Eden Center

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Eden Center is a Vietnamese American shopping center in Falls Church, Virginia, near the Seven Corners area. It is the largest Vietnamese commercial hub on the East Coast and a popular destination for both locals and visitors. The center hosts more than 120 shops and eateries that cater especially to Vietnamese American and broader Asian American communities across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and nearby states.

History and features
The site began as the Plaza Seven Shopping Center in 1962, anchored by a Grand Union supermarket and a Zayre discount store. After the Grand Union closed in 1984, Vietnamese merchants displaced from the Little Saigon area near Arlington moved in, helping to transform the space into Eden Center. The name Eden Center comes from the Eden Arcade market in Ho Chi Minh City, and the landlord added a clock tower and an arch flanked by lions inspired by Vietnam’s Ben Thanh Market.

Layout
Most stores are on the ground level with easy sidewalk and parking access, like a traditional strip mall. About 65 additional shops and restaurants are located inside three enclosed malls at the rear of the property, with more businesses including a nightclub. The center covers about 200,000 square feet over two floors, with roughly 1,100 parking spaces.

What you’ll find
Eden Center is food-focused, offering a wide range of Vietnamese cuisine such as phở and bánh mì, along with bakeries, markets, and specialty delis. You’ll also find jewelry, herbal medicine shops, clothing and toy stores, and travel agencies.

Notable events and changes
In 2014, the Good Fortune supermarket opened in the former Ames building. The center hosts Vietnamese cultural celebrations like the Tet (Vietnamese New Year) festival and the Moon Festival, and it hosts the Miss Vietnam DC pageant each September. Eden Center has also drawn national attention, including a 2009 appearance on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Public safety and controversy
In 1997, Falls Church Police opened a substation at Eden Center. In 2011, federal, state, and local authorities conducted raids at several Eden Center businesses, seizing cash and gambling equipment and arresting people on gambling and alcohol crime charges. A second raid occurred five months later. The events sparked tensions between some in the community and the city government, and several cases did not result in convictions.