2011: What Opened, What Closed

Centreville residents saw a parade of new businesses open in the community this past year, although they also said goodbye in 2011 to a handful of old standby outlets that shuttered their doors for good. 

One of the notable new businesses is the , which gave up the tony community in November and into an old Hollywood Video store on Multiplex Drive. It was tough moving from Clifton after 24 years, but owner Liz Nuti said they have been amazed at the community response. Although the horses may not be stabled in Centreville, many riders live in the community. 

“We have exceeded our expectations so far,” Nuti said. “We are trying to provide them with a one-stop shop.” 

Other notable openings:

Organizers on Dec. 5 opened the , a facility to provide an in-door gathering point for day laborers while they are waiting for jobs – getting them off the street. The center is a culmination of a four-year effort by the Centreville Immigration Forum to provide the workers with a safe place to wait other than out-of-doors near the Centreville Regional Library. The center is in the Centreville Square Shopping Center. 

History buffs in October opened the in Historic Centreville Park,. The museum displays artifacts connected to Confederate stalwarts Gen. James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (who first distinguished himself at the battle of First Manassas in July 1861) and , whose Partisan Raiders occupied most of Fairfax County during the war. 

Centreville shoppers in August with the opening of another  on Lee Highway in the Newgate Shopping Center. The site was a former fabric store, but was empty for about a year before the Dollar Tree chain leased the space. 

A transforming the historic 19-acre Winfield House farm into a respite house for those with serious mental illnesses. The ranch, just off of Routes 7100 and 29, was purchased about three years ago by the Hopewell House, a nonprofit. The foundation is turning it into group homes for the treatment of the mentally ill, said Karen Lewis, project director. 

The opened a Centreville restaurant in April, making it the third outlet in the family string of restaurants. The other two are at Annandale and Ellicot City. The place has corrugated tin roofing on its walls and individual hibachi grills at each table. It is open 24 hours a day and on most holidays. 

This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive. A few other new stores in town include: , which offers women's clothing, 5953 Centreville Crest Lane, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, 5947 Centreville Crest Lane, the  in the shopping plaza along Stone Road, and Burke & Herbert Bank, 14122 Lee Highway. 

Closings

Sadly, in any end-of-year accounting, there also has to be a mention of the businesses that have closed their doors. One community landmark, the Shade Tree Restaurant & Sports Pub, 14101 Saint Germain Dr. stopped operations this fall. It has been a traditional watering hole since the early 1990s, but customers said that business dropped off severely with the opening in 2009 of the across the street. 

Surprisingly, the nationwide restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday closed its Centreville outlet, 14241-B Centreville Square, this fall. It was a 50-table Centreville hang-out that had been popular for years. Regular customers questioned why business seemed to have fallen off this year. 

Other closings include the Quiznos sub shop at the Centreville Square Shopping Center, as well as two other stores in the center, the Centreville Medical Arts Pharmacy and Express Photo.

No year-end story would be complete without a look into 2012. A of the old north hall of the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly. Walmart took possession of the site in March after purchasing it for $14 million. The 110,000-square-foot store is expected to provide about 200-300 new jobs in the area.