Restaurants

SEVERAL NEW ASHBURN-AREA RESTAURANTS IN LIMBO

Slapfish, Sugar Shack Donuts and Shanghai Stations are all eagerly anticipated by area diners.

Ask anyone who has ever opened a restaurant — nothing ever goes as smoothly or as quickly as planned. There are always delays. Always. Add in that The Burn often breaks news about new restaurants months before construction even starts and the wait for a new establishment can see interminable.

Currently there are several eagerly anticipated restaurants around Ashburn and eastern Loudoun that seem to be moving in slow motion. If they’re in motion at all.

Future Slapfish location (here and at top)

Slapfish, the new fast-casual seafood restaurant at One Loudoun, is one such restaurant. In January, the company announced they would be opening their first East Coast location at the popular Ashburn lifestyle center. They said they were targeting a June opening. Fast-forward five months and it’s June, but there’s no visible progress on the new Slapfish restaurant. The space across the street from Eddie Merlot’s sits empty.

The Ashburn location doesn’t even appear on the company’s website. But locations in Rockville, Md. and DC are both listed and scheduled to open this year. So much for Ashburn being the first East Coast location. Nevertheless, Slapfish is still listed on a One Loudoun website and when The Burn called the Slapfish HQ in California, we were assured it was still coming.

Future Sugar Shack Donuts location

Another missing restaurant is the new Sugar Shack Donuts in the Lansdowne Square development adjacent to Lansdowne Town Center. Construction has been underway for months, but the last few times we’ve gone by, it doesn’t look like there has been much progress.

The rumor circulating is that they ran into ventilation issues with the space and resolving that has slowed things down. We’ve reached out to the landlord as well as Sugar Shack HQ and the local owners, but received no response.

Future Shanghai Stations location

And then there is Shanghai Stations at the Village at Leesburg. There was so much promise and hope for this exciting new restaurant when it was first announced two years ago. In a primo spot next to the Cobb movie theater, the restaurant had a well-known chef who was creating an eclectic menu of French Vietnamese fusion dishes and beautiful decor in the works. (See more details here.)

After many delays, Shanghai Stations signs went up and construction got underway. And then everything stopped cold. Turns out an early investor in the new restaurant pulled out, leaving the owners with a half-built restaurant and looking for new financial backers. The restaurant is still listed as “Coming Soon” on the Village at Leesburg website and when we recently emailed with the owners, they said they were talking to new investors and hoped to be back on track soon.

13 Comments
  1. Doug 6 years ago

    Hail & Hog at OneLoudoun has been closed for almost a year and no tenant yet either.

    • The Burn 6 years ago

      True. But we were focusing on new restaurants that have announced they are coming, only to hit significant delays along the way. No word on what might be coming into the Hail & Hog space. We’ve heard rumors, but nothing that’s come to fruition yet.

  2. Sumitra Kurkal 6 years ago

    Hi, what about “Woodlands” near the Dulles Mall? Any news of when that might open?
    Thanks!

    • The Burn 6 years ago

      They are still working on it. Also the name has apparently changed, but still vegetarian. No idea if it’s the same or different ownership. Very hard to find info but it seems to still be progressing.

  3. Betsy 6 years ago

    Thank you for the update! I’ve been wondering about Sugar Shack, thinking it would be a fun summer outing with the kids.

  4. Rob Blackstone 6 years ago

    I really hope Sugar Shack works out, they’ve got some great flavors.

  5. Anonymous 6 years ago

    Mexican restaurant on the corner at Loudoun Station. Was supposed to be here last year. At least you can see in there now. What happened?

  6. Jeff 6 years ago

    Any rumors or leads on what is going to move into the Boston’s space?

  7. Gdj 6 years ago

    Would love to see a Zaxby or Hardee’s here. I drive to Winchester at least once a month for Zaxby’s.

Comments are closed.