Crossing the Occoquan River from Prince William County to southern Fairfax County in Northern Virginia doesn’t yield a lot of surprises. Regardless of the county, it’s all suburbia, albeit a lot less dense and urbanized than Arlington County or other parts of Fairfax that are closer to Alexandria and, of course, Washington DC. But, while
This is a slight subject—or, rather, two subjects—which I am somewhat forcibly conflating. But it’s not an unfamiliar topic for this blog, and I keep coming back to it because it’s so rich with semantic potential: specifically, it’s the organization and branding of public restrooms. The only major reason this cluster of photos gets bunched
I had visited this little shopping center just south of Alexandria, Virginia more than a few times before I ever noticed this bizarre little sign about flying projectiles. It didn’t occur to me during any previous visit, since I normally sat indoors to avoid the scorching summer sun, but apparently some people opt to eat
In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day 2024. Due in no small part to the devastating effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the restaurant industry, World of Beer is one
I know next to nothing about the food sold at Sunshine Spice Café and did not patronize it during my three-day stay in Boise earlier this year. So it would be entirely unfair to carp on petty considerations like operating hours. This brief post, therefore, isn’t a criticism; just an observation. Operating hours often are
Midway through The Year of our Lord 2025, conventional retail continues its unrelenting retreat from the array of preferred American leisure activities. Simply put, fewer and fewer Americans “go shopping” for fun, at least when it comes to the time-tested paradigm of bricks-and-mortar malls and big boxes. The proof is in the pudding: more and
Several months ago, I did something I rarely do and took a hard line on a polarizing topic: allowing dogs (or other pets) into private businesses. I believed, and continue to believe, that dogs should not be permitted in coffee shops, gyms, hardware stores, grocery stores, or (God forbid) restaurants, unless they are a licensed
In this nation of abundant strip malls, it should come as no surprise that quite a few of them look pretty drab, underinvested, and plagued with low occupancy. Why expect anything else? As I’ve noted countless times before, America grapples with a glut of retail-oriented real estate: a supply that accommodates the demand almost
Several months ago, I stumbled into a restaurant cluster called The Block in Annandale, a somewhat distinctive suburban district in the overwhelmingly suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, just south of Washington DC. The unassuming exterior (which I’ll review shortly) betrayed a lively, hip interior that managed to generate at least medium buzz after 9pm in this
As the holiday season fast approaches, I find it increasingly difficult (perhaps impossible) to meet my usual goal of five blog posts per month. December is always the toughest month of the year to accomplish this feat, and, having begun the month with a post that was longer than I expected, I may have to
Crossing the Occoquan River from Prince William County to southern Fairfax County in Northern Virginia doesn’t yield a lot of surprises. Regardless of the county, it’s all suburbia, albeit a lot less dense
This is a slight subject—or, rather, two subjects—which I am somewhat forcibly conflating. But it’s not an unfamiliar topic for this blog, and I keep coming back to it because it’s so rich
I had visited this little shopping center just south of Alexandria, Virginia more than a few times before I ever noticed this bizarre little sign about flying projectiles. It didn’t occur to me
In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day
I know next to nothing about the food sold at Sunshine Spice Café and did not patronize it during my three-day stay in Boise earlier this year. So it would be entirely unfair
Midway through The Year of our Lord 2025, conventional retail continues its unrelenting retreat from the array of preferred American leisure activities. Simply put, fewer and fewer Americans “go shopping” for fun, at
Several months ago, I did something I rarely do and took a hard line on a polarizing topic: allowing dogs (or other pets) into private businesses. I believed, and continue to believe, that
In this nation of abundant strip malls, it should come as no surprise that quite a few of them look pretty drab, underinvested, and plagued with low occupancy. Why expect anything else?
Several months ago, I stumbled into a restaurant cluster called The Block in Annandale, a somewhat distinctive suburban district in the overwhelmingly suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, just south of Washington DC. The unassuming
As the holiday season fast approaches, I find it increasingly difficult (perhaps impossible) to meet my usual goal of five blog posts per month. December is always the toughest month of the year