Lake Anne Lingerie Store Owner Says Her Shop Will Be Tame

Tiana Coturro is surprised by all the fuss over the tiny lingerie store she wants to open at Lake Anne Plaza.

As she has gone through the process of obtaining a space and getting business licenses, she has also had to amend the original vision she had for her store.

"My business is not going to be anything risque," said Coturro. "It is a lingerie business, like anything you would see at at the mall. I know Lake Anne is not a mall. I am mindful of that fact, and that is why I have toned it down a bit and made it as family friendly as can be."

However, the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) and the Lake Anne Merchants Association feel a lingerie store does not belong on the plaza.

"It is not the kind of store we want, and we have conveyed that to the property owner," says LARCA president Rick Thompson. Property owner Michele Suissa said his Realtor is working out the details and would not comment further.

Sources say there could be several issues - from adult-themed stores not being allowed in Reston to shoddy subdivision of the property that is not up to code - that could prevent Maria's Passion Paradise from opening.

Lake Anne Merchants' Association president Eve Thompson says for her, the issue isn't adult merchandise - it is the quality of the merchandise.

"Our niche at Lake Anne has got to be 'small and boutique,' " says Eve Thompson. "We have to work hard at being excellent. Not everyone here is doing that.  We are trying hard to bring quality merchants here and also to get the merchants we have here to adapt a level of quality."

Coturro, 30, is the mother of three children under age 7. She lives in Maryland, where she sold passion products from a home-based party business for the last few years. She also has a retail store in Clinton, MD, but she said it is not doing well and she wanted to open in another area.

She said she first became aware of Lake Anne earlier this year, when a Craigslist ad from Suissa highlighting available property space caught her eye.

"I communicated with the Realtor, who told me it was the perfect location for a business like this," she said. Coturro says she researched Reston and Lake Anne, applied for a temporary business license and began amassing merchandise.

While her web site shows offering such as edible underwear and "aphrodisiac parties," Coturro says what will actually be at Lake Anne will be much tamer.

"I want to have my own business and help people," Coturro said. "So I started thinking lingerie and candles, things that make you feel good. I originally thought about having workshops to help couples who are in committed relationships. I am not a licensed therapist or anything. This is more about entertainment, ways to get in a romantic mood."

Coturro is adamant: this is not a sex shop.

"I couldn't imagine trying to open a shop with those things in a residential area," she said. "That is so far from the truth."

So far, Coturro estimates she has spent "several thousand" on the business. She began putting merchandise in the store and has an inspection scheduled for next week.

Will the space be up to code? Is her lease valid? Neither Suissa nor Realtor Jack Paganelli had any further comment.

"There has been a lot of back and forth," said Coturro. "There is a lease, and Jack and Michele have handled addendums to it. They have told me everything is up to code. I have done everything by the book."