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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LOCAL

SEPTEMBER 9 – 15, 2021 | PAGE 15

Food Trucks Stir Up Tension Within Falls Church Restaurant Ranks

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS across the Little City create an influx of customers for food truck owners and operators; however, there’s been a rising sense of apprehension from “brick-and-mortar” restaurant owners like Colm Dillon, of Ireland’s Four Provinces. Even though food trucks were also hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, restaurants that conduct business from fixed locations are required to pay property taxes and mortgages, among other responsibilites — concerns that food truck owners do not have to deal with. (Photo: News-Press)

by Matt Delaney

Falls Church News-Press

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s... actually just a food truck. And if you ask Falls Church City restaurant owners and their advocates in the Chamber of Commerce what they think of these roaming vendors, it falls well short of anything “super.”

“Who benefits from food trucks? Because the city doesn’t. The restaurants certainly don’t,” said Colm Dillon, the owner of Ireland’s Four Provinces. “We’re the ones who collect the taxes, pay the patrons, pay the mortgages and pay property taxes to the city. They’re swanning in and taking up all the money and they’re gone. No health department inspections, no licensing. We’re the ones who are paying the freight. And we’re not getting a fair shake.”

The issue is a byproduct of the City’s massive development push. With busy construction sites coming to the West End and the City’s downtown over the next several years, it’s all but guaranteed there will be food trucks posting up nearby to offer the workers an option other than their saran-wrapped ham sandwich.

For proof, look no further than the Burrito Express truck stationed near the corner of N. West Street and Steeples Court — directly across from the Founders Row site.

Run by Marina Williams with the help of her brother, the truck has hovered around Founders Row since July after acquiring its permit in June. Burrito Express opens up at 11 a.m. and closes by 2 p.m. every weekday.

But the truck is no cash cow for Williams, at least not anymore. Over a decade ago the truck was generating great revenue for the Arlington resident. Now with so much competition throughout the Washington, D.C. region, there’s no such luck.

She told the News-Press that she has a mix of OK and unremarkable days sales-wise. And once the construction wraps up at Founders Row (which is supposed to happen within the next month), she’s not sure where Burrito Express will head next. Though she plans on riding out her time by the project site, Williams doesn’t see the issue with where she chooses to park the truck.

“No, nothing wrong [setting up] over here,” Williams said. “Only thing is no business, no money...Maybe [I should] stay home, because I’m trying so hard over here, it’d be better to stay home.”

The fear of contracting Covid-19 kept her truck parked at home from March 2020 until early summer of this year. When Williams did reach out to the City to get a permit, she paid the $100 fee and began operating soon after. However, there’s more to it than that.

According to one City official, who spoke on background with the News-Press, there are multiple City departments that factor into enforcing the rules for food trucks: the Commissioner of the Revenue for food/sales and some aspect of the permitting; zoning to approve location and receive letter of permission from the property owner; police to ticket them if they don’t have a permit; fire officials, since the trucks store combustible materials onboard; and, finally, the Fairfax County’s health department, which does the inspections for the food trucks.

However, for those inspections to be done, the food truck typically has to seek them out — Fairfax’s health department will not track them down. And, typically, if the food truck shows the police their permit, they won’t hassle them for other documentation.

According to this official, “I don’t believe there is currently a single food truck in the City that is legal via a permit [and other requirements].”

It’s made for some tension from Falls Church’s Chamber of Commerce. Executive Director Sally Cole said that she also does not believe that there are any food trucks registered in Falls Church right now. And while “the license is ‘required,’ there is no enforcement and thus food trucks are setting up at construction sites and in neighborhoods without contributing any revenue to Falls Church.”

Cole said their supposed lack of licensing means they offer little support to the City financially. Even with a license, Cole added, food trucks don’t provide the same kind of contributions to the City that restaurants do.

Dillon, the owner of Ireland’s Four Provinces, said that he pays $250 in taxes to the City alone during one lunch period.

To him, the decision to allow food trucks into the City to service construction workers just doesn’t make sense.

It’s one thing if a neighborhood street calls one in for a special event, but to have them diverting customers from brickand-mortar businesses is not the way to go.

“I think a meeting of some of the powers that be in the city is the best way to do this,” Dillon said. “And some of the business owners that are affected directly like the restaurants, fast food places, I think will be a hell of a way to start the ball rolling.”

Upon hearing that Williams’ Burrito Express hasn’t made any money during its short time in the City, Dillon replied that he hadn’t made any money in 18 months.

He’s trying to get ahead of this issue because he sees the construction coming downtown for both the Broad and Washington project, as well as the City Center project, as his meal ticket out of his own establishment’s pandemic-induced funk.

Adding to construction, he believes that office workers will be returning to their place of work as tech giants Amazon and Apple come back — which is currently slated for January 2022.

By that time, the Four Provinces will again be open for lunch.

Dillon is looking forward to making his “gravy” revenue again once that day comes and doesn’t want any four-wheeled interlopers cutting into it.

PAGE 16 |SEPTEMBER 9 – 15, 2021

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Open Road Grill is a Straight Path to Rugged, Delicious Eats in Falls Church

by Patricia Leslie

Falls Church News-Press

One of the restaurants which will be participating at Saturday’s “Taste of Falls Church” will be the Open Road Grill on Lee Highway near Merrifield, a place I’ve ignored for years when I’m whizzing past and glance over at the filled parking lot.

Where would I park?

Filled parking lots tell a lot about what’s inside: Good food at good prices which is why crowds come and they’ve been coming for almost ten years to the Open Road Grill.

When I finally stopped by last week, I saw signs in the lot directing drivers to free overflow parking just around the corner. I went inside to order and chat a few moments with the senior general manager, Rees Freiberg.

My first impressions of Open Road’s decor made me think that I’d taken a detour to the West.

The wooden tables, floors, chairs, and walls definitely give it a “manly man’s” feel but with a homey, comfortable warmth — maybe like entering a huge “man cave” where women are not excluded.

Indeed, underneath a motorcycle hanging above the inside bar were plenty of women enjoying themselves, ordering food and laughing.

The big television screens on the walls were all set to show weekend football, and the Nats were up when I was there, losing again. (The restaurant’s website lists the game lineups.)

Frieberg said business has been pretty good, like 20 percent over 2019 figures — which are pre-Covid numbers.

The most popular dish, Frieberg said, is the open road burger ($14), which, once I saw it, could be nicknamed the “big and juicy” because that’s how it came out, loaded with a slice of cheddar cheese on top and crowned by a huge, thick onion ring. It was so good I almost ordered a side of them ($5) until I considered my caloric overload and guilt.

With its grilled taste, the burger was delicious, — even if it was a little redder than I expected for my “medium” request — but, in no way was I going to send this tongue-thriller back for more cooking and risk shattering the sumptuous treat soon to land on my taster.

Instead of fries (calories) with my burger, I ordered broccoli and cauliflower for the side dish (no extra charge for the substitute), and the veggies were excellent, cooked al dente with a hint of basil or rosemary but which the kitchen insisted was only a garlic butter sauce.

Another favorite at the Open Road Grill is the salmon ($19) with a larger-than-life piece of fish served atop greens, grilled corn, tomatoes, pickles, goat cheese and garlic croutons in a sherry vinaigrette with every bite as good as sales say.

I had to try the spinach salad ($8) too, for who can resist fresh spinach with goat cheese, candied walnuts, granny smith apple pieces and subdued red onions in an apple vinaigrette?

Tasty and supreme, but one must admit: it’d be hard to mess up a spinach salad. It also came with applewood bacon chunks which were a little tough, like bits of compact tofu (I am not a fan), but the price was a knockout ($8). (I didn’t eat all these dishes at one sitting, more like three!)

My pal, Jordan, ordered a grilled chicken sandwich ($14) which was huge, about a half inch thick and she said the taste matched the appearance (recommended). And the goat cheese! It’s in everything, and scrumptious on top of that! A killer!

Jordan kindly shared her fries with me, a “faux fry” eater, making myself feel better by not ordering any but tasting some from others’ plates. I pronounced the fries almost as good as Five Guys’. She graded them higher.

Open Road’s bar menu consumes a whole page in small type. I can’t drink most hard stuff and did not try the restaurant’s top seller which Freiberg said was the “Maple Old Fashioned” ($14), but after he described it to me, I was tempted to start drinking. They age “Knob Creek” rye whiskey in white oak barrels for three weeks and mix it with organic maple syrup, cinnamon sticks and orange bitters.

Other popular items are wings and “our French dip is awesome,” Freiberg exclaimed. It’s a slow-roasted sandwich served with horseradish cream ($18) and fries, but since I was over budget by about 20 percent in dollars and intake, I declined to order more.

For those who want outside dining, there is a big tent in the parking lot and plenty of tables under an awning with an outside bar and overhead heaters for chillier weather.

Sharing the building with Open Road is its fancier sister next door, Trio Grill, with “semi-fine dining,” Freiberg said. “We wanted two awesome restaurants which didn’t compete with each other, each with its own ‘scratch’ [original] kitchens. One’s great for business meetings and the other one [Open Road] is super familyfriendly.”

On a lazy Thursday afternoon at the Open Road, all ages from toddler up to 80+ years were observed, with the Happy Hour crowd (4 – 7 p.m. weekdays), bustling and delighted with the food, themselves, and the beer and wine specials.

Open Road hosts live music Tuesday – Thursdays from 5 – 8 p.m. and on Friday and Saturdays from 7 – 10 p.m. (Artists are listed on the website.) Alas, a waiter told me there was no dancing.

The site between Shreve and Gallows for the restaurants works well and draws customers from Falls Church, Fairfax, Merrifield and Tysons. Freiberg said: “I don’t think we could have picked a better location.”

During the worst part of Covid, the restaurant remained open for takeout only, and the staff was laid off but everybody who wanted to come back has been welcome, and Freiberg is seeking to hire more: “We’re not quite where we want to be [with staffing], but close.”

Open Road Grill, 8100 Lee Highway, 22042, ph. 571-3954400 opens at 11 a.m., Monday – Friday, and 10:30 a.m., Saturday and Sunday. Order in, order out, order curbside or delivery, but leave your dancing shoes at home. Giddyup! www. openroadgrill.com

THE OPEN ROAD BURGER, with a side of broccoli and cauliflower, highlights the kind of hefty, towering dishes one might find at the Open Road Grill. (Photo: Patricia Leslie) THE OPEN ROAD GRILL has a rough-and-tumble, “manly” sort of feel to it, but nonetheless provides a family-friendly atmosphere and delicious food to all its visitors, with indoor dining as well as an outdoor tent area depending on customer preference. (Photo: Patricia Leslie)