East End Small Area Plan Survey Closes Sunday

The Draft Small Area Plan for the East End of the City is available for review and comment, along with a survey in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese on the city’s website, https://www.fallschurchva.gov/2128/East-End-Small-Area-Plan. The survey asks about the importance of various goals, like preserving the Eden Center culture and identity, preserving and providing housing, and which urban designs, if any, to add, like pocket parks and public art. The survey closes on Sunday, December 18 and comments may also be sent to plan@fallschurchva.gov.

Thompson Italian to Open Another Location

Gabe and Katherine Thompson are expanding Thompson Italian into Old Town Alexandria, set to open late December in the former home of Hank’s Oyster Bar. Several popular dishes making the menu are rigatoni bolognese, spaghetti cacio e pepe, roasted focaccia and Katherine’s famed olive oil cake which helped earn her a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year in 2020.

Transportation Projects Affecting Falls Church

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority adopted the long-range transportation plan with 424 projects last week geared toward enhancing the infrastructure to meet the growing needs in Northern Virginia. Among the 29 projects impacting Falls Church are multimodal improvements, enhanced bus service, enhanced regional bike routes, BRT service on Route 50, and Seven Corners Ring Road improvements. To review the projects, visit https://nvtatransaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NVTA_TransActn_Project-List_Dec2022_Final.pdf.

Patch Shout Out to Foley

The Patch is highlighting heroes making a difference in their community, and local barber Dustin Foley was recently nominated by Jan-Michael Sacharko. Foley, barber and owner of The Neighborhood Barbershop, has taken his team to visit two homeless shelters operated by New Hope Housing and provide free haircuts to men and women for five years. The barbershop has hosted fundraisers annually as well, raising over $40,000 thus far.

Grants for Women-Owned Businesses

IFundWomen and Johnnie Walker have come together to provide support to “trailblazing” women-owned businesses that continue to push boundaries and grow, helping their businesses succeed. Ten recipients of the First Strides Grant will receive a $10,000 grant and one year of coaching services through IFundWomen. Submit your application by December 31. Visit https://www.ifundwomen.com/johnniewalker for more information.