Around Town

Print Shop Opens Inside Vacant Billiards Haunt Cursed by Turnover

A new print shop has taken over a building in Green Valley that has housed a revolving door of bar and lounge spots.

An employee confirmed that ABC Imaging opened at 2620 Shirlington Road two weeks ago on April 12. ABC Imaging is headquartered in nearby Fairfax County, and the new Arlington location joins a roster of nearly 30 outposts across the U.S., in addition to four global hubs.

The opening marks a hard restart for 2620 Shirlington Road, which is across the street from a concrete plant and a self-storage facility.

Over the last 10 years, folks have tried and failed to establish a local watering hole at the quirky building that would replace Champion Billiards. The billiards spot had a two-decade run but struggled to stay on top of taxes in its later years.

Since 2011, three variations on the theme of a bar and lounge have come and gone in quick succession.

New owners reopened the spot in the summer of 2011 as Lucy’s ARL — where patrons could find “shrews, brews and cues” — but that closed two years later.

In 2015, Chester’s Billiards Bar & Grill set up shop and had a two-year run fraught with violations including an unsafe elevator and unsanctioned dance parties before it too closed.

Attempting to give the building a new reputation as a more family-friendly place, new owners opened Sydney’s Bar and Lounge in September 2019. Sydney’s had a brief run but the owners appear to have moved the restaurant to Delaware last year.

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