By: David Griffin, Marketing & Communications, Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Richmond Highway is preparing for some of the biggest changes the corridor has seen in years. New transportation investments, road improvements and redevelopment are expected to change how people travel through the area and how neighborhoods and commercial centers connect.
But there is another part of Richmond Highway’s future that is just as important: the businesses, restaurants, attractions and people already here.
That was the focus of the Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s August Business Breakfast, where members were introduced to Faces of ONE, a $150,000 business support and marketing initiative focused on Richmond Highway.
Evan Kaufman of Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) and JoAnne Fiebe of the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives recently joined Chamber members to discuss the campaign, the changes ahead for the corridor and how local businesses can be part of the effort.
A Marketing Campaign Built Around Richmond Highway
Faces of ONE grew out of an earlier placemaking effort that brought public art, including 10 sculptures, to locations along Richmond Highway. SFDC has since expanded the concept to include a broader campaign promoting the corridor and its businesses.
The new effort is planned over 18 months and is intended to bring more attention to the businesses, destinations and community stories found throughout Richmond Highway.
Rather than marketing businesses individually without a connection to the larger area, Faces of ONE gives them a shared identity tied to the corridor.
That approach can help someone who comes to Richmond Highway for one reason find several others to stay. A visit to a restaurant might lead someone to a nearby shop, park or attraction. Someone visiting Huntley Meadows Park may find a restaurant they haven’t tried before. A resident who drives Route 1 regularly may learn about a business that has been just a few minutes from home all along.
The campaign is also looking beyond the immediate area, presenting Richmond Highway to people throughout Northern Virginia and the greater Washington region as a place for dining, recreation, shopping, tourism and everyday life.
Putting Marketing Resources Behind the Campaign
Faces of ONE goes beyond creating a new website and asking businesses to promote it.
Professional photography and videography are being used to document businesses, destinations and experiences along the corridor. Early photography has included Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, Chalkboard Wings & BBQ and Mamma’s Kitchen. Those images can then become part of advertising and social media promoting the area.
There is also a substantial advertising component. FFXnow reported that SFDC plans to spend more than $100,000 on digital advertising over the next year as part of the campaign. For a small business that may not have the resources to run a large regional advertising campaign on its own, being part of a larger effort to market the entire corridor creates a different kind of opportunity.
The campaign can introduce people to individual businesses while giving them a broader reason to visit Richmond Highway in the first place.
Telling the Stories Behind the Corridor
The businesses themselves are only part of what Faces of ONE is highlighting.
The campaign combines local businesses and restaurants with parks, trails, recreation and stories about the people who make up the Richmond Highway community.
That means a local restaurant can be presented alongside an afternoon at Huntley Meadows Park, a bike ride on the Mount Vernon Trail or time spent along the Potomac River.
The Faces of ONE website already features local food and businesses as well as outdoor destinations and activities. The idea is to give residents and visitors a better picture of how much is available within the corridor rather than treating Richmond Highway simply as the road connecting those places.
Why Is This Happening Now?
The timing is not accidental. Richmond Highway is entering a period of significant public investment, with several projects expected to reshape portions of the corridor.
Fairfax County’s Embark Richmond Highway Plan establishes a long-term vision that includes walkable town centers, safer streets, improved connections between neighborhoods, parks and public spaces, housing options and additional opportunities for businesses.
One of the largest planned transportation investments is the future Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit system, The One, which is planned to connect Huntington Metro Station and Fort Belvoir. BRT is expected to operate primarily in dedicated lanes and include enhanced stations, more frequent service and real-time arrival information. The larger project also calls for improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists, including sidewalks, crossings and bicycle facilities.
At the same time, the Virginia Department of Transportation is advancing its Richmond Highway widening project. FFXnow reported that the first segment could begin as soon as mid-2027, while Fairfax County has been working toward beginning BRT construction in 2028.
Together, those projects have the potential to change how people move through Richmond Highway and how they reach its businesses and neighborhoods.
Keeping Businesses Part of the Story
Large transportation projects can bring long-term benefits to a commercial corridor, but the construction and transition that come with them can also create challenges for businesses. Faces of ONE is getting underway ahead of major BRT construction, providing time to build awareness of Richmond Highway, introduce more people to the businesses already here and strengthen the corridor’s identity as the larger transformation moves forward.
That existing identity matters. Richmond Highway is already home to restaurants with loyal customers, longtime businesses, new entrepreneurs, parks, trails and destinations that attract people from across the region. The investments planned for the corridor will change how people travel and connect with these places, but the future of Richmond Highway isn’t only about what will be built next. It’s also about supporting what is here today and making sure local businesses remain visible throughout the changes ahead.
What Can Richmond Highway Businesses Do?
Businesses along Richmond Highway can start by becoming familiar with Faces of ONE and following the campaign as it develops. SFDC has indicated that there will be opportunities for businesses to participate, with photography, videography, business stories, website content, social media and digital advertising helping showcase the corridor to a wider audience.
It’s also a good time for businesses to think about the story they want potential customers to know. That might be a signature dish, a specialized service, the history behind a longtime business or the people who opened a new one. Bringing those individual stories together helps show what someone can actually find and experience along Richmond Highway, giving residents and visitors more reasons to stop rather than simply pass through.
Looking Ahead on Richmond Highway
Faces of ONE is planned as an 18-month initiative, giving the campaign time to build awareness of Richmond Highway and the places that make the corridor distinct as transportation improvements and redevelopment move forward.
For local businesses, the campaign offers a chance to be part of how Richmond Highway is presented to people throughout the region. New roads, transit stations and development may reshape parts of the corridor, but they are only one piece of its future. The restaurants, shops, services, attractions and people already here will continue to play an important role in giving Richmond Highway its character.
As Faces of ONE continues, Richmond Highway businesses can follow the campaign, look for opportunities to participate and help tell the story of a corridor that has much more to offer than what drivers see from the road.