PassionFish Reston Is Helping Customers Evade ParkRTC, Too

RESTON, VA — As we recently reported, Reston Town Center restaurant Mon Ami Gabi discovered a clever way to help their customers avoid having to use the ParkRTC app. But it appears they're not the only one.

PassionFish tweeted Monday that there was "NO app necessary" for lunch parking at Reston Town Center. A person working at the restaurant confirmed to Patch that, like Mon Ami Gabi, the eatery is starting parking sessions for their customers so they don't have to.

Customers merely have to provide PassionFish with their license plate number, and the restaurant will start a parking session in the Orange Garage at RTC.

Of course, there's some question over whether you need to pay to park at the Orange Garage at all after a court recently ruled against Reston Town Center manager Boston Properties, granting a preliminary injunction blocking them from charging customers of Jackson's Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge for parking. Since the court ruling prevents BXP from even making Jackson's customers start a parking session through the app, there's no telling how they would be able to determine who in the garage is a Jackson's customer and who is not.

Meanwhile, Reston Town Center merchants say they continue to lose business because of paid parking, even though Boston Properties scaled back the hours. One report suggested that the closure of longtime RTC tenant Il Fornaio was due to the backlash over paid parking.

NO app necessary for #Lunch parking in the orange garage of @RestonTwnCenter! Garage parking is FREE after 5p /wkends. #ICYMI pic.twitter.com/Ycigx1xGqs
— PassionFish Reston (@PassionFishRest) July 10, 2017

Image: Patch staff