At the corner of Chesterbrook Shopping Center there's a freestanding building at 6218 and 6220 Old Dominion Drive. It used to be a Truist Bank branch. Today it holds a Sweetgreen and, since Oct. 22, a Surfside Taco Stand that serves margaritas. FFXnow reported that Surfside stays open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
That building shows where the whole center is going. Over five years of turnover, the businesses arriving at Chesterbrook have been the kind you visit in the evening. The ones that kept daytime hours have been placed in temporary space or have moved next door.
A Bank Branch Became a Dinner Stop
Sweetgreen opened in the old bank building in December 2025. Surfside followed this fall in a space of about 1,700 square feet. It's the first Virginia location for a restaurant that started in 2008 with a storefront in D.C. The McLean outpost is a counter-service taco stand, not a full-service restaurant like the Tenleytown flagship. The menu covers tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas and bowls. Nacho and fajita boxes feed up to 10 people, and there's soft-serve, flan and tres leches cake for dessert.
Surfside is owned by Georgetown Events Hospitality Group, which also runs Millie's in Spring Valley and the sandwich shop Jetties. Founder and CEO Bo Blair told FFXnow that customers from McLean and Arlington had been loyal to the group's District restaurants for years. He said many neighbors stopped by to welcome the staff in the days before opening. The restaurant's opening had been pushed back. Federal Realty, which owns the center, once expected a summer opening and had no updated timeline as recently as mid-October.
How the Center Got Here
Federal Realty acquired an 80% interest in Chesterbrook in April 2021. It had managed and leased the property for 19 years before that, the Connection reported. An $8.5 million renovation started in fall 2022. It brought new facades, lighting, outdoor seating areas, pollinator gardens and a repaved parking lot. The center marked the finish with a Friendsgiving open house on Nov. 14, 2025, with live jazz, alpacas and baby goats.
Here's the order in which tenants arrived:
- Call Your Mother, July 7, 2024, at 6232 Old Dominion Drive. The deli moved indoors after running its Lil' Deli food truck in the parking lot.
- Sorn Thai, March 14, 2025, at 6224E. Owner Supisa "Boom" Teawbut built the menu around her grandmother's Southern Thai recipes.
- Small Door Veterinary, June 2, 2025, at 6224C, its first Virginia clinic.
- Sassanova, July 17, 2025, at 6224G. It was the Maryland boutique's first Virginia store.
- Sweetgreen, December 2025, in the former bank building.
- Surfside Taco Stand, Oct. 22, 2026, sharing that building.
The early arrivals were mostly daytime businesses: a deli, a vet clinic, a boutique. The later ones are restaurants. The next one is the biggest restaurant yet, and its business plan centers on the evening.
The Hours Show the Change
Compare the posted hours of three businesses at or next to the center. One just arrived, one is leaving, and one has been in this corner of McLean since 1967.
| Business | Status | Weekday hours | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfside Taco Stand, 6218 Old Dominion Dr. | Opened Oct. 22, 2026 | 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mon–Thu; until 2 a.m. Fri | 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| McLean Art Gallery, 6224B Old Dominion Dr. | Closing January 2027 | Noon to 6 p.m. Wed–Fri | Noon to 6 p.m. | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Chesterbrook Barber Shop, 6262-F Old Dominion Dr. | Relocated June 2026 | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon–Fri | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
The gallery and the barber shop both close by early evening. Surfside is just getting going on a Friday at the hour the gallery locks up.
Glenwood's Plans Nightly Live Entertainment at the South End
On Oct. 14, Federal Realty announced that Glenwood's had signed a lease for about 7,000 square feet at the south end of Chesterbrook, near Small Door Veterinary. FFXnow reported that the press release promised nightly live entertainment, an outdoor patio, valet parking and a private dining room with a temperature-controlled, floor-to-ceiling wine display. The restaurant will seat about 170 people and add 90 full- and part-time jobs.
Montgomery County diners may know the concept under its old name. It opened in Columbia as Stanford Grill in 2010, added sushi when it expanded to Rockville in 2015, and was renamed Glenwood's in 2024 by its parent, Blueridge Restaurant Group. Blueridge also runs Copper Canyon Grill. McLean will be the first location in Northern Virginia and the first step in a planned expansion.
"McLean is an important next step for us," Blueridge Managing Member David Jones said in the announcement, as quoted by FFXnow. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with a target opening in fall 2027.
The Gallery Was Always Temporary
Glenwood's needs space, and part of that space is the McLean Art Gallery. The McLean Art Society opened its pop-up gallery on Sept. 17, 2025, in the former Sherwin-Williams storefront at 6224B, with Federal Realty's support. It opened showing and selling work by 35 local artists and was planned to run only through the end of 2025. The run was extended. The gallery is now set to close sometime in January 2027 to make room for the restaurant.
In a press release quoted by FFXnow, the society called the coming months "a final opportunity to experience the creativity and talent of local artists." Here's what's on the calendar from this week on:
- "City Life," an exhibition of art inspired by city streets and buildings, runs through Nov. 29 at the gallery. Admission is free, Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
- Watercolor classes led by Virginia artist Raj KC run Tuesdays from Nov. 17 to Dec. 15.
- A free sketchbook journaling demonstration by watercolor artist Marni Maree takes place Nov. 20 at 11 a.m. at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue.
- The society's art show at the McLean Community Center stays up through Nov. 20.
The society is looking for a new location and hopes to announce one by the end of the year. Either way, its members' work hangs from September through May at the Spring Hill and Oakmont rec centers.
The Oldest Tenant Moved Next Door
Chesterbrook Barber Shop was one of the center's original tenants and had cut hair there since 1967. FFXnow reported that its lease at the center was not renewed under the new ownership. The shop is now run by owner Peggy Ngo, who took it over about 15 years ago and has kept its prices modest.
More than 200 people signed a letter about what the shop means to the area, and regulars with backgrounds in commercial law, real estate and construction helped Ngo find a new space and set up a website. The shop reopened on June 14 at 6262-F Old Dominion Drive. That's the strip right next to Chesterbrook, also home to Tennis Topia and Fonts Books & Gifts.
"I thought I would be sad, but I like it more," Ngo told FFXnow about the brighter new space. Her shop is still a short walk from the taco stand. It just has a different address and is no longer in the center itself.
When a shopping center near your home changes like Chesterbrook has, it affects your evenings and can affect how buyers see the streets around it. If you own, rent out or are thinking of buying near a center that's being repositioned, Payam Bakhaje can walk you through what the new leases mean for your block. Let's Connect.
