New Kids On The Block: Fairfax County
Isabella Eatery
Celebrity chef Mike Isabella’s 41K SF food hall opened Dec. 11 on the third floor of Tysons Galleria, Tysons’ upscale mall. Similar to Eataly in concept and design, Isabella Eatery comprises nine sit-down, fast-casual and carryout restaurants, opening in phases.
The first three concepts to open were the updated, 1950s-themed ice cream parlor Retro Creamery, artisanal coffee bar and café Nonfiction Coffee and Isabella's flagship Italian small plates restaurant, Graffiato.
The next slew of openings brought equally diverse culinary attractions: the upscale Prohibition-era-style bar Octagon, serving Petrossian caviar; modernized, casual Mexican restaurant Pepita, with an extensive cocktail menu; sushi, sashimi, sake, ramen and poke-bowl-focused Yona; and high-end seafood restaurant Requin. All opened Dec. 22.
By offering both kid-friendly spots and cocktail bars, the Top Chef alumnus hopes to reinvent and redefine mall dining with his experiential 615-seat food emporium.
Earth Fare
North Carolina-based health and wellness grocery store chain Earth Fare opened a 20K SF grocery store in Fairfax at 11052 Lee Highway Jan. 10. Earth Fare chose the Kamp Washington Shopping Mall for its first Northern Virginia location. Company officials cited the high traffic volume the site commands, at the intersection of Lee Highway and Fairfax Boulevard, and its abundant surface-level parking as key benefits.
Earth Fare has 46 locations in nine states. Similar to its closest competitors, Whole Foods and MOM’s Organic Market, the grocery store chain sells organic items free of antibiotics, hormones, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors.
Earth Fare’s commitment to healthy food is embodied in its “Boot List” policy. Anyone who finds a product containing one of the store’s banned substances is entitled to a $50 reward.
Aldi
German discount grocer Aldi is opening a Fairfax County store, one of the 900 new U.S. stores it is planning. Aldi’s focus on D.C. coincides with Lidl’s, a rival grocer headquartered in Germany that has aggressively expanded its presence in the area.
Aldi signed a 32K SF lease at 13031 Fair Lakes Circle in a former Sports Authority site adjacent to a Toys R Us earlier this month.
Spaces
The co-working office provider Spaces, founded in Amsterdam and bought by Regus in 2015, is the first office tenant signed on to Comstock Partners’ 1.3M SF mixed-use Reston Station project.
Spaces signed a 13-year lease for 40K SF on the fifth and sixth floors of the 365K SF office at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza. This will be the co-working provider’s third D.C.-area location.
Serco
Serco, a British information technology service management company catering primarily to government agencies, signed an 82K SF lease at Monument III at Worldgate in Herndon, Virginia, last January. The firm is downsizing from its 100K SF Reston Town Center office. It will fully occupy the fifth through seventh floors of the 193K SF, Class-A office at 12930 Worldgate Drive.
