Temporary music venue in the works for vacant Annandale building
Johnny P, a local entrepreneur, has big plans for the two vacant buildings on Columbia Pike that were damaged in a fire in 2023.
He hopes to use the building that formerly housed the Thai Sushi Eats restaurant as a temporary live music venue called “Music Flavor” – until the building is torn down and the property is redeveloped. He expects the properties will be developed in about two years.
The property is listed for sale by KLNB. Realtor Craig Cheney told Annandale Today that no potential buyers have stepped forward, although there has been interest in the site.
Johnny P’s goal is to promote community camaraderie by showcasing local bands and hosting “Rock Talk” discussions with musicians. He hopes to start hosting events in April, but needs to get a non-residential use permit approved before he can proceed.
Related story: Buyer sought for Annandale property
Johnny P, a resident of Annandale, performs with the Sixer of Elixir classic rock band at locations around town, including the American Legion Post in Annandale. He also hosts open-mike concerts under the slogan “Classic Rock And Blues By You – Let’s Get CRABBY.”
He has already cleared 10 inches of debris from the side of the property where the other buildings destroyed in the fire were demolished. He plans to use that space, which he’s calling “Sunshine Social,” for outdoor weekend events featuring live music and a food truck.
He is considering using the building next door, formerly Gloria Beauttie Fashion, as a temporary thrift store.
Related story: Demolition underway on remains of burned buildings
I’d like to potentially work with Johnny P on this.
Hi Debora, it’s JohnnyP. I’m wondering what your thoughts are with regards to the space?
Sounds like a positive solution and a plus for Annandale now that we’ve lost The Block. It would help transform this eyesore until the property gets sold.
Hi Pamela, you along with dozens of people drove by and gave me kudos for taking on such a challenging endeavor. Although, the outside before and after might be less attractive than the artsy inside, I have many more plans to aesthetically improve the property with a mural, paint and updated fencing. Thanks to all of you who gave me feedback and ideas for the use. I hope to see you in the near future.
“He expressed doubt that Johnny P’s project will happen.”?!?! Someone is trying to do something positive and he gets pooped on by an offhand comment like this? The uncredited article author should not have included that! And really, tuy should have held his tongue in the first place.
Hey Gordon, thanks for the response, I’m definitely trying a lot harder than most people would for this place! With that said, a lot of the article seemed pretty positive and that’s the part that I would like to focus on: Goodness and Positivity! As many people in the community saw there were about a dozen vagrants living here which I had to kick out, also the debris inside and outside as well, the flooded basement were a real nuisance and that definitely gave the building the “sore thumb” look. Let’s focus on making people smile with some great music, some great food, and a great community of people getting together! Thanks for the Praise!
Johnny P is Annandale’s coolest dude, and wishing him great success with this project.
Grow up and educate yourself on how the regulations and anti-small businesses policies and practices of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors make the comment realistic. Most locally successful new businesses are in the City of Falls Church and the City of Fairfax because the local government works with small businesses not against them. Those two cities embrace opportunities, whereas Fairfax County government behaves like a king making decrees’ on what is to go on in the realm.
Being the downer commenting with just a negative is kinda pointless, maybe we should all just disregard that point of view and direct energy to working up efforts to approach Mason District’s Jimenez and get his sense of what’s possible. Sure, it may turn out that there’s more hurdles than easy paths to success, but his view will hold much more credence. Creating a [very] mini-Bull Pen type of stage here in Annandale certainly seems to garner local interest.
Our Mason Supervisor is a nice person; however his actions so far have been very much lacking. He has “passed the buck” and /or claimed that he has no ability to make any meaningful changes when confronted by constituents with legitimate concerns (ex: pickle ball and park authority or pandering with renaming streets as documented by Annandale Today). I’m not against the idea for use of the location. I’m being serious about the potential and real road blocks/situation our elected officials and county government have put in place – which so far Supervisor Jimenez has been unhelpful, unable, and unwilling to address anything serious.
Sounds like a cool project. Can’t wait to see where this goes.
This is such a great idea in so many ways! I’m really looking forward to seeing the success of this project! I love the “Rock-Talk” idea too! It’ll bring more positivity to the music scene!
Hi Johnny. This is definitely a great idea. Before the Block there was the Sunset Grille. You may be able to get some support and musicians from the Grille Billie’s group. So many great bands and musicians played there. Would be happy to support and see this project succeed.
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Definitely a Great spot and will be missed,! On my 3rd time in there a woman was crying uncontrollably and I asked what was wrong… “The place is closing!” And to it I said, “yeah it’s 1:30 AM Time to shut down” she said “no, it’s closing for good!” I was upset too because I thought I found the perfect “Cheers” bar where “Everybody knows your name”… Let’s all remember the good times when we reminisce. Good People getting together to enjoy good music and some flavorful eats is how I’d like to put a Smile on Annandale-ians faces! Hope to see you when things get going. Thanks for the blast from the past!
I remember the closing “sale”. A number of my friends bought barstools, tables and other memorabilia from the Sunset Grille. I hope you are making some progress on your project. I would love to have some good live music in Annandale.
Bought my first firearm at Dawson’s many, many years ago. It’s the restaurant building that burned down. Also, way back then, there was a small range in basement of one of the remaining house-like buildings. Upstairs was a recording studio?
Good luck on your venture.
Yeah my friend and his father used to shoot down there and when he saw it took him waaaaay back! It’s wild how just a building can bring up so many good memories for people, several people have stopped by and talked about the upstairs music venue and what a blast it was! I’m hoping to bring back that music camaraderie to Northern Virginia.
I think this is a great idea! Before the Block there was the Sunset Grille for local music. Check out the Grille Billie’s on FB. Could find some support there. Would love to support this venue!
Thanks So much for the kind words! Yes, Sunset Grille was Awesome and very much missed! I’m wanting to give that Great feeling of camaraderie and community to Annandale again. Although, a full-on bar is for another time, the bringing together of people to enjoy others musical talents is what inspires me to keep this moving forward. Please join us when we open and let’s have a Great time!
What kind of bands are you looking for? Swingology is a gypsy jazz ensemble based in the area.
I’ve been to the blues jam sessions Johnny holds a couple of times. The building has the bones to be a real local venue.
The creepy handwriting on the posts outside the building is a big no from me dawg.
Well “creepy” to some is inspiration to others! Many people believe in God and the goodness of what God inspires in many people. To believe in a Higher Power is Strength and wisdom, and as ALL Nations believe in a higher authority, than that of a simple human, we gain Our Strength from Goodness. Hopefully your Love for Music and the knowledge of a Higher Power will inspire you to create more Wisdom and Strength within our community. Please give a Positive message to others with the words you say or write, as they give ENERGY and Our World and Our Community needs Good Energy! Stay positive and goodness will attract! Please be kind to others and also understand that your beliefs are not everyone’s beliefs. Thanks for recognizing the place and hopefully you can recognize others beliefs with an open mind.
Big no for me too. Random punctuation and Charlie Kirk = MAGA
I often wonder if someone/anyone goes around to ask each individual business about their Religious or political affiliation and then bashes them through any means they can. (Online paper)
God brought us here to be good individuals and accepting of others. “Do unto others as you wish done to you” is wisdom passed down through generations as well, “if you have nothing good to say about someone don’t say anything at all”. Instead of talking negative about a person, find a way to lift a person’s spirit with kind words and saying something to create Joy. Hatred is not a core value of God or teachings of Jesus. Even knowing “who” you are (not Tara or JR) I’m not going to post negativity about you yet, I will ask that you stop being negative through this online paper.
I hope your life is joyous through God and will follow “The Way” as a decent human. Thanks
I drove by yesterday and have to say anyone who reflexively says they wouldn’t go simply because of those signs, probably wouldn’t have gone anyway and is just dumping on you.
But on topic, you’ve got an uphill climb with the exterior of the entire area. Kinda risky just walking around. Twisting an ankle at night would be easy. Need a big load of fill dirt, roll out some turf, and some artificial trees and such… of course such effort for a temporary venue would be a hard sell.
Just watched movie “Making Woodstock”, it can be done. Haha.
How about getting neighboring businesses to collaborate on a music night one a month?
As a young person here, really hoping for the best on this project. Annandale needs more third spaces and a better music scene!! Lived here my whole life and theres so many defunct properties that have so much potential! Looking forward to visiting!!
As someone who hosted House Concerts locally for over 25 years, I’m happy to see a local venue opening – especially since we retired our series when COVID hit. You could consider presenting a diversity of music styles, so there is something for everyone. In any case, be sure and give some description of each act so potential customers can have some idea what’s on offer.
Best of luck.
I own and operate a music recording studio called Innovation Station Music a few minutes away in Annandale and it makes me happy to know about this. Would love to see a permanent venue in Annandale – we have a lot of karaoke but not much for musicians. As someone who ran a non-profit to unite and boost the local music scene and hosted a lot of networking and educational events for the area music community, I would love to see if I can get involved in some way. Thanks for all you’re doing!
Musician and Annandale resident here. This would be great – and it’s needed in Fairfax county where there are few performance opportunities beyond small stages and a single concert series run by the county (vs. multiple different towns). Music venues and festivals are also very difficult to run, organize, and sustain, so this effort is applauded. Here are some unsolicited tips:
Outdoor concerts usually succeed when there’s support from the local government or a business improvement district. Our band tried getting support for a series at the new civic space – the district supervisor’s office expressed interest but didn’t follow through, I wonder if this idea can spurn new interest. Successful DMV series’ to emulate: Bethesda Friday Concerts, Alive at Five in Frederick, Evenings in Olde Town Gaithersburg, Vienna Concerts on the Green, DC Wharf Concerts, Summer Sounds in Manassas. The key: If the plan relies on musicians playing for free (“exposure”), you’re gonna get what you pay for.
Music venues are very difficult to sustain – they’re always closing down. Profit margins are small for bar/restaurants and supporting a vibrant music scene is challenging. The key is to have a primary non-music draw (like really good cuisine/drinks), then offer quality music entertainment as a “dessert” of sorts. New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt is probably the most successful model for a small venue in this area because they’ve built and sustained a specific culture that is fanatic about supporting live music. Closest one to Annandale is JVs. They key: Don’t rely on “musicians bringing people” as your business plan. It’d be like relying on your contractor to remodel the place and rely on his friends to support the business because they admire his handiwork.
Good luck Johnny P.!!!
How can we stay updated on what is happening with this venue? I’ve worked in the local music scene over the years and we need a VA place that’s smaller than Jammin’ Java & Birchmere…Looking forward to following and maybe being able to help! Much love, peace & patience with this project 🙂
Well Johnny P your project certainly has a lot of interest. Not sure how that interest transfers into permanence and profit, but Annandale Today readers like the idea.
On my way back from doctor this AM I’m driving by to see your “progress.”
An open mic for musicians of all genres, poets and writers would be a wonderful way of building community. Check out the fabulous Saturday night open mic at Vienna’s Caffe Amouri.