News and notes from Reston (tm).

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Finally, The One Quote That Proves Reston Gets The Midscale Chain Retail We Deserve

Wonder why our beloved fake downtown gritty urban core and awesome village centers strip malls aren't filled with authentic local shoppes, offering artisanal goat cheese cultivated from free-range grazing animals or sustainable hand-knit fashions ethically produced by Peruvian orphans using fair-trade wool? Or, for that matter, a local bookstore or maybe even a coffee shop that doesn't happen to have 23,999 other locations?

Turns out we don't want any of that crap. What do we want? Show us the tags, baby:
From a retail perspective, [JBG Principal Greg] Trimmer says the Reston market is booming.
"75 percent of people in Reston will consider brand name more than price. Retailers cannot get here quickly enough."
Do modern web browsers still support the [blink] tag? If so, it's worth repeating again:

"75 percent of people in Reston will consider brand name more than price. Retailers cannot get here quickly enough.”

Small wonder then, that when people are asked to dream big about possible businesses coming to Reston, our champagne wishes and caviar dreams circle around places like this. And if you notice more people wearing black than usual this week, it might be because Loudoun bragbait grocery chain Wegman's announced it's coming to Tysons, not a certain stucco wasteland in Reston as some once hoped.

But fear not, Reston! We can have nice things, so long as those nice things are large chains that duplicate services already offered by other large chains:
The JBG Companies have signed 24 Hour Fitness as an anchor tenant for the Reston Heights expansion on Sunrise Valley Drive. 
It will be 24 Hour Fitness’ fourth Northern Virginia location. The national chain, which has more than 450 locations nationwide, has gyms in Tysons Corner, Falls Church and Fairfax.
How many mega-gyms and indoor rec facilities does that make for us?

We'll note without irony that we also just learned that Reston Kabob, one of the last small businesses in the spot where the Reston Heights expansion will soon rise, is closing in July. They might return once construction is finished. Or maybe some awesome midscale national kabob chain -- let's call it the Kabob Grill -- will swoop in and take its spot.

The current kabobery owners have another location across Fairfax County Parkway in.... Herndon. Our neighbor to the west may be a little different, but they certainly have lots of the kinds of places we say we want, the end.

10 comments:

  1. Capt. Fred Obvious, USAF-Ret.June 11, 2015 at 1:22 PM

    Statistics like that become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Landlords use them to raise their rents, which in turn, keeps anyone except big chains from being able to afford retail space. Hope you enjoy chain shopping, Reston!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I guess Reston's Hippie history is now officially... history. Where have all the flowers gone?

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Loudoun bragbait grocery chain Wegman's."

    Don't ever change, Restonian.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What is the name of Reston Kabob's Herndon location? I need my log sized gyro fix.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think the name of the one in Herndon is "Grill Kabob" somewhere on Herndon Parkway.

    Thanks for memorializing my favorite kabobs, Restonian!

    ~South Lakes Survivor

    ReplyDelete
  6. One surprising revelation from Bisnow event is that Reston is not as attractive for millenials as for older adults.

    JBG and its "Smart Growth" allies in Fairfax County government are obsessed with "walkability."

    Did not see many walkers and bikers near Wiehle Avenue station in last hour.

    Instead of Chili's, maybe JBG will provide outlets such as Tofu Express and Alfalfa Unlimited

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Been hankerin' for some free-range, fair-trade freekeh, too..mmmm....

      Delete
  7. Watch out, Restonian! Herndon's mayor is posting links to this post on social media, saying you're endorsing that... other place.

    ReplyDelete
  8. And this all started with that Abomination on the W&OD aka RTC. Well, to Chain Store Hell.

    ReplyDelete

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