Long-Time McLean Restaurant Moving To Bigger, Brighter Space

MCLEAN, VA — Moby Dick House of Kabob, the long-time Middle Eastern restaurant on Old Dominion Drive in McLean, is planning to make a big move later this month.

The restaurant will be moving down the street to a bigger, brighter space in the building previously occupied by Bottega Medici at 6703 Lowell Ave.

Moby Dick's new location will offer more seating and easier parking than is current home at 6854 Old Dominion Drive. It will also feature a new Persian grocery market located inside the restaurant.

Moby Dick's decision to move was necessitated by two projects that are expected to reshape downtown McLean, making it more walkable and adding new retail and residential units.

On Oct. 24 2023, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a rezoning application by Mars Inc. to expand its headquarters located at 6856-6858 Old Dominion Drive.

At the same meeting, supervisors unanimously approved an application by JAG Partners, LLC to redevelop the property adjacent to the Mars headquarters project for the Astoria McLean mixed-use residential development.

"This area is going to have an urban feel with buildings close to the street, generous sidewalks, street trees and other amenities, such as urban plazas, ground floor retail and public art," said Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville), who represented McLean at the time.

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The new housing units included in JAG Partners' plan will provide for much needed housing, including affordable workforce housing, that will help to diversify the mix of uses in McLean and provide a customer base to support the small business in the area, according to Foust.

"The comprehensive plan recognizes that new residential units are critical to the success of the revitalization efforts in downtown," he said. "This proposal by the applicant to construct a multi-family project with ground floor office and retail is consistent with and will advance the goals of the plan."

The plan that the supervisors approved in 2023 includes a map, which shows a pedestrian walkway linking Elm Street and Old Dominion Drive. That path traverses Moby Dick's current location.