The City of Falls Church has announced its first-ever Summer Restaurant Week, running from Friday of next week, August 21, through August 30. This ten-day culinary celebration follows on from the last two years of successful Restaurant Weeks held in the winter. Its aim again is to highlight the “Little City” as a premier, walkable dining destination.
The Falls Church Restaurant Week invites food enthusiasts to explore diverse culinary traditions without requiring tickets, passes, or coupons. Over the ten-day period, participating establishments across West Broad Street and up to Founders Row will offer exclusive seasonal plates, discounts, and custom prix-fixe menus.
Diners can experience a vast array of global cuisines, including authentic Uyghur, Afghan, Bolivian, fine Italian, and modern Vietnamese fusion. Notable neighborhood highlights include Northside Social Falls Church, showcasing seasonal heirloom tomato pies and passionfruit guava spritzes, alongside local favorites like Ellie Bird and NUE: Elegantly Vietnamese in Founder’s Row.
As an added incentive, diners can collect stamps from participating locations to enter a raffle for a $100 local gift card.
The celebration also includes Little City Sips, a downtown sip-and-stroll event, on Saturday, August 22, from 5 to 10 p.m. For one evening, the core of downtown Falls Church transforms into an open-air social district. Adults aged 21 and older can purchase beer, wine, or craft cocktails from licensed establishments and carry their drinks outdoors in official, branded cups within designated event boundaries.
The pedestrian-friendly evening pairs local beverages with vibrant community entertainment. Guests can enjoy outdoor art displays, local murals, and live music performances at Mr. Brown’s Park and adjacent restaurant patios. Key participating establishments open for the stroll include:
Clare & Don’s Beach Shack
Dogwood Tavern
Ireland’s Four Provinces
Stratford Garden
Residents and visitors are encouraged to use public transit or designated downtown parking structures along West Broad Street and the Founders Row development.
Summer events are also coming up from the Falls Church Forward (FCF) group. Their 4th Annual Community Potluck is now slated for Sunday, August 16, from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Cherry Hill Park Picnic Shelter at 312 Park Avenue. Participants are encouraged to register in advance and bring a musical instrument for an informal jam session.
Also, the FCF monthly Happy Hour will be held Thursday, August 20, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the popular Stratford Garden, 300 W. Broad St. This will be a no agenda, come-as-you-are event to meet fellow members and friends at a gathering in the beer garden.
Other upcoming Falls Church Forward events include a fundraiser to be held Sunday, September 17, from 3 – 6 p.m. at Audacious Aleworks Brewery, and the Halloween Bike Parade on Sunday, October 15, from 3 – 5 p.m.
The FCF’s new website is now live. The City Meetings tab has plain-English summaries of 460 (and counting) council and board meetings, and posts new meetings within hours, not the weeks that official minutes take. Want to be notified every time a new meeting summary or upcoming agenda drops? Sign up for the FCF Discord!
The website’s Ask the Archive tab answers questions directly from thousands of city documents collected over decades of history in the city – meeting summaries, minutes, budgets, the zoning code, with sources linked. Try it out with “What’s recently been top of mind for the city council?”
Organizers encourage members and friends to stay in tune with the FCF news, and to check out the FCF calendar for what’s coming up next.
Key organizers of FCF include Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi, City Council member Justine Underhill, and Economic Development Authority chair Ross Litkenhous.
