In stark contrast with the industrial sight of the highways and strip malls that surround it, Merrifield’s Mosaic District is trendy, walkable, and welcoming. For years, the mixed-use development from Edens has served as a shopping and dining destination, conveniently located between Fairfax City and Falls Church. Here’s what you should know about the area.
It’s a shopping center, but there’s also an abundance of community spaces that foster a sense of community and make the area feel more akin to a bustling city center. The central point of the area is a 2-acre green space, most often filled with people picnicking, kids playing, and dogs frolicking. The park is lined with a row of restaurants and flanked by a Target on one corner and an arthouse film center on the other.
As you make your way down District Avenue, which runs perpendicular to the park and holds most of the other dining and shopping locations, you’ll run into plenty of spaces to stop, sit, and chat – there are benches distributed throughout each block and circles of Adirondack chairs arranged on street corners. There’s even an outdoor community co-working space with Wi-Fi and tables, where people can set up to study or work.
The stores themselves lean toward luxury, lifestyle brands. There are high-end clothing shops, home and décor retailers, and an assortment of specialty boutiques. The restaurants are trendy and fun–nearly all of them have outdoor seating, decked out with colorful umbrellas or string lights. And you can even enjoy a cocktail as you shop (within the designated boundaries of the shopping district), thanks to Mosaic’s Sip & Stroll initiative.
On Sundays, FRESHFARM Mosaic Market takes over the district, and vendors sell fresh produce, baked goods, and beverages.
Mosaic is not just a place to shop: It’s a place to gather, to chat, and to peruse the newest fashion trends while you push a toddler (or a puppy) in a stroller with one hand and sip a green juice in the other.
A full directory of the shops, restaurants, and other amenities is on the Mosaic District’s website. To get you started, here’s a sampling of the shopping, dining, and entertainment to be found.
ENTERTAINMENT
Angelika Film Center
Catch a movie at the Angelika, a boutique cinema that features independent and foreign films as well as blockbusters.
SHOPPING
Anthropologie
This lifestyle store, a brand within URBN, has a distinct style – think an elevated take on bohemian aesthetics – which shows through in its selection of clothing, accessories, and eclectic home décor.
Bloomie’s
As the smaller, more curated offshoot of Bloomingdale’s, this miniature department store offers a more intimate version of designer stores. Collections of designer apparel and accessories are clustered together in small displays that show off the latest season’s styles.
Lather
This shop sells natural soaps, lotions, and other skin care products that are free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrance or colors, and more. Products are conveniently color-coded to indicate if they’re for face, body, or hair, or are wellness products.
Madewell
The store has clothing and accessories in both men’s and women’s styles in classic, “unfussy” styles. The centerpiece of the store is the “Denim Bar.” It lays out all the different styles and fits of jeans. This is one of only two in the Northern Virginia area; the other is in Tysons Corner Center.
Swirl & Sip
Swirl & Sip is a boutique wine shop, offering rows and rows of different types of wine. A wall of shelves spanning the full length of the store holds bottles of different variants and from different regions. There’s also cheese, charcuterie meat, and spreads that would pair well with a glass.
Tecovas
It’s leather and suede as far as the eye can see in this Western-focused specialty apparel store. It carries men’s and women’s apparel; leather bags, belts, and wallets; and, of course, boots, boots, and more boots.
West Elm
This is one of just two NoVA locations of the luxury home furnishings store (the other is in Alexandria.) Design experts will walk you through the store to help pick out the furniture and décor that will work with your space.
DINING
Colada Shop
The only Virginia location of DC’s casual Cuban café, the Colada shop is conveniently located right next to Bloomie’s, attached by a connecting door. Taste classics like a Cuban sandwich or empanadas, coffee and pastries, or try out one of the signature cocktails.
Mom & Pop
Directly at the foot of the green space, this coffee and gelato shop is small but mighty. It’s an offshoot of Dolcezza (which also has a storefront in Mosaic) that serves classic espresso drinks, prepackaged sandwiches, and has a freezer with pints of gelato.
Our Mom Eugenia
This authentic Greek restaurant, which was named in Northern Virginia Magazine’s 2022 Best Restaurants list, is known for its traditional Greek cooking and Mediterranean atmosphere.
Feature image by Maggie Roth
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