You walk up and open the clear glass door, step onto the linoleum floors and the door swooshes behind you, enveloping you in the sights and sounds of the new store. The only question is, which one? With a Starbucks opening in the Great Falls Village, a Microsoft store at Tysons, and a promised frozen yogurt place in McLean, you have a myriad of options to complete your eatery fantasy.
The Great Falls Village is known for its absence of chains and unique boutiques. With the addition of a Starbucks, it will bring in more business to the other shops in the village and please the Great Falls community alike. Students sleeping in late on Wednesday mornings won’t have to go into McLean to get their coffee fix, and can enjoy it on the road.
With the amount of business that the Apple store generates at Tysons with its open-style floor, it’s no wonder that Microsoft was next in line to buy up real estate. The new store includes couches and an absence of doors, similar to Apple’s clear windows. Long tables showcase the company’s newest gadgets, and TV screens adorn the entrances, with couches to make you feel like you’re at home. Not that I would be all that comfortable watching TV while strangers traipse across the mall looking at me, but to each his own. However similar, Microsoft has made an attempt to one-up its competitor by placing interactive Kinect TVs outside the store, in the hall, complete with lazyboys. The quad-color sign above the entrance is again modeled after Apple’s large silver symbol above its doors. As the companies constantly try to outdo each other, the real benefiter is the consumer. Free time on the nation’s hottest new technology? Count me in.
It’s not a secret that McLean hasn’t always had the best restaurants in town. Limited space makes shops hard to advertise, in addition to an absence of a constant stream of business. But why did we need two McDonalds with a half-mile of each other? Sweet Leaf and Red Tomato Pizza have been great additions, and the banner showcasing the coming of a new yogurt place next to Pasa Thai has created excitement for what could become a favorite hangout of Langley students during the summer. However, my frustration lies in the fact that the banner has been there for at least 4 months. Now, seeing the words “Coming Soon” makes me laugh. Alas, the Langley and McLean students will have to face disappointment for a bit longer, as they drive past the promising sign and the temperature gets warmer.
Photos courtesy of Gizmodo and DC Metro FCPUG