Author: Heather Mongilio

New Nauck Restaurant Brings Four Cuisines to the Table

By Heather Mongilio
1/5

The Corner Tex-Mix, a new Latin fusion restaurant in Arlington’s Nauck neighborhood, has opened at at 1621 S. Walter Reed Drive.

The eatery brings the flavors of Salvadoran, Mexican, American and Mediterranean food to its tables. The restaurant is colorful, with a bright red and green walls and colorful lights hanging over the bar. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has seating both inside and outside.

“What I can say is that we’re trying to do something new in the area for the residents of Arlington with good dishes and a lot of different flavors they can come over and try,” head chef Leo Medrano said.

The food is fresh, Medrano said, with sauces and salad dressings, such as the bleu cheese or chipotle barbecue ranch, made in the restaurant daily.

Medrano recommends new patrons try one of the four salad options, but his favorite is the bib lettuce salad. The bib lettuce salad has bib lettuce, tomato, red onion, bacon and blue cheese. His other favorite meal is the crab cake sandwich.

“We offer some healthy food and delicious and good quality,” Medrano said.

Medrano also has a different special plate every day, he said. His favorite dishes to create include Salmon or Mahi Mahi.

“You can mix it with fruit or vegetables,” Medrano said, “and it tastes delicious either way.”

In a press release, The Corner Tex-Mix said it will be a “a big change from the old establishment at the same location” and will bring chef-driven food to a Nauck community that “has been historically void of any good restaurants.”

Previous restaurants that have come and gone at the 1621 S. Walter Reed Drive location include Las Delicias Restaurante and, more recently, El Manatial III.

Today: Open House for Arlington Community Facilities Study

By Heather Mongilio

Aerial view of Courthouse and neighborhoodsWhere should new schools, parks and fire stations be built in Arlington? Which existing county facilities should stay the same and which might be due for a renovation or change in use?

Those are the questions being tackled by Arlington’s Community Facilities Study Committee, and today residents will get to get a glimpse of the committee’s work up close at an open house in Courthouse.

The drop-in open house is being held from noon to 3 p.m. and from 4-9 p.m. at the county government headquarters building (2100 Clarendon Blvd). Attendees will be able to talk to members of the study’s committee and ask about the study’s process and findings.

The Community Facilities Study is an analysis of Arlington that looks at the population and current needs of residents to project Arlington’s facilities needs in the near and long-term future. The study will predict what the demographics of the county will be and how this will that affect what new public buildings will be needed. The study began in January 2015 and is slated to end November 2015.

This information will be shared with the County Board and the school board so that elected officials can decide if more public buildings, such as schools, fire stations and recreational centers, are needed.

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World Record for Pullups Reportedly Set in Ballston

By Heather Mongilio

John Bocek setting an unofficial pullup record

A new world record may have been set in Arlington over the weekend.

A D.C. man claims to have set the world record for most pullups done in a 24 hour period, recording the feat on video at the Ballston Crossfit gym at 1110 N. Glebe Road.

John Bocek, a D.C. resident, reported completed 5,801 pullups, setting a new unofficial record. The Guinness World Records still has to approve Bocek’s record before it is an official world record, said Tucker Jones, the owner of Ballston Crossfit.

The last official record was 5,101 pullups set by Michael Tufo on May 3 of this year.

“He smashed the record,” Jones said of Bocek.

Bocek started his pullups at the crossfit gym at 6 p.m. on Saturday and finished at 6 p.m. on Sunday. He initially set out two years ago to break the world record, but the number of pullups for the record increased a couple of times, he said.

His original goal was 5,000 pullups but last month the record was broken again, prompting Bocek to raise his goal to 6,000. While he did not reach that goal, he was very happy with 5,801 repetitions.

“That’s a lot of pullups over 24 hours,” Jones said.

Three hours from the end of his record attempt, an article surfaced saying another unofficial record of more than 5,700 pullups had been set, so Bocek knew he had to make it past that mark to set the record.

At that point, he was past his physical limit but the support from family, friends and viewers around the world kept him going.

“It was probably the toughest thing I’ve done,” Bocek said.

Via donations, the record attempt raised money for a cause championed by Bocek: the Panama Mission Foundation, a non-profit that builds churches and works to spread the Christian gospel in Panamanian rainforest villages.

Bocek says he trained throughout the two years for the pullup challenge, training at different gyms and at least once a week at Ballston Crossfit. He would go to the gym in the middle of the night and train for about six hours, Jones recounted. Training in the middle of the night helped him get ready for doing pullups for 24 hours without sleep.

The training was more intense than his prior preparation for the 100-mile marathons, Bocek said. His strategy for breaking the record was to do 2,500 pullups in the first seven hours, which he was confident of because of his training, then sets of 500 between 15 minute breaks.

As he neared the end, it got increasingly difficult, and Bocek said there were repetitions that didn’t count because he couldn’t get his chin above the bar.

Although he reported being very sore on Monday, Bocek said would “absolutely” be up for another world record attempt, should anyone break his new record.

Screen capture via YouTube

Arlington’s ‘Most Endangered Places’ Include Dive Bars, Reevesland Farmhouse

By Heather Mongilio
The Forest Inn
1/5

Preservation Arlington, a group dedicated to protecting Arlington’s historic buildings, communities and landscapes, has released its “Most Endangered Historic Places” for 2015.

The annual list is used to promote awareness and advocacy of the historic sites and the preservation they need, according to the group’s website. Preservation Arlington also created a watch list for the 2015, which includes sites that are on the “verge of disappearing.”

The 2015 list, with excerpts from Preservation Arlington’s description of each:

  • Dive bars — “Preservation Arlington raises a toast to our remaining dive bars, such as Forest Inn and Cowboy Cafe, and hope they continue to thrive. Preservation is also about the role that place plays in our community and not just the building or its architecture.”
  • Garden Apartments in Westover — “While some garden apartments in Westover are listed in the National Register, these and others in fact have no long term protection from redevelopment.”
  • Columbia Pike Commercial Buildings — “The unique small-scale retail buildings in the commercial nodes, as identified in the Pike’s unique zoning, will not be preserved without more focus on historic building style and design.”
  • Lyon Village National Register Historic District — “Many of the changes [to Lyon Village] have not respected the historic character of the community and have dramatically altered many of the components that qualified the community for designation [on the National Register of Historic Places] in the first place.”
  • Reevesland Farmhouse and Property — “The county hasn’t done anything to keep up this property in 15 years, letting the property deteriorate and the story of Arlington’s dairy farming history slowly and gradually disappear. Selling the property will permanently remove from public access and use a tangible connection to Arlington’s rural past and a fantastic opportunity to provide educational opportunities to current and future Arlington students and residents.”

The 2015 Watch list, with excerpts from Preservation Arlington’s description of each:

  • Wilson School — “While not designated as a local historic district in 2015, the opportunity still exists for the Building Level Planning Committee of Arlington Public Schools to incorporate substantial portions of the building facade and/or materials in the modernist building being planned for the site.”
  • Arlington Presbyterian Church — “While denied listing as a local historic district in 2014, the opportunity still exists for the story of the existing building and congregation to be incorporated into the planned future development.”
  • Webb Building — “An excellent example of our quickly disappearing mid-century modernist building stock, the Webb Building is not protected.”
  • Key Boulevard Apartments — “One of Arlington’s best preserved garden apartments, which has already had its density move to an adjacent luxury condo, this complex was under threat in 2014.”

The 2014 list included the Wilson School, Arlington Presbyterian Church, family graveyards and mid-century Arlington architecture.

Photos: Tupelo Honey Cafe to Open Monday

By Heather Mongilio
1/13

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Tupelo Honey Cafe will bring southern food and craft cocktails to Arlington with its planned opening on Monday.

The restaurant plans to open June 1 in its new Rosslyn location at 1616 N. Troy Street. It will be the 10th Tupelo Honey Cafe and first in Virginia.

“Joining the Arlington community is a very proud moment for us,” said Tupelo Honey Cafe Founder and CEO Steve Frabitore in a press release. “Our new location continues the legacy of the original restaurant with its scratch-made southern fare, yet embraces the area’s hometown flavor through local art, food and brews.”

The menu includes southern food such as roasted duck breast with a cherry port wine sauce, pan-seared sea scallops and grilled French lamb chops. The restaurant series also recently introduced small plates to its menu, said Kevin Summers, a regional director for Tupelo, which is based in Asheville, N.C.

Summers recommends that customers order the country ham wontons and the lamb meatballs, two small plates he often eats.

At nearly 6,600 square feet, the restaurant has 202 seats, a full bar and an “inviting outdoor patio.” The bar features a “custom metal honeycomb backsplash and reclaimed wood bar front.”

The restaurant aims to be targeted toward the area’s population. There’s a “pretty young, vibrant demographic in the area,” Summers said.

With that in mind, Tupelo Honey Cafe will offer a “Moonrise brunch” on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to midnight. The menu offers breakfast small plates and cocktails, including the opportunity for guests to create their own, according to the press release.

The restaurant will also have 24 taps at the bar, many of which are locally-based, Summers said. Tupelo Honey Cafe also created a special drink for the Arlington location — a drink dedicated to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

The “Ode to Eleanor Roosevelt” has white brandy, sparkling wine, Jack Ruby Elderflower tonic syrup, citrus sour, bitters and fresh thyme. It has a herbal flavor and the components play very well together, said Tyler Alford, the beverage specialist for Tupelo Honey Cafe.

“Every cocktail should have a beginning, middle and end,” he said.

Alford recommends pairing the drink with the roasted beet small plate.

The name comes as a nod to Arlington’s proximity to Washington, D.C. The restaurant company wanted a drink that included D.C. but didn’t delve too deep into politics, Alford said. The company also agreed with many of Roosevelt’s fundamentals.

“And Eleanor Roosevelt deserves a good drink in her honor,” he said.

Va. Campus Sexual Assault Bills Signed Into Law

By Heather Mongilio

State Senate candidate Barbara Favola

Three bills dealing with sexual assault on college campuses, championed by local state Sen. Barbara Favola, were signed into law by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe yesterday (May 28).

The bills deal with reporting of sexual assault occurrences on public college campuses. State Sen. Barbara Favola, who represents part of Arlington in Virginia’s 31st District, helped write the legislation, including a bill that required campus safety officials to be part of a threat assessment team formed after a student reports sexual assault. The establishment of a threat assessment team is required by Title IX.

Under Title IX, a federal law that deals with preventing discrimination based on gender, certain college administrators must report sexual assault to law enforcement. It is also part of the Clery Act, which requires schools publicly report crimes on campuses. The new laws will make it a state requirement as well.

Under the Favola’s amendment to the bill, a threat assessment team, which will include campus safety officials, has to investigate a sexual assault claim without releasing the name of the survivor. If the team determines that there is a legitimate threat to the survivor, it will then release the name to local law enforcement or a local state attorney if necessary.

The bill was originally authored by Sen. Richard Black, who represents Viriginia’s 13th District. The original bill, sparked by the Rolling Stone article about University Virginia, had campus officials report a sexual assault to law enforcement immediately after a report was filed, Favola said.

When campus administrators heard about the bill, they came to Favola for help. The officials told her they thought the bill would discourage people from reporting sexual assaults to the school because it would go to the police, she said.

Many sexual survivors have to process the trauma of a sexual assault, and some survivors do not want to report to police, Favola said.

The signed bill now allows survivors to have time to accept the traumatic event as well as get some counseling, Favola said. A second bill, also signed by McAuliffe, includes a memorandum of understanding, which helps survivors get counseling.

“I think we ended up in the absolute right place,” Favola said.

The bill is another “hammer” to make sure colleges do not sweep sexual assault reports under the rug, according to Favola. Sexual assault reporting has garnered national attention as the Department of Education opened Title IX investigations to look at how colleges handle sexual assault reports. As of May 13, there were 111 colleges on the list, including five Virginia schools, according to the Huffington Post.

Favola is not sure if reported cases of sexual assault will go up with the new laws in place. Some believe there will be more cases reported because the state government is trying to make the bill very public in order to ensure that students and colleges know about the new process.

Arlington’s Marymount University will be among the colleges subject to the new laws. Marymount reported two cases of forcible sex offenses on campus for 2013, in its 2014 Campus Safety report.

Favola says she’s not done with sexual assault legislation. She is now turning to prevention at colleges.

“As a parent, as a woman, as someone who’s been a part-time employee of a university for 19 years, our children need to be safe,” Favola said.

‘Israel Fest’ Coming to Shirlington This Weekend

By Heather Mongilio

Israel Fest logoThe Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia is bringing its annual Israel Fest to Arlington this weekend.

The free event — dubbed Israel@67 — is billed as a celebration of Israel and Israeli culture. It will take place from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Village in Shirlington.

The event will include live entertainment, Israeli dancing and hands-on activities. There will be food to purchase and an Israeli-styled market.

While the festival has been held in the past in other Northern Virginia locations, this is the first time it has come to Arlington, said Laurie Albert, the center’s Director of Community Engagement.

“The location is wonderful,” she said.

The JCC decided to bring the festival to Arlington because it is a family-friendly area and the organization would reach a community it had not previously, Albert said.

The event will feature nine live musical acts, including Israeli pop singer Hadar and singer-songwriter Yoni Jahasi. There will also be a teen area with a live DJ.

More than 10 synagogues and community partners will have booths for visitors to stop by, and there will also be a moon bounce and balloon artists for children.

To accommodate the festival, Arlington County Police will shut down Campbell Avenue in Shirlington from S. Quincy Street to S. Randolph Street between 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Arlington County Board Candidates Tackle Business Concerns

By Heather Mongilio

Arlington County Board candidates discuss how to make Arlington more attractive for business.

At a forum last night, the candidates for Arlington County Board discussed ways to address the high amount of empty office space in Arlington while discussing how the county can be more attractive for businesses.

The eight candidates — six Democrats and two Independents — discussed transportation, commercial office vacancy and a diverse workforce during a candidate forum held by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Rosslyn Business Improvement District.

The empty space largely comes from the shrinking footprint of the federal government, the candidates agreed.

Bruce Wiljanen

Arlington has to realize that it cannot rely on the federal government as an employer like it once could, Democrat Bruce Wiljanen said. He suggested that the next major business sector may be high technology companies.

“I’m really encouraged by things happening in Crystal City right now,” Wiljanen said.

To fill the empty space, Arlington needs to do more to encourage businesses to move and stay here, the candidates said. It needs to be easier to open a business in Arlington, Democrats Andrew Schneider and Christian Dorsey said.

Andrew Schneider

“I had a small business owner that said after a year of starting his business that he didn’t have to start — both he and his wife work full-time jobs downtown — that he would have started his business in Falls Church,” Schneider said.

Arlington needs to look at its regulatory processes and weed out what is unnecessary and harmful, Dorsey said. Having a business ombudsman is good — the county recently created the position — but it’s just the first step.

Christian DorseyDorsey said that the county needs to rethink the way it helps entrepreneurs start and sustain new businesses. The permit processes need to be changed as well, he said.

“These are the things, little as they may seem, that give a community the character of a place where business is welcome and it is a good place to do business,” said Dorsey.

Arlington also needs to foster a diverse workforce, candidates said.

Katie CristolArlington needs to be attractive to both millennials and older workers, Democrat Katie Cristol said. This can be done through affordable housing, she said. Cristol, the youngest candidate in the race, lists affordable housing as one of her top issues.

A commitment to affordable housing is needed, Democrat Peter Fallon said. Arlington has a highly skilled workforce, but in order to keep it, there needs to be housing for Arlington’s employees.

With a more diverse workforce comes a need for more diverse businesses. One area Dorsey listed was through grocery stores. If neighborhoods are more diverse there is a need for standard grocery stores like Giant or Safeway but also for ethnic grocery stores, he said.

James LanderJames Lander also encouraged a focus on millennials in the new workforce. Lander, a Democrat who is the chair of the Arlington School Board, emphasized the need to focus on invest in community amenities, specifically schools. He also said the county should invest more resources into helping small businesses.

 

“We can’t turn our back on investment,” Lander said.

The candidates agreed that transportation is one of Arlington’s best features, but also one that has area to improve.

“We have great people and we move them well,” Cristol said.

The Metro has allowed Arlington to be easily accessible and allowed it to be attractive for businesses. Many of the candidates argued that it is necessary for the County Board to get its seat back on the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority Board. With a seat on the board, County Board members could advocate for more investment in Metro infrastructure.

Congestion on Columbia Pike also needs to be addressed, candidates said. The candidates had different views about the need for the streetcar system that was canceled last year, but all agreed it was time to move forward.

“We need to wake up from our post streetcar hangover,” Dorsey said.

Peter Fallon

Fallon echoed Dorsey in saying that the County Board needs to start planning now for new transit options on Columbia Pike. Such plans need to be reasonable in scope, without requiring too much infrastructure, he said.

Cristol suggested enhanced bus service on Columbia Pike. The buses need to be able to move more fluidly, which could be accomplished with off vehicle payment system and/or doors at both ends, she said.

Wiljanen suggested that a mobile app for the bus may improve service. A real-time location app would help residents know when a bus was coming and, possibly, how many seats were on the bus.

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‘Espionage’ Theme for Crystal City Summer Movie Fest

By Heather Mongilio

Outdoor movie in Crystal City

The Crystal City Business Improvement District has revealed the lineup for its annual outdoor summer movie festival. The theme this year: espionage.

The movies begin on June 1 at sunset with “Mission: Impossible.” Other spy-themed movies include “RED,” “Argo” and the “Bourne Identity” series.

The movies are shown weekly on Monday at sunset — around 8:30 p.m. — and are held rain or shine, except in the event of dangerous weather.

Families are encouraged to bring a blanket to the free event. The outdoor “theater” is located in the courtyard of an office building at 1851 S. Bell Street.

The lineup is:

  • June 1 — Mission: Impossible
  • June 8 — Mission: Impossible II
  • June 15 — Mission: Impossible III
  • June 22 — Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol
  • June 29 — Charlie Wilson’s War
  • July 6 — RED
  • July 13 — Argo
  • July 20 — Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  • July 27 — Body of Lies
  • Aug. 3 — Enemy of the State
  • Aug. 10 — The Bourne Identity
  • Aug. 17 — The Bourne Supremacy
  • Aug. 24 — The Bourne Ultimatum
  • Aug. 31 — The Bourne Legacy

E-Cigarette Store Opening on Columbia Pike

By Heather Mongilio

Vaporfi store opening on Columbia PikeVaporFi, a store selling e-cigarettes and other vaporizers, is planning to open its doors on Columbia Pike on Friday.

The store will sell vaporizers and e-liquids, which come in various flavors including traditional tobacco flavors and more exotic flavors like watermelon mojito or peppermint bark. Customers can also create their own flavors at a “juice bar,” said Scott Parker, a managing partner in the business.

The new store is located at 3219 Columbia Pike, across from the Audi dealership. It’s a locally-owned franchise of VaporFi, a Miami-based retail chain and manufacturer.

“We’re very happy to be in South Arlington, with a great location right on Columbia Pike, an area with tons of traffic,” said Parker. “At the same time, we’re also currently shopping locations in North Arlington as well. We hope to open 15 stores in the next 12 months all over Northern Virginia.”

There are three existing VaporFi locations locally, in Alexandria, Georgetown and Potomac Mills, said Parker, who’s also a partner in two notable Arlington businesses: A-Town Bar and Grill and Don Tito.

The new store will be open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Stock Up on Hurricane Preparedness Supplies Tax-Free This Week

By Heather Mongilio

Hurricane IreneVirginia residents can stock up on hurricane preparedness supplies without having to pay sales tax this week.

There are actually two hurricane tax holidays this year. The first tax holiday is May 25-31, which has been declared Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The second is Aug. 7-9.

After 2015, there will only be one holiday in August. The Virginia General Assembly voted to combine three hurricane preparedness tax holidays into one three-day period. However, the bill goes into effect on July 1, 2015, which means the planned tax holiday from May 25-31 was unaffected.

The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, according to the National Weather Service. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will release its predictions for the 2015 hurricane season at 10:30 a.m. today.

Among the list of items exempt from tax are supplies under $60, including bottled water and batteries, generators under $1,000 and chainsaws under $350. Food and candles are not exempt.

While inland, Arlington is not immune to the impacts of Atlantic hurricanes. The county saw plenty of wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and more significant damage from Hurricane Irene in 2011.

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