Thursday, October 29, 2026
Good morning. Here's what's in this week's issue:
Voodoo Brewing opened Saturday at Dulles Station, and the grand opening was packed
Volunteers have mapped 41 license plate cameras in Reston and Herndon, five days before Herndon votes
Worldgate Centre sold at a foreclosure auction for $28.2 million
Five things to do, including the witches who paddle across Lake Anne on Sunday
Kathy & Graham
THE BIG STORY
VOODOO BREWING IS OPEN AT DULLES STATION, AND THE GRAND OPENING WAS PACKED
Voodoo Brewing Co. opened its Herndon taproom on Saturday, Oct. 24, on the ground floor of Makers Rise on Dulles Station Boulevard, a short walk from the Innovation Center Metro station. We walked through the space in September, when it was still empty, and went back for opening weekend. We could barely move.
Owner Curry Lee lives in Reston and worked in the brewing industry for about seven years before he won Voodoo's Herndon franchise territory. We found him behind the bar on Saturday night and congratulated him. He had about four seconds to spare.
Matt Allyn founded Voodoo in 2005 in Meadville, Pa., and the company has grown mostly through franchising since 2017. The Herndon taproom does not brew on site. It pours Voodoo's Pennsylvania-made beers, including Good Vibes, a West Coast IPA, and the bar also serves cocktails, wine and frozen margaritas. The kitchen makes burgers ground with brisket and fries cooked in beef tallow, which is rendered beef fat, and FFXnow reported that the menu adds pizzas with hand-stretched dough and wings.
A local artist painted the murals on the main walls and carried the work into the restrooms, where George Washington makes an appearance. People lined up at the row of retro pinball machines most of the night. Along one wall, Lee built a hidden door, decorated as a tribute to his love of cats. We will leave it to you to find it.
The taproom seats about 143 inside and 40 on the patio and opens at 11 a.m. every day, according to FFXnow, and the staff hosts trivia on Tuesdays. The opening weekend crowd was loud and energetic, so if you want a quieter visit, go earlier in the day.
The 356 apartments of Makers Rise sit upstairs, and DSVO Dulles is building 510 more across the street.
ALSO THIS WEEK
VOLUNTEERS HAVE MAPPED 41 LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS IN RESTON AND HERNDON
Camera points DeFlock volunteers had marked as of Oct. 27. Map by Greater Reston Living.
Volunteers working with DeFlock, a crowdsourced map of license plate readers built on OpenStreetMap, have marked 41 camera points inside Reston and the Town of Herndon, 21 in Reston and 20 in Herndon. Thirty-six of them carry the Flock Safety name. Neither Fairfax County police nor Herndon police publish where their fixed cameras stand.
In Herndon, eight of the 20 points sit on Elden Street or a few steps from it. In Reston, eight of the 21 sit within a third of a mile of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. Fairfax County police say they have not verified DeFlock's entries, which may count one camera twice or include equipment that is not a plate reader. Herndon's own dashboard lists 10 town cameras, half the number of points the map shows inside town limits.
Herndon publishes more about its system than the county does. Over the 30 days ending Oct. 27, the town's 10 cameras recorded 324,273 unique vehicles, officers ran 42 searches, and the system raised 179 alerts on plates tied to stolen cars, wanted people and missing children. Virginia law requires police to delete plate data after 21 days unless it belongs to a case.
Twelve candidates are running for six Herndon Town Council seats on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Challenger Josif Ezekilov told FFXnow he would push to end the town's Flock contract "on day one," and challenger Yasmin Shafiq's campaign site lists the cameras as an example of technology that should not compromise residents' rights. We found no stated position from the other 10.
The Board of Supervisors stopped new county installations on Sept. 15, and police still operate the 84 county cameras already in place. The board has not scheduled a vote. For the General Assembly session that starts in January, State Sen. Lashrecse Aird has drafted a statewide ban that would also cover cameras owned by homeowners associations and businesses.
QUICK HITS
AROUND RESTON AND HERNDON
Worldgate Centre, the Herndon shopping center anchored by the AMC Worldgate 9 and the Worldgate Athletic Club & Spa, sold at a foreclosure auction outside the Fairfax County Circuit Court on Monday, Oct. 26, for $28.2 million. Six groups bid, and an attorney acting for the center's largest lender won with a credit bid, meaning the lender bid the debt it was already owed. The owner, an affiliate of McLean-based Rappaport, still owed about $50 million on a 2016 loan. Read more
Auria, a Colorado Springs company that makes software and communications technology for space and missile operations, will open its East Coast headquarters at Summit I, 2000 Edmund Halley Drive, near the Reston Town Center Metro station, by mid-2027. Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office announced on Oct. 27 that the company will invest $1.8 million and create 78 jobs. Read more
The Planning Commission will not hold its Nov. 4 hearing on the three applications for 306 stacked townhomes on Reston National Golf Course. The commission listed them for deferral on its revised agenda, and Reston Association told members on Oct. 23 that no new date is set. Read more
Stanley Martin Homes showed neighbors its latest plan for East Link, the former T-Mobile campus at 12500 Sunrise Valley Drive near the Herndon Metro station, on Monday, Oct. 26. The plan calls for 1,074 homes on about 36 acres, 881 of them apartments and condos and 193 townhouses, plus about 3.3 acres of public parkland. The Planning Commission has scheduled its hearing for Dec. 9. Read more
The Herndon Town Council approved 525 apartments at 575 Herndon Parkway, the former Booz Allen Hamilton building next to the Herndon Metro station, in April, and 400 apartments plus 62 stacked townhouses at 250 Exchange Place in June. Fairfield Residential expects the first residents at The Nell, its 399-apartment building at 555 Herndon Parkway, in early 2027. The town lists two older approvals near the station, Parkview and Fairbrook, as inactive. Read more
Reston Association's board approved a 2027 assessment of $900 on Oct. 22, up $10 from this year. Staff found more than $550,000 in operating savings, including about $270,000 from eliminating the chief operating officer position and about $100,000 a year from moving the Activities Guide mostly online. Read more
Early voting ends Saturday, Oct. 31, and polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. The ballot includes races for U.S. Senate and the House, a $180 million county parks bond, a $75 million bond for health and human services buildings, and three amendments to the Virginia Constitution, on reproductive freedom, marriage equality and voting rights. Town of Herndon voters also elect six council members from a field of 12, and Mayor Keven LeBlanc is running unopposed. Read more
Fairfax County's discount on federal flood insurance rose from 20 to 25 percent on Oct. 1, after FEMA moved the county up to Class 5 in its Community Rating System. Owners in all of Reston and in the parts of the 20170 and 20171 ZIP codes outside town limits get the discount, while owners inside the Town of Herndon do not. Our count found fewer than 20 Reston homes and about 95 Town of Herndon homes in FEMA's high-risk flood zone. Read more
Eleven companies with Reston or Herndon addresses made the Washington Business Journal's 2026 list of the region's 75 fastest-growing private companies, six in Reston and five in Herndon. Herndon's TRINITY Group Construction ranked highest locally, at No. 5, after its revenue nearly tripled from 2023 to 2025. Read more
Food for Neighbors, which Reston resident Karen Joseph started in 2016 as PTA president at Herndon Middle School, collected more than 38,000 pounds of food on Saturday, Oct. 24, for pantries at 60 middle and high schools. The group's next collection day is Jan. 16. Read more
NOVA Parks' board takes up new W&OD Trail rules on Nov. 19 that would ban the fastest class of e-bikes and require a permit for groups larger than 25. In a new mile-by-mile guide, we mapped the trail's 6.5 miles through Reston and Herndon, from Hunter Mill Road at mile 14.7 to the Loudoun County line at mile 21.2, with parking at each access point. Read more
We published a new guide to Armstrong Elementary on Lake Newport Road, which FCPS is renovating and expanding in phases through summer 2027 while about 310 students attend. FCPS assigns North Point and several neighborhoods with Herndon mailing addresses to Armstrong, and its students go on to Herndon Middle and Herndon High. Read more
OPENINGS & CLOSINGS
WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT
COMING Ebbitt House, 1860 Reston Row Plaza, Reston Station. Clyde's Restaurant Group expects to open in early November, with a raw bar, about 275 seats inside and 125 on a covered patio. Read more
COMING Mpanadas, 11503 Sunrise Valley Drive, Sunrise Valley Center, Reston. The Arlington empanada and coffee cafe hopes to finish construction in early November and open after that. Read more
COMING Loud'n Roasted Coffee Roasters, 2309 Woodland Crossing Drive, Woodland Park Crossing, Herndon. The family-owned roaster with cafes in Chantilly and Ashburn applied for a county health permit on Oct. 22 for the former Meanwhile Coffee space. The company has not set an opening date. Read more
COMING Iron Flame Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, 400 Elden Street, Herndon Centre. H Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot is taking the Iron Flame name, with a renovation planned around the new year. H Pot stays open under its current name until then. Read more
CLOSING Mr. Wish, 472 Elden Street, Herndon Centre. The boba shop has closed after three years, and a "coming soon" sign in the window lists frozen yogurt and boba. The Mr. Wish at Elden Street Marketplace stays open. Read more
FROM GREATER RESTON LIVING AT COMPASS
What would your home sell for this fall?
We price homes against recent sales in your own neighborhood. Get a range in a couple of minutes.
THINGS TO DO
OUR FIVE PICKS FOR THE WEEK
THU., OCT. 29 · 8 A.M. · DOWNTOWN HERNDON
Herndon Farmers Market. The Thursday market at 765 Lynn Street closes for the season after today, and vendors stay until noon.
FRI., OCT. 30 · 4 P.M. · RESTON TOWN CENTER
Fairfax County Dog Adoption Pop-Up. Fairfax County Animal Services brings adoptable dogs to the Mercury Fountain until 7 p.m. and waives adoption fees, and each dog goes home microchipped with a leash, collar and food.
SAT., OCT. 31 · NOON · HUNTERS WOODS PLAZA, RESTON
RCC Spooktacular. Reston Community Center and One Hunters Woods host a free Halloween afternoon on the plaza until 3 p.m., and the Spooktacular Splash, a free family swim, starts at 1 p.m. at the RCC pool next door.
SUN., NOV. 1 · 1 P.M. · LAKE ANNE, RESTON
SUP Witches Halloween Paddle. Paddleboarders in witch costumes leave the Lakeside Cluster dock and stop at Lake Anne Plaza for a photo, and spectators can watch from the plaza. Lake Anne Brew House, open until 6 p.m., offers discounts to anyone in costume.
SUN., NOV. 1 · 2 P.M. · RCC HUNTERS WOODS, RESTON
"Once Upon a Mattress". The Reston Community Players stage the musical at the Leila Gordon Theatre, and the company closes the run with performances on Nov. 6 and 7. Tickets cost $28 to $33.
ASK THE INSIDERS
Send us your Reston and Herndon questions
Curious about a building going up, the name on a street sign or a storefront that went dark? Send us your question, and we will answer it here in a coming issue.
READER POLL
Where are you trick-or-treating on Saturday?
We'll share the results next Thursday.
A FINAL NOTE
YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM RESTON WHEN…
…your trick-or-treat route goes through at least one pathway underpass.
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Reston Insider is written by Kathy and Graham Tracey of Greater Reston Living at Compass, and you can call or text us at (703) 231-7049.
Compass, 11943 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA 20190 | (703) 783-7485
