German-owned grocery chain Lidl is almost ready to unveil its brand-new location in the heart of Tysons.
Next week, the chain is opening a new store in Pike 7 Plaza (8387 Leesburg Pike) with a pair of events.
An “open house” is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 5-7 p.m. The event will be open to all ages, with face painting for children and a chance for community members to tour the store and sample wares.
Lidl officially opens on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The store will launch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m., followed by special offers on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The first 100 customers in line before the store opens at 8:00 a.m. will receive a special gift card ranging from $5 to $100 each,” Lidl said in a release. “Shoppers can also sample Lidl’s award-winning assortment and take advantage of special giveaways.”
The store will be open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. every day.
Lidl is also pushing its “myLidl” membership program. The release said $1 will be donated to the nonprofit Capital Area Food Bank for every new member who signs up and sets the new store as their home page.
Lidl has been expanding its presence in Fairfax County recently, adding locations in Chantilly, McLean and Lorton over the past two years. The grocery store can also be found in Merrifield, Fairfax, Burke, Springfield and Lincolnia.
Elsewhere in Pike 7 Plaza, construction has begun on a new, standalone building for Shake Shack in the southeastern corner of its parking lot. The restaurant will feature a “drive-up” window and support curbside pickups.
The fastest growing restaurant in the U.S. will open its doors in Tysons next week.
Dave’s Hot Chicken, a California-based chain that counts celebrities like rapper Drake and actor Samuel L. Jackson among its investors, will hold a grand opening for its new location at 8397 Leesburg Pike in Pike 7 Plaza on Friday, Aug. 25, according to its website.
This will be the company’s first Virginia location but far from its last. About 19 franchises are planned in Northern Virginia alone, the Tysons manager told FFXnow.
“This is a great area,” he said.
Adjacent to China Wok at the northern end of the shopping center, the 2,445-square-foot restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Started as a food stand in a Los Angeles parking lot in 2017, Dave’s Hot Chicken has expanded rapidly over the past few years to more than 118 locations — with another 700 in development, Restaurant Dive reported in March.
The company attributed its success so far to positive buzz and careful recruiting of experienced franchisees both for its leadership team and as operators.
Specializing in Nashville-style hot chicken, the restaurant’s menu consists of chicken tenders, sliders and fries served in different pairings with pickles, the signature “Dave’s sauce,” and sides, including kale slaw and mac and cheese.
There are seven spice levels ranging from no spice to “Reaper,” which reportedly uses the hottest pepper in the world and requires customers to sign a waiver.
The Tysons location won’t be open for long before facing some competition on the spiciness front: Richmond-based Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken, which has a similar waiver requirement for its top heat level, is working on a restaurant at Tysons Square (8359-A Leesburg Pike).
After debuting an Annandale location this past Tuesday (Aug. 15), Hangry Joe’s anticipates opening in Tysons in two to three weeks, the company told FFXnow.
Meanwhile, Dave’s Hot Chicken hasn’t publicly announced any additional Virginia franchises yet, but Franconia appears to be on the list. The business has applied for a commercial alteration permit from Fairfax County for 7015E Manchester Blvd in the Festival at Manchester Lakes shopping center.
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.
If you stopped by Kusshi Ko in Tysons for lunch today and found the doors locked, don’t be alarmed.
The sushi restaurant announced this week that it has temporarily closed, but co-owner Tony Chow says a reopening can be expected shortly, attributing the closure to the need to obtain another permit.
“WE WILL BE BACK VERY SOON!” Kusshi Ko said in the Instagram post. “Sorry for any inconvenience and THANK YOU all for your support and patience!!!”
Chow said the restaurant otherwise had no comment on the closure.
The scaled-down spinoff of Kusshi, a Bethesda-based sushi restaurant that also has locations in Arlington and Silver Spring, opened at 8365 Leesburg Pike in Pike 7 Plaza in early December.
In addition to sushi, Kusshi Ko serves ramen, donburi or curry bowls and other Japanese dishes.
Retailers expected to open at Pike 7 Plaza this year include Dave’s Hot Chicken and the grocery store Lidl. The shopping center is also working to obtain permits so it can begin construction on a standalone Shake Shack.
A Nashville-style hot chicken chain backed by Samuel L. Jackson and Drake is on its way to Tysons.
Dave’s Hot Chicken will open its first Virginia location at Pike 7 Plaza this year, property manager Federal Realty Investment Trust confirmed to FFXnow.
The restaurant will occupy 2,445 square feet of space on the northern end of the strip mall, replacing an office for a weight loss program at 8397 Leesburg Pike. A commercial alterations permit is pending an approval from the Fairfax County Fire Marshal.
Federal Realty said it’s “thrilled” to be chosen as Dave’s entry point into Virginia. The company recently opened a spot in D.C. and has Maryland franchises in the works.
“This renowned fast-casual restaurant serving Nashville hot chicken, has generated much hype across the country not only for its delicious menu but for the innovative use of art throughout the interior and exterior of the restaurant,” Federal Realty Senior Vice President of Asset Management Deirdre Johnson said. “We look forward to adding this highly sought-after concept to Pike 7 before year-end.”
Founded by a quartet of friends, Dave’s Hot Chicken started as a “tiny” street food stand in an East Hollywood parking lot in 2017, according to its website. Instagram and a rave Eater LA review generated buzz that led to a mall storefront a year later and a slew of celebrity investors.
The business now has over 100 locations across the U.S., Canada and the Middle East.
Popular in Nashville’s Black communities before it became trendy, hot chicken is fried and coated in spicy seasonings, typically accompanied by white bread and pickles. Dave’s menu offers four combo options of sliders and chicken tenders, with spice levels ranging from none to “reaper.”
Dave’s will be joined at Pike 7 Plaza by Lidl and Shake Shack. A Lidl spokesperson told FFXnow that the grocery store is still under construction but on track to open in 2023.
Construction on the standalone Shake Shack — which will take over a corner of the parking lot — is anticipated to start early this year, though the project is still in the process of getting permit approvals from Fairfax County, according to Federal Realty.
The shopping center recently welcomed Kusshi Ko, a sushi restaurant, and the upscale Ingle Korean Steakhouse.
Photo via Dave’s Hot Chicken/Instagram
A new sushi restaurant has opened in Tysons.
Kusshi Ko started welcoming customers at 8365 Leesburg Pike in Pike 7 Plaza with a soft opening on Friday (Dec. 2).
Co-owner Tony Chow says operations will ramp up slowly to avoid overwhelming the new staff, so no grand opening has been scheduled yet. However, as an initial promotion, those who visit the restaurant’s Instagram page can fill out a form to get a discount code.
No decision has been made yet about how long the discount will be offered, Chow told FFXnow.
This is the first Fairfax County location for Kusshi, which started at Pike & Rose in Bethesda in 2018. The business also has a restaurant in Arlington and opened one in Silver Spring in October.
At 1,500 square feet in size, the Tysons location is smaller than the other venues, as reflected by the diminutive “ko” added to its name. The restaurant doesn’t have a full bar, but it provides two levels of seating with the addition of a loft.
The menu is also slightly more limited. In addition to a variety of sushi rolls, sashimi and nigiri, it features donburi (rice bowls), ramen and other noodle dishes, and tempura.
“We’re looking forward to bringing the same quality sushi as the full-service restaurants,” Chow said.
Located at the end of the shopping center next to Orvis, Kusshi Ko’s arrival at Pike 7 Plaza was preceded by Ingle Korean Steakhouse, a Korean barbecue joint that opened in November. The property also added Ulta Beauty and Grill Kabob this year.
Still to come is a Lidl in the former Staples. The grocery store is currently under construction and on track to open next year, according to a Lidl spokesperson.
Pike 7 Plaza owner Federal Realty also got Fairfax County’s approval this spring to build a drive-thru restaurant for Shake Shack. A permit application for the new commercial building was submitted to the county in May, but construction has not yet begun.
A woman has been taken to the hospital after she was hit by a vehicle at Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons, police say.
The driver allegedly hit the woman as she was walking in the shopping center’s parking lot, according to the Fairfax County Police Department, which describes her injuries as life-threatening.
Officers are currently on the scene at 8389 Leesburg Pike. The driver remained at the site, police said in a tweet at 2:36 p.m.
Officers on scene of a pedestrian crash in the parking lot of 8389 Leesburg Pk. The victim, an adult female, was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot. The woman was taken to the hospital w/injuries considered life threatening. Driver remained on scene & detectives responding. pic.twitter.com/UIJD9QqOuX
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) September 21, 2022
The second half of 2022 is expected to be busy at Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons.
In addition to Ingle Korean Steakhouse, which is hoping to open this month, the shopping center will welcome the Japanese restaurant Kusshi Ko later this year, property owner and manager Federal Realty confirmed in a press release on Friday (Aug. 5).
This will be the first Fairfax County location for Kusshi, which started in 2018 as an offshoot of the long-standing Hanaro Sushi in Bethesda. Kusshi Sushi first opened at Bethesda’s Pike & Rose shopping center before expanding to Pentagon City in July.
The Tysons location will be a smaller version of those restaurants, as reflected by the altered name. Filling a 1,500-square-foot suite at 8365 Leesburg Pike that was vacated last year by Manhattan Pizza, Kusshi Ko won’t have a full bar, and the menu may be more limited, according to co-founder Tony Chow.
However, customers will still be able to expect “fresh, quality sushi and creative rolls,” he says.
“It’s still the same Kusshi materials and quality and menu items, but a little bit diluted down,” Chow told FFXnow.
Also coming to Pike 7 Plaza this year will be the second Northern Virginia location of LightRx Face & Body, a medical spa that specializes in non-invasive laser treatments, and Pacific Dental Services, which provides business support to dentists’ practices.
“Our highly trained team is eager to provide safe, effective and affordable laser treatments to clients,” LightRx Marketing Manager Iva Sopic said in the press release. “We will customize individualized plans using only the latest technologies to achieve the look clients want without surgery, pain or downtime.”
Though it wasn’t mentioned in the press release, Federal Realty has previously said that Lidl could open in the shopping center this year, and construction on a standalone Shake Shack is expected to begin in the fall.
A new Korean barbecue restaurant from the man behind Tysons Galleria’s Donburi is creeping closer to making its debut on the other side of Route 7.
Owner James Jang had envisioned opening Ingle Korean Steakhouse at Pike 7 Plaza in April 2021, but supply-chain disruptions and other complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a more protracted journey to existence.
“It’s a really complicated build-out,” Jang told FFXnow. He now hopes the restaurant will be ready to open in mid-August.
Jang has been part of the D.C. culinary scene since the original Donburi opened in Adams Morgan in 2013. The Japanese restaurant served as a launching pad for a gourmet eclair pop-up and expanded in 2017 to a second location in Dupont Circle.
Donburi arrived at Tysons Galleria in December 2018 when the mall introduced its Urbanspace food hall. It’s now one of just two original tenants remaining after the food hall closed due to COVID-19 and relaunched in March.
When asked about his other work, Jang declined to comment on Donburi, which closed its Adams Morgan location earlier this year, saying that he would prefer to focus on Ingle Korean Steakhouse.
“It’s a Korean steakhouse, so we will be grilling meat on tables,” Jang said. “We will be butchering big carcasses of beef in-house and then serve it…We try to source most of our beef from local Virginia farms, and then, yeah, you guys can expect much more elevated Korean food than some other restaurants.”
Located next to Sakura Japanese Cuisine at 8369A Leesburg Pike, Ingle is 3,605 square feet in size and will be able to serve about 100 guests at one time, according to Jang. It will include a full bar with “Korean-inspired” cocktails, wine and beer.
Shake Shack confirms Pike 7 Plaza plans
Pike 7 Plaza has already seen a number of changes this year, adding Ulta Beauty in April and the Afghan chain Grill Kabob in June. A Lidl is on its way, replacing the Staples that closed at the end of April.
A spokesperson for Federal Realty, which owns and manages the shopping center, told FFXnow that construction on a standalone, drive-thru restaurant is expected to begin this fall — and it will be Shake Shack, as previously reported.
The burger-and-milkshake chain will open its second Tysons location in 2023, according to a Shake Shack spokesperson. It will feature a “Shack Track” drive-up window, which will be different from a drive-thru since customers won’t order directly at the window.
“Our Shack Track experience is Shake Shack’s digital pre-ordering and fulfillment experience via preorder via app or web and pick up by way of drive-up window, walk-up window, curbside pick-up or in-Shack pick-up shelves,” the spokesperson said.
Approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in March, the building will be in the southeast corner of the shopping center’s parking lot and have a drive-thru aisle that can fit 11 to 12 vehicles.
The county processed a permit application for the new building on May 17.
Grill Kabob is expanding its Tysons footprint beyond the mall food court.
With 17 years at Tysons Corner Center under its belt, the Afghan kabob chain is working on its first standalone location in the area at Pike 7 Plaza (8385 Leesburg Pike). An exact launch date hasn’t been set, but the restaurant will “definitely” be ready in June, co-owner Wais Shoja says.
“You have a wonderful location there,” Shoja said of Pike 7 Plaza. “You have the Metro close by, it’s a busy shopping center, you have a lot of residential, a lot of office space, so you’re pretty much getting…every kind of angle, every kind of avenue of people coming in.”
Started at Springfield Town Center — then called Springfield Mall — in 1998 by Shoja’s father and uncles, Grill Kabob has grown to 11 locations across the D.C. area, including the Tysons Corner Center stand that has been in the third-floor food court since it opened in 2005.
The Pike 7 site will be the chain’s 12th. Additional locations in Ballston and Ashburn as well as F Street in northwest D.C. will bring the total to 15 by the end of this year.
Shoja says the business has never juggled construction on this many new locations at the same time before, attributing the convergence to pandemic-related delays on the Ballston and F Street restaurants.
“That’s something new and different, but as an expanding family-owned business, there’s things you learn as the business continues to grow,” he said.
Starting with the new Tysons location, Grill Kabob is taking advantage of the major expansion to update its decor and overall aesthetic approach. Visitors can expect more mosaic tiles and “pops” of color in the furniture for a more modern design, according to Shoja.
The menu, though, will feature the same, reliable lineup of kabobs, wraps, rice bowls, and salads that the chain has been serving up for more than two decades now.
A worker in the family business since he was 13, Shoja says his whole family is proud to see how far Grill Kabob has come since that first restaurant in Springfield. While the focus continuees to be on the D.C. area, an expansion to other parts of the country isn’t out of the question.
“We’re always open to looking for new locations,” Shoja said. “If the location is right, if there’s a good opportunity, of course we would love to…We’re continually looking to grow.
