Symmetry Salon Studios, a local salon chain with locations around Maryland, has opened a new location at the edge of Vienna, near Dunn Loring.
The new salon is in the Cedar Park Shopping Center at 262 Cedar Lane in Vienna. It’s the first Symmetry Salon Studios location in Virginia.
Staff at the salon told FFXnow the location had a soft opening last month, but the official grand opening is on Tuesday, April 23.
“The Symmetry team is thrilled to provide a premium salon rental experience to solo-preneur stylists seeking to elevate their businesses in one of the most prestigious counties in the nation,” Founder and CEO Tom Ruder said in a release.
The new salon features 23 studios in a 4,000-square-foot space. The salon also boasts “high-end salon furniture such as LED mirrors.”
Photo via Cedar Park Shopping Center/Facebook
(Updated at 10:50 a.m. on 8/18/2023) A new hair salon is coming soon to Reston’s Plaza America.
Sola Salons is slated to open next summer at 11674 Plaza America Drive, a company spokesperson told FFXnow.
“Sola Salons provides high-end, fully equipped private salon studios to independent beauty professionals in addition to the customizable suites at a variety of prices and sizes,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
Fairfax County’s permit database shows that permits for alterations to the space are currently under review.
Founded in 2004, Sola Salon has over 650 locations throughout the country, including ones in Tysons, Fairfax City’s University Mall and Springfield.
CBRE’s website shows that Plaza America has three vacancies, the largest of which is a nearly 6,500 square foot space. The restaurant Brown Bag recently closed its location at the shopping center, paving the way for Taïm Mediterranean Kitchen to move in this fall.
An expanding hair salon chain from Maryland has chosen to set up its first Virginia location in the Town of Vienna.
Later this year, Symmetry Salon Studios will open a 3,925-square-foot space (262 Cedar Lane, Suite N) at the Cedar Park Shopping Center, which is also getting the gym Starfit Studio.
Started in Bethesda in 2012, Symmetry advertises itself as an “elevated” experience for “elite stylists,” per its tagline.
“Vienna doesn’t have that today,” Symmetry CEO and founder Tom Ruder said. “We’ve done our research and there’s nobody in the marketplace that can kind of provide that. And [when] we say Vienna, it’s not only Vienna, but it’s also Tysons and Merrifield, the Mosaic District.”
Deviating from the commission-based approach of traditional hair salons, Symmetry is stylist-owned and operated, according to Ruder. It provides rental studios for individual stylists, while the company handles the business operations, including landlord discussions and facility maintenance.
That gives each stylist flexibility over the services they provide, the ambience and their working hours, since they will have around-the-clock access to their studio, Ruder said.
“They get to decide…what works for them,” he said. “So, someone might have a wedding and they’re going to come in early on a Saturday morning and do the wedding party, would just be one example, or someone’s got a client who’s out of town and they can only visit at 11 o’clock at night or 2 in the morning. They could come in and provide a service at that time.”
Leasing is already underway for the Vienna location, which will have 23 studios for 26 stylists.
The front desk will be staffed for about 80 hours each week during the busiest times of the day, and there will be a beverage bar with coffee, tea, soda and water for patrons waiting for an appointment, which Ruder says is intended to create a “luxurious feel.”
That emphasis on comfort extends to how Symmetry’s locations are constructed, Ruder told FFXnow, highlighting the use of wide hallways and concrete floors “padded” with tile.
“The stylists stand on their feet all day long and it’s really bad for their feet,” he said. “It’s bad for their posture, and it’s uncomfortable. So, we focused on that and spent a tremendous amount of research and time to get the floors so they’re comfortable.”
The company is in the process of obtaining permits from Fairfax County and Vienna. Once that is complete, Ruder anticipates the build-out will take another 12 to 14 weeks for a potential opening this fall.
The Vienna location will be Symmetry’s fifth, joining sites in Bethesda, Rockville, Annapolis and Gaithersburg.
Comparing the expansion plans to Morton’s The Steakhouse, rather than McDonald’s, Ruder says the company is seeking to add one to three locations a year. Though he couldn’t give details about ongoing negotiations with landlords, Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, Manassas and Woodbridge are “all in play,” along with D.C.
“We’ve looked for years to try to make it into Virginia and we’re thrilled with our opportunity in Vienna,” Ruder said.
A former Subway in McLean will soon be filled with the tastes, scents and atmosphere of the Levant.
The owners of Dolce Vita Salon & Spa at 6829 Elm Street are expanding their presence in the office building by opening Cafe Levantine just next door, taking over a space vacated by Subway last year, according to the landlord, Marva Properties.
Located in Suite 150, the cafe will serve food from the eastern Mediterranean area, particularly Lebanon, the homeland of owners Fatima Farran and Jean-Paul Achour.
“My husband and I have a true passion for coffee,” Farran said. “It’s always been a dream of ours to open some sort of café or bed and breakfast, and we heard that the Subway next door might be leaving, so we were like, ‘Why not?'”
Though she obtained a college degree in electrical engineering, Farran told FFXnow that she loves cooking, baking and hosting. She will be running the kitchen herself, making sweets and other food from recipes passed down by her grandmother, aunts and their ancestors.
The cafe is her and Achour’s first food-related business venture, but they have accrued plenty of experience with in the retail and hospitality world with Dolce Vita, which has now been open for 20 years. The salon recently finished a renovation that added a second level, where the spa has been relocated.
“A guest is a guest. You want them to experience whatever service they’re having to the utmost capability,” Farran said.
As of the end of June, the couple had signed off on building permits for the cafe and were starting to work on construction bids, according to Farran.
With the design and furniture already prepared, the team hopes to be able to open Cafe Levantine by the end of this summer, though Farran acknowledged that construction “rarely” goes according to schedule.
The cafe will have seats inside for about 32 to 35 people, along with an outdoor patio that can seat another 20 to 25 people. It will share a wall with the salon, where patrons will be able to order food and drinks to eat while they get their hair styled.
A Great Falls resident and mother of four children, Farran hopes to create a place that feels like a true part of the McLean community, where adults and kids alike will feel comfortable spending time, whether they’re grabbing “a healthy bite to eat” while doing homework or gathering for a book club meeting.
“It’s almost an extension of our salon, because that’s what our salon is for a lot of people. That’s their home away from home,” she said. “…I love to see people. It brings me a lot of joy. It truly, truly does.”
Photo via Google Maps
A California-based hair salon that specializes in blowouts is opening this Friday (Feb. 17) in Reston Town Center.
Dryer will open a nearly 1,500-square-foot location at 11985 Market Street, a company spokesperson tells FFXnow.
The business exclusively offers blowouts. Customers can choose from a selection of styles like the Manhattan, the straight up and the cosmo. Drybar also sells a number of hair-related products.
Shop owner and manager Brittany Brom comes to Drybar after a 15-year career in real estate portfolio management in the telecommunications industry. Although that career couldn’t be more different than blowouts, the company has been a part of her life since 2012.
“For me, Drybar was always a second office, therapist’s couch, and a place to energize and unwind all at once,” Brom said by email. “It’s no surprise that after moving from Atlanta, GA to Northern VA in 2020, I wanted to bring Drybar to my new surroundings. For me, Reston Town Center is a location that meets women where they live, work, and play! The warm welcome we have received so far by the Reston community has been so moving, and we can’t wait to officially open our doors.”
The company has locations in Tysons, Arlington, D.C. and across the country.
The salon takes the place of Dawn Price Baby, a baby store that previously closed all of its locations.
A new hair salon is opening this weekend at Reston’s South Lakes Village Center.
Great Clips will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 9 a.m. with $7.99 haircuts.
Located at 11130 South Lakes Drive in Suite E, the salon will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“We are very excited to join the Reston community and provide convenient, reasonable-priced haircuts for the entire family,” said Sean Carroll, Great Clips franchisee and military veteran.
The Reston location’s staff includes a team of graduates from South Lakes High School.
The salon offers walk-in services and includes haircuts, shampoos and styling. The company has more than 4,400 salons in the U.S. and Canada.
The village center, which is nearly 110,000 square feet, is managed by the Chevy Chase Land Company. Other tenants includes Safeway, Chipotle, Red’s Table and UPS.
A new nail salon has opened in Reston.
Beauty Nail Bar opened at 1675 Reston Parkway this month. The nail salon first called Tysons home.
The plaza, which is anchored by Home Depot, has several empty spaces available for leasing.
The nail bar was started by owner Nam Huynh of Wolf Trap in 2014. It offers manicures, pedicures, nail extensions and waxing services.
The owner was not immediately available for comment.
Recent Gun Violence Leaves D.C. Area on Edge — “In the D.C. area in recent days, two shootings in crowded public spaces — at the festival on U Street and at a Fairfax County mall — reinforced that no one is immune from violence. As a result, some area residents have begun to pull back. People have started to think twice before going to concerts and the mall.” [The Washington Post]
Tysons Software Company Lays Off 54 Workers — “ID.me Inc. has laid off dozens of employees following a period of rapid growth and just months after the Internal Revenue Service halted use of ID.me’s facial recognition technology…The company had expanded rapidly during the pandemic to keep up with growing demand at the time” [Washington Business Journal]
Man Charged in Fairfax City Assault — “A Maryland man was charged in connection with an assault that took place Saturday afternoon on Main Street, Fairfax City police said in a news release. Ronaldo Thomas, 41, of Capital Heights, Maryland, was charged with one count each of strangulation and assault and battery in connection with the choking of a woman outside the Main Street Marketplace, police said.” [Patch]
Annandale Dollar Tree to Reopen — Construction appears to be underway to repair the entrance to the Dollar Tree in the Bradlick Shopping Center. The store has been closed since a car crashed through the glass doors in October, but signs posted on the new doors indicate the shop will reopen “soon” and is now hiring. [Annandale Today]
Still Crickets on Downtown Herndon Project — “It appears unlikely, virtually impossible, that Comstock could break ground on the Herndon Redevelopment Project before summer starts. A groundbreaking date was first anticipated in late 2019 with project completion possibly in 2021.” [The Connection]
Fairfax City Welcomes New Nail Salon — “Sure, it’s easy to find a nail salon in nearly every city. But one look inside Raizun Nail Spa in Fairfax City lets customers know this spacious and upscale business is different from the rest. ‘Their salon is absolutely gorgeous,’ said Danette Nguyen, the City’s assistant economic development director.” [The Connection]
Tropical Storm Ida Relief Still Available — “The Washington Metropolitan Area District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reminds eligible business owners in Fairfax…to apply for working capital loans before the July 18 deadline. This disaster loan program is available to small businesses…and most private nonprofit organizations that were affected by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida that occurred from Aug. 31 through Sept 4, 2021.” [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Benches Dedicated to Former County Leaders — “Former Board Chairman and Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova and former Braddock District Supervisor John Cook had benches dedicated in their honor at the Braddock District Office, which is also home to the Kings Park Library.” [Patch]
It’s Thursday — Rain in the morning and afternoon. High of 75 and low of 63. Sunrise at 5:46 am and sunset at 8:39 pm. [Weather.gov]
A barbershop and lounge is coming soon to Reston Town Center.
Hammer & Nails plans to open in the Signature at 11830 Freedom Drive on June 30, according to its social media platforms.
Ilona Kirzhner, the company’s head of franchising, said by email that the business chose Reston as a location because of its standing as an “incredible part of Northern VA.”
“The diversity of residents and businesses is second to none in our area,” Kirzhner, who is also a Fairfax County resident, wrote in a statement.
The business will feature a one-stop-shop mens’ grooming lounge. It offers camp services, men’s facials, razor shaves, beard grooming, and manicures and pedicures in its man cave.
Patrons will also be able to enjoy adult and non-alcoholic beverages in a lounge with oversized leather chairs, TVs, and noise-cancelling headphones “all built around the needs of our men,” Kirzhner adds.
Hammer & Nails already has locations in Gainesville and Leesburg.
The Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão isn’t expected to open until late 2022, but it’s already making a big splash in Reston Town Center.
As the business expands, a spa and salon that has called RTC home for 21 years is relocating to another spot within the town center. The steakhouse is expected to take over space formerly taken up by Big Bowl, but it needs more space.
Et Jolie, a lifestyle AVEDA salon and spa, is temporarily located at 1826 Discovery Street, right by the ice skating rink.
The salon plans to move to a permanent location at 11990 Market Street sometime this year, according to owner Nguyen Mia. The space was formerly occupied by Subway.
The spa offers hair, skin, waxing and nail treatments, according to its website.
