Hollin Hall Center Offers Old-Time Charm, Service

The Hollin Hall Village was developed in the late 1940s and today consists of about 600 single-story rambler and rancher homes seemingly built around a single hub, its namesake shopping center. Within its span, the center has every major customer need covered—from a gas station to a pastry shop and restaurants, from a classic variety store to a grocer, and from an old-fashioned hardware store to a pharmacy.

Housing stores that attract a clientele from much farther away than its surrounding community, the two-block long Hollin Hall Shopping Center has been home to businesses that have been serving regulars for more than 50 years. “We were among the first tenants and we’ve been in the same part of the center since early on,” said Art Blakey, manager of the Hollin Hall Barbershop. “We get regular repeat business from all over the area, from Del Ray to Springfield.”

Doug Bentley’s The Variety Store, in the mold of the classic five-and-dime or Woolworths, sells yo-yos and Legos in crowded, narrow aisles that also contain kitchenware, fabrics, and seasonal items. The Kids Again consignment store, with its mostly upscale and in-very-good-repair stock, offers another throwback experience to savor—repeat customers looking for just the right thing.

“We get the occasional special outfit that might be too expensive elsewhere. You know, the one she’ll only wear for one holiday season and then outgrow, but you’ve spent what you would on three outfits she can wear year-round,” said mother and Kids Again patron Mrs. Gardner, accompanied by 8-year-old daughter Emma and stroller-bound Ethan.

Village Hardware manager Gene Laporta presides over a classic hardware store that prides itself on customer service and carries everything from the universal staples to the near-collector type items. “If you go there for just one item, even a small obscure one, they treat you with respect and attention. None of that feeling of being rushed out the door if you’re not there for a major buy,” said Marvin Sellers, a retired navy commander from Woodbridge who used to live in Fort Hunt. “I come back here whenever I need something special, or just to see who’s around,” he concluded.

The Hollin Hall Shopping Center opened for business with the intent of servicing its neighbors' basic needs from food to medicines to haircuts. But over the years, as it grew from one to three distinct sections (some argue there are only two, others subscribe to the every other grouping is a new section theory) patrons became more than shoppers, they became visitors to a town center.

Much like the old town square with its central location meant for public gatherings, and in years past often the home to a short-term farmers’ market, this neighborhood shopping center is the best of both worlds. Offering the touch of the old both in terms of a personalized customer service experience and in the variety and quality of available merchandise, Hollin Hall Shopping Center is also, rightfully, its community’s public hub.