DEVELOPMENT NEWS: Economy Bites Restaurants

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Falls Church Times Staff

January 7, 2010

Starting up a restaurant requires financial means, dreams, and often schemes. Even in the best of times, frequently it doesn’t all come together. So in this challenging economy it’s not too surprising that some restaurateurs’ dreams have been dashed.

The City’s Economic Development Office reports that Foster’s Grill, planned to open in the Spectrum Building, is “out of the picture, as the franchisee ran into unexpected personal financial problems that made it impossible to proceed toward construction and an opening.”

Ironically, the Spectrum recently installed a multi-listing sign on Broad Street, and Foster’s Grill was the first listing on the sign.  Meanwhile, For Eyes Optical and Leonard Larson Optometrist have been open in the Spectrum for a year now, but so far haven’t made the sign.

Mad Fox Brewery, whose anticipated opening at the Spectrum has slid from April to May, still has nothing tangible to show for itself, but work is ensuing behind the scenes. “Mad Fox’s building permit is under review by the City, they’ve chosen their general contractor, and they hope to get under construction very soon,” reports the EDO.

Across town at Pearson Square’s Tax Analysts office building, the imported Italian wood-burning oven still sits forlornly in the empty shell that was to be Pizzeria Orso. But “they’re still paying the rent,” says the EDO.

The much-loved and acclaimed Kasha’s Kitchen, hidden in Kennedy’s Natural Foods in West End Plaza on Broad Street, is expected  to be “imminently sold” by owner Kasha Neam, who has run the deli and health food store for 20 years. The prospective new owner expects to continue business as usual but add new merchandise, says the EDO, adding that the name of the business may eventually change to Nourish Market.

Down the street, El Zunzal Restaurant is being  “aggressively marketed, as the owner is highly motivated to sell soon and will entertain reasonable offers.”

How about some good news? Commissioner of the Revenue Tom Clinton’s staff reports two new restaurants opening. That’s about all we know, other than that one of them will be in Eden Center. Babylon Market is coming to West End Plaza. Meanwhile, over at the Flower Building, “three prospective restaurants are vying for the remaining ground floor retail space,” says the EDO. The Young Group hopes a lease will be signed in a couple of weeks.

Condo Countdown

Time for our regular update on occupancy at the Spectrum, the City’s emptiest new building. As of last October, 44 of the condominium’s 189 residential units had been sold. Now the figure is 46, with another five units under contract. A further 30 units are occupied under a “rent to own” program – up from 26 last October. Around back, the office condos remain at 60 percent sold – no movement from last October. “All reasonable purchase/lease offers are being considered.” (Is there ever a time when reasonable offers are not considered?)

From SYMS to GYMS?

We reported in November that efforts to remove the SYMS sign from the Seven Corners building were foiled by the paint scheme. Well, if you can’t remove the whole name, why not just change the first letter and make it GYMS? It’s still very hush-hush, but a gym representative is considering a lease on the building. All our source would say is that “it’s not Gold’s.”

Changing the building from meeting the needs of Syms’ “Why Wait” ad campaign to a gym’s “why weight” appeal would require a major gut of the two-level retail building, so it might be more cost-effective  to knock it down and start over. That would solve the paint problem.

This and That . . .

BJ’s Wholesale Club Update: Infrastructure and sewer work is ongoing.

Planning Commission “Chickens Out”? Not at all. BB&T had requested to replace the burned-out Chicken Out freestanding building in the Falls Plaza parking lot with a drive-in bank. The City Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Zoning Appeals deny the application due to lack of handicapped parking/access and concerns about adding to the congestion on Broad Street. BB&T has an existing branch at Falls Plaza, but no drive-through. The nearest BB&T drive-through is little more than 1,000 yards away, at 191 West Broad. (UPDATE: See Planning Commission Chairman John Lawrence’s comment below.)

Pearson Square Update: With still not a single one of the retail storefronts occupied (other than ArtSpace, subsidized by the developer), a new real estate broker is being sought. There was also hope that new awnings for retail space might help. The awnings have been delayed, “but are expected soon.”

(DEVELOPMENT NEWS is sourced from reports by the City of Falls Church Economic Development Office.)