ED Doctor Near Tysons Corner, VA

MCLEAN, VA — Comstock Holding Companies has spent more than $3.5 million on lobbyists and political contributions to push its casino legislation to the brink of adoption by the Virginia General Assembly, according to financial filings with the Virginia Department of Elections.

On Friday, Patch broke the story that the Virginia Senate had passed substitute legislation that significantly altered the casino legislation that's making is way through the state legislature.

These changes included allowing a temporary casino to operate for 5 years without local control and adding language to the bill specifying that the casino would be built in Tysons and not somewhere else in Fairfax County.

Read Patch's reporting on Comstock Holding Companies' plan to build a casino in Tysons at Silver Line Casino.

The Virginia House of Delegates would need to pass the new version of the bill on Saturday in order submit it to Gov. Abigail Spanberger by the end of the legislative session.

Since 2023, Comstock Holdings has spent $3,514,504.31 to finance its casino legislation, according to state campaign finance filings as reported by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.

Comstock Holdings Donations 2023-2026

TOTAL: $3,514,504.31

* From 2023 to 2026, Christopher Daniel Clemente and Chris Clemente contributed a combined $490,000 (C. Daniel Clemente -$260,000 + Chris Clemente - $230,000) to the Building a Remarkable Virginia Political Action Committee. To avoid duplication, $490,000 was subtracted from the total above.

In July, Patch reported that Comstock Holdings had spent a total of $552,612.31 on lobbyists in 2024 and 2025, according to financial disclosures filed with the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Council. That number does not reflect the full amount of money that the Reston-based developer has spent on lobbyists.

Ten lobbyists have registered with the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Council to work for Comstock Holdings during the 2026 legislative session. Those 10 have a June 30 deadline to file their financial disclosures, which means the full amount that the Reston developer paid lobbyists in 2026 won't be known until then.

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Chef Kevin Tien, the chef behind Moon Rabbit in DC, opened the Vietnamese-American concept with partner Alan Vo.

Chef Kevin Tien is bringing the flavors of Vietnamese-American life in Louisiana to Tysons Galleria. Tien opened Chao Bàn, a new fast-casual counter restaurant with longtime business partner, Alan Vo.

The eatery opens Tuesday on the third floor of Tysons Galleria at 2001 International Dr. in McLean.

Chao Bàn, translated as “hello, friend,” blends vibrant Southeast Asian flavors with familiar American formats. Its menu is shaped by the partners’ shared upbringing as first-generation Vietnamese Americans raised in Louisiana.

“For me, food is very personal,” says Tien, who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun country. “The coolest foods blend your personal background and your personal story.”

Tien is best known locally as the chef behind Moon Rabbit, the Washington, DC, restaurant that has earned national attention for its modern Vietnamese cuisine. A 2024 James Beard Foundation finalist for Outstanding Chef, Tien has also been a five-time semifinalist, a 2018 Food & Wine Best New Chef and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2023 Chef of the Year.

Chao Bàn represents a different kind of project for Tien. It’s designed to be more casual and accessible while still grounded in the same cultural storytelling that defines his cooking.

“I just want to make really tasty food,” Tien says. “The best thing for me is when someone connects to it; when they say, ‘I grew up eating that,’ or they recognize the flavors. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

The restaurant is a partnership with Vo, who will oversee day-to-day operations while helping shape the menu and guest experience. The two have known each other since Vo was in middle school in Louisiana. Tien says the partnership feels natural because of the pair’s shared upbringing and culinary influences.

“We grew up eating a lot of the same food — Louisiana and Vietnamese,” he says. “Nobody else really gets the vision like Alan does. He was the perfect partner.”

Located in the mall’s third-floor dining area, Chao Bàn is part of Tysons Galleria’s effort to expand its food offerings with chef-driven concepts. The menu centers on Vietnamese-American comfort dishes with Gulf Coast influences.

Guests will find two styles of phở noodles, a catfish bánh mì, and rice platters designed for quick but satisfying meals. Shareable snacks include dishes such as Impossible xíu mại and honey pecan shrimp, while eight signature plates form the core of the brand’s identity.

One standout item is the hot curry fried catfish bánh mì, which Tien describes as “like an Asian fried catfish po’ boy.”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” he says. “Mega tasty.”

The beverage menu also reflects the restaurant’s cross-cultural inspiration. A jasmine iced tea is lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar, a nod to Southern sweet tea, while another drink draws inspiration from the classic Asian candy White Rabbit.

Tien says the food reflects the everyday dishes that shaped his childhood and the way immigrant families adapt their cooking traditions over time.

“When my family came to the U.S., my mom had to balance a lot,” he says. “My grandma wanted traditional Vietnamese food, but my mom also wanted the younger generation to feel like we were doing American things too. So she learned how to blend those cultures.”

That spirit of blending traditions remains at the heart of Chao Bàn.

“We want this to be a place for everyone,” Tien says. “If you want to grab something quickly and go, that’s great. But if you want to sit down and stay awhile, that works too.”

Tien describes the concept’s service style as something he calls “warm casual.”

“It’s warm service in a casual atmosphere,” he says. “You can get the full experience or just be in and out — whatever works for you.”

For now, the focus is on introducing diners to a concept that blends fast-casual convenience with the personal stories behind the Viet Cajun food.

“We really want to be part of the community,” Tien says. “We’re always listening to feedback and figuring out how we can serve the neighborhood better.”

Feature image courtesy Rey Lopez

Dawn Klavon is a seasoned writer and reporter with more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. She contributes to a wide range of publications, including Northern Virginia Magazine, PEOPLE, Virginia Living, Bethesda Magazine, Arlington Magazine, and several military-focused outlets. Earlier in her career, she reported for multiple San Francisco Bay Area television stations, including KLXV, KKPX, and KFCB. She holds an MLA from Harvard University and a BS from Boston University.

A major sporting goods store is making a play for Tysons Corner Center.

Dick’s House of Sport is on track to open at the mall in fall 2027, Doug Healey, property owner and developer Macerich’s senior executive vice president for leasing, told investors during an earnings call on Feb. 18.

While Healey didn’t identify the store’s exact location, Fairfax County issued an interior demolition permit for Dick’s earlier this month that suggests it will occupy 196,403 square feet at 7951 Tysons One Place. That would place it in the former Lord & Taylor wing, according to the Washington Business Journal, which obtained a copy of the building plans.

Featuring more interactive components, such as rock climbing walls and golf simulators, Dick’s House of Sport is a newer concept from the company behind Dick’s Sporting Goods, a more traditional retailer that can be found at Fair Oaks Mall and Springfield Town Center.

By bringing Dick’s House of Sport to Tysons Corner Center, Macerich appears to be continuing its push to turn the mall into a destination for entertainment and leisure as well as shopping.

The Tysons store would follow a blueprint laid out at Macerich’s Freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey, where Dick’s House of Sport opened in a former Lord & Taylor on Oct. 31, 2025. Since then, the mall has seen an increase in traffic both in that wing and overall, Healey said during the earnings call.

“We remain very bullish on this concept,” Healey said.

Since Lord & Taylor shuttered its location on the north end of Tysons Corner Center in January 2020, the space has hosted a number of temporary uses, from a mass COVID-19 vaccination site to seasonal Spirit Halloween stores. Accessible from both an internal entrance and an outdoor entrance on PenFed Plaza, the storefront is currently occupied by the furniture store Timeless Living.

It’s unclear what the Dick’s House of Sport lease means for Macerich’s plans to redevelop the Lord & Taylor building. Approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in September 2023, the proposal would replace the wing with an office-only or mixed office and residential building, while adding more offices, housing, a new elevated plaza, and a street-level park under a separate phase of development.

A spokesperson for Tysons Corner Center said Macerich was unable to comment for now, while Dick’s Sporting Goods didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from FFXnow.

However, Macerich CEO and President Jackson Hsieh suggested in the earnings call that the company’s “short to medium-term” ambitions for Tysons are focused more on “value-add lease-up opportunities” rather than redevelopment.

Recent additions at Tysons Corner Center have included The Escape Game, an escape room venue; Pakistani clothing store Ethnc; Nuts Factory from New York; and Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe. The Italian restaurant Maggiano’s is expected to open in the mall’s east end this spring.

Tysons Corner Center is continuing to expand its entertainment options with an unveiling of The Escape Game.

Making its Virginia debut, the escape room company opened a 4,470-square-foot venue on Saturday (Feb. 7) on the mall’s first floor between Barnes & Noble and the recently relocated American Girl.

“This opening marks an exciting milestone for us as we bring The Escape Game to Virginia for the very first time,” The Escape Game co-founder and chief marketing officer Jonathan Murrell said. “Tysons is a natural fit for our brand. It’s a vibrant and dynamic city, and we can’t wait to welcome players into our immersive games and create lasting memories together.”

Open daily from 8 a.m. to midnight at 1961 Chain Bridge Road, Unit N9L, The Escape Game Tysons offers six different immersive experiences featuring “Hollywood-style sets and mind-bending puzzles,” according to a press release. Themes include Prison Break, Playground, The Depths (a submarine setting), Timeliner: Train Through Time, Ruins: Forbidden Treasure and Cosmic Crisis.

Players have 60 minutes to complete their chosen room, and the venue can accommodate up to 52 players at one time.

Visits can be booked online and cost $40.99. While games are typically reserved for one group, other individuals may be added if there are available spots during busy periods, according to the company’s website.

“In ‘shared’ games, teams get to work together, get extra help, meet new people, and sometimes come away with long-time friendships (seriously, it happens more than you’d think),” the website says. “But if you are in an experience with others and don’t have a stellar time, let us know, and we’ll make it right.”

The Tysons location is The Escape Game’s 57th in the U.S.

Started with a single two-room location that opened in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2014, the company has now served more than 10 million customers and continues to expand, as evidenced by the Tysons opening. The games are developed at a 60,000-square-foot “Adventure Factory” that temporarily shifted to producing face shields during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Escape Game will arrive at Tysons Corner Center on the heels of Level 99, which opened last August and similarly offers a variety of challenges, puzzles and games.

Since the pandemic, the mall has also regularly hosted temporary entertainment pop-ups to supplement its traditional, permanent retail. The latest visitor — Hershey Super Sweet Adventure — is set to open on March 6.

Other recent additions have included Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe, the fashion retailer Johnnie-O, British mattress maker Vispring, and the apparel and footwear brand TravisMathew, which opened its doors on the mall’s second floor near Macy’s last week.

“We’re excited to open our first TravisMathew store in Northern Virginia and bring the brand to the McLean community,” Shea Louie, the company’s vice president of retail, said in a press release. “Our products are made for life on the move designed to take you from work to weekend, the course to the coast, and everywhere in between with effortless style and comfort.”

Ethnc made its first foray into the U.S. in late January, opening a store next to fellow Pakistani fashion brand Khaadi as part of a planned expansion that will also bring locations to Houston, New Jersey and Chicago by 2027, according to the company’s website.

Nuts Factory, a third-generation family business whose U.S. operations are mostly based in New York, is also venturing into the D.C. area for the first time. Located on Tysons Corner Center’s first floor near Macy’s, the newly opened shop sells nuts, dried fruit, candy, chocolate and other snacks, with the trendy Dubai chocolate among its signature offerings.

Previously announced stores still in the works include Clay Bowl — a Vietnamese eatery joining the third-floor food court — and Mavi Jeans as well as new locations for Zara, Under Armour and Shotted. Maggiano’s remains on track to open this spring.

In addition, “coming soon” signs have popped up around the mall for the mattress store Casper, a Blue Bottle Coffee cafe and a sofa showroom for 7th Avenue, though Tysons Corner Center hasn’t shared any details on when they might open.

Tysons Galleria will soon lose another longstanding tenant.

The mall is home to one of 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores now slated to permanently shutter as part of the fashion retailer’s ongoing bankruptcy restructuring. The list also includes a location at The Collection in Chevy Chase.

Three Neiman Marcus stores are also among the upcoming closures announced today (Friday) by parent company Saks Global, though none of those are in the D.C. area.

The targeted stores, including the one at Tysons Galleria, will remain open until the end of May, a Saks Global spokesperson says.

“As part of the planned optimization of Saks Global’s operational footprint, we have made the decision to close select Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus locations … based on a number of factors, including performance and customer preference,” the spokesperson said in a statement to FFXnow. “With these closures, we are sharpening our focus on Saks Global’s distinctive capabilities and competitive advantages as we invest in opportunities to serve luxury customers, drive stronger full-price selling and enhance brand equity for our partners.”

Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas on Jan. 13.

While the decision to close Saks Fifth Avenue in Tysons appears to have been made after the filing, it was foreshadowed by a letter sent to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development last August that sought details about the zoning for “the former Saks 5th Ave” at 2051 International Drive.

When asked about the letter in November, Saks representatives told FFXnow there were no plans to close or relocate the store, stating that the letter was “specific to a potential lender’s due diligence and has nothing whatsoever to do with any closure/sale.”

Saks Fifth Avenue was among the original anchor stores at Tysons Galleria when the mall opened in 1988, along with Neiman Marcus, which can still be found there, and Macy’s, which closed in 2019. Its impending closure comes on the heels of the Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano’s both departing for the larger Tysons Corner Center.

Mall owner Brookfield Properties, which has made progress on repopulating its third-floor food hall, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans for the approximately 41,399-square-foot storefront currently occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue.

The newly announced closures come on top of the eight Saks Fifth Avenue stores and one Neiman Marcus store it said it would close last month. The stores targeted for the first round of closing are expected to remain open until the end of April.

With plans to close a total of 24 department stores by spring, that would leave the parent company with 13 Saks Fifth Avenue stores — including its flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue — as well as 32 Neiman Marcus locations and Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.

With plans to close a total of 24 department stores by spring, that would leave the parent company with 13 Saks Fifth Avenue stores — including its flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue — as well as 32 Neiman Marcus locations and Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.

Saks also said 500 brands have resumed shipping, releasing close to $1.3 billion in retail receipts. That accounts for more than 80% of the inventory the company expects to receive from February through April, with momentum expected to continue, the company said.

The parent company is also in talks or has reached repayment agreements with about 175 suppliers.

Saks Global has been shrinking its business since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Last month, it said it will wind down 14 standalone Fifth Avenue Club personal styling suites, keeping three.

It also shuttered home goods retailer Horchow.com, a business that Neiman Marcus acquired in the late 1980s. As of Feb. 19, shoppers have been redirected to the home category on NeimanMarcus.com.

It’s also closing down all but 12 of its Saks Off Fifth locations. The remaining outlets will serve primarily as a selling channel for residual inventory from Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.