Manassas Park is taking new steps to enforce the city's parking laws.

The city has a lack of public parking, especially in the area of Old Centreville Road, a side street that runs parallel to the city's main avenue, Route 28. 

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Stafford County has been experiencing delays from the U.S. Postal Service with residents receiving their mail weeks late.

The Postal Service has stated that these delays were a result of the combination of the increased online orders from people staying at home and a decrease in staff because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Manassas Park is working on rebranding itself as a destination.

It’s part of the city’s new downtown development, where it is building a town center with a plan to create a signage and branding concept. The audience it hopes to reach: the rest of Northern Virginia.

“The city is about to embark on the next large component of it’s downtown development, and we have these different developments with different names, so we wanted to come up with – well, if we’re creating a true town center, what is the name of the town center?” said City Manager Laszlo Palko.

Palko is working with HGIS, a local consulting firm led by husband-and-wife team Quentin and Stephanie Reynolds, to help with business recruitment and retention. It specializes in bringing interested businesses or land opportunities to developers.

Manassas Park is HGIS’s first municipal client, as it has previously brought the city developer prospects and businesses, such as Cinema Cafe, a movie theater and restaurant with existing locations in Hampton Roads. The city hopes to land it, or something similar in the near future.

Along with HGIS, the city has also partnered with Arnett, Muldrow & Associates, an urban planning firm in South Carolina. The company helps clients plan for economic development, place branding, and wayfinding.

It initially met with Palko and his staff and the elected governing body and engaged with the economic development authority to gain insight into the city’s history and its current state and development plans.

Arnett will then launch a community-wide digital survey throughout Manassas Park through schools, social media, and the city website.

“It’s a way to hear – solicit – ideas and hear from the community about what they believe our city is; what’s our strong suits? What’s our history? What’s valued by the community? And to find out if that’s accurate across all the different geographical areas of our City as well,” said Palko.

The company will track the data of these surveys and report them to the city next month. From there, it will present a comprehensive communication tool kit that targets the city both as an organization and a destination.

Arnett will also help create a branding logo and a signage plan for Manassas Park’s new downtown development. Locals might be familiar with the logo for neighboring Manassas City, with its “historic heart, modern beat” tag line.

This branding effort aims to bring in more revenue for future investments and the city’s infrastructure from commercial sales and diversify its tax revenue base, which will officials say will decrease the real estate tax burden placed on homeowners — one of the highest in Virginia.

It will also provide residents with a central gathering place with additional shopping, dining, and entertainment opportunities.

“A lot of people don’t know we exist. They think we’re a part of Manassas. So we’re really trying to put ourselves out there to say “hey, we’re here, and we’re this beautiful small city that’s incredibly diverse and welcoming . . . and now we have this wonderful downtown as well,” said Palko. “We want to be one of the best premier destinations in northern Virginia for people to want to live here and have a good quality of life.”

He has stated that the ultimate goal is to increase resident satisfaction and the city’s presence.

A new restaurant has come to Woodbridge serving chicken to all members of the community.

"Hot Chikn Kitchn" is a Nashville style chicken restaurant founded by a father-son team, Mike and Anthony Sarago, with the goal of bringing together the community during the Coronavirus pandemic. Together, they found business partners in chef Frederic Gilmore, Eric Williams, Darrell Williams, and Lee Small. They created the restaurant, a for-profit business, with the concept of going into business with a minority-ownership group in the Potomac Mills area after the pandemic affected small businesses. To do so, Mike Sarago called Prince William County Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry to help identify these groups. "I've known Supervisor Angry for a bit of years now, and I reached out to him, specifically, because he's a black male and the first black Supervisor in Prince William County, and just kind of ran the idea past him as far as being involved with a hundred percent minority-owned group and identifying that group to work with to eventually turn the restaurant over to them, so they had a hundred percent ownership," said Hot Chikn Kitchn founder and owner Mike Sarago. Angry put Sarago in touch with Eric Williams, who put together a fully owned minority ownership group, which included disabled veterans and chef Frederic Gilmore. Williams' group manages the labor force within the restaurant while splitting the profits with Sarago.

"Our motto is "unity through food." So it was the different races working together and just really being a gathering place for all different nationalities, ethnicities, groups, whatever that may be. We're really colorblind when it comes to that and during this time, it really seemed to be the right thing to do, given the backdrop of what was going on in society," said Sarago.

They hope that within 12 months, they will be a whole minority ownership group with grants and profiteering. Their main menu consists of non-traditional Nashville style chicken dishes, including:

• Nashville Style Chikn Sandwich
• Ckikn Tenders
• Chikn and Waffles
• Country Chikn Salad
• Loaded Fries

Their meat is certified halal and comes with different sauce options, including side sauces such as their signature Good Sauce and Cheese Sauce. "We wouldn't call ourselves traditional Nashville hot chicken; a traditional Nashville hot chicken is dipped in a light oil and is then powdered with a rub that includes heat, so you get different heat levels. But what we found when we were researching this was that it didn't have much flavor to the sauce, or the heat levels as you would. So we developed a sauce that we infused different pepper heats into," said Sarago. Their sauces are split into four levels. The first level sauce uses a chili-infused pepper. Next is their second level sauce, called "Afterburner," which uses a habanero based sauce. Their third level, called "Angry Hot," is a Scorpion Pepper base sauce, and their fourth level, called "Medic," uses a Carolina Reaper based sauce. They anticipate their most popular dish to be their Nashville style "Chikn" Sandwich and their tenders. Their kitchen is set up so that the customers can see the food being prepared and the state of the kitchen. "Our kitchen - I call it the "Arena" - so where we actually cook, the customers can see what we're cooking, how we're cooking it, and also how clean we're staying, given these times. We were blessed by Mike to have this open area where you can actually see how your food is being prepared, and that the employees are washing their hands, wearing gloves; face masks are on, hair is pulled back, and ball caps are on. Any food-borne illness or biological hazards that could come from a person into the food, we're on top of that 100%," said chef Frederic Gilmore. Since opening up, the restaurant has faced challenges brought on by the Pandemic. Their main challenges have been with their supply chain and getting products in a timely and consistent manner. They have also faced capacity restraints. "Some of the problems that I expected are nothing out of the ordinary of what a small business would face," said Lee Small. "For me, I thought it was finding employees at the caliber we were looking for that would fit our expectations of an ideal candidate." The team has had weekly meetings to address these issues, including shutdown procedures and planning for future challenges they might face. "We're open to everybody. The premise of what we intended to do and what we're doing is to include everyone," said Sarago. Hot Chikn Kitchn is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It is located at 14313 Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge, at the Potomac Festival shopping center. People can reach the restaurant owners through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They can also call them at -571-398-2145.

An independently-owned pet supply store has survived the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Now it faces a seemingly even more daunting challenge — hiring reliable help for the holidays.

During coronavirus quarantine earlier this year, the business received a federal Paycheck Protection Loan designed to allow employers to keep their workers employed during the pandemic. make a number of changes to how they operate.

“The PPP loan helped us be able to hire back employees that we had to lay off, and helped us keep our doors open. We thought we were going to have to close two of our stores but with the help of our amazing employees, and our attorney, banker, and CPA, we pulled through, said Nancy Guinn, founder, and owner of Dog Krazy.

In addition, Dog Krazy ramped up its online store and hired more employees to help manage online orders.

“Our deliveries have jumped over 1000% since the pandemic hit. We have had to learn to give our online customers the same in-store experience we are known for,” said Guinn.

Dog Krazy was able to retain 75% of its employees and is continuing to promote its delivery services and online store. However, the pet store faces a new challenge of hiring and retaining new employees.

Guinn says 90% of applicants do not show up to their scheduled interview, and over 50% of hired applicants call or email their first day saying they do not feel safe working because of the coronavirus. 

They are now over hiring at all their locations to address this problem. They have also found that applicants that apply through their website are more reliable than ones that apply through job listing websites. So far, their biggest challenge has been filling positions on their website.

Dog Krazy has filled out positions for all of the holidays through February, and are currently looking for pickers for their warehouse to help fulfill online orders. They try to hire at least two extra workers for each of their locations.

They are looking for workers with a “love of animals, eagerness to learn about [their] products and nutrition and pets, and they must be reliable and trustworthy,” said Guinn.

The pay for the position varies and is based on experience and hours vary by store, she adds. Applicants may apply for a job using the company’s website.

Guinn’s advice to small businesses also operating during this pandemic is this:

“Don’t give up.  I remember waking up in March and crying within minutes of opening my eyes.  Panic would set in almost immediately and I couldn’t breathe.  I watched many of my friends give up and close their businesses. We realized we had to make changes to the way we do business and we put all our energy into our online store and servicing our customers in their homes.  We asked our customers for their support and they got us through the toughest time we have ever experienced.  There are resources out there to help you manage your business and to give you support.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Dog Krazy was founded in 2006 and currently has six stores including:

• 307 William Street in Downtown Fredericksburg
• 10681 Spotsylvania Avenue in Spotsylvania County
• 315 Garrisonville Rd Suite 105A in North Stafford

On October 8, 2020, Regal Cinemas will close all 536 theater sites in the U.S., including three sites in our area.

This announcement follows a series of movie delays, including Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” Marvel’s “Black Widow,” and the James Bond movie, “No Time to Die.” These movies were postponed to 2021 while other movies, such as “Death on the Nile” and “Wonder Woman 1984,” have been pushed back to December 0f 2020.

It is also in addition to decreasing ticket sales and revenue, Cineworld having reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the first half of 2020.

These are all the affected theater sites in Prince William County, Stafford County, and the City of Manassas: 

• Regal Manassas & IMAX at 11380 Bulloch Dr, Manassas, VA 20109
• Regal Fredericksburg & IMAX at 3301 Plank Road Route 3W, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
• Regal Virginia Gateway & RPX at 8001 Gateway Promenade Pl, Gainesville, VA 20155

“This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support safe and sustainable reopenings in all of our markets — including meeting, and often exceeding, local health and safety guidelines in our theatres and working constructively with regulators and industry bodies to restore public confidence in our industry,” said Cineworld CEO in a statement.

There are some theaters in our area not owned by Regal, and they will remain open:

• AMC Theaters at 2700 Potomac Mills Cir Suite 886, Woodbridge, VA 22192
• Alamo Drafthouse at 15200 Potomac Town Pl #100, Woodbridge, VA 22191

“Regal will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate any future plans to resume operations at the appropriate time, when key markets have more concrete guidance on their reopening status and, in turn, studios are able to bring their pipeline of major releases back to the big screen,” said Regal Cinemas in a press release.

There is currently no projected reopening date for the closed Regal Cinemas.

Regal Cinemas is the anchor tenant for the long-delayed “The Garrison” mixed-use development project. The Pence Group purchased the property for the new center five years ago and has yet to break ground.

Regal Cinemas is a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, next to AMC Entertainment Holdings. 

Today marks the official kick-off for the Toys for Tots 2020 holiday campaign.

Now until Christmas, U.S. Marines and 35, 000 volunteers will be conducting 810 toy collection and distribution campaigns in all 50 states for an estimated 15 million children living in poverty.  The mission of Marine Toys for Tots is to bring the joy of Christmas to less fortunate children with the goal of delivering a message of hope that will inspire youngsters to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.  

The coronavirus pandemic shuttered countless businesses, forced families to remain isolated in their homes, and resulted in millions of families finding themselves out of work – without income – and in dire need of support.  Not wanting to wait for the holidays, this past spring, Toys for Tots partnered with Good360 who helped us distribute two million toys, games, and books to families-in-need in the spring and early summer.

It had a large inventory of new toys, games, and books that had been donated to it by the organization partners.  Normally, this inventory would be distributed to children-in-need during the upcoming holiday season, but given the current crisis, the organization decided to distribute these toys with the help of Good360 to communities throughout the U.S. to families with children in need during the pandemic. 

The Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program collects and distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million less fortunate children each year during the holiday season, during November and December, through an active and robust distribution network in over 800 communities in all 50 states.  Outside of the holidays, however, Toys for Tots does not have its distribution network available – as Marines are busy training, deploying to serve.

Toys, books, and games offer many benefits during this extraordinary time of need.  They help to fight boredom, relieve anxiety in children, facilitate a return to normalcy, and can even contribute to the educational development of our nation’s children, especially while they are out of school. 

But the early distribution came at a price as the two million toys were to be used to augment local toy collection and distribution drives for the upcoming holiday season.   

To compound an already 2-million toy deficit, the organization anticipates local toy collections will be negatively impacted during the holiday season due to the pandemic producing far fewer donated toys.  Toys for Tots also anticipates a significant increase in families with children seeking assistance from Toys for Tots. 

Toys for Tots is now working diligently with help from its supporters to “refill Santa’s bag of toys” to be able to answer the request of all families with children seeking our support during the holiday period.  Help Toys for Tots fulfill the Christmas Holiday dreams of millions of less fortunate children who otherwise may be forgotten, after all – every child deserves a little Christmas.

Toys for Tots, a 73-year national charitable program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, provides happiness and hope to less fortunate children during each Christmas holiday season.  The toys, books, and other gifts collected and distributed by the Marines offer these children recognition, confidence, and a positive memory for a lifetime.  

In honor of the 35th President, the Lake Ridge Chorale is selling the annual ornament from the White House Historical Association.

From chorale general manager Lynn Godino:

Once again, Lake Ridge Chorale is selling the annual ornament from The White House Historical Association. The 2020 ornament is the Association’s 40th annual and honors our 35th President, John F. Kennedy.

Each ornament is  $20 (no sales tax), and all checks should be made payable

to Lake Ridge Chorale. Your order will be safely hand delivered to you.

Please reply to this email or call Lynn at 703-314-8967 to order yours while supplies last.

In other Chorale news, we have begun work on our virtual Christmas Concert. We will keep you updated once the date has been set.

Thank you for your continued support of the Lake Ridge Chorale. This has been a challenging time for all of us, including performing arts groups. We look forward to the day when we can meet again in person and share the gift of music.

From September 14 to September 27, the Parkridge Center near Manassas will be hosting an outdoor dinosaur exhibit called “Jurassic Encounter.”

The exhibits are free and open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., regardless of the weather. No tickets or reservations are necessary and the exhibits are self-guided, stanchioned, and zero-touch. It will have 11 outdoor dinosaur environments with Jurassic sized dinosaurs and a digital scavenger hunt.

The digital scavenger hunt is accessible as an app called “Turf Hunt” for iPhone or Android. It features various challenges for each exhibit, such as photo challenges, multiple-choice and single-answer questions, and mini-games such as memory cards. These challenges become harder for each exhibit and can be played in any order. 

Furthermore, the Parkridge Center will also be showing dinosaur-themed movies from September 14 to 17 with specialty pricing. Adult tickets cost $5 and children’s tickets cost $3.

The movie showings are as follows.

• Jurassic Park at 1:00 PM
• Jurassic Park – The Lost World at 4:10 PM
• Jurassic Park III at 7:30 PM
• The Land Before Time at 1:10 PM, 3:10 PM, 5:10 PM, and 7:10 PM

Finally, Parkridge Center businesses are offering discounts for people attending the exhibit. Customers must mention the “Jurassic Encounter” upon making their purchases. The discount is only valid for regular-priced items and cannot be combined with any other discounts.

CDC guidelines are employed and hand sanitizer stations are at every exhibit.

More information can be found at shopatparkridge.com.