Two restaurants are on the way to Village Center at Dulles, the Giant-anchored shopping center with the clock tower at Centreville Road and Sunrise Valley Drive in Herndon. Red Ember, a Hunan Chinese restaurant, has its sign up and its interior under construction a few doors from Giant. Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, the Fairfax-based bowl-and-pita chain, is taking over the space Noodles & Company left in July.
Red Ember has not announced an opening date, and Mezeh is aiming for April 2027.
Red Ember will serve Hunan food and rent two private dining rooms
Red Ember’s sign went up on the storefront at 2425 Centreville Road, Suite 14, and crews are working inside, The Burn reported on November 1. Regency Centers, which owns the shopping center, lists the tenant as The Red Ember Kitchen in about 3,400 square feet. The restaurant’s website now calls it Red Ember Hunan Cuisine and describes “Hunan cooking shaped by heat in Herndon, Virginia.”
Hunan cooking comes from the province of the same name in south-central China and leans heavily on fresh and dried chilies, along with smoked and cured meats and sour, pickled flavors. Red Ember has not released a menu. The Burn reports that the menu will feature spicy signature dishes, shared plates and vegetarian dishes. The website promises “bold aromatics, layered heat, and food meant to be passed across the table” and says the menu “will follow the seasons, the cooks, and the people who gather here.”
The website does not name the owners. It describes them as partners who “have spent a lifetime cooking Chinese food” and who helped other well-known restaurants succeed, often working out of public view.
Four renderings on the site show the dining room: pendant lights over arched walls, curved banquettes, woven ceiling panels and blue striped booths. Red Ember also plans two private dining rooms, each built around a round table:
- Eightfold Fortune, an upper room that seats eight.
- Sixfold Harmony, a lower room that seats six.
Private dining carries a $350 minimum and a 20 percent service charge. A booking includes two and a half hours, and each additional half hour costs $50. Diners can join an email list on the website, which Red Ember calls the Ember List.
Mezeh is taking the former Noodles & Company at 2405 Centreville Road
Noodles & Company closed its restaurant at 2405 Centreville Road on July 15. Mezeh leased the space, about 3,200 square feet, The Burn reported in September. WhatNow reported the same month that Mezeh expects to open there by April 2027.
Saleh Mohamadi, Steve Walker and Tai Chiao opened the first Mezeh in Annapolis, and the company is now based in Fairfax. Mezeh opened its 52nd location in early 2025, WTOP reported. Customers build rice bowls, pita pockets and wraps down a counter line, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.
Reston already has a Mezeh, on Sunset Hills Road at RTC West near Reston Town Center, open since 2018. The Herndon store will be the chain’s second in the Reston and Herndon area.
Red Ember and Mezeh join Taco Bamba, Mission BBQ and Ned Devine’s at the center
Regency Centers lists Village Center at Dulles at 307,389 square feet. Giant, at 48,424 square feet, is the largest tenant, and Regency’s key retailers also include DMV Iron Gym, HomeGoods, CVS and Starbucks. The two newcomers join about 20 places to eat and drink, including:
- Taco Bamba, Mission BBQ and Ned Devine’s, the Irish pub
- Chao Phra Ya and Hama Sushi
- Anjappar, Mirch Dhamaka, Spice Village and Janatha Bar and Biryani
- Sorento Grill, Bitez and Stone’s Cove Kitbar
- Firehouse Subs, McDonald’s, Cinnaholic and Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Regency’s leasing page shows four more spaces available or coming available, including one of about 1,650 square feet marked for a restaurant.
We will update this post when either restaurant sets an opening date. If you live off Centreville Road or are thinking about buying in the neighborhoods around Village Center at Dulles, reach out. We sell homes across Herndon and Reston.
See something missing or wrong? Email us at [email protected] and we will check it and update the post.
