A popular, Asian-focused food hall and other businesses in Annandale’s Eastgate Shopping Center will be required to close or relocate by the end of this summer.
According to Annandale Today, property owner Brian Kim has given The Block, Kimen Ramen & Izakaya and several other retail tenants until Aug. 30 to vacate the strip mall, which is slated for partial demolition to make way for an apartment building.
Approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in October 2023, the new residential building will include 280 multifamily units and 11,220 square feet of ground-floor commercial retail space, replacing the north section of the shopping center. The project will also add urban park spaces.
During a public hearing in October 2023, members of the Fairfax County Planning Commission raised concerns about the redevelopment pushing out existing retailers and contributing to a gentrification of the area, which remains a center for the local Asian community.
A legal representative for developer Insight Property Group, which partnered with Kim on the project, said they were working with The Block on a “new concept” that would be located in the remaining shopping center, but it’s not yet clear whether that’s still being discussed.
With The Block closing on Aug. 1, Annandale Today reports that several vendors are working on plans to relocate. Pokeworks is going to Fairfax, and SnoCream will move to the Fair Oaks area. The owner of another vendor, Bold Dumpling, told the local news outlet that she hopes to stay in Annandale but hasn’t found a new location yet.
The Vietnamese eatery Balô Kitchen announced on Saturday (July 12) that it will close in Annandale at the end of August before launching a new home in Crystal City this fall.
“It breaks our hearts to close on such short notice, especially knowing how much love and dedication our team (many with us since 2012), has poured into this place,” the Balô Kitchen team said in a Facebook post. “But what stays with us are the moments and memories you’ve helped create that made it all worthwhile. We truly wouldn’t have come this far without you.”
Outside of The Block, which opened at 4221 John Marr Drive in December 2016, the redevelopment will force the closures of Kimen Ramen & Izakaya, Chicken Pelicana and B-Thrifty.
Kimen Ramen also has a Fairfax location in Lee Plaza (11725 Route 29, Suite 13A), and it opened a new restaurant in Centreville (5720 Pickwick Road) late last year.
B-Thrifty owner Christopher Travieso told Annandale Today that he’s been working with Kim to identify a new location, but finding an affordable spot in the area that’s also large enough for the thrift store has been challenging. Employees in Annandale have been offered the option of transferring to one of the small chain’s other locations, which include spots in Woodbridge, Camp Spring, Maryland, and a planned addition in Manassas.
Building plans for the apartment development were submitted to Fairfax County in September 2024 and are still under review by county staff.
Built in 1973, Eastgate Shopping Center is anchored by K Market International. That won’t be affected by the upcoming apartment building, but at the 2023 planning commission hearing, the Insight Property Group representative didn’t rule out the possibility of expanding the redevelopment in the future.
Other remaining tenants include Tous Les Jours, Taco Ssam, the boba tea shop Tiger Sugar and Glam Karaoke.