Brewing Alley, a coffee and tea shop, now holds an active Fairfax County Food Establishment Permit for a storefront on Explorer Street in Reston Town Center. The Health Department’s permit record is dated Oct. 15. An active permit means the county has cleared the shop to operate.
Brewing Alley has not announced an opening date, and on Friday we found no website or social media account for it. The shop is hiring baristas and an assistant manager, and the permit and the job listings together point to an opening soon.
The shop sits in the Midtown condominium, just north of Market Street
The address is 1864 Explorer St., Suite C101, on the ground floor of the Midtown at Reston Town Center condominium. The storefront faces Explorer Street a few doors north of Market Street, across Market from Town Square Park. Taste of Istanbul shares the block at 1862 Explorer, and the Yellow parking garage stands at its north end.
BB&T took an occupancy permit for a bank branch in the space in 2013, county records show. In 2024 the unit’s owner filed permits to divide the empty space into two smaller shops. Beem Light Sauna, an infrared sauna studio, took the larger piece, now addressed 1864B Explorer. A 2025 building permit for the smaller piece, about 1,000 square feet, describes the work as a new tenant layout for Yifang Fruit Tea.
The permit lists 33 seats and an 11 a.m. opening time
Brewing Alley’s application lists 33 seats and estimates 101 to 400 customers a day. The county files it as a fast food restaurant, its category for counter-service shops. The hours on the application run from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The shop may post different hours once it opens.
The job listings call for espresso drinks, tea, and specialty beverages
Brewing Alley posted two jobs in early October, and both describe it as a “growing coffee and tea shop.” The barista job, part-time or full-time, pays $16 to $19 an hour plus tips. Baristas will make espresso drinks, coffee, tea and specialty beverages, and the listing prefers applicants with barista, coffee shop, bubble tea or restaurant experience. It offers paid training and promotion to shift leader and assistant manager. The full-time assistant store manager job pays $52,000 to $58,000 a year.
On Indeed, both listings sit under an employer profile named Yi Fang MD. Neither the listings nor the county records explain how Brewing Alley relates to Yifang Fruit Tea, a fruit and milk tea chain that FFXnow covered when it came to Fairfax in 2022. We found no other shop operating under the Brewing Alley name.
Brewing Alley brings coffee and tea to the Explorer Street side of town center
Our guide to coffee shops in Reston and Herndon lists Tatte Bakery & Cafe by the fountain on Market Street and Pitango Gelato & Coffee on Democracy Drive. Brewing Alley sits about 350 yards west of the fountain. We will add it to the guide when it opens.
Midtown’s 293 condominiums rise above the shop, and the Avant apartments face Town Square Park from its south side. For people who own or rent in those buildings, Brewing Alley puts coffee and tea at street level, in a storefront that has stood empty since at least 2024. A shop expecting 101 to 400 customers a day would also bring steady foot traffic to that stretch of Explorer Street. If you are weighing a condo at Midtown or elsewhere in Reston Town Center, reach out and we can walk you through the buildings around Market Street.
See something missing or wrong? Email us at [email protected] and we will check it and update the post.
Top image: AI-generated illustration of a coffee and tea counter, not a photo of Brewing Alley.
