Fairfax City ReConnected – Reopening Fairfax City Businesses

As we start to reopen our Fairfax City restaurants on May 29, the most important consideration is the health and safety of employees and customers.  Restaurants must exercise caution throughout the phases of reopening and adhere to manadtory requirements of the “Guidelines for All Business Sectors”.

For Phase I, restaurants should continue to offer takeout and delivery options.  If restaurants choose to open to dine-in customers, they may only do so in outdoor spaces at 50% of the lowest occupancy load on the certificate of occupancy while maintaining a minimum of 6ft of physical distancing between all individuals.

To assist city restaurants that are looking to initiate or expand on outdoor dining, the Economic Development office is implementing “Fairfax City ReConnected  Outdoors” a permit program for a temporary and measured expansion of outdoor dining.  The Fairfax City  ReConnected  Outdoors program provides a permitting process that supports restaurant recovery; promotes public health; provides clear operational guidance; and creates confidence for employers, employees, and customers.

The guidance provided with Fairfax City Reconnected  Outdoors can be supplemented from other industry groups some of which are listed below.  Fairfax City Reconnected  Outdoors permits and guidance may be updated as conditions evolve.

Fairfax City’s Winter Preparedness Initiative is a component of the Fairfax City ReConnected Outdoors program to support the recovery of the city’s restaurant community with a temporary and measured expansion of outdoor dining. The Winter Preparedness Initiative identifies guidelines to safely comply with outdoor dining standards during the cooler fall and winter months.   The initiative provides information on structures, heating, and more.  Download details for the Winter Preparedness Initiative here.

As part of the Winer Preparedness Initiative, the city, in partnership with the EDA will issue micro-grants to provide direct assistance to city restaurants that seek to continue outdoor dining operations into the fall and winter seasons.  Guidelines for the micro-grant can be downloaded here.

Applications are open and available here.  Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis or until funds are exhausted.

Download the WPI guidelines here. Guidelines have detailed information about heaters, structures, and tips on how to create an outdoor dining area safely & responsibly during the 2020-2021 winter season.

The Fairfax City ReConnected+ (FCR+) is a component of the Fairfax City ReConnected program that expands financial assistance directly to Fairfax City businesses.  FCR+ incentivizes gift card purchases at participating Fairfax City businesses by allowing customers to buy gift cards/certificates at a 50% discount with the EDA underwriting the balance for the city business.

The FCR+ program is designed to provide real-time sales directly to city businesses, incentivize customers to purchase gift cards/certificates at a higher value, promote secondary purchases, and encourage shopping local.  The maximum amount of FCR+ funds for each participating business is $1,000 with the program capped at $100,000 from 100 businesses. Gift card purchases are limited to two (2) gift card purchases per household at each participating business for the duration of the program.

Eligible businesses:

• Must be located in Fairfax City
• Have and maintain a valid Fairfax City BPOL
• Have no outstanding tax obligations to Fairfax City
• Must be able to prove finances and/or operations were negatively impacted by COVID-19
• Must operate a brick and mortar location with 12 months remaining on a lease or own property and be classified within one of the following business sectors: restaurant and beverage, retail, fitness and exercise facilities, or personal care/grooming business sector
• Nationally owned businesses are ineligible

Update:

• A new business sector has been added to include indoor recreational businesses
• The enrollment date has been extended with businesses approved on a first-come, first-serve basis

Learn more about the FCR+ program here and register your business to participate beginning Friday, November 6  here.

All ReConnected Safety Kits have been claimed. 

As part of the Fairfax City ReConnected program to assist businesses with opening and staying safely opened during the pandemic, we will be offering  FREE Fairfax City ReConnected Safety Kits (FCRSK) to our city business community.   FCRSK will include essential supplies needed to serve customers and visitors while ensuring employee’s safety.  Each kit contains:

• Fifty cloth face coverings
• Four 32-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer
• Two touch-free thermometers
• Fairfax City ReConnected Pledge information
• Business sector guidelines

As part of the Fairfax City ReConnected  program aimed at assisting businesses with reopening and staying safely opened, the Fairfax City Office of Economic Development has created the “Fairfax City ReConnected Pledge”  a voluntary program that allows businesses to signal to the community their dedication to COVID-19 safety.

The Fairfax City ReConnected Pledge helps patrons identify businesses that are implementing safety precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  Businesses taking the pledge commit to COVID-19 practices by:

• Requiring the use of face coverings by employees and customers.
• Communicating safety protocols and training to managers and staff.
• Working only when healthy.
• Promoting social distancing and limiting capacity.
• Cleaning and disinfecting frequently.
• Adhering to specific business sector health and safety requirements by the Virginia Department of Health.

Businesses that take the pledge, will receive a Fairfax City “Let’s Get ReConnected” window cling to communicate to customers that your business is committed to maintaining safety measures and best practices concerning COVID-19.

The Virginia Department of Health has created Business Sector Guidelines to provide businesses with mandatory requirements to reopen as safely as possible.  Businesses shall adhere to these mandatory requirements to protect public health in Virginia.

Individual businesses should take additional measures as recommended by industry guidelines or by common sense applied to their particular situation.  These measures may be updated as needed.

Businesses that are open must adhere to physical distancing guidelines and enhanced safety practices.  Fairfax City has created business communication resources to address signage requirements by the Virginia Department of Health.

All resources are free to use.  We will continue to add to this page as new resources are developed.  Please check back often (signage to come).

To print signs, click on each thumbnail to open and then download the sign.

The COVID-19 Business Chat Series was created share best practices among city businesses and communicate to the public that our businesses are proactive and taking health and safety measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.  Each video is 10-15 minutes long and highlights various business sectors.  If your business has pivoted and you would like to share your story, email us at EDAInformation@fairfaxcityeda.org.

Businesses currently featured on the COVID-19 Business Chat Series include:

• Dolce Vita
• Title Boxing Club
• WT Clothiers
• DC DanceSport Academy
• Tiny Dancers
• Weber’s Pet Supermarket
• Cinema Arts Theatre
• Duck Donuts
• Kaizen MMA
• The Wine House