No one had any idea that it would take so long to open. Now, seven months later, businesses are slowly starting to come back to the Vienna Shopping Center, after a September fire damaged the structure of the building.
To celebrate the return of the businesses to the shopping center, located on the 200 block of Maple Avenue West, the shopping center will host a grand reopening on Saturday, June 19. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m., citizens can participate in a variety of free activities, from spin art to face painting, tile art, music, snow cones and giveaways. Parking will be available at Magruder’s parking lot.
"This is a very big deal for them," said Sheryl Simeck, marketing director for The Rappaport Cos., the firm that manages the shopping center.
Although the 7-Eleven convenience store and Subway restaurant have been open for several months already, the timing of when the other businesses would open has depended on when the insurance policies would kick in. The Rappaport Cos. had an insurance policy for the whole building, while individual businesses and the utility companies also each had their own insurance, according to Simeck.
TO COMPLICATE the situation further, the damage done to the building required the businesses to comply with different levels of Fairfax County inspections. The businesses had to submit new drawings and apply for new certificates of occupancy. Their layout also had to comply with regulations stated within the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires public spaces to be accessible to those with disabilities.
"It was almost like a new construction," Simeck said.
The Sept. 27, 2003, fire that had caused the businesses to close incurred about $750,000 in damages. It started at the Yoga Meditation due to an electrical anomaly, and heat and smoke damage spread throughout the building.
Nineteen units responded to the two-alarm fire, with the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department being the first responder.
To thank the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, the shopping center owners will present a $5,000 check to the department on June 19. The Vienna Volunteer Fire and Vienna Police departments will put on safety displays, and safety vehicles will be on hand for children to explore.
Even as business owners look forward to the grand reopening, some are still unsure as to exactly when they will open, since they still need to fix their stores' layouts.
"We want to go back to business as soon as we can," said Moe Thamasebi of Ideal Tile, who was uncertain of when the business would move back to the shopping center from its temporary location on Maple Avenue. Thamasebi added that the company still had to design the showroom and display all the tiles.
For Shirley Damon, owner of Damon Galleries Ltd., the fire destroyed all of the business's framed artwork on the walls, as well as all of its equipment and computers.
Yet, Damon Galleries didn't lose any pieces of customer artwork, because of the way those pieces were stored.
"We had tremendous damage. Because we deal with art and picture framing, two of the most dangerous things are water and soot," said Damon, whose business has been at a temporary location on Church Street since November.
Although Damon Galleries Ltd. will not be able to open at the Vienna Shopping Center by June 19, Damon hoped the business would have its display room ready by then.
If the fire had a silver lining, it has been the ability for businesses to redesign and modernize their spaces. Damon has been at the Vienna Shopping Center for 23 years, and its bathrooms needed to be made wheelchair-accessible.
"I think everybody's terribly excited about moving back. With ourselves, we're not going back to the same way we were. It's given us a chance to adapt new color schemes, new equipment, and from that point of view, everyone is excited about the reopening of the center," Damon said.