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Peachwave Frozen Yogurt closed its Fairfax store Jan. 22 after a failed Tysons Corner expansion, mounting debt and rising costs overwhelmed a business that had built a loyal local following.

Owner David Waskiewicz opened the shop at University Mall in August 2020, during the pandemic. Although tucked inside a quiet courtyard away from the parking lot, it eventually attracted regular customers.

The store offered more than 150 frozen-yogurt flavors, 16 rotating gelato choices, several varieties of Dole Whip, smoothies and shakes. Fresh ingredients arrived daily, and employees made the frozen yogurt on site.

Sales were initially slow, but Waskiewicz said business surged in 2022 and remained strong through the end of that year. The situation deteriorated in 2023 amid inflation, limited foot traffic, new competitors and losses from a second location.

Tysons kiosk becomes a costly gamble

Waskiewicz opened a kiosk on the third floor of Tysons Mall in January 2023 with four frozen-yogurt machines. It generated about $10,000 in monthly sales, he said, but rent alone was $9,000.

After payroll and other expenses, the kiosk lost between $2,000 and $5,000 each month. Waskiewicz kept it operating for nine months before closing it that October.

He said many customers at the mall were international tourists unfamiliar with frozen yogurt priced by weight. Some hesitated to buy because they could not know the final cost before filling their cups.

The Tysons kiosk’s debts continued to burden the profitable Fairfax shop after the expansion failed. Waskiewicz still owed money on its machines and other equipment, as well as a personal loan he had obtained while running the location. He began using revenue from Fairfax to cover those obligations.

Competition that opened in Springfield and Burke during summer 2024 added more pressure. Peachwave finished that year with sales down 5.5% from 2023, a decline Waskiewicz said represented thousands of dollars.

At the same time, supplies became more expensive. A case of 1,000 cups rose from $90 to $120, while the cost of food bases, spoons and other necessities also increased.

Waskiewicz chose not to raise prices because much of his customer base consisted of mothers and children. He feared families struggling with their budgets would treat frozen yogurt as an easily eliminated expense.

Rent debt leads to eviction

Waskiewicz, 43, said he spent his personal savings opening the Fairfax store and pursuing the Tysons venture. Seven ice cream and frozen-yogurt machines alone cost $60,000. He said he never reimbursed himself for that investment but continued paying employees and vendors.

He initially operated Peachwave while working primarily as a car salesman. In September 2024, he quit that job and committed himself entirely to the yogurt business, working seven days and about 65 hours a week. During the slower winter season, he sometimes paid himself only $200 a week.

With monthly rent at $4,600, he had fallen $40,000 behind in payments to University Mall property manager Van Metre by January. Peachwave was in the fourth year of a 10-year lease.

Waskiewicz wanted Van Metre to give him another 90 days to repay the debt, believing warmer spring weather would bring more customers and stronger sales.

Instead, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office posted an eviction notice on the store’s door Jan. 15, acting on Van Metre’s behalf. It ordered Peachwave to leave and remove its property by 7 a.m. Jan. 23.

Waskiewicz said the eight-day window covered the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, a presidential inauguration, snow and bitter cold. Moving the store’s contents posed another challenge: Each frozen-yogurt machine weighed about 500 pounds, and the business held roughly three tons of equipment, including commercial refrigerators, a large counter, furniture and other fixtures.

Of several moving companies he contacted, Waskiewicz said only one responded, and it could not complete the job before the end of February.

Peachwave served customers for the final time Jan. 21. Waskiewicz said he feared losing equipment worth $180,000 if it remained after the deadline. Saving it, he said, might have allowed him to reopen elsewhere.

He also described the closure’s effect on his family. His nearly 7-year-old daughter, who often accompanied him to work, cried when he told her the shop might disappear permanently.

Landlord and tenant dispute notice timeline

Waskiewicz said he called and emailed Van Metre about 20 times after finding the eviction notice but received no response.

Van Metre Vice President of Commercial Leasing Ty Hausch offered a different account Jan. 27. He said eviction was a difficult decision, but the process had continued for months and the tenant had received notice at every stage.

Hausch said Waskiewicz made no effort to communicate until the Sheriff’s Office notified him of the eviction ordered by Fairfax County General District Court. He added that Van Metre was cooperating with efforts to retrieve the store’s equipment and personal property.

Waskiewicz disputed that description. He acknowledged that Van Metre took him to court the previous year after he fell behind on rent, but said he had entered a repayment plan and was still making payments when ordered to leave.

According to Waskiewicz, earlier notices went to his registered agent in Virginia Beach rather than the Fairfax store. He could not explain why the agent failed to forward them. He also said he had obtained the full $40,000 owed and offered to pay it in exchange for remaining at the mall, but Van Metre did not respond to that proposal.

Hausch said the company would provide a reasonable period for removing personal property. Because some equipment was financed or leased, he said Van Metre was coordinating with the lender and leasing company and was legally obligated to let them recover their property first.

As of Feb. 14, Peachwave remained closed, and its equipment was still inside. Waskiewicz thanked community members who tried to help, while concluding that mall management had no intention of allowing the business to remain.