You can now submit your application to order a historical Lyon Park house plaque.
The plaques are made of bronze and measure approximately 7″ wide by 5″ tall.
Simply fill out the application form and submit it along with your payment of $275.
You’ve probably heard of Boba—or Bubble—tea; it’s everywhere from food trucks to restaurants. Boba tea is made by combining fruit juices or milk with tea and chewy pearls of tapioca. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, and quickly spread to America. The Lyon Park area has two options for Boba tea. Boba tea is a matter of preference, and I have shared some of my thoughts below. Visit one of our local Boba shops, and sample for yourself!
Kung Fu Tea
3018 Wilson Blvd.
Overall: 9/10—Stellar
Options: 9/10
The sheer number of drinks at Kung Fu Tea is staggering, from lemonades to coffee, but the real reason everybody goes there is because of the wide selection of tea. The teas themselves offer something for every taste, from the black milk tea to green honeydew. (My personal favorite is winter melon.) When you decide on your drink, you can choose toppings, such as boba pearls, popping boba, and several flavors of jelly.
Tea: 8/10
When you go to Kung Fu Tea, you’ll notice that they have several massive tanks on the back wall, one filled with each kind of tea, black, green, and oolong, to name a few. When you order, they prepare your drink with tea directly from the tanks. The tea is amazing and fresh, and is the highlight of the place.
Boba: 9/10
The boba at Kung Fu Tea is chewy, sweet and delicious. It is a little tough for my liking, but that is ok.
Service: 10/10
The service is very quick. The shop only offers beverages, and they have the preparation down, so it takes just a few minutes.
Atmosphere: 10/10
Although Kung Fu Tea is small, it has a sitting area which is well cleaned. The walls are clean and covered in art, and the counter where drinks are served is also polished and neat.
Kung Fu Tea: Daily hours of operation are 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Phone number: 703-528-1686.
Bobalicious Cafe (Pho & Banh Mi Eatery Cafe)
3000 Washington Blvd.
Overall: 7/10—Good
Options: 8/10
The cafe has a wide variety of teas, coffee and other drinks and juices. They have a good selection of toppings, and most are boba. The shop also offers food, including Pho and poke bowls.
Tea: 9/10
The tea is extremely the best I have ever had. It is sweet, fresh, and just plain amazing. My favorites are the milk teas.
Boba: 5/10
The Boba at Bobalicious is not to my liking. The flavor is mild and the texture is soft. If you don’t like boba that is too chewy, you might want to stick to the tea.
Service: 6/10
The service at Bobalicious is a little slow and clunky with orders, and you will have to wait longer for your drink than Kung Fu Tea. The shop is new, and I expect operations will speed up over time.
Atmosphere: 9/10
The atmosphere there is clean and neat, but otherwise plain in my opinion.
Bobalicious Cafe: Hours of operation are 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Sunday hours are from 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Phone number: 703-489-8212.
At its first meeting of the 2024–2025 year, the Board of Governors (BoG), which manages the operation of the Lyon Park Community House and the park, elected new leadership. The ten BoG members (five representing the LPCA and five from the Woman’s Club) meet monthly to approve repairs and maintenance, review budgets, and manage the calendar of community events, such as the Halloween Bonfire and Chili Cook-off.
After 15 years, Jeannette Wick is stepping down as chairman of the BoG. (See write-up in the September 2024 newsletter.) Jeannette served during a particularly intense period, as the community embarked on a million-dollar renovation. She helped negotiate a creative loan, followed by relentless fundraising that allowed the mortgage to be retired early—just months before the Community Center closed down during Covid.
The new chairman is David Newman, who first moved to Lyon Park in 1995. He and his wife Sara raised three daughters (Sharon, 24, Emily, 22, and Carolyn, 19), all attending APS. David recently retired after 34 years “lawyering” for the federal government, giving him more time to care for Jethro, the family’s Bagel (Basset Hound/Beagle). He keeps busy as a substitute teacher in APS, as well as volunteering with the Red Cross for deployment across the US in mass disaster care situations.
Ann Reimers is also new to BoG leadership, elected vice-chairman. She moved to Lyon Park in 2017, living right on the park for five years. She moved a block from the park with her husband, Bruce Pitts, two years ago. Both are engineers, she a mechanical engineer, he a civil engineer. No doubt Ann’s background teaching mechanical/aerospace classes at UVa will come in handy in a century-old building.
David and Ann are already hard at work, strategizing how to approach Lyon Park concerns for the next 100 years. Their initial goals are:
– Instill a greater sense of ownership of the community center among our Lyon Park neighbors, supported by more transparency and responsiveness on the part of the BoG, and publishing more volunteer opportunities related to community activities at the Community Center
– Improve customer satisfaction with renting the community center
– Continue to act as fiscally responsible stewards of our valuable community-owned property
– Continue to host more neighborhood activities that build community and a sense of inclusion
Rounding out the Board of Governors roster:
LPCA Reps
| John Ausink – BoG Treasurer |
| Kim Franklin – BoG Secretary |
| Natalie Roy |
| Paul Showalter |
Woman’s Club Reps
| Bill Anhut |
| Shelya White |
| Jeannette Wick |
| Elizabeth Wray |
Be sure to thank them all for their service to our very special community!
lyonpark.org 