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Upper Crust Pizzeria Now Open on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2015 at 2:00PM | Updated November 10, 2015 at 2:47PM

There’s a new pizza shop in town for those who live in the neighborhoods along Lee Highway.

Upper Crust Pizzeria has opened in the former HomeMade Pizza Company space, in the Lee Heights Shops, at 4514 Lee Highway. The restaurant quietly opened for business on Oct. 27, said Chief Financial Officer Ben Deb.

It’s the first D.C. area outpost of the small Boston-based chain since it went bankrupt and closed a former location in the District. Other new stores planned include a location on U Street NW in the District and one in Beverly Hills, California, both of which are slated to open within the next couple of months.

Upper Crust offers 25 specialty pizzas, some with D.C.-centric names, like “The GW,” “Pennsylvania Ave,” “The Nationals” and “The Dupont.” For customized pizzas, the company offers 40 toppings, nine cheeses, a gluten free dough option and three sizes: personal (10″), small (14″) and large (18″). Cheese, pepperoni and a “slice of the month” and “slice of the day” are offered by the slice.

Also on the menu are salads, baked lasagna, beer and wine. Take-out and free delivery are offered; in addition, there’s a small dine-in area and back patio.

Shawn Shenefield, Upper Crust’s Operations Director, says the opening so far has gone “really well.” He described the past two weeks as a soft opening, in which staff get on-the-job experience and training while business ramps up.

Shenefield said Upper Crust seeks to be a community-oriented business — Arlington, he noted, is comparable to Brookline, Mass., where the company has a store — and has been focusing on partnering with local schools. For instance, it has been planning fundraisers with nearby Marymount University and Glebe Elementary.

Free Parking in Arlington on Wednesday

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2015 at 11:35AM

Parking meters will not be enforced on Wednesday, as Arlington County observes the Veterans Day federal holiday.

Arlington County courts, libraries, public schools and other government offices will be closed for the holiday, and metered parking will not be enforced, the county said. Arlington Transit will operate on a holiday schedule.

Trash and recycling services, meanwhile, will operate on a normal schedule.

See the full Arlington County holiday calendar here, the Arlington Public Schools holiday pool schedule here and the ART schedule modifications here.

County Board to Consider Ballston Townhouse Development

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2015 at 10:30AM

The Arlington County Board is scheduled to consider a 12-unit townhouse development in Ballston this weekend.

The Ballston Oak Townhomes development, between 1124 and 1138 N. Stuart, has been in the county’s Site Plan Review process for about a year. Originally slated for as many as 16 townhouses, the latest proposal calls for four separate buildings containing a total of 12 townhouses.

Each home will have a two-car garage, accessible via a shared concrete driveway with a single entrance to the street. Three visitor parking spaces are also proposed.

The development, which is adjacent to the Arlington Market on Washington Blvd, will replace four single family homes, each dating back to the 1920s or 1930s. One home, at 1124 N. Stuart Street, “is a stucco covered Apartment Bungalow that is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places,” according to a Site Plan Review document.

The County Board is set to consider a site plan for the development and an associated storm sewer easement-related item on Saturday. So far, the county staff report and recommendation for the items has not been posted online.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2015 at 9:00AM | Updated November 10, 2015 at 9:22AM

Marine Corps Birthday — Its the Marine Corps’ 240th birthday today. On Thursday, the Corps’ birthday will be celebrated by hundreds of Marines participating in a group run from the Pentagon to the Marine Corps War Memorial, prompting rolling closures on Route 110 between 10 and 11 a.m. [AL.com]

Owner Not Worried About Vacant Rosslyn Office Tower — Monday Properties, the owner of the 1812 N. Moore Street office tower in Rosslyn (and an ARLnow.com advertiser), says they’re not worried that the two-year-old building is still vacant. Monday CEO Anthony Westreich says the company and lender Goldman Sachs are “confident” about the future of Rosslyn and patient as they search for a large anchor tenant. [Bisnow]

School Board Argues H-B Woodlawn Cost — Some Arlington School Board members are worried that a $100 million proposal for a new building in Rosslyn for the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program would be a budget buster. Superintendent Patrick Murphy has proposed options for bringing down the cost to $85 million, but other School Board members are arguing that such a proposal sacrifices long term good for short term savings. [InsideNova]

Human Rights Award Winners — Arlington County has announced the winners of its 2015 James B. Hunter Human Rights Award. The winners are: immigrant advocate Leni Gonzalez, Catholic charity Hogar Immigrant Services, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church and the Nauck Civic Association. [Arlington County]

Maureen O’Hara Buried at ANC — Actress Maureen O’Hara was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday. O’Hara, who died last month at the age of 95, was laid to rest alongside her husband, an Air Force brigadier general. [WTOP]

Winter Weather Forecast — NBC 4 chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer says Arlington and D.C. should expect 20-25 inches of snow this winter. Kammerer predicts that December will be unseasonably warm, while January and especially February will be colder than average, with a large snow storm expected in February. [NBC Washington]

Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber

Lime Fresh Has Closed in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2015 at 4:45PM

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill has closed its doors in Pentagon City.

Lime Fresh first opened its Pentagon Row location, near the Harris Teeter, in May 2012. It promised a “signature blend of fresh, mouth-watering Mexican dishes, dynamic ambiance, stylized interiors and scrupulous service,” but garnered mixed reviews online.

A Clarendon outpost of the Ruby Tuesday-owned restaurant chain opened a few months earlier, but closed a year later, in 2013.

Ruby Tuesday announced late last week that it was immediately closing 11 Lime Fresh locations and selling eight others in Florida. In completely divesting itself of Lime Fresh, Ruby Tuesday said it was “in our shareholders’ best interest that we exclusively operate our namesake brand restaurants.”

File photo

‘Ichiban Sushi and Ramen’ Coming to Shirlington Village

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2015 at 1:45PM

A new sushi and ramen restaurant is coming to Shirlington.

Signs for “Ichiban Sushi and Ramen” appeared in the windows of the former Blue Sea Seafood and Bar space at 4251 Campbell Avenue within the past couple of days. Blue Sea closed last week, after less than two years in business.

A logo on the sign appears to be the same as that of Ichiban Sushi House in Old Town Alexandria.

So far, there’s no word on an opening date for the new restaurant.

There are other changes afoot at the Village at Shirlington, meanwhile. Interior construction is underway at the new art-themed restaurant Palette 22, which is opening in the former Extra Virgin space.

Colorful new “coming soon” graphics have been placed in the windows of the restaurant while the construction takes place.

Another Starbucks is Coming to the Pentagon City Mall

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2015 at 10:10AM

Caffeine-craving visitors to the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City will soon have a second Starbucks option to choose from.

A building permit application, filed on Nov. 2, indicates that a Starbucks will be built inside the Macy’s store at the mall. Thus far it’s unclear where exactly in the Macy’s the cafe will be located.

There is already a Starbucks at the mall — an often busy kiosk in the center of the ground-level food court. There is also a Starbucks across Hayes Street, in the Pentagon Centre shopping center, and one within a stone’s throw of the mall parking lot, at the adjacent Pentagon Row shopping center.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2015 at 9:20AM | Updated November 9, 2015 at 9:43AM

Wakefield Wins, Ends Undefeated in Conference — The Wakefield Warriors football team defeated the Lee Lancers 50-18 on Friday to finish the regular season 8-2 and undefeated in the Capitol Conference. Wakefield will play in the first round of the 5A North Region playoffs on Friday. [InsideNova]

W-L Makes Playoffs with Win Against Yorktown — The Washington-Lee Generals secured a playoff spot and a 5-5 season with a win against cross-county rival Yorktown on Friday. It wrapped up Yorktown’s first losing season since 1995. [Washington Post]

I-66 ‘Worst Damn Freeway in America’ — Traffic-clogged I-66 is the worst interstate highway in America, so says the website Thrillist, based on federal highway data. I-10 in New Orleans was ranked the second worst. [Thrillist]

Arlington to Get Development Boost at Alexandria’s Expense? — After years of losing big office tenants to Alexandria, the economic tables may be turning for Arlington County. This month Alexandria elected a new mayor who ran on a mildly anti-development platform, while Arlington elected two new County Board members who spoke in favor of economic development efforts. [Bisnow]

Photo courtesy Buzz McClain

Serial Robber Strikes Columbia Pike Capital One Bank

By ARLnow.com

Published November 7, 2015 at 1:00AM

Arlington County Police and the FBI are seeking a serial bank robber who robbed a bank on Columbia Pike Friday afternoon.

The suspect, dubbed the Forever Loyal Bandit by the FBI, passed a note to a teller at the Capital One Bank at 3532 Columbia Pike around 4 p.m. He received an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene.

This was the fifth bank robbery perpetrated by the Forever Loyal Bandit since June 2014, the FBI said. The “Forever Loyal” name is a reference to a t-shirt worn by the suspect in two of his first three robberies, all of which occurred in Falls Church last summer.

The suspect went dark after an Aug. 2014 robbery, then reappeared a week ago, on Oct. 30, when he robbed the Capital One Bank at Seven Corners Center, which he had also robbed last year.

The suspect is described as a black male, between 6’0″ and 6’3″. He’s said to be in his 30s, 40s or 50s. During the Pike robbery, the man was wearing a black baseball hat, a white and black long-sleeved Izod polo shirt and black pants.

The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of the Forever Loyal Bandit. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 202-278-2000, or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published November 6, 2015 at 6:00PM | Updated November 7, 2015 at 1:15AM

The overall party affiliation of those on the Arlington County Board might not be changing on Jan. 1, but that doesn’t mean the status quo from a policymaking perspective.

Democrats Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey will bring a fresh perspective to the Board, following their lopsided victory in Tuesday’s election.

In a way, it’s back to normal for Arlington’s usual pattern of electing Democrats to local office, after John Vihstadt’s election last year flipped the script. But Cristol and Dorsey are not exactly the establishment Arlington Democrats of old, pledging to bring more fiscal responsibility, economic development and an emphasis on innovation to county government

Feel free to discuss the election or any other topic of local interest, in the comments.

#weekend discussion

‘Frost Fest’ Planned at Pentagon Row Ice Rink

By ARLnow.com

Published November 6, 2015 at 4:15PM

You might not yet be in the mood for thoughts of ice and the holidays, given today’ record 80 degree heat, but ice skating is currently underway at Pentagon Row.

The ice rink opened for the season on Sunday. The rink looked a bit more like a pool than a winter wonderland this afternoon, but that didn’t deter a few determined skaters wearing shorts and short sleeves.

Pentagon Row is planning a new winter-themed event at the rink this year. A month from now, on Saturday, Dec. 5, the shopping center will hold “Frost Fest” from 5-8 p.m.

The event will feature on-ice fireworks display, ice sculptures, fire performers and a $1,000 giveaway, according to a flyer.

Save the date for the #PentagonRow #FrostFest! #Arlington #pentagoncity @ARLnowDOTcom #arlingtonva pic.twitter.com/D2LIu0rBft

— Pentagon Row (@PentagonRow) October 29, 2015