With Halloween less than a week away, time is running out to assemble a costume and housing decorations ghoulish enough to impress neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Fortunately for those making last-minute preparations, the seasonal pop-up Spirit Halloween has taken possession of several vacant retail stores across Fairfax County.

That includes a return to the former Lord & Taylor store at Tysons Corner Center, which first got converted last year after previously hosting a mass COVID-19 vaccination site. Long-term plans to redevelop the building at 7950 Tysons Corner Center got approved last month by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Accessible from the Plaza, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, except for Sundays, when doors close at 7 p.m.

Other locations include:

• Fairfax Towne Center in the former Bed Bath & Beyond (12100 Fairfax Towne Center)
• Crossroads Center in Bailey’s Crossroads, also a former Bed Bath & Beyond (5810 Crossroads Center Way)
• Springfield Commons in the former Party City (6721B Frontier Drive)
• Rose Hill Plaza in a former Tuesday Morning (6140 Rose Hill Drive)
• Village Center in Centreville, another former Tuesday Morning (5619 Stone Road)

The company’s website also lists a store as “coming soon” to the former Office Depot (3536 South Jefferson Street) at Crossroads Center in Bailey’s Crossroads. Spirit Halloween didn’t respond to FFXnow by press time when asked if that location is still coming.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Spirit Halloween announced before this season began that it would be its “biggest” one yet, with more than 1,500 locations around North America.

“We’ve seen Halloween grow from a single day of excitement into a season-long celebration, with so many enthusiasts showcasing their love for Halloween all year long,” Spirit Halloween CEO Steven Silverstein said in a press release. “…However you celebrate this season, we have everything Halloween fans need, from the classics to the hottest new trends.”

In addition to opening physical pop-up stores every fall, the business sells Halloween costumes, decor and animatronics year-round online.

Local shoppers looking to put the finishing touches on their Barbie Halloween costumes are in luck.

The Barbie truck is rolling back into Tysons Corner Center later this month, this time featuring a “Dreamhouse Living” theme to celebrate 60 years since the doll moved into her first residence, according to Mattel lore.

Unfortunately for all the Kens out there, the Barbie Dreamhouse truck won’t have a competing Mojo Dojo Casa House truck in tow, but the mobile shop will have plenty of exclusive clothes, mugs and other merchandise to sell when it stops at the mall’s Plaza on Oct. 28.

Inspired by “a day in [the] life of Barbie in her Dreamhouse,” per a press release, offerings will include:

• Graphic T-shirt
• Hoodie
• Denim jacket
• Baseball cap
• Throw blanket
• Tote
• Embroidered patch set
• Necklace
• Keychain
• Pouch set
• Coasters
• Glass tumbler
• Glass mug
• Accessories cup
• Thermal bottle

Prices range from $12 to $75, with purchases of $40 or more netting a free gift. The truck will be parked near Shake Shack from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This will be the Barbie truck’s third time stopping in Tysons, following visits by the original “Totally Throwback” tour truck in 2020 and the Barbie Malibu truck in April 2022.

“There has always been such an amazing response from Barbie fans in the D.C. area,” Barbie Truck spokesperson Hannie Peng said.

The Dreamhouse truck launched this July at the 2023 National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention in Orlando, Florida, which unfolded over four days just before Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” premiered. While the truck isn’t directly tied into that $1-billion-grossing movie, it has received such a positive response that a second truck was added for the West Coast, according to Peng.

After visiting Tysons, the East Coast truck will advance to Richmond on Nov. 4 and Virginia Beach on Nov. 11. The two trucks will continue touring the U.S. into 2024.

Shoppers at the Route 29-adjacent Costco might notice some major changes soon.

The wholesale company is seeking a special exception from Fairfax County to increase the size of its existing retail warehouse at 4725 West Ox Road by around 8,500 square feet and enhance some of the store’s departments.

The new addition would be located to the eastern side of the building.

“The additional space proposed for the existing warehouse building would be utilized for upgrading and expanding the delicatessen and rotisserie area, increasing the size of the refrigerated meat storage space, constructing a new produce cooler, and expanding sales aisles,” the application said. “There will be slight increase in [floor area ratio].”

The application says Costco’s Fairfax area location is a popular one, with around 5,000 customers per day. The expansion is estimated to bring in another approximately 300 customers.

The company also anticipates hiring another 16 employees if the addition is approved, bringing its total workforce for that location to approximately 286 people.

The expansion is expected to result in dozens more vehicle trips to the already heavily frequented site, according to the application:

• 26 AM peak hour trips (14 in/12 out)
• 37 PM peak hour trips (18 in/19 out)
• 63 Saturday peak hour trips (31 in/32 out)
• 417 weekday average daily trips (7,453 Weekday average trips total)
• 753 Saturday average daily trips (8,218 Saturday trips total)

“The proposed expansion of the retail warehouse building will provide a significant improvement to the operation of the facility for Costco’s members,” the application said. “The proposed amendment conforms to the spirit of the Zoning Ordinance and the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan. Therefore, for the reasons set forth herein, the Applicant respectfully requests approval of this Special Exception Amendment application.”

The county accepted the application for review on Sept. 6, but no hearings have been scheduled yet.

The proposal comes after Costco got the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval in March to expand the gas station at its West Ox location from 16 to 30 fuel pumps.

Image via Google Maps

An inaugural fall market is set to kick off at The Boro in Tysons later this month.

The six-week market — Tysons Fall Mixed Market — will bring more than 30 local producers, markers and food vendors to the parking lot next to The Boro’s sandlot.

The event kicks off on Sept. 20 and will take place every Wednesday from 3-7 p.m through Oct. 25.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Boro to bring a fall market to Tysons,” said Tysons Community Alliance CEO Katie Cristol. “This market provides the opportunity for Tysons’residents and visitors to connect with local small businesses and gather together in a fun and festive way, while shopping for unique goods from local makers.”

Some vendors will remain every week while others will participate on a rotating basis.

Weekly exhibitors include Ashton Farms, Shotted Specialty Coffee, Panorama Bakery & Al Volo, Little Tibet Boutique and Chic and Ethnic.

The event is powered by Tysons Community Alliance a nonprofit community organization that aims to promote economic and social development in the Tysons area.

Tysons is increasingly becoming a place where people live, but a recent market study from the Tysons Community Alliance raised some questions about its future as a place where people work.

Released on Aug. 4, the study paints divergent pictures of the two commercial sectors that have defined Tysons since the 1960s — office and retail — as they navigate a post-pandemic world of remote work and online shopping.

While retail visits in Tysons have returned to 92% of the 2019 average, foot traffic at office buildings is at 77% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the study, which was conducted by consultants HR&A, Toole Design and Wells & Associates.

That’s still better than D.C., where office visitation is at just 70% of pre-pandemic levels, but the study found that Tysons is seeing “somewhat slower employment growth” both in general and among office users than Fairfax County and the overall D.C. region — a lag expected to continue through 2028.

“Tysons grew more slowly than surrounding Fairfax County and the D.C. [metropolitan area] in the last three years and is projected to continue growing more slowly in the next five years,” a workforce growth analysis summary said, identifying health care as the industry projected to add the most jobs in Tysons over the next five years.

Even though over 85% of Tysons workers are in industries that traditionally use offices, led by 47,100 workers in the broad category of “professional services,” the area’s office vacancy rate has climbed from 14.8% in 2019 to 20% so far this year.

That exceeds the county’s 16.7% vacancy rate, which is a 10-year high, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority leaders told the Board of Supervisors at an economic advisory committee meeting on July 18.

Constituting 5.6 million of the area’s 27.6 million square feet of office space, the vacancies have particularly affected lower class, older offices built before 1990, suggesting a “preference for newer and nicer properties,” the study report says.

Despite the “historically high” vacancy rates, average rents have grown 24% since 2015 to match the D.C. area’s average of $39 per square foot, driven in part by the $65-per-square-foot asking price at the Tysons Central office building that was completed last year.

Tysons also has an additional 1.9 million square feet of office under construction or planned, though the majority of upcoming development is residential.

“If vacancies remain high, future deliveries could result in stagnant rents and continued high vacancy,” the report says. “For developers to fill pipeline office space, office-using jobs in Tysons need to grow at 1.4 times the projected growth of 3,300 jobs between 2023 and 2033.” Read More

One Centreville cafe is offering something sweeter than just desserts: community.

Bôn Tea House (5718 Pickwick Road) launched a new three-part, pop-up Summer Market series this past June in hopes of bringing together the local community.

On the last Sunday of June, July and August, the small tea shop transforms into a bustling community hub, where customers can purchase an array of handcrafted items from local vendors in a monthly market-style event. Offerings include, but are not limited to, apparel, jewelry, soaps and baked goods.

“Summer market is a place where people can come and meet and support local vendors,” co-owner Danny Bae said. “We do our best to only invite or accept vendors that are in the NOVA area and who are not these major businesses, so a lot of people who don’t have a platform, a store or anything like that…they need a place to be able to advertise and sell and get their name out there.”

Danny, who started Bôn Tea House with his wife Diana and brother in 2021, says the market has grown significantly from their initial launch on June 25 to their most recent market on Sunday, July 30, despite how new and limited-edition the series is.

“After the June market, a lot of vendors reached out to us saying, ‘Can we be a part of it? How do I be a part of this?'” Danny said. “So, I think there was a lot of anticipation for the July one, so that July one was actually the biggest one in terms of traffic flow.”

Danny hinted that the upcoming market on Sunday, Aug. 27 may be the last one for the foreseeable future. Though grateful for the success of the series, he noted that the colder weather brings more complications, so their next event will likely be a one-day holiday market in the late fall or early winter, rather than a recurring series.

“We’ve had several vendors where it was their first time ever selling something like in person, and they were all very surprised at the turnout and how well it went,” Danny said. “…We were very grateful and thankful that a lot of vendors showed up, and they did their best to showcase their merchandise. It was just a really good experience for us as the host and all the vendors as well.”

According to the Baes, the vendors appreciated the opportunity to sell their wares and meet other business owners in their position.

“I think it’s great that they’re able to…see that people do enjoy what they have to offer and gain that support through the community,” Diana said.

Building community is Bôn Tea House’s founding mission, the Baes say. When closed on Mondays, they usually let locals rent the space for private events, and they are rolling out new bonding events this month, like the game nights that will be held on Tuesday (Aug. 14) and Monday, Aug. 28.

“We really wanted to create that community aspect and have people come, whether they just grab ice cream and go, or whether they’re in there for a conversation, that they could really feel like this is a place that they could relax and enjoy and come back to,” Diana said. “…So, we’re always looking for ways where we could use our space and use our platform to share our passion and what we think the community might need or want.”

Bôn Tea House began out of the Baes’ living room before they transitioned to a small window in D.C., where they became “the first ones” to serve specialty matcha desserts, Diana says.

As they began to receive outpourings of support from the local community, the Baes knew they had something special and eventually sought an official storefront. Coming from a Korean background, the Baes settled on Centreville for its strong Korean community.

Along with tea, Bôn Tea House specializes in ice cream, with matcha as its best-seller. The cafe prides itself on using fresh, in-house ingredients and taking the “time and effort to really try and bring out the flavors,” Danny says.

Now, the Baes are focused on forming a tight-knit community in Centreville, though many of their loyal D.C. followers still yearn for them to return to the nation’s capital, Diana says.

“We’re just trying to be this local mom-and-pop shop where people can come and gather and have a nice meeting with their friends and family and just enjoy their tea,” Danny said. “We wanted to showcase the Asian American culture, whether it’s our styling through our merch or through the flavors of our ice cream and teas.”

Photo via Google Maps

It’s time to start practicing your best modeling poses.

The online fashion retailer Rent the Runway will sashay into Tysons Corner Center with a pop-up store this September. The business previously visited the mall for 10 days in January 2020.

Set to run from Sept. 1-25, the pop-up will have “pre-loved” designer clothing, handbags and other items from dozens of top brands — all for sale at a 90% discount from their original retail prices.

“With hundreds of styles to choose from, there’s something for everyone & every occasion,” Tysons Corner Center said in a media alert.

The pop-up will be located next to Windsor on the mall’s first floor near Fashion Court, between Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

Launched in 2009, Rent the Runway aimed to offer a more affordable and sustainable approach to fashion with a “Closet in the Cloud” that provides designer brands for rent and resale.

The upcoming pop-up in Tysons will have more than 50 brands represented, including:

Staud
Anine Bing
Jason Wu
Veronica Beard
Club Monaco
For Love and Lemons
Kate Spade New York
Rails
Show Me Your Mumu
Maje
Diane von Furstenberg
Scotch & Soda
PAIGE
Victoria Victoria Beckham

Interested customers can sign up for alerts and reminders about the sale through Eventbrite, though a ticket won’t guarantee admission.

The pop-up sample sale will be open during Tysons Corner Center’s retail operating hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

A new gift shop that sells clothing, accessories and collectibles is gearing up for its grand opening in Herndon this weekend.

Add 2 Cart is set for a grand opening on Saturday (July 22) at 1 p.m. at 795 Center Suite in Suite 5B.

Owners Tiffany Yalung and her husband said their business grew out of a love for reselling items online and finding unique, functional and vintage items.

“Often times, especially when we are traveling to different countries, we see these products and think, ‘Why don’t we have this here in the U.S.?'” Yalung told FFXnow. “We thought that the quirkiness, innovation and overall distinction of these products, in addition to our vintage collection that we continuously procure, deserve to be showcased.”

The couple launched the brick-and-mortar store with the hope of sharing unique items with the public.

The business is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to its website. The business is closed on Sundays.

Tysons Galleria may be closer to fully realizing its visions of luxury than ever before after a reportedly successful redevelopment of its former Macy’s store.

Created by subdividing the 260,000-square-foot department store, which closed in January 2019, the new wing is “effectively 100% leased” and has helped expand the mall’s offerings, particularly when it comes to home decor and entertainment, according to owner and developer Brookfield Properties.

“I think the Macy’s redevelopment is a great example of what Brookfield does,” Joe Hope, Brookfield’s senior vice president of leasing, said. “We took a 30-plus-year-old department store and reimagined that into a collection of categories and uses that we felt would be an additive to our merchandizing mix.”

Over the past couple of years, Tysons Galleria has doubled down on the high-end retailers that have cemented its reputation as the upscale cousin to its neighbor across Route 123, Tysons Corner Center.

Recent additions have ranged from fashion brands like Dior and Balenciaga to a slew of furniture stores, including Arhaus and a combined Crate & Barrel and CB2. The renovated wing also hosts Bowlero, the dine-in movie theater CMX CinéBistro and the restaurants, Yard House and Jiwa Singapura.

Though Brookfield didn’t provide specific numbers, Hope says that, so far, the sales performance of those newcomers “has exceeded our and their expectations,” noting that some tenants like Crate & Barrel had relocated from other sites in the area.

“A number of those brands existed in the trade area and just repositioned from prior locations to Tysons Galleria,” he told FFXnow. “Those stores, they’ve reported to us are generating significantly higher sales. So, it really proves the mix of the environment that we created in that wing is working for them.”

Far from being an obstacle, Tysons Galleria’s commitment to luxury retail buoyed it through the economic turmoil spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Hope and Brookfield Senior Director of Leasing Elizabeth Ryan.

In general, luxury brands have been relatively insulated from the impacts of inflation and other financial challenges, with research indicating customer demand across income levels, Retail Dive reported in February.

Whether that continues remains to be seen, as some companies reported slowing sales in late 2022, and a survey by the consulting firm PwC found that 53% of consumers plan to reduce spending on premium and designer products.

Like other malls in urban metro areas, Tysons Galleria took some hits when businesses shut down and office workers shifted to their homes early in the pandemic, but there hasn’t been any “sustained negative impact,” Hope says. Read More

Updated at 5:50 p.m. on 7/5/2023 — Walgreens has extended its one-hour delivery promotion through July, citing a positive response to the D.C. area pilot in June.

“We know summer is a busy time for our customers and that they’re looking for easy, quick and convenient solutions,” the company said.

Walgreens said it plans to continue its delivery program, but no determination has been made yet on whether the offer of $10 in rewards credits will be extended after this month.

Earlier: Tomorrow (Friday) will be the last chance Fairfax County residents have to take advantage of Walgreens’ experiment with one-hour home deliveries.

At the beginning of June, the pharmacy company launched a pilot program exclusively in the D.C. region that guarantees deliveries to customers within an hour. They can get $10 towards the Walgreens rewards program to use in the future “if it’s even a minute late,” according to a press release.

Running from June 1-30, the pilot included 22 stores in Fairfax County and over 160 stores across Virginia.

“The stores in the northern Virginia/DC area, part of the broader Mid-Atlantic region, were chosen to test the 1-hour Delivery offering because the region contains a large number of storefronts, and serves a mix of population sizes (urban, suburban, rural), allowing us to test our delivery guarantee in a variety of environments,” a Walgreens representative said by email.

More than 27,000 items are eligible for the service, including over-the-counter medicines, but alcohol and prescription medicine deliveries are exempted.

As previously reported by FFXnow’s sister site, ARLnow, Walgreens does tack on a fee for deliveries that varies depending on the products in the order and the distance traveled.

Walgreens introduced same-day deliveries in December, a service that’s available 24 hours a day and includes prescription medications. It also offers 30-minute pickups for orders of $10 or more.

Like many other retailers, Walgreens has been building up its delivery services over the past few years, partnering with companies like Instacart, DoorDash and Postmates.

Nationwide, demand for contactless delivery and curbside pickup services surged early in the pandemic, providing a lifeline to restaurants and other businesses that had to close their doors. At the same time, the third-party apps that proliferated have faced scrutiny for their high commissions and labor practices, while service fees have increased — even for Amazon, which helped set expectations of free, fast shipping.

A full list of the Fairfax County stores participating in the Walgreens pilot is below: Read More