Plans for New Restaurant at 'Heart In Hand' Site Approved Amid Controversy

Town leaders gave the go-ahead for a new restaurant to fill the spot vacated by the longtime Heart In Hand eatery on Main Street – but not without bringing up rumors about the applicant and what he planned to bring to the historic Buckley building.

“Rumors are flying all over town, and all sorts of things are being said,” said Clifton resident Steve Effros. “The shorthand is – is there a proposal to basically create a Hooters in town? Let’s get that off the table.”

Bray Wilson, who hopes to open Weston’s Restaurant by June, defended himself with emotion in his voice at the council’s May 3 meeting.

“I don’t know where ya’ll are getting your information at (but) I pretty much got a good idea,” he said, noting that the likely source of rumors was the fact that his fiancée's former job was as a cocktail waitress at a Crystal City gentleman’s club.

He added that the restaurant will be family-friendly.

“I was just told that no one likes me here,” Wilson went on to say. “I don’t know why no one would like me. I’m from Fairfax County all my life. Our name has been well-established through the area. I’d give the shirt off my back to anybody, and I think it’s kind of wrong for anybody to say that.”

Wilson added that he is naming the restaurant after his newborn son and doesn’t appreciate any other rumors being spread about his character. Other than a drunken driving arrest in 1996, “I’m about as clean as you can get,” he told the council.

Mayor William Hollaway said he wasn’t aware of any such rumors, but appreciated the clearing of the air.

“As odd as this is, I think it’s actually helpful,” Hollaway said, “because to the extent there are these alleged rumors – he (Effros) tees them up, and you’d say, ‘That’s absolutely not the case, and here’s why.’ ”

Effros said other Clifton residents had come to him with concerns that any new establishment would essentially be a bar. He also cited state regulations that a restaurant’s sales must be 60 percent food and 40 percent alcohol. Clifton’s town code specifically does not allow bars, only restaurants, the mayor noted.

“Again, I’m just trying to clear up all this,” Effros continued. “Everybody seems to agree that we want something that’s family-friendly in Clifton. That’s the underlying concern.”

The Heart in Hand closed last year, as proprietors Corey and Sherry Harlow relocated their business to Alwyngton Manor in Old Town Warrenton, according to their website. Inside the vacant restaurant, there are still chairs and tables in the dining room – and, inexplicably, a parked motorcycle.

The council approved Wilson’s permit to open a new business as approved April 26 by the town’s planning commission. Approved hours are 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, with the ability to extend hours to 2 a.m. up to a dozen times a year. No outdoor music will be allowed.