair. Sasan’s parents sometimes helped at the stores before they passed away, and the owners’ children, Daniel and Mona Rashidi, are both involved in the business.
Mona, who’s part of the marketing team, says she’s inspired by her parents’ journey. Nasrin’s first job after she left Iran at 17 was at a dry cleaner, where she pressed clothes and made alterations, among other duties.
“I know how hard my parents have worked for all these years. They’re the reason I was able to eat and have a home,” Mona said. “…Coming from another country and starting their business and being so successful, I’m very proud to be part of this and help them as much as I can.”
Daniel’s Boutique’s 36-year stay in Crystal City ended more abruptly than expected after the landlord rejected the owners’ request that they be allowed to stay through the end of the year, including the busy winter holiday season.
Fortunately, Atlantic Realty Company, the owner of 8150 Leesburg Pike, offered a temporary office space where the business could store its goods until construction on the new shop finishes.
“We are hoping for that,” Mona said of the potential early April grand opening. “There will be a big announcement, because all our clients are also waiting. They’re asking all the time.”
This story was updated to clarify Daniel’s Boutique’s work with Kim Kardashian. The business altered her outfit for a BET Awards ceremony, but it didn’t provide the clothes, as previously implied.
A retail store that sells tennis and pickleball equipment is expanding to McLean after almost two decades in Maryland.
Tennis Topia anticipates opening its second location on April 13 at 6262 Old Dominion Drive, taking over suites F and G, which respectively belonged to a hair studio and a dry cleaner.
After 18 years at Wintergreen Plaza in Rockville, Maryland, where the company launched in 2006, owner Marco Impeduglia decided the time had come to extend Tennis Topia’s physical footprint further south in response to the demand for its services in Fairfax County.
“We have seen the tennis and pickleball participation numbers increase all over the DMV, but specifically, also in Fairfax County, and the McLean area is a hot bed for tennis,” Impeduglia told FFXnow. “…We’ve seen that over the last few years, and at the end of the day, we would be the only tennis and pickleball retail store in specifically McLean.”
Impeduglia has witnessed that growth firsthand as the founder and executive director of Pros to You, which provides racquet ball coaching to several swim and tennis clubs in Northern Virginia and Maryland. In McLean, its clients include the Langley, Chesterbrook, Highlands and McLean clubs.
Based on national data that indicated participation in both sports had increased in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fairfax County Park Authority estimated that the county had about 12,881 pickleball players and 83,141 tennis players in a pickleball study report released in December 2021.
After starting Pros to You in 2015, Impeduglia bought Tennis Topia in Rockville last year, because he saw “untapped potential” in a business where coaches could teach athletes not only how to play tennis and pickleball, but also what equipment to use and how it functions.
He says branching out into the retail market has “elevated” Pros to You’s coaching capabilities, ensuring their players have access to the best, most up-to-date equipment.
“It’s really worked hand-in-hand specifically over the last year,” he said. “So, we’re excited to cater to our tennis players and pickleball players that are down there, but also, even for other tennis programs that are out there in Virginia, we welcome them to come to the store and get the best new hot item for their players.”
In addition to racquets, Tennis Topia sells shoes, balls, apparel and other athletic gear. Though it’s smaller than the flagship Rockville store, the 2,100-square-foot McLean store will have the same equipment brands and services, including racquet stringing with a 24-hour turnaround time.
Impeduglia says his team looked at “dozens” of potential store locations before finding the Old Dominion Drive site, which is adjacent to the Chesterbrook Shopping Center. Other retailers in the strip include Fonts Books & Gifts, an independent bookshop that opened last fall.
If the new shop works out, he sees opportunities to further expand Tennis Topia in Northern Virginia, possibly including a location in southeastern Fairfax County, where Pros to You currently works with clubs in the Hollin Meadows, Mount Vernon Park and Riverside Gardens neighborhoods.
For now, Impeduglia is looking forward to giving players in the McLean area a more convenient retail option.
“We literally get a chance to open up this store right when the outdoor [playing] season starts,” Impeduglia said. “So, I’m super-pumped to really cater to the Northern Virginia folks, because it’s tough for them to come to Rockville. So, they want a location, they want a store like that, they’re going to get it in less than six weeks.”
A small business that specializes in all things granola is relocating its Chantilly location to Reston.
Dano’s Granola plans to open in 11495 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 105, by the middle to end of this summer, according to owner and mom of three, Dania Abimourched.
“I’ve lived in Reston since middle school and we started our family here,” Abimourched told FFXnow. “We love the Reston community and our customers that have become part of extended Dano’s Granola family.”
Abimourched’s passion for baking stems from her master’s degree thesis project — an endeavor that tied together her art and ideas together. After her eldest son was diagnosed with several allergies, she began experimenting with different ingredients for health food snacks and treats.
She sells mixes of granola that come in flavors like turmeric and vanilla, carob spice, coconut and seeds, and chocolatte (a combination of chocolate and coffee).
Dano’s Granola currently operates a retail location at 4520 Daly Drive, Suite 100, in Chantilly. It also appears at the Lake Anne Farmers’ Market every spring and fall and provides products to several partners around Northern Virginia, including Wegman’s in Reston, The Bike Lane and Beloved Yoga.
South Block may be on the verge of an East Coast expansion, but for its next location, the regional juice and smoothie bowl chain is sticking relatively close to home.
Announced in a Halloween Instagram post, South Block’s 16th shop is set to open in The Field at Commonwealth (14383 Newbrook Drive) in Chantilly this summer. Construction will begin within the next couple weeks, South Block founder and CEO Amir Mostafavi told FFXnow in an email.
The shop, which serves smoothies, açai bowls, juices and toasts, will be situated alongside a Peet’s Coffee, UPS Store and Chipotle.
“We love Fairfax County,” wrote Mostafavi, who grew up in McLean. Following a 2020 opening in the Town of Vienna, South Block opened its first Fairfax County location last March in McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center (6246 Old Dominion Drive).
The company also plans to start construction on a location in Fairfax’s Fair City Mall (9650 Main Street) this summer and is negotiating a lease in Springfield, Mostafavi wrote.
“Our longer term plan is to start expanding into new markets outside of the DMV, but we feel there [are] still a ton of amazing communities in the DMV that we would love to be a part of,” he wrote.
Private equity firm Savory Fund acquired a stake in South Block in a deal announced at the end of January. That deal keeps Mostafavi as the company’s CEO.
The new partnership aims to bring South Block up to 50 East Coast locations. South Block’s first storefront opened in Clarendon in 2011, and the chain’s most recent location opened last July in Amazon’s HQ2.
“More important than scale, where we add dozens more units, we want to grow the business from within and make sure that we grow the base of our cult following and the locations we currently have,” Savory Fund Managing Partner and co-founder Andrew Smith told FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow.
Following the announcement, Mostafavi told ARLnow that the entire South Block team will stay intact.
This spring will bring a new coffee shop to West Falls Church — or so Compass Coffee hopes.
Construction is underway on the company’s second drive-thru cafe at 7393 Lee Highway. The shop will occupy a former BB&T bank building in the Shops at West Falls Church.
Though Compass Coffee previously said it was “shooting for” a summer 2023 opening, Vice President of Marketing Joel Shetterly says the business is now “looking forward to being open in time for Spring/cherry blossom season.”
Roughly 2,400 square feet in size, per a site plan, the new location will be Compass Coffee’s first in Fairfax County, though it can be found in Fairfax City. The company currently has 16 shops, including one on Langston Blvd in Arlington that hosts its first drive-thru.
In addition to coffee, the cafes sell breakfast sandwiches and pastries.
(Updated at 11:30 a.m. on 12/20/2023) A Spanish fashion brand that has started utilizing artificial intelligence to design its clothes is coming to Tysons Corner Center.
Mango recently announced that it will expand to the D.C. area for the first time with four stores opening in 2024, including one in the region’s largest mall. New locations are also planned at 950 F Street in D.C.’s Penn Quarter, the Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, and Pentagon City.
All of the stores will exclusively sell women’s clothes, except for the D.C. one, which will have both men’s and women’s lines.
The company’s expansion plan for next year also includes its first Pennsylvania store at the King of Prussia Town Center.
“We are very excited to bring the brand experience physically for the first time in Washington D.C. and in Pennsylvania as part of our ambitious development plan for the coming months in the United States, one of our key markets in the coming years,” Mango Director of Expansion and Franchises Daniel López said in a press release.
Founded by brothers Isak and Nahman Andic, Mango opened its first store in Barcelona in 1984 and has since expanded to over 2,500 stores worldwide, though its global growth came at a cost when a factory in Bangladesh collapsed in April 2013. The company now touts a commitment to sustainability and transparency in how its clothes are made.
Though Mango has had a presence in the U.S. since 2006, it launched an expansion plan in the country last year, opening a flagship store in New York City and setting a goal of 40 stores nationwide by 2024.
The Tysons store will be located near Macy’s, a Tysons Corner Center spokesperson says. A Fairfax County permit currently under review indicates that it will be 7,072 square feet in size and located in Suite G4U — currently home to the U.K. clothing company Superdry.
Other fashion brands scheduled to make their debut at Tysons Corner Center in 2024 include the Pakistani retailer Khaadi and the fast fashion company Primark.
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.
Walk-in hours are currently 9 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. for the soft opening, as staff gets acclimated to the flow of operations, Toimoi owner Shurou Pu says. Pre-orders and special requests are also accepted online.
“So far, it’s been pretty good,” Pu told FFXnow. “We get a lot of walk-in customers who really want our stuff, but sometimes they can’t make it to the farmers market, because we normally sell out even before noon. So, it gives them different options.”
Pu started Toimoi in 2021, baking croissants and other pastries at her home and selling them at Fairfax City’s farmers market. The bakery soon expanded to FreshFarm’s market in Arlington and now participates in markets throughout the region, including the year-round markets at the Mosaic District in Merrifield and at One Loudoun in Ashburn.
In addition to being crafted in house and by hand, Toimoi’s baked goods are distinguished by the use of Asian ingredients, such as matcha, ube and pandan, Pu says. The bakery will tailor its flavors to different seasons and holidays.
Pu is one of many local Asian American bakers tapping into their culture to introduce Asian treats to new audiences or put fresh spins on western, usually French pastries. Other businesses working in that vein include Herndon’s macaron-focused Chiboo Bakery, the recently opened taiyaki shop Rice Culture and the slew of mochi donut chains that have cropped up in the area.
Even with a new brick-and-mortar location, Pu says Toimoi will continue to focus primarily on farmers’ markets, where it has built up loyal customer bases. There are no plans for additional locations yet, as the team is still settling into the Chantilly shop, aiming to ramp up production to support an eventual grand opening.
“It’s a lot of things to consider,” she said. “So far, we’re doing only two days. [We] probably want to expand to maybe three days in the future, like Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
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.
“Come through and bring a friend,” Rice Culture said in an Instagram post announcing the opening. “We want to extend our thanks ahead of time for everyone’s patience as we get adjusted to our new space and find our footing.”
Founder MikkiJo Bayawa started Rice Culture in January 2021 with her fiancé Kevin Tsai after getting delivery requests for her homemade taiyakis, a Japanese waffle snack that’s shaped like a fish and stuffed with sweet fillings.
The business quickly gained traction and moved production to Frontier Kitchen in Chantilly, Bayawa previously told FFXnow. It has appeared at the Mosaic District’s weekly FreshFarm market and The Block in Annandale, among other locations across the D.C. region.
With its new, permanent space, Rice Culture has expanded its menu to include soft-serve ice cream, which can be purchased by itself in a cup or with a taiyaki on top. The ice cream flavors — ube, black sesame, corn and pandan — can be swirled, and toppings are available.
Inspired by Bawaya’s Japanese and Filipino heritage, taiyakis can be filled with ube, pandan, nutella, Oreo, or corn and cheese, along with the traditional flavors of traditional red bean paste and vanilla custard. They come in single, three-pack and six-pack orders.
Bayawa says a grand opening will be held in January, but an exact date is still being determined.
For now, the shop is operating during limited hours of 4-9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.