Rāko at 2016 Wilson Blvd remains closed due to what a sign says is an “out of order” espresso machine.
The Courthouse coffee shop has reportedly been closed since at least early this month. A handwritten sign remains outside of the store noting it is “temporarily closed” and that the “espresso machine [is] out of order… we are sorry for the inconvenience.”
The cafe’s interior appears to be unchanged, with furniture set up and the suspect espresso machine still sitting on the counter.
A number of readers have written to ARLnow asking if the closure is permanent due to how long it’s been closed.
“Hi! I am desperate to know what happened to Rako coffee shop in Courthouse. They have had a sign up that their espresso machine is getting fixed for about three weeks?” read one email. “Seems like a bad sign. No phone number or notice on Google/their website. I love their business and it fills a much needed local coffee gap around here!”
ARLnow has reached out to the company and a spokesperson multiple times but has yet to hear back.
Lorton-based Rāko Coffee opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in August 2021. A year ago, the coffee shop signed a lease to open a new location at Amazon’s HQ2.
The row of shops and restaurants along the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd will be dealing with a notable challenge for the next couple of years: construction activity on the former Wendy’s lot, at the top of the block, potentially driving away some customers.
George Ishak, owner of Burger District at 2024 Wilson Blvd, told ARLnow this week that some safety measures are hurting business.
“There’s a new construction starting in the adjacent plot of land but the thing is that they have put a fence in front of my store and also fenced around the tree pit that is exactly in from of my store entrance,” he said. “I filed a complaint with Arlington County requesting to remove the fence in front of my store and around the tree pit since this is negatively impacting my small business.”
Update on 11/19/22 — It appears that the business may owe money to Arlington County, as seen in the photos below.
A sign outside of Courthouse coffee shop Rāko says the espresso machine is out of order, but a reader sent these photos suggesting that the business owes money to Arlington County https://t.co/jCIbBpmTMX pic.twitter.com/1OJrhNKFFw
— Arlington Now (@ARLnowDOTcom) November 19, 2022