News and notes from Reston (tm).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Reston's Vibrant Economy: More Retail Changes Than the Mall of America

If your secret dream has always been to run an off-brand 7-11 and you can't spell, your ship has come in: the "grosery" in the parking lot of Lake Anne Village Center is on the market, with what we'll politely call "extreme prejudice."

Landlord in processof evicting present tenant(convenience store&small cafe/rest.)Business for sale $85,000 with some OTB.Bldg and Business for sale @$634,000,Bldg separately for sale $549,000.
85 grand will buy a lot of cheez curls.

But the news isn't all bad for Lake Anne. According to the Twitters, the Kalypso sports tavern is set to open any day:

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Still skeptical? The restaurant's "Face Book" has pictures of people stone cold sitting around at tables, getting ready to open a restaurant or something.

Meanwhile, across town, the awesome Plaza America shopping center has changed hands.
A joint venture of New York-based Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Atlantic Realty Companies, Inc., one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD region, today announced that it has purchased Plaza America Shopping Center in Reston, Virginia.

Plaza America Shopping Center opened in 1995. Atlantic Realty developed and built the center, and Atlantic Realty has managed the property since that time. The center includes more than 164,000 square feet of national and local stores and services including Whole Foods, Michael’s, Champps, and Fitness First.
In North Point, the pet store has closed its doors, meaning that people waiting in line for their fancy new iPhones at the nearby AT&T store won't be able to pass the time looking at the trapped adorable puppies in the window.

And finally, the old Ruby Tuesday in the fake downtown is now a FedEx office. The folks at Reston Town Center posted this somewhat demonic photo on their own fancy "Face Book" page:

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We think someone needs to check the toner on that copier.

Actually, we're pleased with this last development. If a Ruby Tuesdays can become a FedEx office, it's only a matter of time until the Macaroni Grill magically transforms into a UPS Store.

22 comments:

  1. Amongst the 'Hoods in Colvin WoodsJune 29, 2010 at 3:56 PM

    Did I mention how much I LOVE this blog's fascination with the impending death of the Macaroni Grill? LOL! That entire Spectrum Center is an abomination. BLECH! I can't wait until they blow it up!

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  2. woods

    you're such a snob

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  3. I was hoping for a darts bar or maybe a pool hall, but Fedex is a stable business. I wonder whether they'll dump the Commerce Park location? It wouldn't seem to make much sense to have two offices so close together.

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  4. I hope they don't lose the Commerce Park location! It's nice that it's in a relatively traffic-manageable (I know, but compared to the Fake Downtown, it is) area. Going to the Fake Downtown for anything is just painful, and I take nearly-heroic measures to avoid doing so.

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  5. Thank goodness that pet store finally closed. One less hawker of poor puppy mill pups.

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  6. Darts would be sweet. It'd be great to have a more low key bar/pub there.

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  7. Anon 12:57

    Town Center traffic is painful?! Wow.

    I guess Tysons or Sprignfield are just not imaginable for you.

    Better avoid downtown Leesburg, Berryville, Winchester.

    Agoraphobia is a real phenomenon.

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  8. 4:39: I guess you're one of those people who has nothing better to do than waste gas and time behind the hipsters in their VW SUV who can't figure out which turn they're supposed to take to get to Big Bowl and swerve in and out of turn lanes on Reston Parkway.

    Or maybe you are that hipster. Hmm.

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  9. What's with all of the disrespect for the Macaroni Grill? Aside from Target, Best Buy and Barnes and Noble, that is the most useful thing in Reston.

    And why is everyone who works at FedEx Office so fat?

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  10. Because they eat at Macaroni Grill!

    *Ba-dum-tshhhh!*

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  11. 4:57

    That one time experience with the VW SUV scarred you for life.

    So sorry.

    They don't allow VWs in Berryville. Enjoy.

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  12. Don't knock Berryville. Berryville is tres chic. They are everything that Reston aspires to be. All economic groups are represented in Berryville. Berryville is a diverse community, where all are welcome. They have very low crime and a close-knit community. Berryville is iminently walkable, especially their very REAL downtown, unlike our FAKE downtown. They have mom-and-pop stores of all kinds and, except for gas and groceries, no chain stores. They have real green spaces that include old growth forests and farms. We have tree-lined streets and a couple of parks. They have easy access to Route 50 and Route 7. They have a couple of apartment buildings for the elderly and couple (affordable) nursing homes. They have a couple of soft-serve ice cream places where you can get a super-size cone for about $3. Can DQ or BR offer that? I don't think so. They also have real pizza at Joe's. We've got Flip's, which can't go out of business fast enough for me. They have a real fairgrounds that occassionally holds real tractor pulls. Herndon has Frying Pan Park, where you can occassionally go for a hay ride. And when you have had all of the living, playing and working that you can stand, they even have a funeral home and a graveyard. For those services, you'll need to become an honorary Herndonian.

    Now, if you must have access to chain stores, like at our FAKE downtown, you would have to go to Winchester (20 minute drive), which has a similar selection. They also have most of the chain eateries as well. Winchester doesn't have a Macaroni Grill or a McCormick and Schmick. They do have an Olive Garden and a Red Lobster, though. And if you need mass transit, you can go to Charlestown (again, about a 20 minute drive) to access the MARC train. While you're there, you can play the ponies or the slots or, starting tomorrow, the table games. We don't have that in Reston, altough I suppose that you could sponsor a boardgames night at your home.

    What B'ville doesn't have is rampant hoidy-toidy snobbery, unlike Reston, present company included. They don't have a hospital, although there's a fine facility in Winchester. And they don't have a rush hour. Yep, when you're setting at the traffic light in the middle of town at 6 pm, you may find yourself asking, "Rush hour? What's that?"

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  13. Don't knock Berryville. Berryville is tres chic. They are everything that Reston aspires to be. All economic groups are represented in Berryville. Berryville is a diverse community, where all are welcome. They have very low crime and a close-knit community. Berryville is iminently walkable, especially their very REAL downtown, unlike our FAKE downtown. They have mom-and-pop stores of all kinds and, except for gas and groceries, no chain stores. They have real green spaces that include old growth forests and farms. We have tree-lined streets and a couple of parks. They have easy access to Route 50 and Route 7. They have a couple of apartment buildings for the elderly and couple (affordable) nursing homes. They have a couple of soft-serve ice cream places where you can get a super-size cone for about $3. Can DQ or BR offer that? I don't think so. They also have real pizza at Joe's. We've got Flip's, which can't go out of business fast enough for me. They have a real fairgrounds that occassionally holds real tractor pulls. Herndon has Frying Pan Park, where you can occassionally go for a hay ride. And when you have had all of the living, playing and working that you can stand, they even have a funeral home and a graveyard. For those services, you'll need to become an honorary Herndonian.

    Now, if you must have access to chain stores, like at our FAKE downtown, you would have to go to Winchester (20 minute drive), which has a similar selection. They also have most of the chain eateries as well. Winchester doesn't have a Macaroni Grill or a McCormick and Schmick. They do have an Olive Garden and a Red Lobster, though. And if you need mass transit, you can go to Charlestown (again, about a 20 minute drive) to access the MARC train. While you're there, you can play the ponies or the slots or, starting tomorrow, the table games. We don't have that in Reston, altough I suppose that you could sponsor a boardgames night at your home.

    What B'ville doesn't have is rampant hoidy-toidy snobbery, unlike Reston, present company included. They don't have a hospital, although there's a fine facility in Winchester. And they don't have a rush hour. Yep, when you're setting at the traffic light in the middle of town at 6 pm, you may find yourself asking, "Rush hour? What's that?"

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  14. I apologize for the double-post folks. I really have to give up drinking my breakfast.

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  15. Holy crap, 9:07, off the medication? I've never seen such a bitchy reaction to saying that the Fake Downtown has bad traffic. Have you actually tried to go through the area during rush hour? Or are you just a nasty comment-seeding troll employed by the Fake Downtown's management company?

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  16. Holy crap 12:01

    Folks like 4:57 CHOSE to move into "our fair city" of 62,000 people and then complain about piddling inconveniences. Rush house traffic in Town Center is nothing compared to Tysons or Springfield.

    Berryville which has almost no minorities, jobs, or amenities, Convict, and has an equal amount of traffic. You'll also enjoy the "redneck" ambiance, gun racks in the window and all.

    Jobs, people and traffic are kind of inseparable.

    If its that bad, feel free to move. Good luck with the job search in Berryville.

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  17. 4:34, I've actually lived here since 1986. When I moved, there were about 12,000 less people here. How about you?

    You seem to have made a ton of assumptions about me because I don't like traffic, none of them true. You have also made a ton of assumptions about areas other than Fairfax County, which is always nice that you think you know the social demographics of somewhere you don't actually live.

    Jobs, people, and traffic have a correlation, yes. But if the traffic was so tolerable here, why do people cite it as a reason for leaving?

    You sounds like you're having a super bad day if you have to be that much of a jerk to a random stranger on a website. You should probably talk to someone about that.

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  18. And saying "Reston's traffic isn't as bad as Tysons or Springfield" is about as valid of an argument as saying, "Hey, at least I don't beat my wife."

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  19. 4:34, what's your source for the information that Berryville and Reston have an equivalent amount of traffic? I'd be interested to review any traffic study that says they're equal.

    It's perplexing to me that you take a valid, accurate criticism of Reston so very personally that you feel compelled to insult others. Do you work for one of the benevolent Reston governing groups? Is your self-worth tied up in being able to write "Reston" on your return address? Or are you one of those trolls whose personal life is so miserable that they feel like being pissy online to work out their frustrations?

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  20. It is nigh on inconceivable that the sports tavern or whatever Kalysos is calling itself would not be open and showing matches to coincide with the most watched sporting tournament in the entire world.

    Perhaps they will get their act together in time for the end of the Cup.

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  21. 6:33 "equivalent" referenced "no jobs . . .," i. e. no traffic. Is English a second language for you?

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  22. 5:17

    Have you been whining since 1986?

    12,000 people have been added to Reston since 1986? That's roughly 500 per year. Pull up the drawbridge! Get that Arizona fence up here immediately!

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