Founded in October 1947, JV's Restaurant is a

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

and

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

restaurant and live music venue.JV's Restaurant: Bars & Clubs in Falls Church, VA on washingtonpost.com's City Guide
/ref> Located on

Arlington Boulevard Arlington Boulevard is a major arterial road in Arlington County, Fairfax County, and the independent City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia in metropolitan Washington, DC, United States. It is designated U.S. Route 50 (US 50) for its entire le ...

, Route 50, just west of Annandale Road, JV's has provided live music for more than four decades. In 2004, the

Washington Area Music Association The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) is a regional music industry not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. WAMA's activity centers on highlighting the area's cultural contribution by assisting regional musicians with becoming ...

presented JV's with the Special Appreciation Award, voted on by participating Washington-region musicians, as their favorite live venue.

History

The establishment was founded in the immediate post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years by brothers Louis and George Dross. George was a Greek resistance fighter against the German forces until he was captured and held as a prisoner-of-war for 18 months. He subsequently emigrated to the United States with his wife shortly after that conflict's conclusion and always maintained a strong support for POWs/MIAs at his establishment. Originally a small diner in the art deco Jefferson Village Shopping Center, JV's was named the Jefferson Restaurant because it was then the custom for all businesses in that shopping center to be named after the adjacent infant neighborhood on the northwest corner of Route 50 and Annandale Road (''e.g.,'' Jefferson Barber, Jefferson Bakery). A movie house, added to the complex next to the restaurant in 1948, was named the Jefferson Theatre. Proprietor George Dross's past experience as a foreign national prisoner-of-war proved an attraction for military personnel from Fort Myer, who would drive the five miles from Arlington County, also on Route 50. By the late 1950s, the restaurant had become a place for live performances by local artists. It changed its name formally to JV's Restaurant in the early 1960s, after the Jefferson Village Shopping Center, and formalized the schedule for live music performances about 1980. Prior to that, it had been mostly open-mic. Many musicians, famous and not-yet-famous, have appeared at JV's over the years, including members of Patsy Cline's band, the Country Gentlemen, the

Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom Gra ...

, Tony Rice,

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Catfish Hodge Bobby Allen Hodge (born May 31, 1945), better known as Catfish Hodge, is an American blues musician. Early life and education Hodge was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, United States.Billy Hancock William C. Hancock Jr. (November 4, 1946 – January 22, 2018) was an American singer, guitarist, bassist and multi-instrumental recording artist. He has made numerous recordings, primarily in the rockabilly genre but also has a large body of re ...

, and various members of such bands as Molly Hatchet,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

's Ungrateful Bastards. An attempt was made to secure a liquor license in the 1960s, but Virginia laws prescribing the exact size of tables in licensed establishments was missed by a fraction of inches. In January 2015, the restaurant absorbed the adjacent business space previously operated as an Asian pharmacy, effectively doubling the size of the house. JV's participate in the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle gathering in honor of POWs and MIAs."''Rolling Thunder''", The Official Rolling Thunder Magazine, May 23–26, 2008, May 2008, Volume VIII, Washington Thunder Washington, DC, Inc., Winchester, Virginia A recently added display is a diorama of a Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp with tiger cages, donated by veterans from Pennsylvania. Several local musicians have composed songs about the establishment.

References

External links

* https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/cityguide/profile?id=797886&p=print * http://www.jvsrestaurant.com/index.php * http://www.myspace.com/jvsrestaurant {{Coord, 38, 52, 13.2, N, 77, 10, 30, W, display=title Restaurants in Virginia Music venues in Virginia Restaurants established in 1947 1947 establishments in Virginia