Taylor Gourmet, the D.C.-area deli and catering chain, will open in Ballston “either next week or the one after,” according to owner Casey Patten.
This afternoon the restaurant — located at 4000 Wilson Blvd, on the corner of N. Quincy Street — held a soft opening, allowing some to come in and try a sandwich or salad for free. Tomorrow (Saturday) from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Taylor is offering the same deal, provided those who want to try the food first email Hilary Chattler at [email protected].
Patten said he’s hoping the soft openings give his staff and restaurant — the chain’s ninth location, and second in Virginia — time to practice, since “perfect practice makes perfect.”
“We want to spend some time to get things right,” he said. After tomorrow’s soft opening, the plan is to re-evaluate, do a little more interior work, and open within the next two weeks.
The sandwich shop’s specialty is a menu full of “cooked-from-scratch” items, Patten said, including roasting its own turkey, pork and roast beef in house and having freshly baked bread delivered twice a day.
“You won’t find a freezer in any of our restaurants,” he said. “The end goal is just to make the best sandwich we possibly can.”
Taylor Gourmet’s menu includes sandwiches with ingredients like “garlicky spinach,” white bean hummus, roasted cauliflower, as well as a kale side salad and a chickpea salad. The deli will deliver to the surrounding area, caters for groups from “10 to 5,000,” Chattler said, and plans to have WiFi when it opens, or soon after.
“We’ve wanted to come to Ballston for a long time,” Patten said. “We’d been trying to find space here for about two years. It’s kind of the perfect place for us. It’s young, super hip, there’s plenty of stuff to do and has daytime businesses as well as residents.”
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) The Fourth of July is a week away, meaning it’s seven days until Arlington’s annual festivities at Long Bridge Park (475 Long Bridge Drive).
The event will run from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. and it includes more than just a great view across the Potomac River for the fireworks on the National Mall.
From 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., there will be free drop-in kickball, where players can jump in a game and play, and there will be a kickball home run derby at 7:00 p.m., all on Field 1. Other activities include face painting, balloon art, a moon bounce, cornhole, bocce ball, ring toss, ladder golf and duckpin bowling.
There will also be food trucks that should be familiar to Arlington diners, like Willie’s Po’Boy, The Big Cheese, DC Slices, Lemongrass and a Chick-Fil-A truck.
Three bands will provide music throughout the festival, starting with pianist and singer Andrea Pais at 4:30 p.m., the Cherry People at 6:00, and ’90s cover band White Ford Bronco at 7:30.
The U.S. Men’s National soccer team is still alive in the World Cup, but they don’t play again until Tuesday. Pass the time in between by checking out some Arlington open houses.
2301 25th Street S.
1 BD / 1 BA condominium
Agent: Julie Hall, Weichert, Realtors
Listed: $275,000
Open: Sunday, June 29, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
2119 N. Monroe Street
2 BD / 2 1/2 BA condominium
Agent: Julia Martin, Long & Foster Real Estate
Listed: $446,5000
Open: Sunday, June 29, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
1111 16th Street S.
2 BD / 2 BA single family detached
Agent: Jeremy Browne, Century 21 New Millenium
Listed: $599,990
Open: Sunday, June 29, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
3131 9th Road N.
2 BD / 2 BA condominium
Agent: Keri Shull, Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $775,000
Open: Sunday, June 29, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
3188 N. Pollard Street
4 BD / 3 BA single family detached
Agent: Kevin Love, Re/Max Allegiance
Listed: $899,900
Open: Sunday, June 29, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
1920 N. Quincy Street
5 BD / 4 1/2 BA single family detached
Agent: Alasgar Farhadov, Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $1,325,000
Open: Saturday, June 28, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, June 29, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”
The Arlington real estate market has settled into a steady, moderate pace with some interesting twists. Some 64 new listings came on the market in the last week, while 61 properties went under contract. That’s a higher ratio than we’ve seen since April.
The average days on market has jumped from a steady 30-32 to 45, prompted by many sales this week of properties that had been on the market a long time. There was an unusual number of ratified contracts on properties that had been listed for months: three sold with DOM over 200; four sold with DOM over 100; and 13 sold with DOM over 50.
With inventory still very low, it appears buyers are taking a second look at properties that have been around a while and are waiting for price drops and then pouncing. Mortgage rates have been kind to buyers this past week, with the average for 30-year fixed rate dropping from 4.24 percent to 4.16 percent.
(Updated at 9:30 a.m.) New Arlington Chamber of Commerce President Kate Roche, 29, knows she will face questions about her age, but she and the Board of Directors that promoted her view it as an asset.
“My age is a positive,” Roche told ARLnow.com, days after her new promotion was announced. “It’s a change for the business community. When people traditionally think of business, they think of older men, not younger women. Appealing to more demographics makes it a more welcoming place.”
Roche replaces now-retired President Rich Doud, 71. Doud hired Roche as the chamber’s director of member services and development in 2007 after she worked at D.C. nonprofit Women in Government. Roche called Doud “a great mentor and leader,” and said Doud was in tears when they spoke last Friday after she was officially given the job.
The chamber’s Board of Directors Chairman Tim Hughes, an attorney in the Bean, Kinney and Korman law firm, said the search committee for a new president agreed that Roche’s youth was a good thing for the chamber in the midst of changing times.
“She has had just unparalleled enthusiasm, energy, passion and commitment,” Hughes said. “I would say that Kate brings a really interesting and intriguing mix of continuity and experience, along with obvious youth, energy and a change in the face of an organization.”
Roche said she’s focused on partnerships she’s already been building as vice president — her last position. That means working with the Ballston Business Improvement District, Arlington Economic Development and other business and community groups. Roche said leveraging those partnerships will allow the chamber to attract new members, a crucial mission in the changing economy.
“Chambers are being pushed harder to prove why people should join and to demonstrate their value,” Roche said. “There was a time when you joined the chamber just because that’s what you do.”
Hughes said that means attracting more of the tech businesses sprouting up seemingly every week in Arlington and enticing them to join the chamber.
“You think about the people starting businesses and developing software products doing all kinds of great and interesting things,” Hughes said. “We’re attracting these types of folks to the county, so they see why membership in the chamber helps them be effective in their business.”
Coming up, Roche plans to roll out a “Shop Chamber” initiative — member businesses will encourage their customers to shop at other member businesses, with the chamber ultimately keeping track of how much additional money a business can earn from being a chamber member.
Roche said she’s also focused on retaining and engaging current businesses, which includes seeing which members haven’t been to a meeting or event in six months, and reaching out to them. She said the chamber should play a big role in helping local businesses, whether it’s via networking events or by helping to shape county policy.
“The chamber is the only all-county business organization,” she said. “The chamber’s role is to help businesses do business well. When business issues come up, we’re not part of the government, so we can do the lobbying that you can’t do if you’re a part of the county.”
Arlington County will not roll out year-round yard waste collection next month as it had planned because it is being sued.
KMG Hauling and Bates Trucking have filed separate lawsuits against the county in Arlington Circuit Court “over denial of contract,” according to county spokeswoman Mary Curtius. Bates filed its lawsuit June 3 and KMG filed its own on June 18, according to court records, and both are scheduled for a pretrial motion hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.
The county announced today that the delivery of green yard waste cans, which was expected in August or September, has been postponed, as has the ban on placing yard waste in plastic bags on the curb. Trash and recycling pickup service will continue uninterrupted.
“We regret any inconvenience caused by the delay in rolling out this new service,” County Manager Barbara Donnellan said in a press release. “The County is working hard to resolve the contractual issues with our residents in mind. We are committed to bringing year-round yard waste collection to our residents as soon as possible.”
The Arlington County Board passed an emergency ordinance yesterday reducing the quarterly waste fee for residents by $9 to account for the lack of yard waste service, the release said. The waste fees will be reinstated with yard waste collection.
The county awarded the contract for year-round yard waste collection to American Disposal, Curtius said. KMG and Bates already hold a current waste contract with the county, but Curtius said because of the pending litigation, the county could not confirm which services they currently perform.
A new four-mile race will be held this Sunday morning from Courthouse down through Rosslyn and on Route 110.
The Freedom Four Miler is being organized by Pacers in partnership with Ireland’s Four Courts (2051 Wilson Blvd), which also serves as the race’s start and finish line. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. and registration is $40.
It’s the inaugural running of the race, and it replaces the former Let Freedom Run 5K held in Fairfax County as the Fourth of July race in Pacers’ race offerings, according to Pacers Race Director Lisa Reeves.
The race now becomes the second four-miler Pacers holds in Arlington with Four Courts, pairing with the annual Four Courts Four-Miler held on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Both four milers have the same basic course — a straight-line, turnaround course, traveling down Wilson Blvd and continuing on Route 110 before turning back in between Rosslyn and the Pentagon. The Arlington County Police Department has yet to announced the official street closures and times, but Reeves said roads will be closed on a rolling basis following the course. All roads should be fully open by 9:00 a.m., Reeves said, and closures will begin to go into effect at around 7:45 a.m.
“It’s a celebration-type race, that’s really what it’s all about,” Reeves said. “Having a good time with your friends and everything. We always encourage people to wear costumes, and we’ll have a photo booth with props like an Uncle Sam hat for runners and spectators to pose with.”
(Updated at 5:30 p.m.) Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Terrill, 92, has been identified as the man found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday.
Terrill, a Falls Church resident, was declared dead on the scene Friday morning in Section 64 of the cemetery, near the Columbarium Courts, according to a press release. He suffered what was reported by first responders to be a gunshot wound to his head.
Terrill’s wife, Helen Burgess Terrill, who died in 2009, was buried in Section 64. He described himself in a news article after her death as his wife’s “loving soul mate.”
“Although we have not completely ruled it out in order to conduct a complete and thorough investigation, we do not suspect foul play at this point in the investigation,” said Chris Grey, the spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, which is the lead agency investigating the death. Officials said the incident is unprecedented for Arlington National Cemetery.
“The cemetery is not aware of an incident such as this previously happening in the cemetery,” said the press release.
Terrill reportedly served in World War II before being commissioned in 1946. According to an Air Force spokesman, he flew more than 8,000 hours as a command pilot before retiring from his last duty assignment at the Pentagon in 1968.
(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) A house fire just before 2:00 a.m. Tuesday did $150,000 of damage and sent two firefighters to the hospital, but the home’s occupants were unharmed.
At 1:51 a.m., Arlington County Fire Department received a call for a house fire on the 1700 block of S. Oakland Street, just two blocks away from Fire Station 9 on S. Walter Reed Drive, according to ACFD spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani. The occupants, two adults and an infant, had gotten out of their Douglas Park house safely after being woken up by a fire alarm.
The fire was “inside the walls” on the second story of the house, Marchegiani said, making it difficult for firefighters to douse the flames. The fire spread across the second floor and into the attic before firefighters were able to contain and extinguish it.
“It took almost an hour to knock down the fire because they had to basically open the walls to find the fire,” Marchegiani said, adding that the firefighters “were experiencing heavy heat.”
Two firefighters were transported to the hospital via ambulance, one suffering from smoke inhalation and another from “minor trauma.” Marchegiani said both are in good condition as of late this morning.
Marchegiani emphasized that the fire could have turned tragic if it weren’t for the house’s alarms. The Fire Marshal is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.
“We credit the fact that there were no injuries to the occupants to the working smoke alarms,” Marchegiani said. “That’s really the message we’re trying to push.”
(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) The future plans for the Ballston Common Mall include demolishing the Macy’s Furniture Store and parts of the current mall to build a 29-story residential tower and an open-air town center along Wilson Blvd, officials announced Monday night.
The 393-unit apartment building, at the corner of Wilson and N. Randolph Street, is projected to be completed by 2017, Ballston Business Improvement District CEO Tina Leone revealed at the BID’s annual meeting last night. Leone said the redevelopment — including a revamp of the retail mix at the mall — will be crucial for the branding of Ballston, which is often closely associated with the increasingly run-down mall.
“The mall hasn’t quite been able to serve our public,” Leone said, noting the mall’s future is the main question she gets asked about the future of Ballston development. “The mall is going to ‘de-mall’ itself. The roof is coming off.”
The mall is owned and operated by Forest City, which purchased the Macy’s Furniture Store last September. Forest City spokesman Gary McManus told ARLnow.com at the time that the mall had planned retail space with more street access in Macy’s place, and those plans now include the residential tower.
The building is expected to have four floors of underground parking and two floors of retail space below the studio, one- and two-bedroom rental apartments. The apartment building and attached parking will have a separate entrance from the restaurants and remaining mall.
Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the main Macy’s store — which will fold in the furniture store on its ground floor — the Sport&Health Club and the Regal Cinemas will all remain in the closed-air section of the mall, which is being rebranded as “Ballston Center.”
Along Wilson Blvd, parts of the mall — which originally opened as the Parkington Shopping Center in 1951 before it was rebuilt and reopened as Ballston Common Mall in 1986 — will be torn down and replaced with an open-air, town center-like plaza. Demolition is expected to begin by late 2015.
“[Forest City] thought about what was going to have the highest impact,” Leone told ARLnow.com, saying the Ballston BID has been “on a very high level” helping to form plans for the mall’s redevelopment. “To make it a town center, this is life-altering for the people who live and work here.”
McManus said that the pedestrian bridge from the mall to the current National Science Foundation headquarters across the street is tentatively slated to be torn down — private conversations between Forest City and Arlington County Board members led the mall owner to remove it from the plans — but an agreement needs to be reached with the NSF building’s property owner before that can happen.
McManus also said that the retail mix in the mall will change, to become more restaurant and entertainment-oriented. It will be aimed at serving the immediate area, not as a mall that brings in most of its shoppers from other areas, despite the fact that it will have “some destination retail, too.”
“We don’t want to compete with Tysons or Pentagon City,” McManus said. “We’ve started this project before, but this time it’s got all the momentum behind it.”
In addition to the four-level, 580,000 square foot mall’s redevelopment, Leone announced plans for changes to public spaces expected this fall, like public art projects, Ballston-branded signs lining the streets and the new Fairfax Drive landscaping ARLnow.com reported on earlier this month.
Among the proposed projects is a redesigned Metro plaza, which Leone said she hopes will include an “interactive light installation” under the Metro canopy. The light installation is being designed in Amsterdam — it will track pedestrians’ movements underneath and project light based on that movement. The Metro plaza is also planned to include an small amphitheater and redesigned bus parking to remove some buses from N. Stuart Street. (more…)
Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.
“I’m an operations guy,” Grant Elliott, Founder and CEO of Ostendio, which specializes in I.T. compliance and security, said in a conference room at ÜberOffices in Rosslyn last week. “I laid out a plan and we’ve [grown] to that plan. Only when I started talking to people did they say how fast we were [growing]. I laid out what I thought was a conservative plan, but it turns out people think it was very aggressive.”
Elliott founded Ostendio last September after working for eight years and the chief operations officer for a health information technology company called Voxiva. It took six months for Elliott, co-founder Jermaine Jones and a third co-founder who chose to remain anonymous to build the platform, My Virtual Compliance Manager (MyVCM), that helps bring small- to medium-sized business into federal safety compliance with their data.
In the three months since the product launch, Ostendio has brought on more than a dozen clients.
Last week, Ostendio was one of 20 companies to present to potential investors at TechBuzz, a semi-regular tech event for D.C.-area companies. Elliott had to present a four-minute pitch to investors, which he said was nerve-racking since I.T. compliance isn’t as “sexy” as a new social media platform.
Perhaps because Elliott’s company isn’t operating in one of the attention-grabbing tech startup sectors, and that this is his first-time as a CEO, fundraising has been frustrating, even though it has borne some fruit early on.
“Fundraising takes longer than I expected,” he said in the heavy accent of his native Scotland. “What’s surprised me is it’s less about the business model and more about the dynamics of fundraising.”
The business model, Elliott says, is the reason that Ostendio has already agreed to investment with Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology and from D.C.’s 1776, which also counts Ostendio as a member. Ostendio has been bootstrapped thus far, but is seeking $500,000 from its first round of funding.
Ostendio targets companies with between five and 100 employees in “a regulated market” like healthcare, Elliott said. In healthcare, where most of Ostendio’s clients operate, “HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] regulations are a dark cloud hanging over” small businesses.
“They see compliance with federal regualtion as a huge task, which is partly true,” he said. “Small companies unfortunately have the same regulations as a larger company. Our platform actively manages compliance for our customers. We also provide training and audit functionalilty.”
Because of the boom in cloud computing and mobile devices, Elliott said, more and more small tech companies can innovate in a space like healthcare, but large medical providers like hospitals and insurance companies need to ensure that any technology that is brought on is compliant with HIPAA regulations and the patients’ data will remain secure.
