Lake Anne Plaza as the next Restaurant Row? (Alexandria, Reston: for sale, apartments)

[normie]

Lots of restaurants opening at Lake Anne Plaza. A sushi spot is opening next month next to the Reston Museum. The former Tavern on the Lake sat vacant for a long time... but it's now been bought by a chef who specializes in Greek and Italian cuisine. I hear it's opening this spring. A Pakistrani grill opened next to Jasmine Cafe in November. All they need now is a tapas bar!

Could it be? Has Lake Anne Plaza finally found its niche--as the home of small, locally-owned restaurants where you can sample international foods? It seems like a good match for the plaza. it was always a little too artsy for the typical strip mall stores. A Restaurant Row could be really work there.

All those people who gripe about chains should stop by this spring and check it out. And while you're at the plaza you can wnder around the lake, check out the art museum, or browse through the books at the used book store (also not a chain).

[SteelCityRising]

Thanks for the tips, Normie. I live just up the road from Lake Anne, and I wasn't aware of this activity. All I knew is that there was a lot of heartache because the pharmacy in the plaza, one of the original businesses, is up for sale. A new nearly 1,000-unit residential project is being planned just up North Shore Drive on the site of the present Fairway Apartments (including a 20-story high-rise), so hopefully the additional residents in the neighborhood will provide more foot traffic to help these struggling businesses.

Long-range plans call for a massive overhaul of the existing Lake Anne area as well:

-The convenience store in the parking lot, along with the existing massive surface parking lot, are slated for demolition for replacement with more retail/dining/housing options.

-The one-sory office building that currently sits at the intersection of Village Road & North Shore Drive will be torn down. Village Road will then be realigned between Baron Cameron Avenue and North Shore Drive to provide people with a dead-on view of Lake Anne as they turn off of Route 606.

-I believe the Lake Anne Chevron is supposed to eventually be razed as well; the nearby Crescent Apartments might be getting revamped with increased density.

All in all the key to saving Lake Anne IS to "update" it, despite what the 99.9% of Reston's generally NIMBY residents might say. Redevelopment can occur tastefully and tactfully so as to preserve the original character of the community's first planned section while also bringing it into the 21st Century. Despite what the NIMBYs will say I'd personally like to see several more stories of apartments or condos built atop the existing three-story Washington Plaza area. The key to keeping the businesses in Lake Anne alive is to increase foot traffic. The only way to realistically do that is to bring more residents to the immediate area.

Personally while I'm still not warming up very much to life in Fairfax County I must say that I picked the BEST location in Reston. I can walk to Reston Town Center, Lake Anne, or the W&OD Trail. Several bus lines are nearby. Once the Silver Line gets done 40 years from now I'll be able to walk from my apartment to a train station and go right to work, eschewing my sedan in favor of the rails (and freeing up more space on congested Route 7 at rush hour).

[normie]

As much as I'll miss Larry's pharmacy, I'd like to see that spot become a restaurant, too. It's perched right on the lake, talk about the perfect place for a tapas bar. I'm sad to see Larry retire--known him for years and the pharmacy has always been a fun place. But let's face it, the era for small mom and pop pharmacies has passed. People want to go to larger stores like Rite Aid for that sort of thing.

And, the era for Lake Anne to service everyday needs has passed, also. People can get everyday items at the bigger shopping centers. Lake Anne needs to specialize. The small spaces that they have there are destined to become eateries or artsy stores.

Anywa, good to see you again Scran. Hope you're fun on your trip.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by normie

As much as I'll miss Larry's pharmacy, I'd like to see that spot become a restaurant, too. It's perched right on the lake, talk about the perfect place for a tapas bar. I'm sad to see Larry retire--known him for years and the pharmacy has always been a fun place. But let's face it, the era for small mom and pop pharmacies has passed. People want to go to larger stores like Rite Aid for that sort of thing.

And, the era for Lake Anne to service everyday needs has passed, also. People can get everyday items at the bigger shopping centers. Lake Anne needs to specialize. The small spaces that they have there are destined to become eateries or artsy stores.

Anywa, good to see you again Scran. Hope you're fun on your trip.

I've never had the pleasure of patronizing Larry's, but from what I've heard his establishment has been a landmark in the community that many "old-timers" grew to love over the years and will fondly miss when the time comes to close up shop. As you said the era of independent pharmacies is in steep decline, and considering there is a large Walgreen's just a few miles away along Elden Street in Herndon, along with a pharmacy at the nearby Target in Reston, it would be very difficult for Larry to find a younger person who would want to take over the reins. Beyond a tapas bar I think a jazz cafe might be pretty neat. You could sit at a table overlooking the lake while someone plays a saxophone nearby.

I'm in total agreement with you that Lake Anne needs to be redeveloped into a specialty or "niche" environment. Reston Town Center currently serves as a regional draw for nightlife, dining, and shopping for people from as far around as Chantilly, Sterling, Great Falls, and Vienna, but Reston proper has 65,000 people---plenty to sustain a small niche venue like Lake Anne. I actually think there is potential to revamp Lake Anne into some sort of artists' colony, not unlike the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. There's already a nice used book store and one (two?) art gallery(ies) at the plaza. Throw in one or two more, a ceramics studio, a few gift shops selling hand-crafted wares, demonstrations, a couple more ethnic restaurants, and voila---you have an artsy-fartsy paradise where people could stroll around, listen to some performers play music, admire art, grab an ice cream cone or a coffee, etc. More events would help as well. What about the "Lake Anne Festival of Ice" being held annually with live ice carving demonstrations? What about a down-to-earth Christmas celebration at Lake Anne, perhaps with a local church (perhaps my own Good Shepherd Lutheran) putting on free shows of the birth of Christ? What about fireworks on the Fourth of July? The farmers' market is nice, but it is in direct competition with the one in Reston Town Center.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

As you said the era of independent pharmacies is in steep decline, and considering there is a large Walgreen's just a few miles away along Elden Street in Herndon, along with a pharmacy at the nearby Target in Reston, it would be very difficult for Larry to find a younger person who would want to take over the reins.

Even closer than Walgreen's and Target are the pharmacies at Harris Teeter and Giant! There are also two Safeway pharmacies, a Rite-aid, and a CVS just south of the Toll Road. Lots of pharamacies!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by JfromReston

Even closer than Walgreen's and Target are the pharmacies at Harris Teeter and Giant! There are also two Safeway pharmacies, a Rite-aid, and a CVS just south of the Toll Road. Lots of pharamacies!

I'm honestly surprised Larry has held onto his establishment as long as he has with all of the nearby competition. I'd imagine he just kept the place open more so for the love of operating the place than for the quest for profit.

[normie]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I'm honestly surprised Larry has held onto his establishment as long as he has with all of the nearby competition. I'd imagine he just kept the place open more so for the love of operating the place than for the quest for profit.

Yes. It was really way too small a shop to be a modern pharmacy. There was only room for about 5 shelves of merchandise, so everything was crammed together. He had room for just 1-2 types of shampoo instead of a whole shampoo aisle, like the bigger stores have.

You know what I'll miss the most? The cool graphics outside the store--the giant plaster band-aid and other "pharmacy" art. I hope he auctions them off for a pretty penny.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I'm honestly surprised Larry has held onto his establishment as long as he has with all of the nearby competition. I'd imagine he just kept the place open more so for the love of operating the place than for the quest for profit.

Oh? Larry's independently wealthy and just works for fun? Who knew?!

[normie]

Originally Posted by Denton56

Oh? Larry's independently wealthy and just works for fun? Who knew?!

Actually, that wouldn't surprise me one bit. Larry was always a booster of the Lake Anne area and a very shrewd man. Over the years a guy running the local pharmacy hears a lot of scoops on property deals. He probably snapped up a few prime properties and is funding his retirement with them. Larry's the kind of guy who believed in Reston back when it was a "joke" out on the edge of the suburbs and properties were cheap. The pharmacy probably started off as a money making venture but became something he ran as a labor of love in recent years.

[lchoro]

His cost structure is much lower than most pharmacies since he owns the property and has owned it for nearly 40 years. If you've ever visited the store, he's obviously minimized the areas of the store that lose money, such as the soda fountain, over-the-counter remedies, or general merchandise. He also has only one part-time pharmacist on his staff.

If you need medical supplies and equipment, the family-owned Rexall pharmacy in Vienna is far better stocked than the in-store pharmacies and big chains.