"The people of Ashburn are incredible," Kevin Lemmon told The Burn in October. That week his family's new used bookstore started taking donations, and dozens of people showed up on the first day with boxes and bags of books.
The store is Twice Told Books. It is opening at 20691 Ashburn Road, across the street from the fire station in Old Ashburn, a few months after StageCoach Theatre announced it was leaving the same stretch of road. Over a few months, the oldest part of Ashburn has been swapping a stage for a bookshelf and a chai counter. Saturday, Dec. 5 is the first day all of that change lands on one stretch of road at once.
The Theater Left First
StageCoach Theatre Company announced in September that it was leaving its longtime spot off Ashburn Road for Dulles Town Center. It took a first-floor unit in the wing that used to lead to the now-closed Nordstrom. The company's site now lists 21100 Dulles Town Circle, Unit 113, as its contact address.
The move also changes what StageCoach does. Owner Jerri Wiseman told The Burn that the company is focusing on interactive dinner theater, where its murder mystery business "has continued to grow significantly." It has also stepped away from the children's classes, camps and stage productions that grew up around the Ashburn location. Private lessons in voice, acting and audition prep will continue. The new 1,200-square-foot space is a home base for rehearsals and small private events, and larger public shows will run at partner venues around Northern Virginia.
So Old Ashburn no longer has a black box theater hosting shows and kids' programs. What's arriving in its place runs on daytime hours.
A Bookstore With a Shop Dog and a Head Start
Twice Told Books will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Dec. 5, from noon to 5 p.m. at 20691 Ashburn Road, Unit 150, according to The Burn's Nov. 8 report. The Lemmon family of Ashburn is behind it, and the shop has a dog named Edmund. The store's own website gives its location as Old Ashburn Town Center.
The shelves come partly from the neighborhood. During the October donation drive, the store offered anyone who brought in gently used books 15 percent off their first purchase once it opens. If you dropped off a box this fall, Dec. 5 is the first day you can use that discount. Lemmon had said he expected to open in November, in time for holiday shopping. The December date still leaves three weeks of gift shopping before Christmas.
The Mill Finally Has a Tenant
A short walk along Ashburn Road is the Historic Ashburn Mill, which explains why this cluster of openings matters more than a new storefront in a newer shopping center would.
In an Ashburn Magazine feature published this spring, local historian John Gretka described the mill as more than 9,000 square feet of buildings on the east side of Ashburn Road. It sits behind Carolina Brothers BBQ and south of the W&OD Trail, and at the time it was "currently empty, newly refurbished and awaiting the right tenant or tenants." The complex started as two warehouses, one from around 1903 and one from around 1913, with additions from many different businesses over the next century. It was originally the Hutchison Brothers Mill. The current owner painted it light gray, and earlier owners had it red and then green.
The mill is there because of the railroad. In 1859, Dr. George Lee granted a right-of-way across his Farmwell plantation, and a station called Farmwell Station was built just east of what was then Ox Road and is now Ashburn Road. For four months in 1860, that station was the end of the line. Passengers bound for Leesburg and Winchester switched to horse-drawn coaches there until service to Leesburg started on May 17, 1860. The rail bed is now the W&OD Trail, and the mill still sits beside it.
The tenant is Chai Caafi, which The Burn reported in October was planning a November opening at 20704 Ashburn Road, "more or less behind Carolina Brothers BBQ." The café's banners went up in April, when the target was late May or early June. The café describes itself as a fast-casual, halal-certified desi fusion café serving smoothies, juices, high-protein snacks, chai, wraps and family-friendly dishes. Menu items it has previewed:
- Elaichi Latte, with two shots of espresso and cardamom-flavored milk
- Pershwari Kehwa, a green tea with a hint of cardamom
- Kashmiri Chai, a traditional pink tea made with whole milk and topped with pistachio
One of the owners told The Burn in April that the plan was a family-friendly space with comfortable couches and chairs, open to students and young professionals. That is a place to sit for an hour in a building that spent most of its life storing grain and supplies.
Carolina Brothers Anchors the Corner
Carolina Brothers BBQ sits between the mill and Ashburn Road. USA TODAY 10Best ranked it No. 3 in its 2026 Carolina-style barbecue awards, announced Oct. 28, 2026. In 2025 it took the No. 1 spot. Old Ashburn now has a nationally ranked barbecue restaurant, a café in a century-old mill and a bookstore within a short walk of one another, all next to the trail.
Getting There Without Circling
Old Ashburn's parking is easy to miss. NOVA Parks runs a 40-car lot for W&OD Trail users where the trail crosses Ashburn Road. It is on the opposite side of the trail from the Partlows Brothers Store, near Mile Marker 27.5. Coming by bike or on foot from Ashburn Village, Broadlands or the Ashburn Farm side, you can take the trail straight to the mill.
The fire station has a new mailing address. Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue announced in March that Station 6 changed from 20688 Ashburn Road to 43765 Ashburn Plaza, and the building itself has not moved. If your map app sends you somewhere unexpected, that's probably why.
Old Ashburn's history goes back further than the mill. The Ashburn Colored School sits at 20593 Ashburn Road, and the Edwin Washington Project notes that it is on private property. You can see it from the road, but it isn't open for walking the grounds.
Dec. 5, Noon to Nightfall
The bookstore opening falls on the same Saturday Santa rides through Ashburn on a fire truck. DullesMoms lists Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue's annual Santa ride for Dec. 4 and 5, 2026. On Friday Santa leaves from Station 22, and on Saturday evening he leaves from Station 6, the station across Ashburn Road from Twice Told Books. Routes for each night will be posted closer to the date. On parade nights, AVFRD's Facebook page tracks Santa in real time with Glympse, so families know when to head out to the curb.
Here's one way to plan the day:
- Late morning: Park at the NOVA Parks lot at Ashburn Road, or ride in on the W&OD.
- Lunch: Eat at Carolina Brothers BBQ, or get a chai at Chai Caafi in the mill behind it.
- Noon to 5 p.m.: Stop by Twice Told Books' grand opening at Unit 150, 20691 Ashburn Road. Bring your donation discount if you earned one in October.
- Late afternoon: Walk past the mill's board-and-batten siding while it's still light, and find the spot where Farmwell Station stood on the north side of the old rail line.
- Evening: Head home and follow AVFRD's Facebook page to see when Santa's truck from Station 6 will reach your street.
Two months ago, a Saturday in Old Ashburn would have centered on a theater. On Dec. 5, it starts at a bookstore and ends with a fire truck leaving a station across the road.
Watching this block change is part of what we love about working in Loudoun County. If your plans for next year include a move that keeps Old Ashburn close by, or a sale that lets you stay near the W&OD, Sell Buy NOVA Homes can map out what the next few months might look like. Let's Connect.
