Hey everyone! This week in Out & About Fairfax, we have a full list of restaurants participating in Winter Restaurant Week across Fairfax County, including the Reston and Herndon areas -- where you can find the best meals and deals. Also, we have details about the Lunar New Year festivities in Tysons and the Virginia Artisan Craft Fair Winter Market in Chantilly.

Our latest edition just dropped today! You can check out the full list of events and fun happening around Fairfax County this weekend in the link below.

https://outandaboutfairfax.beehiiv.com/p/where-to-enjoy-winter-restaurant-week-in-fairfax-county

If you find this newsletter to be helpful, you can subscribe for free to receive future editions straight to your inbox every Thursday!

Cheers!

Before I start calling grocery stores, does anyone know if any local places will fill a helium balloon I bring in? Party City will not (and they're closing stores anyway). My son has decided his birthday theme is Garfield this year so I bought a big balloon online for him. Thanks!

Anyone else hear a persistent ringing/whistling sound outside Exo right now and know what it is? Sounds spooky.

Looking to get a membership at lifetime in Reston and wanted to know for certain how restrictive the guest pass situation is since it's not fully clear on their website. Is it really 1x a month for one guest and the same person can only enter every 60 days? TIA

Hi, I just moved to the area. I am a runner. Can anyone recommend good running paths in the Reston/Herndon area?

Seems like many rec and community centers in the NoVa area have basketball courts in them. Reston has 2 facilities but no basketball courts. Have they ever thought of adding them or are there reasons they don’t exist here?

I am looking to move to Reston for work in late October - early november. I work at a tech solutions company in Reston so I assumed some apartments would have a working relationship with local corporations.

Anyone else hearing that loud popping sound right now?

A water main break near a Herndon, Virginia shopping plaza will likely close several roads for most of Monday, according to police.

Officials have closed off parts of Monroe Street between Elden and Van Buren streets as crews work to repair and clean the area, according to officials just before 7 a.m.

No word on when the road will likely reopen, and officials said to seek alternate routes.

Water Main Break
Monroe St both ways between Elden St and Van Buren St, follow crew direction.

Reported: 01/27/2025 at 07:07am
Updated: 01/27/2025 at 07:07am

https://wtop.com/traffic/

https://wjla.com/news/local/traffic-alert-herndon-virginia-road-closures-water-main-large-break-vehicles-clean-up-police-monday

Lease take over available Exo Reston Price locked in till September 30, 2025 Moving back with parents due to their declining health, lived in property for two years. Management has been wonderful, quick and resourceful. Maintenance is fast and professional as well. Little to no noise from neighbors! High rise 11th floor, large balcony and luxury appliances. Cats and dogs welcome and they will waive fee if you can show proof of emotional support (doctor note). Will cover application fee and deposit upon signing. Contact for phone number if interested!

I recently moved to Reston and I WFH but i'm looking to do some work outside of my house sometimes and wanted to know what the best places to work from would be in Reston. Somewhere with decent wifi and enough seating.

Hey, everyone! This week in Out & About Fairfax, we have details about the big McLean Chocolate Festival, Chinese New Year Festival, and Ice-travaganza in Reston. Plus, how you can enjoy the first-ever Oakton Restaurant Week.

Our latest edition just dropped today! You can check out the full list of events and fun happening around Fairfax County this weekend in the link below.

https://outandaboutfairfax.beehiiv.com/p/mclean-chocolate-festival-chinese-new-year-festival-ice-travaganza

If you find this newsletter to be helpful, you can subscribe for free to receive the email straight to your inbox every Thursday!

Cheers!

Hi all, was just wondering if anyone knows any places accepting food waste for composting in South Reston? I know farmers' markets and the I-66 dump ahem transfer station accept it, but I'm wondering if there are places closer by and/or that accept compost during the winter. I don't have a yard so it's not feasible for me to make my own pile. Thanks!

I recently moved to Reston (longtime resident of the DMV but never lived in Virginia until now) and have been looking into local pet services. Went down a rabbit hole once I googled the new place at the Town Center: Molly's Dog Care.

This post is intended to compile the information that is publicly available online for those who are looking into whether they want to support this business. Reddit has a couple threads on this, with conflicting information and some comments from accounts who claim affiliation with Molly's. Full disclosure, I lived near a District Dogs location in DC before I moved here and thought the management's handling of the August 2023 incident was just awful (in my opinion, too much blaming the city instead of taking accountability for poor planning and procedures) — part of why I wanted to look into the ties to this "new" business, in addition to considering my two dogs' safety.

District Dogs

• District Dogs was founded by Jacob Hensley in 2014, and Steve Gaudio started advising him on growth around 2016. The company's "longtime commercial real estate adviser," Gaudio joined Hensley as an "equal partner" in the franchise business of District Dogs prior to Jan. 2023. (source: Wash. Business Journal)

• August 2023: 10 dogs die in flooding incident, after the same location experienced flooding three times in 2022. (source: DC Attorney General)

• May 2024: Families of eight dogs sue Hensley & District Dogs (Case Number 2024-CAB-002912 in DC local court). Allegedly, after the August 2023 incident, Hensley promised to return the collars and belongings of the dead dogs but instead kept them for weeks in grocery bags in his apartment. Two weeks after their dogs died, two of the owners tracked a Tile tracker that had been on one of the dog's collars to Hensley's apartment. "After Defendant Hensley heard the Tile® tracker sounding, he contacted Mr. Wilson and belatedly offered to return Elsa’s collar (which had her name and Mr. Wilson’s number on it)." Those dog parents told another parent of a deceased dog, who went to Hensley's apartment and made demands until "Defendant Hensley retrieved three grocery bags full of collars and other dog paraphernalia from his home." (quotes are straight from the complaint) Case is ongoing.

• October 2024: DC Attorney General finds: "District Dogs misled consumers about the safety of dogs at the Rhode Island Ave facility, including by publicly reassuring pet owners about the safety of their dogs and minimizing previous flooding, while at the same time internally discussing concerns about serious risks to dogs posed by potential future floods. OAG’s investigation also revealed that District Dog’s emergency procedures did not contain an evacuation plan, that employees were not properly trained to respond in emergencies, and that the company did not have a policy in place to monitor the weather despite ongoing concerns about floods"; $100,00 fine and permanent closure of flooded location. (source)

• August 2024: Former District Dogs employee charged with animal cruelty for allegedly kicking puppy to death in February (source: Fox5)

Molly's Dog Care Reston

• October 3, 2024: "Molly's Dog Care Reston" Facebook page is created (source)
• October 14, 2024: Dog Care LLC formed in Virginia with Stephen Gaudio as registered agent. (source: State Corporation Commission)
• November 2024: Hensley sells his ownership in the franchising business to Barry Madani. Madani "plans to rebrand the franchises as Molly's Dog Care. One of those franchises was already in the works when Hensley and Madani began talking earlier this year; it opened at Reston Town Center earlier this month." (source: Wash. Business Journal, continued below and will post full article as a comment for those without a subscription)

Hensley will retain ownership of the corporate-owned District Dogs locations in D.C., and he hopes with fewer locations to increase the level of care, safety and customer service at those outposts in Park View, Navy Yard and Shaw. Madani will take over the company-owned locations in Northern Virginia. Including those sites, in Alexandria, Clarendon, and Pentagon City, was an important part of the deal, as it will give Madani the prototype from which to replicate. There's also a classroom in the Pentagon City location that District Dogs uses as a training center for its employees.

Hensley is helping Madani to take over the Virginia stores but will not be involved in their operation, or those of the franchise locations, after a brief transition period.

Hensley connected with Madani through a mutual friend, Steve Gaudio, whom he'd recruited to aid the business as it geared up to launch the franchise business. In his other role, as a broker at District Equities, Gaudio advised Hensley as he expanded District Dogs from the original Park View location to others across Greater Washington.

Gaudio, who will retain his role in the franchise business, also worked with Madison on leasing assignments including Collection 14, a mixed-use project at 1400 W St. NW whose retail space is leased to tenants including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Backcountry.com Inc. The past few years have been tough for the area's commercial real estate industry, and Madani was looking for local operating companies in which to invest while waiting out the market. Knowing this, Gaudio connected Madani with Hensley over the summer.

• November 21, 2024: Soft opening of Molly's in Reston (source)
• December 4, 2024: Dog Care LLC applies for Molly's trademark for dog care business, with the same logo as the Reston location. (source: USPTO, number 98886829, h/t another reddit user)

So Hensley is out, but one of his longtime District Dogs business partners, Gaudio, retains partial ownership of what is being rebranded as Molly's. (Also, the details of the deal are not public — did Hensley get some kind of compensation based on the fact that the Reston location was in the works already before this deal, and does he have an earnout providing that he is compensated in part based on the successful breakoff of this new company? Gaudio was the commercial real estate advisor for District Dogs — I wonder if he had any role in securing the NE DC location that became so problematic?) Gaudio allegedly blocked individuals who lost their dogs in the 2023 flood on social media (according to one of the people who lost a dog) even while he continued to heap praise on Hensley, calling him a great partner on Twitter/X in April 2024. (Tweet of dog parent who was blocked; Gaudio tweet).

Has anyone been to the community center at hunters woods plaza recently? (Past 6 months). People openly drinking, doing drugs, loitering with multiple homeless sleeping right next to the community center and church.

Police are constantly seen responding in the area and the sheer amount of trash that is being thrown into the woods and ground when there are trash cans yards away is appalling. People sitting on the steps of the church doing drugs/smoking pot as parents take their kids into the community center for swimming or other activities.

It feels like a scene out of the wire. Is there anything that can be done to get these people the help they need? The littering needs to stop.