Around Town

Clarendon-born smoothie, acai and juice chain South Block has announced a new president as it rolls out national expansion plans.

Restaurant industry veteran Steve Heeley will guide South Block through its next chapter alongside founding CEO Amir Mostafavi, the company announced in a press release last week.


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Falls Church City Council members seem split on how much to raise their salaries, now that they have state permission to approve a potentially hefty boost in pay.

Council members currently earn $11,500 per year, and the mayor earns $12,000. Virginia law now permits a maximum salary of $21,000 for Council members and $22,000 for the mayor of a city the size of Falls Church.


Around Town

A bookstore and cafe with a taste for the mystical, metaphysical and macabre has announced plans to open in Falls Church.

The Dark, Unbound plans to sell books by “underrepresented voices in the fantasy, science-fiction, speculative fiction and horror genres,” in a cozy, moody atmosphere. It is in the works at 112 W. Broad Street, where Dominion Camera closed in September.


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What could be Falls Church’s next major redevelopment project has taken a small but key step forward.

At a meeting last week, members of Fairfax County’s Planning Commission signaled that they will recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize further study of a 2.4-acre parcel fronting Route 7.


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Motorists using W. Broad Street (Route 7) eastbound through Falls Church will find road construction ongoing through at least early June.

Work will impact the 1000 block of W. Broad between the West End Plaza shopping center and the intersection with West Street.


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In a cost-saving move, Falls Church leaders on Monday (May 12) voted to reconfigure how the city oversees its economic-development, planning, zoning and permitting operations.

In adopting the fiscal 2026 budget, City Council members eliminated the position of Community Planning and Economic Development Services director.


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In just a few months, Falls Church leaders are hoping to reach a final decision on whether to shift how they fund city trash collection.

City Council members on Monday directed City Manager Wyatt Shields to set up a task force on the issue and come back to Council members by Aug. 4 with recommendations.


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A Falls Church man who fled the scene after striking a motorcyclist near the Pentagon last year has been sentenced to three and a half years behind bars.

Fullas Abebe, who admitted in October to striking the bike on I-395 before speeding off, received more than the recommended 180-day sentence in Arlington Circuit Court last Friday, May 2.


Around Town

The West Falls development is getting a new ice cream shop tomorrow (Friday).

D.C.-area creamery Ice Cream Jubilee plans to open its next location at noon at 151 W. Falls Station Blvd in Falls Church, joining the development’s growing retail landscape.


News

Falls Church property owners are probably getting a tax cut, though it’s not as high as initially proposed.

City Council has tentatively settled on a rate of $1.20 per $100 assessed valuation, down from $1.21 in the current fiscal year.


Around Town

A fixer-upper nightlife spot in Falls Church has transformed into a new Caribbean restaurant and bar under new ownership.

Ricky Bartlette took Lesly’s Restaurant Bar and Grill under his wing in January, hoping to improve its reputation. Since then, the entrepreneur, who also owns a Baltimore-based security firm, has renovated and added a Caribbean menu.


News

The Falls Church City Council marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon last week with a celebration of the city’s Vietnamese-American community.

“Thank you for being part of Falls Church,” Mayor Letty Hardi said at Monday’s Council meeting, attended by several dozen community representatives.


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