Fans of The Curious Grape in Shirlington no longer have to wait to find out where the wine and cheese shop will reappear.  The store has announced its new location, and it’s not moving far.

The business, previously located at 4056 Campbell Avenue, will move around the corner to 2900 South Quincy Street.

“After 10 years, it certainly would have been hard to leave Shirlington Village,” said Suzanne McGrath, CEO and president of The Curious Grape. “You can’t beat that sense of becoming part of a thriving community.”

The new store will be twice as large, and will branch out into the restaurant business with the addition of a wine bar.  Customers will be able to try wine-friendly small plates and entrees.

Construction is set to begin soon and the store should reopen late in the fall.


 

Updated at 12:18pm  Police are are looking for a man who robbed the BB&T bank at 6120A Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. The suspect was reportedly seen fleeing the scene on foot wearing a surgical mask. There was a report that he was seen in the area of Upton Hill Regional Park.

This bank was hit earlier this month, also by a man wearing a surgical mask.

Arlington County Police are also on the lookout for the suspect.


This week’s crime report features several incidents in restaurants.

ATTEMPT MALICIOUS WOUNDING-ARREST, 07/20/11, 900 block of N. Stafford Street. On July 20 at 7 am, two men walked out of a restaurant without paying for their bill. When confronted by the manager, one suspect brandished a knife and attempted to wound the manager. Police located that suspect. Dwight Wright Jr., 32, of Washington D.C., was charged with Attempted Malicious Wounding and Petit Larceny. He was held without bond.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 07/20/11, 2600 block of S. Jefferson Davis Highway. On July 20 at 2:10 pm, a man and women argued at a fast food restaurant. She threw a drink at him and brandished a small knife before leaving the area in a tan Nissan. The suspect is an African American woman in her 30’s, 5’5″, 180 lbs. She was wearing a white uniform shirt, blue uniform pants and a hat that displayed a badge.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 07/21/11, 5000 block of Columbia Pike. On July 21 at 10:45 pm, an unknown woman assaulted another female at a fast food restaurant. The suspect is described as a white female with brown hair and a large build wearing a blue shirt, light blue low cut pants and white and blue shoes.

Here’s a reminder that minors should be accounted for at all times.

EXPOSURE-ARREST, 07/20/11, 1200 block of N. Fillmore Street. On July 20 at 3 pm, a teenage male approached a woman he did not know and kissed her. When she pulled away, he exposed himself. A short time later, the same subject approached another woman and grabbed her shoulder. Police located the 13-year old suspect and he was released into his parents’ custody.

EXPOSURE, 07/20/11, 2700 block of Wilson Boulevard. On July 20 at 2:30 am, a woman was walking when an unknown male ran past her, exposing himself. The suspect is described as white male in his late teens with brown hair and dark rimmed glasses. He was wearing a dark colored t-shirt, jeans, and black Converse style shoes.

The rest of the report is after the jump.

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Hot Diggity Dog — In honor of National Chili Dog Day, Hard Times Cafe is giving away a free chili dog to everyone with every purchase from opening until closing. Yes, simply buying a soda counts as a purchase.

Rabbit Food — Salad and sandwich restaurant Rabbit holds its grand opening in Clarendon today.  After filling up on your free chili dog, stop by 3035 Clarendon Blvd for a free cupcake from 4-8pm.  One per person.

What Next? — First planking took the internet by storm, then owling.  Now, apparently all the cool kids are batting. And of course, some guys in Arlington claim to have started it. [WTOP]


Surrounding areas are dealing with the first reports of West Nile Virus this season, but so far Arlington remains in the clear.

No cases of West Nile Virus have been reported in humans this year or last year, according to the Arlington County Department of Human Services. Fairfax, Alexandria and the District all identified West Nile in mosquito samples in recent days. However, Arlington County no longer does sampling because it confirmed long ago that mosquitoes with West Nile are present throughout the region.

Arlington County discontinued mosquito spraying several years ago, but encourages residents to be proactive about avoiding contact with mosquitoes. A “Mosquito Information Center” website has been set up with tips for staying mosquito bite free.


Efforts are underway to make Arlington more friendly to walkers, and your input could help influence future improvements.

The national survey is aimed at finding out what motivates avid walkers and what prevents others from walking more. WalkArlington and Arlington County Commuter Services have teamed up to conduct the survey locally.

To take the online survey, click here. It takes about fifteen minutes and results are anonymous. The deadline has been extended to this Friday. Everyone who participates is entered into a drawing for a $100 Visa gift card.


Here’s a sneak peek at the new Fire Station No. 3 in Cherrydale.

Previously, the firefighters had to rent space from the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department in the facility two blocks away. The size of the new 14,100 square foot station allowed for the addition of meeting rooms and offices, as well as a significantly larger exercise room and laundry room.

The station provides a more gender-neutral workplace due to the improvements in restroom facilities and dorms. Previously, firefighters had to share a large dorm room and only one restroom. Now, each firefighter gets his or her own dorm room which includes lockers, a changing area and a restroom.

Each dorm room is also equipped with an alarm device above the bed to alert firefighters to a call.  The alarm gradually becomes louder to help reduce shock to firefighters’ systems, instead of the previous alarms which suddenly jolted them awake with a loud tone.

There are fewer fluorescent light fixtures and nearly all of the lighting is LED. This is one of the features making the station more “green” than the previous facility. The lights throughout the station turn red to alert firefighters when a call comes in, and to help them maintain night vision if a call happens during the night.

The public gets a chance to tour the nearly $4.5 million dollar facility at 4100 Old Dominion Drive during the open house this Saturday from 10am-2pm.

                       


The boom of kittens born in spring has left a lot of animals homeless this summer.

As first reported by Coryn Julien in the blog The Arlington Connection, summer is a tough time to find homes for kittens and cats.  Because of spring’s increase in births, there are too few adopters to take in all of the kittens and cats in shelters.

The SPCA of Northern Virginia has noticed the cat problem as well.  The organization’s website lists an urgent need for foster homes for cats and kittens. It says while foster homes are always needed, it “is especially critical for cats during kitten season.”

Right now the Animal Welfare League of Arlington is focusing on adult cats who don’t get adopted because so many people are opting for the newborn kittens during the summer. To help alleviate the problem, the AWLA is offering free adoption of any cat at least two years old during the month of July.

In order to cut down on future cat population booms that lead to homeless animals, the AWLA also recommends spaying and neutering pets.


Goldman Fund Buys Rosslyn Buildings–A real estate private equity fund run by Goldman Sachs has agreed to buy 10 office buildings in Rosslyn from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.  The sale is viewed as the sign of an uptick in commercial real estate values in the area. [Wall Street Journal]

Power Pilot Program–Dominion Virginia Power plans to launch a pilot program in the fall to give discounts to electric vehicle owners who charge up during off-peak hours. [Washington Post]

Job Fair–The soon-to-open American Tap Room in Clarendon is holding a job fair.  The restaurant is advertising on the spot hiring for qualified candidates in all positions from bussers to managers. Bring ID and employment documents to the auditorium at 2100 Washington Blvd. from 10am-4pm.


Here’s your chance to catch up on summer reading at a lower cost than expected. Borders’ liquidation sale is officially on.

It’s no secret that Borders filed for bankruptcy in February and then announced last week that all stores would be closing, including the one in Pentagon City. Now you can pick up books and basically anything in the remaining Borders store in our area, at 1201 S. Hayes Street in Pentagon Centre, for 10-40% off.

The sale will continue until the stores close, which is expected to be in September.


The Arlington County Fair is fast approaching, and organizers are looking for volunteers.

Help is wanted from August 10-14.  Volunteers are asked to attend an orientation session to learn about the fair and what opportunities are available. The first orientation is tonight and the other is next Tuesday. Volunteers will have the chance to win a door prize of tickets to a concert at the 9:30 Club.

If you’d like to volunteer, click here for the application, or email  [email protected] for more information.


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