THEY CALLED HER ‘BOOTS’ –
On the Front LINE of Change
Ashburn man was a national leader during the Civil Rights Movement
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 5
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becoming a go-to destination not just for our community but for the region as a whole.
Just a day earlier, on the other side of Ashburn, Reservoir Park officially opened, bringing new amenities to the Beaverdam Reservoir off Belmont Ridge Road – something we previewed in the cover story of our very first issue of Ashburn Magazine in March 2019.
So when the young folks complain, “There’s nothing to do in Ashburn,” I have to respectfully disagree. Another example is the W&OD Trail, which dates its origin to the mid-1850s, when the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad was built across the region. In our “Time Travel” article this month, starting on Page 54, Mathew Annis chronicles the arduous construction of the railroad – and discovers who did a lot of work. Elsewhere in this issue, our cover story, beginning on Page 22, profiles a courageous civil rights leader, Dr. Robert Green, who now lives in Brambleton. Reading about his experiences and recollections is truly eye-opening and a good reminder of how far our country has come.
In the “Our Neighbors” feature, starting on Page 40, you’ll also meet another trailblazer, Anne Marie Mason, who in the early 1990s became the first female firefighter with the Ashburn Volunteer Fire & Rescue Squad, paving the way for many who have followed.
Shortly after moving to Loudoun County in 2012, I drove out Route 7 to Ashburn and remember seeing a One Loudoun sign along the road – and nothing but a construction trailer in the big, open field behind it. So it was quite remarkable last month to be standing under a tent surrounded by stores, restaurants, a movie theater, an apartment complex, a hotel and hundreds of townhomes for the groundbreaking for yet another phase of the One Loudoun development. While not every business at One Loudoun has succeeded, the development’s incredible growth typifies that of Ashburn generally, and it is quickly
And our “Business Boom” (Page 14) spotlights a couple who not only stepped up to save a local business, the Ashburn Wine Shop, when the prior owner passed away, but they have also expanded its services – all while learning the business.
So as we head into the holidays, whether it’s new stores, new trails or just some amazing neighbors, it seems that we have plenty to be thankful for.
“I have two words for Long Covid: The Worst,” shares Dave A. of Ashburn.
While the initial alarm of the Covid-19 outbreak has subsided, the fallout from the pandemic is ongoing. Many continue to feel long-term impacts from their infection. In fact nearly 23 million Americans (and 100 million people globally) have learned that regardless of the severity of their initial infection they may continue to experience debilitating symptoms for weeks, months, or even years In a number of these cases, symptoms worsen with time, even turning deadly
“I got Covid early last year and it was pretty bad,” shares Dave. “I was hospitalized for 9 days and there was a point where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I’m still here so I guess God had other plans but months passed and I was still gasping for air. I couldn’t do everyday tasks like cutting the grass or working in the yard, much less enjoy a quick bike ride. And then there was what my doctor called, ‘brain fog’. I’d lose my train of thought midsentence or forget words for stupid things like plates and toilet paper. It felt like I’d had a stroke more than it did a virus.”
Officially dubbed Long Covid, the aftermath of the original virus has taken on a life of its own Dozens of symptoms have been reported and include everything from shortness of breath and cognitive issues to a sudden onset of diabetes and cardiothoracic conditions.
LONG COVID
Local clinic has a modern, medical solution to treat your Long-Haul Covid symptoms and is seeing incredible results!
These symptoms are so welldocumented and common that those suffering now qualify for disability assistance.
Unfortunately for Dave and so many others the treatment options thus far have been limited
“I started with my primary care doctor and saw specialist after specialist. A pulmonologist finally told me, ‘This is the best we can do for you, it’s time you start thinking about how you’re going to live with Long Covid ’ Apparently their best was letting me live what felt like half a life ”
Dave wasn’t satisfied with that and decided to do his own research, which is how he ended up at FAW, Firefly Acupuncture and Wellness in Ashburn, VA.
“I fully believe the human body has the ability to heal itself, but sometimes it needs a little push. I’ve used acupuncture in the past to help me through a bout of sciatica and just knew if anyone could help me with this Long Covid business, it was going to be Rachal Lohr.”
You might think that a novel virus needs a novel solution, but if so, you’d only be half right. While the staff at Firefly Acupuncture does use innovative solutions like ATP Resonance BioTherapy™ to combat Long Covid, because it aids in the healing and repair of specific cells and tissues, it’s a much more timetested science that’s getting patients back to living their lives.
“Our O3 ReBoot Therapy™ has all-encompassing and powerful healing capabilities ” shares Taylor, a Senior Patient Care Coordinator.
“Ozone therapy has been used since the 1800s and was actually a popular tool for Doctors during the First World War because of its antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. We use it today to inactivate any residual Covid virus, stimulate oxygen metabolism, and activate the immune system The whole treatment takes about 15 minutes and is completely noninvasive.”
As with FAW’s other services, O3 ReBoot Therapy™ requires consistent and repeated treatment to achieve measurable and long-lasting results. “I’m in my second month of treatment and back to riding my bike and breathing better than before I even had Covid. Everyone [at FAW] has been amazing! I really feel taken care of every time I walk in the door.”
Rachal Lohr, L Ac , FAW’s founder and leading practitioner has been successfully treating chronic pain and complicated conditions for almost two decades. She has pioneered effective protocols to treat seemingly hopeless conditions like peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and postherpetic neuralgia. When COVID-19 emerged over three years ago, she and her team got right to work researching and developing therapies that would effectively address that complex virus Based on the testimony of patients like Dave, it seems their efforts have been a smashing success.
For more information, visit FireflyAcuAndWellness com In an effort to do their part in helping people through this difficult time, they are waiving the $40 new patient consultation fee for Long Covid patients Call (703) 263-2142 to schedule
Deer Dash
Local high
schoolers
work to prevent accidents between cars and animals
BY TRACY OWENS
Proximity to nature is one of the amenities of Martins Chase, a neighborhood just west of Belmont Ridge Road. Surrounded by woods and the Beaverdam Reservoir, Anmol Karan enjoys living there.
But in areas like this – where natural beauty and residential living come together – deer are plentiful, and so are the accidents they can cause on area roads.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, there were 27 deer-vehicle collisions in Loudoun County, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Karan, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, heard stories from family and friends about occasional accidents involving deer and lots of near misses. Interested in software application development and artificial intelligence, he wondered whether there was a techy solution to this familiar problem. He and classmate Shaurya Jain, who lives near Willowsford, had an idea for a roadside device to warn deer. Their device, which they call DeerDash, won them a 2024 Christine Stevens Wildlife Award and a $15,000 grant from the Animal Welfare Institute. This award, which funds humane and new solutions for wildlife-human conflict management, had never been given to high school students before.
Once developed, Karan and Jain’s device would be placed near areas with high deer traffic and would include a camera and use AI to “see” the deer. The device would be designed to emit a sound that mimics one from a human or animal, called a biosound.
Karan explains that biosounds have been used in other deterrence devices. “But over time the deer get habituated to the sound,” he said. “Habituation is a major challenge.”
Paul Kosek teaches web application development at Thomas Jefferson and had the two young men in class last year, where he helped them hone their idea and apply for the Stevens grant. Kosek said the two students have different personalities and strengths that complement each other.
“Anmol stands out for his inquisitiveness,” Kosek said. “You don’t always have students willing to ask questions. Jain, he added, “has a real enthusiasm to work hard and an enthusiasm for life.”
Anmol Karan (left) and Shaurya Jain (right) hold a letter from the Animal Welfare Institute informing them of having received a grant for their DeerDash device.
Karan (right) and Jain (left) experiment with the electronics for their DeerDash device.
Shelby Crouch, public information officer for Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, has some tips for avoiding deervehicle collisions: Slow down and pay attention, particularly if you are driving after dusk.
If you see one deer, look for others – deer travel in family groups.
Use particular caution in areas marked by deer crossing signs– these are high-activity areas.
Always wear your seat belt.
If you do collide with a deer, immediately report the accident to local law enforcement. Do not approach an injured deer.
Kosek described both young men as standing out for the empathy and caring that drive them to want to create solutions to real problems, not as class projects but a way to make a difference.
“I’m an enthusiastic cheerleader,” Kosek said. “It’s exciting to see students get recognized for their initiative.”
Karan and Jain are in the prototype stage of their invention and have worked to move beyond coding into such practical questions as camera choice and what kind of material would be used to house the roadside device.
They hope to have a device ready for testing in the spring, Jain said.
The two have been interested in computer science since they were at Brambleton Middle School, where they learned coding. Both plan to study computer science in college. Jain hopes to land at a school with an AI research focus. Karan hopes to find a school that has both a strong music program and computer science program. A bassoon player, he has been part of the All-Virginia Concert Band and Virginia’s District 11 All-District Band.
Wherever the two wind up in college, Karan says, “This project is something we’ll continue.” A
Tracy Owens is a former magazine editor who writes about arts, businesses and people in the Southeast. Her work has appeared in Salon, Gulfshore Life, Islandia Journal and many other publications.
Love
Of course Ketterman’s has jewelry for your significant other, mother and brother in this season of gifting, but there is so much more to offer. During the first weekend of November the store is transformed into what has been described by guests as a “Hallmark Christmas movie” with numerous trees, garland, holiday gifts and décor. Seasonal favorites include pillows, candles, ornaments, gnomes, advent calendars, cards and most of all, Tammi Ketterman’s home-made rum cake.
In the Stocking
Let’s be real, most of what Ketterman’s offers will easily fit into a stocking, but many of our items you may not typically find in your idea of a
“regular” jewelry store: Teleties hair ties, World’ s Softest Socks, vegan leather dog collar, “Tales From the Dugout” book, Sono Inspired wine cask sign, Bird Dog Bay men’s dress socks, Cait+ Co shower steamers, Honey House Naturals lotion, Brighton “Reindeer Glitz” Minipost, Capabunga wine bottle cap
your loved ones shop with confidence by creating a wish list at Ketterman’s. If you’re more the S - I - Y (Shop-It-Yourself) type, tell them what you really want for Christmas is a Ketterman’s Gift Certificate!
Pictured: VAHAN bracelets
Extended Hours Start Monday, December 9th.
A Passion for Wine
A friend’s passing leads local couple to take a leap of faith
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
Sean Malone loved being a wine shop owner.
He bought the 8-year-old Ashburn Wine Shop in 2018 from its original owner and carefully curated an inventory of fine wines and a list of loyal customers. He renovated the store, added a kitchen in 2020 and started serving food accompanied by his wines.
And then one day he collapsed in the store. It was a brain tumor. He fought it for 20 months before passing away March 28.
“Sean was remarkably brave,” said Sharon Smith, Malone’s fiancée. “He never gave up hope that he would beat the statistics.”
Smith – who was with Malone for 16 years – says the wine shop was his passion.
“For Sean, the shop wasn’t just a place to buy wine – it was a gathering spot where
you could come have a glass and share a story,” Smith said. “He loved the connection he formed with each customer, many of whom became close friends.”
Two of those regular customers and good friends were Alan and Brittany Alexander. The Ashburn Village couple lived near the store and had been such regular shoppers that they quickly bonded with Malone.
“He was like a mentor to me – in life and in business,” Brittany said.
When the writing on the wall became clear, Malone went looking for someone to take over his beloved shop. The Alexanders expressed an interest and soon the deal was done.
“He wanted someone who would carry it on in the same capacity he did,” Brittany said. “He didn’t want to sell it to a chain or to someone who would absorb it into a big restaurant corporation.”
HONORING A LEGACY
The Alexanders are entrepreneurial by nature. Alan, originally from
Above: Brittany and Alan Alexander, the new owners of the Ashburn Wine Shop Bar & Bistro.
Left: Sean Malone, pictured with his fiancée, Sharon Smith, prior to his passing earlier this year.
Woodbridge, is in government contracting. Brittany, a Kansas City native, worked in quality assurance management for a tech company.
The couple owns six rental properties in the Outer Banks – a topic they often discussed with Malone.
“He knew we were good at business,” Alan said. “We sat here many a night talking about business and vacation rentals. He knew we had some business savvy.” Still, owning and managing a wine shop was something new, but they were determined to do it the way their friend had wanted.
“This is supposed to be a wine shop that is centered around food. A place for neighbors to meet up. For book clubs and private events,” Brittany said. “But it’s supposed
to be reasonably priced – wines that don’t have a huge mark-up.”
UP AND RUNNING
Since taking over in May, the Alexanders have had to learn brick-and-mortar retail operations, maintaining an inventory, running payroll and so forth. Brittany focuses on the shop full time now with the help of five longtime employees.
They’ve also made some subtle changes around the store. First is they’ve been trying to promote that the Ashburn Wine Shop is more than just a wine shop – a fact not well known even in the area.
The store – in the Ashburn Village Shopping Center off Gloucester Parkway – is actually named the Ashburn Wine Shop Bar & Bistro – and it has a full food menu, including crab cakes, flatbreads, garlic mus-
sels, pastas and a homemade focaccia bread that is a fan favorite.
“We have customers who say, ‘I didn’t know they did a renovation,’ and ‘I didn’t know you offered food,’” Brittany said.
The Alexanders also added beer from craft breweries to the shop’s dine-in menu, and they’ve been doing free wine tastings as well.
“I believe when you allow people to taste the wine – that gives them confirmation that they like it,” Brittany said. “You don’t have to sell them on it. They decide for themselves.”
Dale and Joyce Cruickshank live in Ashburn’s Broadlands neighborhood and have been patrons for years. They became close friends with Malone when he owned the store and are now big supporters of the Alexanders.
“We are thrilled at what Brittany and (Alan) have done with the shop,” Dale Cruickshank said. “It is a great place to learn about wine and they do tastings a couple of times a week to give people a chance to try new wines.”
For Susan Smith – who is still a regular customer at the wine shop and has even launched her own wine distribution business in memory of Malone – seeing the store forging ahead and growing means a lot.
“The idea of shutting down the shop wasn’t one that Sean could bear,” Smith said. “He had worked so hard to make it the local gem that it is and was beyond grateful that the Alexanders stepped up and took the reins. Sean knew it was in good hands and that brought him comfort.” A
St. John Properties Breaks Ground on New Flex Campus in Ashburn
Loudoun County leaders, commercial real estate professionals and local business leaders joined representatives from St. John Properties Inc. in September to celebrate the groundbreaking for the final phase of Ashburn Crossing.
Ashburn Crossing is an 80-acre mixed-use business campus at Gloucester and Loudoun County parkways.
The construction of new flex buildings – smaller warehouse-style spaces that can be used for many purposes – is a rare occurrence of late as it seems most large parcels of land in the area are being turned into data centers.
At final build-out, Ashburn Crossing will have 11 buildings with nearly 550,000 square feet of commercial space. Also of note – the campus will also include a retail pad site designated for a convenience store.
Data Center Giant Makes Largest Donation Ever to Ashburn Fire Dept.
Digital Realty, a leading data center provider, raised nearly $90,000 for the Ashburn Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department at its annual charity golf tournament.
AVFRD president Capt. Josh Townsend says he believes it’s the largest single donation the department has received.
On Sept. 10, volunteer firefighters brought a fire engine to the Digital Realty data center campus to accept a large novelty check presented by Digital Realty’s Ryan Young, the company’s vice president for Americas operations.
On hand to accept the donation were Townsend, as well as AVFRD vice president Samantha Bailey, Chief Bill Graham, and Assistant Chief Michael Walsh.
Tech Company Raventek Moves to One Loudoun
There was confetti, a red ribbon and giant scissors as information technology company
RavenTek celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters at One Loudoun on Sept. 19. The company was previously based in Herndon. The ribbon-cutting included the RavenTek team as well as leaders from Loudoun County Economic Development, county government and the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce.
RavenTek is a technology company that delivers “leading-edge agile solutions, services and products to mission critical organizations.”
Major New Tenants Announced for One Loudoun
Construction on the next phase of One Loudoun in Ashburn began in early October – and local officials joined the center’s management team to celebrate.
A formal groundbreaking event was held on the afternoon of October 22 – complete with hardhats, a ribbon cutting and ceremonial shovels sticking out of a pile of dirt. It’s an exciting moment for residents in the region because the next phase of One Loudoun will include tons of new retail and restaurant space.
Tenants announced for the new phase include an Arhaus furniture store, a Bartaco restaurant, a Van Leeuwen ice cream shop, and a Tatte Bakery & Cafe. There will also be a new business hotel on the floors above the retail spaces. And developers are planning a winter ice skating rink next door to the Bartaco.
One Loudoun officials also revealed that they are in lease negotiations with at least two more national tenants for additional large spaces in the new phase. Who those potential tenants are and whether those deals will make it to the finish line is yet to be seen.
– Chris Wadsworth
Top: A diagram showing the One Loudoun expansion area on the right. Middle: An artist's rendering of a proposed ice skating rink at the center. Lower left: Local leaders joined with One Loudoun executives in a groundbreaking ceremony. Lower right: An artist's rendering of the future Bartaco restaurant at One Loudoun.
On the Front LINE of Change
Ashburn man was a national leader during the Civil Rights Movement
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
The year was 1966. Dr. Robert L. Green was in the front passenger seat of a car driving through Belzoni, Miss. With him was Andrew Young, the future mayor of Atlanta and a future congressman. In the backseat was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the famed civil rights leader.
“We were in the car… and James Belk, the owner of the Texaco station, was pumping gas,” Green recalled. “We stopped at the light. Belk looked up. He saw King. He stopped pumping the gas. He ran up to the car and he pulled his pistol out and he put it up to King’s forehead and he said, ‘Martin Luther King, I’m going to blow your brains out.’ And King turned to him and said, ‘Brother, I love you.’ The guy was stunned. That pistol came down and he put it in his pocket, and he went back to pumping gas.
“Andy Young said, ‘Martin, why do you do that? One day you’re going to get us all killed.’ And King said, ‘J.F.K. had all sorts of protection. When they are ready for me, they are going to get me.’”
These are the kinds of memories that swirl in Green’s head. He had a front row seat to some of the most intense and pivotal moments during the Civil Rights Movement as a prominent leader during that tumultuous era and the decades that followed.
Today, he is a 90-year-old retiree living quietly in Ashburn’s Brambleton neighborhood with his wife of 67 years, Lettie, and two of his three adult sons.
CHILDHOOD LESSONS
Green was born in Detroit in 1933 and grew up there, graduating from Northern High School in 1952, where he ran track and played football.
He says his neighborhood was a mixture of Blacks, Italians and Jews who all lived together without too many problems. Despite the relative harmony, like every Black child he eventually learned about racism.
“I worked in an Italian barbershop when I was 9 or 10 years old,” Green said. “I would hear the n-word and didn’t quite pick up on it at first. But after a while I did.”
Green’s parents, including his dad, who grew up in the segregated Deep South, gently taught their son to always be cautious. “My mother said, ‘Be careful.’ If I went
downtown to pay a bill, be careful. And especially don’t speak to white men,” Green said. “She had her way of letting you know that you could get in trouble with certain members of certain races.”
In 1954, Green was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in San Francisco for his two years of service. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and then a master’s degree in school psychology at San Francisco State College. He then moved to East Lansing, Mich., and earned his Ph.D. in educational psychology at Michigan State University in 1963.
JOINING THE FIGHT
In 1965, Green took a leave of absence from teaching at Michigan State and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights organization led by King. The two men worked together closely and became friends.
“It was an experience,” Green recalled. “Dr. King – to me – was a brilliant person. A good man. Unafraid. He said, ‘If you’re afraid of dy-
ing, but you don’t have anything you’ll die for, maybe you ought not to be living.’ When King said that, it really blew my mind.”
And the feelings were reciprocated. In February 1966, King wrote a letter to Michigan State thanking the school for sharing Green with the SCLC.
“Through his brilliant mind, his broad humanitarian concern and his unswerving devotion to the principles of freedom and human dignity, he has been an inimitable influence for good on our staff,” King wrote about Green.
King asked Green to be the organization’s education director. This took Green into the segregated South – where he finally started to understand the world in which his father had grown up.
In Grenada, Miss., a sheriff was intimidating Blacks, Green said. “Blacks in the backwoods had whispered to me that he had even killed some Black men. I asked what did they do – and they said sometimes they didn’t do anything. I began to understand the fear that Blacks had in the South and the price they paid for living there.”
Top left: Dr. Robert Green, seen in the center at the back of the group, links arms with other Civil Rights leaders – including Floyd McKissick, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Stokely Carmichael – during a confrontation with Mississippi Highway Patrol officers in 1966. Top right: Green during his time in the U.S. Army. Bottom: Green, left, challenges a Southern sheriff about police brutality in Grenada, Miss., in June 1966.
MEREDITH MARCH
One person who paid a price was James Meredith, a civil rights activist who became the first Black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi in 1962. In June 1966, Meredith began marching across Mississippi to protest efforts to keep Blacks from registering to vote. On the second day of his trek, a white man shot him multiple times, putting Meredith in the hospital.
SCLC leaders, as well as those from other organizations, descended on the state. King asked Green to lead the quickly growing crowd in what became known as the Meredith March.
At one point during the journey from Memphis, Tenn. to Jackson, Miss., the marchers blocked a train track and an oncoming train. The engineer slowed to about 5 mph – but was still inching toward the protesters – many of them white students from the North.
Top left: Dr. Robert Green stands on a train that was moving towards protesters in Grenada, Miss., in June 1966 before he convinced the conductor to stop. Lower left: In 1966, Green sits on a couch between future ambassador Andrew Young on his right and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his left. Above right: Green hangs an American flag on a Jefferson Davis monument in Grenada, Miss., in June 1966.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, if he hits one of those students – white or Black – all hell is going to break loose,’” Green remembered. “I climbed up and I talked to the conductor, and I could tell he was afraid. I said, ‘Sir, I’m going to be honest with you. If this train touches one of these 20,000 people, these northern students are going to tear you limb from limb and I’m not going to be able to stop them.’ He stopped the train.”
MLK
ASSASSINATION
By 1968, Green had resigned from the SCLC and returned to East Lansing and Michigan State. On April 4, he and his wife were at home getting dressed to have dinner with another couple when Green got a call from Andrew Young’s wife, Jean.
“She said, ‘Martin’s been shot.’ I said, ‘Is he still alive?’ She said, ‘I don’t know. I’m going over to Mrs. King’s house now.’ She called me back about 15 to 20 minutes later and said King was dead,” Green remembered.
It was a frightening time, but Green says he never really felt fear during the housing fight.
“I always felt blessed that no one ever attempted to hurt my family,” Green said.
“Because I’m not so sure I would have abided by Dr. King’s non-violence [stance].”
The Greens’ home was at 207 Bessemaur Drive – and still stands today. A historical marker was placed in the park next to the home in 2021 commemorating Green’s fight to desegregate East Lansing.
Nearby, the former Pinecrest Elementary School – a school Green’s sons helped desegregate when they were some of the first Black students to attend – has been renamed the Robert L. Green Elementary School.
“It’s just mind-boggling,” said Green’s son, Kurt Green. “It’s an incredible tribute to the work that my dad did in that community.”
A LIFE WELL LIVED
Green went on to lead Michigan State University’s Center for Urban Affairs and then became the school’s dean of the College of Urban Development, a post he held until 1982. From 1983 to 1985, he was the president of the University of the District of Columbia.
Today, sitting in his office at his Ashburn home – its walls covered in historic and
dramatic black-and-white photos from the Civil Rights Movement – Green is proud of the role he played in this critical time in American history.
“I did all I could. I was not fearful of danger. I protected people when I could, and I did not judge people in a negative way,” he said.
“There were some Blacks that were pretty angry with the way they grew up and the way they were treated by whites. But I always told my sons – all whites aren’t the same, just like all Blacks aren’t the same. I think that, more than anything else, was something I got from Martin Luther King Jr. Don’t judge people based on the experience you’ve had with someone who looks like them. You can sometimes be so very, very wrong.” A
– Brambleton resident Larry Lichtenauer
contributed to this article.
Left: Dr. Robert Green with his wife of 67 years, Lettie Green, at their home in Ashburn. Center: In 1966 with their dog Otto. Right: A family photo of Green with his three sons taken in the 1980s.
&
Custard Cavern Burgers
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
Sixty miles or so southwest of Ashburn sits the town of Front Royal –famed as the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley. And on one of the main drags through town sits a fairly standard looking fast food-style restaurant.
We’re guessing some of you already know where we are going with this – we’re talking about Spelunker’s, a tiny restaurant with a very outsized reputation known far and wide for its frozen custard and its “Cavern Burgers.”
“People come in here and say, ‘I heard about this from my cousin’s neighbor,’ or ‘We drove two hours just to get this burger,’” said co-founder April Antonelli. “We actually get hikers coming off the Appalachian Trail and they say this is a destination stop for them.” Indeed, Spelunker’s is well-known across the region. Local social media sites – like
Local residents have long-distance love for Spelunker’s
the mammoth Northern Virginia Foodies page on Facebook – are filled with posts about the restaurant. And Ashburn Magazine isn’t the first publication to make the trek down Interstate 66. The Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine and others have all written about Spelunker’s.
April and her husband, Steve Antonelli, are the co-founders, operators and de facto managers of Spelunker’s. Originally from Woodbridge and Burke respectively, the duo started the restaurant in 2002.
The couple had been looking for a business they could open together
when – with the help of Steve’s father, William – they found a vacant Long John Silver’s building. After much family debate – and even the help of some restaurant consultants – they settled on burgers and frozen custard.
Then all they needed was a name.
“It was Steve’s idea,” said April. “It was playing off this area and the caverns and the spelunking. Steve suggested Spelunker’s and immediately everyone hated it. The family dismissed it. But the consultants liked Spelunker’s.”
Opening day came, but the customers did not.
“We thought it would be a gold mine. A brand new building. Lots of traffic. But it was incredibly tough. We were pouring in the hours – 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week,” Steve said. “The people weren’t coming.”
April recalls pulling some tricks out of their sleeves. “There were times when there was nobody in here – days when we made $300 all day,” she said. “We were parking our cars out front to make it look like people were coming in.”
Looking back, Steve admits he probably
wasn’t doing the best job at the start. He says he had a steep learning curve, especially in the kitchen. Finally, he decided dire times called for bold solutions.
“I thought if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down making the best burger we can make,” he said. “I bought a meat grinder and started experimenting with different cuts and blends.”
The focus on the quality of the food started to turn the tide. Burger patties made from fresh whole chuck and brisket each day. Potatoes are now cut by hand for the restaurant’s signature fries. The custard base is mixed with flavorings, fruits and candies and churned daily. In case you were wondering, April says the banana pudding custard is by far the most popular. They started making their own chicken strips from scratch, too – trimming and brining them in a house marinade and then tossing them in Spelunker’s secret recipe breading.
Above: Steve and April Antonelli sit in a booth at their restaurant, Spelunker's. Right: The parking lot and drive-thru lanes are often crowded at Spelunker's due to the restaurant's popularity. Far right: A frozen custard treat.
Top: Fresh frozen custard flavors are churned and blended each day.
Bottom: A proprietary blend of beef helped grow the restaurant's reputation.
www.astriwee.com photography@astriwee.com
WINTER WONDER HAP PENS HERE
WINTER WONDER HAP PENS
HERE
Make a list and check it twice, because we’ve loaded up a sleigh-full of shopping options for you to enjoy! A North
Make a list and check it twice, because we’ve loaded up a sleigh-full of shopping options for you to enjoy! A North
Pole-sized selection of your favorite stores — including Express, H&M, American Eagle, Hollister, DICK’S Sporting Goods and Macy’s, just to name a few — awaits you at Dulles Town Center. The happiest holidays happen here!
Pole-sized selection of your favorite stores — including Express, H&M, American Eagle, Hollister, DICK’S Sporting Goods and Macy’s, just to name a few — awaits you at Dulles Town Center. The happiest holidays happen here!
SCAN HERE FOR HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
SCAN HERE FOR HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
As the quality of the food improved, word began spreading. And then came the internet. Social media posts started pouring in, and glowing Yelp and Google reviews fueled the fire.
“Before when people came into this town, they knew nothing about us,” Steve said. “We were just this nameless, faceless ice cream shop. But then they went online and started to see these great reviews we were getting.”
Chris Nordean is one of those folks who learned about Spelunker’s online. The Ashburn Farm husband and father of two was exploring with his family one weekend when they passed through Front Royal and decided to check out the restaurant he’d heard so much about.
“We came down the street and realized that the drive-thru line was well back into the road,” Nordean said.
The burger was one of the best he ever had, added Nordean, calling it “juicy,” “flavorful” and “fresh.” He’s returned multiple times.
“There are two things I think of with Spelunker’s,” he said. “It’s always crowded – always a sign of a good place to eat. The other is that it feels really old-school to me. It makes me think of how burger places would have been 50 years ago.”
she’s a stay-at-home mom to two daughters in Ashburn Village, but she’s still a fan.
“I still find a reason to go to Spelunker’s at least every few months for a Cavern Burger – with cheese and bacon, of course. I've also gotten my husband, mom and sister hooked on their food,” McDonald said.
As far as the future is concerned, the Antonellis seem pretty satisfied with having just one great location with a reputation that extends well beyond the tiny town it calls home.
They’ve talked with outside groups that wanted to expand the Spelunker’s brand and open additional locations – but these conversations always end when the
“With the exception of the onion rings, all
Left: The dining room at Spelunker's in Front Royal. Below: Ashburn Village resident Coral McDonald enjoys taking her daughters to Spelunker's.
September 17, 1990. Anne Marie Mason remembers it was a beautiful day. She was living with her family in a townhouse in Ashburn Village. She was in her kitchen, windows open, enjoying a quiet moment while her son was at school.
All of a sudden, she heard ear-piercing shrieks outside the house. It was her neighbor three doors down.
The woman was holding her son, who was violently choking on a peach pit. Mason immediately raced out of the house and jumped into action. She performed the Heimlich maneuver several times until the child had safely coughed up the pit.
“God, that’s like the greatest feeling… when he let out the cry and I knew his airway was clear, that was just amazing,”
Ashburn’s first female firefighter fought more than flames
BY PANCHAMI RANGARAJU
TRAIL BLAZER
Mason said.
Mason wasn’t just being a hero that day. It was her training kicking in. You see – Anne Marie Mason was a firefighter. And not just any firefighter. She was the first female firefighter in Ashburn’s history.
‘ATYPICAL’ CHILDHOOD
Mason grew up considering herself an “atypical” girl. She remembers being the only girl in her Boston neighborhood that was filled with boys – including her three brothers.
“They didn't want to play Barbies. If I played Barbies, it was by myself,” Mason said. “So, I just got used to being with the guys.”
was a “man’s job.” The guidance counselor said secretarial or nursing school would be a better fit for a woman.
“I'm Irish and I'm stubborn. And it was like – alright, I’ll show you one day,” Mason said.
FOLLOWING THE CALL
Fast forward to 1989. Mason was living in Ashburn with her husband and son. Her husband was a volunteer firefighter with the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, and Mason decided to follow that childhood dream and become an EMT.
But there was a snafu – EMT class was in the spring, and she had joined in the fall.
But that was just in time for fire school.
In junior high school in the 1970s, Mason did a report on what she wanted to be when she grew up – an emergency medical technician. She was swiftly called to the guidance counselor’s office and told that EMT
“Chief [Keith] Lawson, the chief at the time, said ‘You're not going to hang around the firehouse and do nothing. You're going to go to fire school,’” Mason recalled.
So off she went to fire school in Leesburg ,
Left: Anne Marie Mason stands in front of the Ashburn Fire Department last month. Above: Photos of Mason during her time as a firefighter in Ashburn.
where she says she was bitten by “the bug” and fell in love with firefighting.
She remembers taking classes in hazardous materials, trench rescue and – her favorite – automobile extrication. “Auto extrication was like a puzzle,” she said. “You don’t take the patient away from the car. You take the car away from the patient. You have to peel the vehicle away from the patient.”
Mason never did take the EMT classes in the spring.
‘BOOTS’ BREAKS BARRIERS
Ray Muth Jr., who was both a volunteer and career firefighter at the Ashburn squad, recalled that when Mason joined the department, very few females were firefighters anywhere. “Females up till then had primarily migrated towards the EMS/EMT side of things.”
While at fire school, Mason dealt with a flurry of new issues – like finding new ways to handle equipment that was designed for men.
Her coat was too long, which led her to trip over it when crawling during search and rescue. She had to order new gloves because the standard fire gloves were large.
Left: Mason stands by a firetruck in Ashburn. Right: Mason, on the right, assists with rescuing a passenger from a car crash.
“She was more than capable to do the job, but would go harder and longer than the others just to prove she had what it took.”
Worst of all, her boots were two sizes too big.
“Once, we ran a barn fire and the field was muddy,” Mason said. “It was just like suction… I accidentally walked out of my boots and left them there.” This led to colleagues giving her the nickname “Boots.”
PROVING HER WORTH
Both Muth and retired fire chief Lawson remember that Mason was quiet and a little reserved when she first joined and many of the male firefighters weren’t very welcoming.
“One of the biggest challenges Anne Marie faced was having to overly prove herself,’ Muth said. “She was more than capable to do the job, but would go harder and longer than the others just to prove she had what it took.”
Mason said she was able to remain strong during this challenging time by reminding herself of the good she was doing on fire calls around Ashburn – well, that plus her naturally stubborn nature.
“Her policy was kill them with kindness,” Lawson said. “If someone was not nice to her, she would fix them a batch of brownies or cookies.”
As with most things, eventually the men of the department came around and considered Mason both a friend and a valued colleague. Mason changed, too.
“She overcame her timid shy self and would go toe to toe with anyone,” Muth said. “Those ‘old timers’ that were against her in the beginning warmed up to her and became some of her biggest supporters.”
Mason recalls one time her crew was responding to a kitchen fire at a Leesburg restaurant. After helping to put out the fire, she took off her helmet. A veteran member of the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Department told her that he hadn’t known she was a woman until then. Mason took it as a compliment.
“I’m a firefighter, not a female firefighter,” Mason explained. “I'm a firefighter who happens to be female. There’s a difference.”
Above: Mason and other firefighters pose with some Washington Redskins cheerleaders.
Right: Mason and her son, pictured in the 1990s.
A QUIET LEGACY
Mason’s story wasn’t widely told. At the time, most people didn’t know the department had a woman firefighter.
“I’m very happy with my tenure and my career as a firefighter,” Mason said. “But I was a little disappointed that no one ever said, ‘You were the first. Can I pick your brain?’ No one ever really seemed to care.
But we did save a lot of lives and a lot of property – so I’m very proud of that.”
She was honored a few years ago when
Marie Mason. Below: Mason enjoys visits with her son, Michael, and her grandsons, Ian, 17, and Owen, 14.
the now-defunct House 6 Brewing in Ashburn named an Irish red ale after her – the Anne Marie.
“I was so pleased. I don’t drink and they named a beer after me,” she said with a laugh. “I have a can here that I saved, and I’ll always have it.”
Mason wound up serving 18 years with the department, including four years as its first female vice president and another four years as its first female president. She’s still a life member.
She left Ashburn in 2007 and lived in Georgia and Washington, where she worked for Microsoft. She has since moved back to Loudoun and now lives in Leesburg and continues to work for the tech company as an administrator.
Mason says that today – at 64 – she is most passionate about her grandchildren – 14 and 17 years old. They live with her son in Texas, and she’s looking forward to retiring and moving closer to them.
While Mason enjoys her current life, she admits she misses firefighting.
“Every once in a while, I'll log in just to listen to the dispatcher on the calls,” she said.
“If I’m out walking in my neighborhood, I’ll turn it on on my phone just to listen.” A
Panchami Rangaraju is a junior at Lightridge High School, where she enjoys writing for her school’s journalism class. This is her first article for Ashburn Magazine.
PINK RIBBON HAPPY HOUR FUNDRAISER
Old Ox Brewery
44652 Guilford Drive, Ashburn Thursday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m.
Support the Loudoun Breast Health Network with silent and live auctions, raffles, food, music and “Hoppy Hour.” Proceeds from the event will help those with breast cancer cover housing, medical and family care costs.
“NOSES OFF” –BROAD RUN HS FALL PLAY
Broad Run High School 21670 Ashburn Road, Ashburn Multiple dates and times, Nov. 21 to Nov. 23
“Noses Off” is a play about an amateur theater company’s whodunit heading into opening night. The play is a tribute to Michael Frayn’s classic comedy “Noises Off” and is a play-within-a-play that features both onstage and offstage antics.
“MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET” – A LIVE MUSICAL RADIO PLAY
ARTfactory 9419 Battle St., Manassas Multiple dates and times, Nov. 29 through Dec. 8
BUY TICKETS HERE
When a department store Santa claims he’s the real Kris Kringle, his case gets taken all the way to the Supreme Court. With live Foley effects and a score of holiday carols, “Miracle on 34th Street” is a beloved musical that will melt even the most cynical of hearts.
WANT MORE?
For a complete list of events around Northern Virginia, visit InsideNoVa.com/calendar
WINTER FEST
Windmill Community Center –Ashburn Farm 21400 Windmill Drive, Ashburn Saturday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m.
Join the community for its annual Winter Festival, which includes pictures with Santa, craft vendors, musical performances, food trucks and the community tree lighting (4:30 p.m.)
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA AT STATION 6
Ashburn Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department 20688 Ashburn Road, Ashburn Sunday, Dec. 8, 8 a.m.-noon
Start your day with a delicious stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, juice, tea and coffee. Afterward, stop by and see Santa Claus. Tickets available at the door.
AURORA’S WINTER CIRCUS ADVENTURE
Dulles Town Center
21100 Dulles Town Circle, Sterling Multiple dates and times, Dec. 13 through Dec. 29
Aurora’s Winter Circus Adventure puts a modern twist on a beloved classic circus with a heartfelt coming-ofage storyline. Staged in the European winter circus format, this new production features an international company of awardwinning world-class circus artists.
“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” – A PIED PIPER THEATRE INTENSIVE
ARTfactory
9419 Battle St., Manassas Multiple dates and times, Dec. 13-15
This version of A Christmas Carol is a special adaptation of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic – an enchanting production that strings together the magic of Christmas, the power of redemption and the joy of theater, all within the span of an hour.
BUY TICKETS HERE
Left: Members from the AVFRD meet with staff at the former House 6 Brewing to work on a custom beer named after Anne
E n j o y A s h b u r n t h i s F a l l a n d W i n t e r ! H o l i d a y S h o p p i n g a t i t s b e s t !
Ashburn’s
The Big Picture
Home sales increased slightly in the two Ashburn ZIP codes combined in September, compared with September 2023, as the real estate market continues its up-and-down trend. Countywide in September, home sales were up 11.8% compared with the prior year.
More inventory coming online… New listings in September were up 39.7% in the 20147 ZIP code and 28.3% in 20148, according to the latest available data from the Dulles Area Association of Realtors. Countywide, listings were up 26.7%.
The September Details
Closed sales:
• Up 3.8% in 20147 ZIP code
• Up 1.6% in 20148 ZIP code
• Combined sales totaled 120, up from 117 a year earlier.
Pending sales:
• Up 60.8% in 20147
• Up 13.3% in 20148
Median sales price:
• Down 3.2% to $629,218 in 20147
• Down 1.4% to $850,000 in 20148
Average days on market (homes sold in September):
• 21 in 20147
• 28 in 20148
Top sales: The five highest-priced homes that sold in each of Ashburn’s two ZIP codes between mid-August and mid-October. Data and photos from Realtor.com.
CHRISTY ARIAS, RN, BSN, FNP-S
An occasional feature where we update you on people and businesses that have appeared in prior issues of Ashburn Magazine.
Loss of a Legend
Longtime Loudoun County resident and former Washington Redskins cornerback Pat Fischer passed away Oct. 8 at the age of 84.
Fischer was chosen Ashburn’s favorite celebrity by the readers of Ashburn Magazine in our 2023 Best of Ashburn survey and was featured in an article in the May issue of the magazine that year.
“Pat passed away surrounded by his loving family, leaving behind a legacy that transcends the football field and touches the hearts of everyone who knew him,” Fischer’s family wrote in his obituary.
Fischer was born in Nebraska and played for the University of Nebraska before being drafted into the NFL in 1961. He spent 17
seasons on the gridiron, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and then the Washington Redskins (now Commanders).
After football, Fischer worked in real estate in Loudoun. He is survived by his two children and six grandchildren.
At Long Last, Reservoir Park Opens
It’s been a long time coming, but the eagerly anticipated Reservoir Park officially opened Oct. 21 on Ashburn’s west side. The new park – which features walking paths, bike paths, picnic pavilions, boat rentals and a boat launch (non-gas watercraft only) – sits on the south shore of the Beaverdam Reservoir.
Believe it or not, the plans for the park were part of the cover story in the very first issue of Ashburn Magazine back in March 2019.
It was one of two “super parks” coming to the Ashburn area. The other one was Hanson Regional Park, which opened in 2022. Reservoir Park also has a crew facility and docks for local rowing teams.
The design and construction of the new park was a joint project between Loudoun Water, which maintains the reservoir as a backup supply of water for area residents, and NOVA Parks, which oversees more than 30 parks and recreational sites across Northern Virginia.
Photos of Pat Fischer, including one with his daughter, Allison Shannon, as well as the article about Fischer that appeared in Ashburn Magazine.
A boardwalk cuts through the woods at the new Reservoir Park in Ashburn.
Forging an Iron Path
Construction of the railroad through Ashburn was arduous
BY MATHEW ANNIS
Across Ashburn Road from the Carolina Brothers barbecue restaurant, there is a broken rock face – 15 feet of shale, in summer choked with brambles and honeysuckle.
Hard to believe – as cyclists and joggers pass by and as families tuck in to pulled pork sandwiches just a few yards away – but this jumble of rock is evidence of a remarkable and transformative feat of engineering that would not be surpassed for 100 years –the coming of the railroads.
The first sign of this transformation came in late 1853, when a surveying party appeared at the banks of the Broad Run. This was the first step in a bold new venture – the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad, connecting the port of Alexandria with the western Virginia coalfields.
The AL&H Railroad would later become the W&OD Railroad, the namesake of the famous trail that runs through our community.
The railroad surveyors made their often tortuous way across what is now Ashburn before crossing the Goose Creek and continuing west. Tortuous because the railroad’s path through Loudoun crossed several waterways and went nowhere near any existing major roads. The surveyors would have been forced to scramble along muddy farm tracks and across fields and to ford fast-flowing creeks.
Armed with the surveyors’ reports, railroad construction began in February 1855, according to Ames W. Williams’ 1977 history of the line. Around Ashburn, then known as Farmwell, the biggest obstacles were likely the crossings of Broad Run and Goose Creek. And while the true engineering challenge lay in the distant Blue Ridge, the terrain of the Virginia Piedmont presented its own difficulties. Unlike a road, which could snake over hills and down valleys, a rail locomotive needs smooth gradients on which to run. Even a bump of a few feet was an obstacle too great for rails to cross and needed to be smoothed out.
This grading process formed the bulk of the work. Higher terrain – like that opposite Carolina Brothers – had to be cut through. Workers with shovels and picks cleared the soil and loose rock. Where
While no photos were located showing the railroad through Ashburn under construction, photos of similar work elsewhere illustrate the era. Far left top: Black railroad workers working on a U.S. military railroad in Northern Virginia in the early 1860s. Far left bottom: Three railroad workers on a handcart in the 1850s.
Left top: A rare photo showing railroad construction underway on another line in Virginia. Left bottom: A vintage map showing the railroad's path past Ashburn and Leesburg and onto Winchester.
there were larger rock formations, gunpowder was used to blast the rock into smaller pieces, which could be carted away. Lower terrain, on the other hand, had to be raised. The grading process here involved building embankments – long earthworks – that could connect the higher ground on each side and support the rails, like the section just east of Ashburn Road next to Carolina Brothers.
Perhaps the greatest challenges were those river crossings. These required skilled workers with experience building masonry structures. At each side of the Broad Run and at Goose Creek, stone abutments were built before bridges finally spanned the rivers. But describing the process built barely does justice to the work involved.
“The AL&H Railroad was built primarily using hand labor,” said Paul McCray, official historian of NOVA Parks. “While they had drags for loosening soil and wagons to move it, much of the work depended upon men with shovels to cut down the hills and fill the low areas. Arches, culverts and bridge-supporting structures were built by masons using block and tackle to hoist stones sometimes more than 50 feet in the air.”
We can imagine the gunpowder blasting its way through the rocks and the laying of trestles across the swift flowing waters of Goose Creek. We can imagine the gangs of hundreds
of laborers shoveling their way across Northern Virginia, mile by mile. But whose hands gripped the shovels and picks? Whose hands built the masonry and laid the bridges?
Many Southern railroads were built using enslaved labor, hired from local landowners along the route. Was the railroad through Loudoun built the same way?
The answer is frustratingly uncertain.
Many of the records of the railroad are long gone – lost or destroyed – and what survives is largely silent on the subject. But while we may not know the identities of everyone who worked to build the railroad, we do have a few clues as to the identities of some.
First is an article in Leesburg’s Democratic Mirror newspaper from Oct. 31, 1860. Buried amongst news of the upcoming election, just three sentences tell of a fatal accident.
“An Irishman, whose name we did not learn, was killed on the A. L. & H. Railroad, about four miles above Leesburg,” the article reads.
Railroad building had passed beyond the Ashburn area by the fall of 1860 and had reached Clarke’s Gap, where the reported accident likely occurred.
Another piece of evidence is census returns from the same year. While the newspaper article mentions just one Irishman, in the official census count, there are dozens.
Patrick Maharney, Thomas Flanagan, Daniel Buckley, John Coughlan and almost 30 more. All born in Ireland, all laborers and all residing at the same location near Leesburg in August 1860.
At their head was James McWilliams –another Irishman – living at the same site with his family, his occupation listed as “Railroad Contractor.” Thus, the census record seems to mark the camp of a railroad construction crew, almost certainly the same men who had worked their way to Clarke’s Gap from the Ashburn area over the previous year.
What brought these men 3,000 miles to work on a Virginia railroad was the most pressing of reasons – survival.
Fifteen years earlier, the Irish countryside had witnessed the onset of the potato blight, which decimated Ireland’s food production and sent more than 2 million refugees into exile around the world. Everywhere they went, the starving emigrants took any work they could find, no matter how backbreaking or dangerous. Huge numbers poured into the labor force
construction projects in the fast-growing United States – in particular the railroads. Thanks to the work of these particular Irishmen, by January 1860 the tracks of the AL&H – made of white oak ties and iron
andria to Farmwell, and the first train ran to the new station building on what is now Ashburn Road. From there, a stagecoach carried passengers and mail west – it would be months before the tracks were complet-
Still, for the country people living around the Farmwell station, the prospect must have been intoxicating. In just two hours – and for just $1.40 – the iron ribbon of the AL&H could connect them with faraway Alexandria, and through that port, the rest of the world.
Living in the 21st century, with the wide world just beyond the departure gates at Dulles International Airport and massive construction projects regularly changing the landscape around us, it can be easy to overlook the significance of the railroad that came to Ashburn in the 1850s.
For the most fitting memorial to the project, one need only take a walk on the W&OD Trail, and look around. As McCray puts it, “The fact that most of the structures and features of the railroad still exist 170 years later is a testament to the skills of those who built the railroad.” A
Mathew Annis is a freelance writer who lives in Ashburn. He previously wrote the article “Death at the Toll House" in our September 2020 issue.
An old train schedule showing the two-hour travel time between Alexandria and Ashburn, still called Farmwell at this time.
A round-up of the latest restaurant, retail, and other cool news from Ashburn and beyond. Check out The Burn at TheBurn.com and follow it on Facebook, and Instagram.
1 BIRYANI GRILL PLANNING TWO NEW LOCATIONS IN ASHBURN
The vacant Red Robin restaurant building in Ashburn has a new tenant. Biryani Grill will be taking over the spot near the Shoppes at Ryan Park retail center. Crews have painted the exterior of the building, and construction is underway inside. But that’s not all. Biryani Grill is also planning another Ashburn restaurant – this one in Brambleton at Northstar Boulevard and Evergreen Mills Road. These will be the second and third locations for Biryani Grill. The first is in the Stone Ridge Village Center in southern Loudoun County along U.S. 50.
2 GROWING BRAND FALAFEL INC.
PLANNING ASHBURN LOCATION
A new falafel shop restaurant is planning its first Loudoun County location in Ashburn –and it’s bringing some
buzz with it. Falafel Inc. has received a lot of media coverage due to its philanthropic mission –a portion of its revenue is donated to the World Food Programme to help feed refugees fleeing violence and oppression. The menu at Falafel Inc. is definitely falafel centric. It has a falafel sandwich, a falafel bowl and a vegan shawarma sandwich, along with sides such as za'atar fries, hummus and cucumber salad. The exact location of the planned Ashburn Falafel Inc. hasn’t been announced yet.
3 NINJA TRAINING CENTER HEADED TO DULLES TOWN CENTER
Another major new tenant has signed on to take a large space at Dulles Town Center. Always in Motion will be a ninja training gym, offering kids and adults a space where they can practice and compete in this unique discipline. It will fill the former Sheffield Furniture space. If you're not familiar, American Ninja Warrior training has become all the rage with TV shows dedicated to the sport. Competitors speed through a series of challenging obstacles – swinging, jumping
and climbing in a race against time. In addition to classes and training, the gym will host birthday parties, private events, team-building events and even sanctioned competitions.
4 WOOF GANG BAKERY & GROOMING OPENS IN BELMONT CHASE
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming opened earlier this fall in the Belmont Chase shopping center off Claiborne Parkway. That’s the same center with the Whole Foods and the Cooper’s Hawk restaurant. Woof Gang specializes in dog grooming and also carries baked treats and specialty foods for dogs. This is the second Woof Gang location in Ashburn. The other is in the Moorefield Village shopping center off Loudoun County Parkway.
5 A NEW VIEW REOPENS IN A NEW SPACE IN OLD ASHBURN
The Ashburn home decor shop A New View has re-opened after being closed briefly while it moved to a new location. Fortunately for customers, the new spot is just a short distance from the previous locale.
A New View’s new address is 20800 Ashburn Road – just a couple of blocks from its former spot at Ashburn and Hay roads. It’s sharing space alongside a real estate office in a charming house-turned-retail/ office space. At A New View, many of the pieces of furniture and decor items are “up cycled” –meaning they are pieces that have been restored and refreshed to give them new shine and a new life. A
