News and notes from Reston (tm).

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Bummer: Another Longtime Lake Anne Business Closes Its Doors (Or Has Them Closed On It)

JasmineOne of Lake Anne's oldest restaurants, Jasmine Cafe, unexpectedly closed last week Tuesday afternoon. Our BFFs at Reston Now say that the landlord locked the restaurant out, putting up business-friendly "no trespassing" signs. Give us some good blockquote:

Chef and owner Eduardo Faubert says he was just made aware of the situation Wednesday afternoon. He said he did not close the restaurant and the lock was placed by the property owner. Faubert says he does owe the owner some money, but hopefully the situation will be settled quickly.
Times, they are a-changin' at the Plaza. In February, we learned that Lake Anne Pharmacy, the last of the Plaza's original businesses, is under contract to be sold. But some things never seem to change -- other, newer (and occasionally more eyebrow-raising) businesses have tried to break into the Plaza, only to run into problems with landlords. In fact, the county's 2009 report on the Plaza's retail woes singles out multiple commercial landlords, low expectations, and "lease structures that don't match up with commensurate sales volumes" as reasons for the frequent turnover. With new development coming, that may change, but in the meantime, we'll miss one of the Plaza's oldest businesses.

A shout-out to Faubert was posted on Lake Anne Plaza's Facebook Page:
Owner Chef Eduardo Faubert has been a 25 year member of the Lake Anne community who's warmth and charm will be missed. We wish Eduardo the very best and hope that he is able to work things out successfully.
As do we.

4 comments:

  1. "Faubert says he does owe the owner some money".

    The sad truth is that Mr. Faubert has a long history of owing a lot of people a lot of money over the years. Sorry, but you have to pay your bills, or people eventually get really, really upset.

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  2. The Times They R A Changin'April 23, 2014 at 1:02 PM

    I dunno...maybe it was just time to shut the restaurant down? The décor was (ahem) a little threadbare and the food not so great. I haven't eaten there in two years because frankly, I didn't want to go back there for any reason. Lake Anne Plaza has outlived its usefulness to many consumers. Unless you want to get a cup of coffee or tea, a haircut or have your nails done. And there are lots of place one can go for those things other than Lake Anne. On the other hand, I would like to see Eduardo Faubert get a fresh start somewhere else, with a new menu to boot.

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  3. Certainly someone will come up with the money. After all, this is the start of the money-making season for the plaza.

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    Replies
    1. Well here it is May 23 and no one has come up with the money. Jasmine Café will stay closed apparently. One more nail in the coffin for the old Lake Anne Plaza, which is ugly, dated and has outlived its usefulness to most ppl in Reston. Everything has a life cycle, even shopping plazas.

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