The Enterprise Shopping Center is similar to a food court at a shopping mall with choices of pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, Chinese fare, seafood, and more. Of the nine businesses in the center, five are restaurants and one is a market specializing in Middle Eastern foods.
Jimmy Weissenberger, owner of Carlos N.Y. Pizza, said the nearby fast food restaurants add to the convenience. "If one person wants pizza and another McDonald's, they can just drive around," he said.
If they prefer walking only a few feet, there is plenty of variety on Enterprise Street. Carlos N.Y. Pizza's pie features a crispy bottom and a fluffy crust. Customers' other favorites include steak and cheese subs and homemade lasagna.
The Hunan Chinese Restaurant has been offering Asian cuisine in the same site for six years. The most popular entrees are General Tso's chicken, Hunan chicken and beef, and beef broccoli, said owner Zheng Wang.
Wang boasts of her chef, Guo Bao Tao, who has cooked for former President Ronald Reagan. Until recently, Wang also operated the Shanghai Express for 10 years at the Tyson's II Mall Galleria. She said she has no plans to abandon the Hunan Chinese Restaurant, even though she might open another eatery in Ashburn.
The Barefoot Pelican Grill & Bar has been at the shopping center for about the same amount of time as Hunan. But a restaurant by another name operated in the same space for years before The Barefoot Pelican opened. Mike Fahmi, who bought the business a year ago, said the most popular entrée is The Pelican Pasta, which has clam, shrimp, crab meat, and scallops, sautéed with scallions and sun dried tomatoes, tossed in a seafood cream sauce and served over pasta. The customers' favorite appetizer is the quesadilla, tortilla bread stuffed with cheddar jack cheese and shrimp, steak, crab meat, or chicken, he said.
Shamsun Nahai bought the Subway franchise in December 2003. She said customers prefer subs over salads. Their favorite is the BMT, with salami, pepperoni, and ham on homemade bread.
Despite the competitive nature of having so many restaurants close together, Nahai said the owners and managers enjoy a "good friendship."
The Red Cactus, next door to Subway, is closed. Mia Hsu, an accountant who handles the managerial duties associated with the 14,070-square-foot building, said, "It's very likely we'll have another food restaurant in its place."
In addition to the bistros, the Kiran Grocery & Halal Meat features the Middle Eastern meat, spices, and videos.