Remembering Herndon's History

Roberts Carpets: A Herndon Institution

Roberts Carpets and Oriental Rug Co. has been in business in Herndon for 40 years, selling carpets, wood flooring, and ceramic tile.

Chuck Roberts, the  owner of Robert’s Carpets, started doing business in Herndon at 697 Spring St., in the building that now is home to Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern. Twenty years later, Chuck moved it to the current location, a few doors away at 681 Spring St. The building that houses Jimmy’s today dates to 1897, when the original owner, Magnus T. Wilkins, opened a general store there. Roberts Carpets operated in Alexandria for six years before opening a second store in Herndon. Chuck ran into Reston developer Robert E. Simon in the early ‘60s, saw what he was doing, and decided to move to Herndon. “You could lay down in the middle of Elden Street at lunch time and you wouldn’t have got run over. It was that slow at that time,” Chuck said.  He …

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Home for the Holidays Event to Support Fisher House, Military Families

Event will feature local vendors and holiday gifts while benefiting military families.

The second annual Helping Others Home for the Holidays event at JJ Deli will include many area vendors and business for some local holiday shopping while supporting a good cause on Friday, Nov. 30. Home for the Holidays will support Fisher House, a group that helps provide military families a home away from home when they’re visiting with their soldiers who are receiving treatment at military medical centers. The event, which takes place from 4-9 p.m., will feature items such as Stella and Dot jewelry, local art, Scentsy, home decor, local wines for tasting and for sale, and much more.  New Herndon vendors this year include Canine Carousel and Herndon Florist. Other vendors are joining from throughout the area, including Leesburg, Sterling…

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DRCC Holds First Innovate Conference

Dynamic ideas brought to first Northern Virginia Innovate Conference.

Northern Virginia's first Innovate Conference, held Oct. 5, brought many ideas and a lot of entrepreneurial spirit to the region.  The event was held by the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce and included hundreds of local business professionals, educators and students. The Innovate Conference was held at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner with an aim to set the stage for economic opportunities of change.  “We wanted to stimulate business owners’ imaginations for growth, tap into the entrepreneurial arena and generate buzz about change that could actually help improve our sluggish economy,” said Eileen Curtis, president of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce in a press release. The day included a variety of activities, including an …

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All Seasons Floral Preservation: The Flowers of Our Lives

Local business presses and preserves special flowers and memories.

In the life of every mother, there are moments that take your breath away.  Now there is a way to preserve those precious memories to last a lifetime. I am not talking about the photographs, but the flowers that were there at the wedding, rehearsal dinner, bat mitzvah, wedding shower, or even a loving funeral. Mary Beth Lopresti’s home-based business, All Seasons Floral Preservation located in Sterling, is taking off like a rocket because she has captured the ability to take fresh flowers, delicately dry them to preserve their color intensity and texture, and re-present them in a framed arrangement. “It was like my wedding bouquet was right there on the wall, framed along with my photos of that special day,” said one bride. Mary Beth …

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Nancy Loughin

5:32 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012

After I saw just how perfectly she reforms every blossom, every petal, it is simply a genius-artist at work....and the memories it saves for a lifetime!   more ›

'Diamond in the Ruff' to Benefit Mutts Matter

The event includes the raffle of a $1,250 diamond necklace, with all proceeds going to Mutts Matter.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes donate to charity, and they often give to the large, name brand organizations with big marketing budgets. Everyone can rally around the fight to cure cancer, help kids in need or support victims of natural disasters, and all of these things are very worthy and important causes. What’s not as common, however, is to see prominent businesses get behind local dog rescue. Rescue groups like Mutts Matter get most of their corporate sponsorships from companies in the pet industry that understand the importance of rescue and know the hard, sad facts – that five to seven million animals enter the shelter system each year, and over four million don’t make it out.    As an all-volunteer, nonprofit rescue, Mutts …

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MOM’s Organic Market Celebrates 25 Years

The market, new to Herndon, has been in the region for 25 years.

MOM’s Organic Market, located at 424 Elden Street, is celebrating 25 years of business this weekend. The original MOM’s (it was called Organic Food Express) had its first sale on July 2nd. It’s owner, Scott Nash, was 22 years old at the time and began the company in his mom’s garage in Beltsville, Maryland. The Herndon location is their eighth store, and all of the stores are in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The store carries 100 percent organic produce. This means that the “farmers do not use herbicides or pesticides on their crops, however, they have many non-toxic ways of deterring pests," according to MOM's Regional Produce Buyer, Soren Huber.  MOM's carries a large variety of products for those on special diets as well, and the …

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Head to a Nats Game Minus the Headache

Get on the Ballpark Bus for an easier ride to Nationals Park; tickets go on sale March 22.

Five Things To Know This Week

The Herndon Ladies Golf Club is looking for new members.

1. Registration is now open for spring programs at the Herndon Community Center. The Herndon Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of programming for children, teens, adults and seniors, including special interest classes, fitness, dance, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, digital photography and more. 2. The Herndon Ladies Golf Club is looking for new members. The season begins on March 28. They play every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. at the Herndon Centennial Golf Course from April through October. 3. The Herndon Chamber Committee of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce will hear updates about the Town of Herndon’s most recent plans for the Herndon Metrorail Station Area Plan on Tuesday at noon at ArtSpace Herndon. The meeting is…

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