Locals Win RAMMYs

Ellie Bird was named the New Restaurant of the Year at the 42nd Annual RAMMYs Awards Gala. Ellie Bird is located in Founders Row and owned by Carey and Yuan Tang. The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) celebrates excellence in the restaurant industry and held the event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. All finalists and winners were determined by an anonymous panel of judges except for the winners of the five publicly voted categories, which were decided by public vote earlier this year. Fava Pot of Falls Church, owned by Dina Daniel, was selected by the public as the winner in the Favorite Fast Bites category. They were recently recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as having the Best Kids Menu.

Chicken Salad Chick Ribbon Cutting

Chicken Salad Chick will celebrate its grand opening in Idywood Plaza with the Falls Church Chamber hosting the ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 7 with Providence Supervisor Dalia Palchik and members of Falls Church City Council. The doors will open to the public at 10:30 a.m. Devon Chamberlain, a local social worker, is opening her first location in Idylwood Plaza with both her father and father-in-law. This is the first of several franchises she plans to open in Northern Virginia. There are various promotions running August 7, 9, and 10. The restaurant will be open Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. — 8:00 p.m. Kevin and Stacy Brown founded the restaurant in Auburn, Alabama, and it is headquartered in Atlanta.

Northrop Among the Best

U.S. News and World Report has released its list of the top 300 “Best Companies to Work For” and Northrop Grumman was among them. The aerospace, defense and security company has previously made the lists for the Best in Transportation and Best Companies in the South. It employs 100,000 people in all 50 states as well as 21 countries with its home base in Falls Church. This is the second year that the publication has put the list out, showcasing how companies meet the needs of their employees.

Attention Job Seekers & Employers

Fairfax County has activated a resource, TalentUp, for both job seekers and employers in the City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, and Fairfax County. The recruiting program provides temp-to-permanent interns for high-demand positions at no cost. Employers may complete an interest form or contact Robert Mahon at 571-279-1801. Job seekers may complete the TalentUp application or contact Suzanne Boudreaux at 703-397-6577 or Anna Briceno at 703-397-7799. The website is talentupfairfax.com, and questions may be directed to talentupfairfax@vcwnorthern.com.

Local Company Joins Accelerator Program

Canopie, in Falls Church has been invited to participate in the fall cohort of the Lighthouse Labs accelerator program in Richmond. The program provides $20,000 in equity-free funding and weekly educational programming, as well as mentoring from its network and connections with local partners and investors. Canopie is a telehealth startup offering maternal mental health services in English and Spanish. It is among seven Virginia-based startups, four of which are in Fairfax County.

Inova Construction to Begin

Falls Church-based Inova plans to begin construction on two new hospitals in August. The two will replace Alexandria Hospital on Seminary Road with one location in the former Landmark Mall site of Alexandria and the other in the Franconia-Springfield area. The expected completion is the later part of 2028.

• Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschurchchamber.org.