Salon That Ditched RTC Over Paid Parking To Reopen Monday

RESTON, VA -- Nordine Salon and Day Spa was a tenant at Reston Town Center for 14 years before paid parking prompted owner Nordine Elasbassi to uproot and move out. Now, the salon is getting set to have a grand reopening celebration at Reston Station on Monday (it actually opened Nov. 24).

Reston Town Center manager Boston Properties introduced paid parking through the ParkRTC system last January to much consternation from both merchants and residents. Some business owners have either threatened to move out or did move out as a result, and Nordine Salon was one of them.

“We had two options. Option A was for us to pay [for parking] for our clients,” Elasbassi told WJLA. “Option B, it would be to increase our prices and pass along those charges to our clients."

On Dec. 4, Nordine Salon and Day Spa will unveil Option C: a grand opening celebration at a new location at 11389 Reston Station Boulevard Suite A. The event will take place from 4-7 p.m., and attendance is by reservation only (you can email reston@salonnordine.com to request an RSVP).

"The centrally located Reston Station Nordine Salon & Day Spa offers both a full service salon and a modern, relaxing day spa," according to their website. "From haircuts and color corrections, to facials and the finest nail care services, the Reston Station location has it all. Our Reston Station - Wiehle Metro location is the place you can stop by for a quick trim, or indulge yourself in Nordine Salon & Day Spa's many services."

The salon will be open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday. It will be closed on Mondays.

Despite a vocal group of merchants and locals, Boston Properties argues that business is just fine at Reston Town Center and there hasn't been a mass exodus of tenants. The developer reported in its latest earnings call that a total of 200,000 square feet of space at RTC would be vacated by tenants in 2018 out of 3.6 million square feet, but that is about average, BXP vice president Peter Johnston claimed in an interview with Patch.

Johnston also said during the interview that paid parking in its current form probably won't change at all -- or at least until the Reston Town Center Metro station opens around 2020.

Image via Nordine Salon