Meanwhile, in the Anti-Reston: Herndon Snags High-End Retailer, At Least in the Lucrative Remaindered Goods Market

Sure, we in Reston may have our Fake Downtown gritty urban core, what with its myriad of midscale chain retail options. But our neighbor to the west just scored a major retailing coup: a Big Lots!

A fancy sign at the K-Mart Shopping Center on Elden Street put up earlier this week announced this exciting addition to the area's retail landscape. Soon discerning connoisseurs of remaindered Ramen noodles and irregular T-shirts will no longer have to hoof it to Sterling, better known as the Champs Elysees of Western Loudoun. We bet the folks at Tall Oaks are just kicking themselves!

Preserving this kind of small-town character is exactly why there's a vocal contingent in Herndon that doesn't want to build a fancy kiss and ride or allow Metro-related development north of the Toll Road (although the town has at least backed off from having "just a sidewalk" at the Metro station and is proposing a more sensible plan). Will these same people wail and gnash their teeth when more upscale retail arrives in Herndon with Metro -- like, say, a Five Below? Only time will tell.