Author: Matt Blitz

Arlington honors MLK Day with performances, volunteer opportunities, and clean ups

By Matt Blitz
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo via Arlington County)

(Updated on 1/13/23) Several community service events are taking place in the coming days across Arlington in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.

County offices may be closed on Monday (Jan. 16), but the county and local organizations are holding events on and around the federal holiday recognizing the civil rights icon’s birthday.

On Sunday, the county is set to hold its annual MLK Tribute event from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Washington-Liberty High. School auditorium at 1301 N. Stafford Street. This is a change from Wakefield High School due to a maintenance issue. The event will also be live-streamed.

The tribute will feature live music, spoken word, and dance while being produced by Encore Stage & Studio in Cherrydale. The program will highlight MLK’s visit to Arlington prior to the 1963 March on Washington.

Arlington’s annual MLK Tribute has been going on for more than five decades and “was first organized by Arlington County staff and community members in 1969, the year after Dr. King was assassinated,” per the county’s website.

Then, on Monday, Volunteer Arlington is working with a number of different local organizations to host its sixth annual day of service.

For the first time in a few years the event will be held in-person, though there will be virtual options as well.

It will begin at Washington-Liberty High School with opening ceremonies and t-shirt distribution for the first 500 volunteers at 9 a.m.

At 9:30 a.m., volunteers will disperse to participate in one of more than the 20 projects being hosted county-wide. These opportunities include making snack bags for students, cleaning up Barcroft Park, and learning how to help Arlington’s older residents. It’s recommended to sign up for the preferred project in advance since a number are already filled.

Also on Monday, Walk Arlington is planning a clean-up of the W&OD Trail.

Organizers are asking volunteers to meet on the trail where it intersects with Columbia Pike. A WalkArlington tent is expected to be set up near that intersection with the goal of walking the trail about half a mile toward S. George Mason Drive. The plan is to pick up litter and debris on “a beautiful trail that’s enjoyed by cyclists and walkers alike.”

In 1984, Virginia started officially commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday in January. But MLK Day was paired with the uniquely-Virginian Lee-Jackson Day, creating a peculiar and controversial holiday that recognized two Confederate generals and a civil rights icon on one day.

The two days were separated in 2000, though Lee-Jackson Day remained on the books as a state-wide holiday for another two decades. In 2020, a bill was signed into law that officially removed it as an official holiday in Virginia.

Jeni’s Ice Cream aiming to open soon-ish in Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
Jeni’s is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The spring warm-up may herald the arrival of some cold treats in Shirlington.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is aiming to open its first Arlington location by early spring, a spokesperson tells ARLnow.

“As of right now, we are aiming to open in Q1 of this year,” the spokesperson said via email. “We’ll hone in on the grand opening date in the next few weeks.”

The Ohio-based ice cream shop is set to move into 4150 Campbell Avenue, the former home of rolled ice cream purveyor I-CE-NY. While this will be Jeni’s first location in Arlington, there are nearby scoop shops in Alexandria, Tysons, and D.C.

Signs announcing Jeni’s arrival first went up at the Village of Shirlington early last year, but until now there was only a sprinkling of details about an opening date. The location is still not listed on the company’s website.

Due to recent closings, Shirlington currently lacks a dedicated frozen treat shop. Yogi Castle shuttered last year while I-CE-NY closed in late 2021.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is not the only notable business set to open in Shirlington in the coming months. The well-regarded Greek restaurant Our Mom Eugenia should be opening soon as well as Astro Beer Hall, in the former Capitol City Brewing space.

Boutique market Foxtrot in Rosslyn set to start delivering later this week

By Matt Blitz
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Foxtrot’s newest location in Rosslyn is finally set to open later this week.

The boutique market, cafe, and convenience store has announced it is opening its 4,077-square-foot shop at 1771 N. Pierce Street on Friday, Jan. 13.

There will be an “opening celebration” for the new store from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, per a press release, featuring screen-printed swag, food, and live music from DJ Throdown.

The store markets itself as an upscale corner store, market, and cafe with a focus on delivery. It makes much of its inventory available for delivery in under an hour. The Rosslyn location will “feature the biggest product assortment Foxtrot has available,” reads a press release, including offering a variety of local brands.

ARLnow first reported that the company was coming to Rosslyn last spring. The initial plan was for it to open in “early fall” before getting pushed back to December. Now, finally, in mid-January, the store is finally set to debut.

The store sits on the ground floor of the relatively new Highlands development, basically next door to Fire Station 10.

“Whether it’s a renovation of an older building or a new build, the spaces are designed to blend into the neighborhood and have a sense of place,” a spokesperson told ARLnow last year about the shop’s interior design. “Foxtrot’s new DMV-area stores will continue this model, with each site uniquely designed while still supporting the brand’s day-to-night atmosphere and incorporating signature design elements like concrete floors, hospitality lighting, wood paneling, warm color palettes and local artwork.”

This will be Chicago-based Foxtrot’s sixth location in the D.C. area, including one in Alexandria that opened in early 2022. Two more are anticipating an opening in D.C. this year as well. Overall, there are currently 23 Foxtrot locations nationwide.

This also may not be the last Foxtrot to open in Arlington. When asked if there are plans to open any other locations in the area, a spokesperson that’s the goal.

“We plan to continue to expand further into Northern Virginia and Arlington,” they said. “Foxtrot hopes to have locations we can announce soon.”

A Korean fried chicken restaurant is coming to Virginia Square

By Matt Blitz
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There’s a Korean fried chicken restaurant coming to Virginia Square.

A new location of bb.q Chicken is planning to open in April at 3503 Fairfax Drive, franchise co-owner Lydia Om confirmed to ARLnow.

It’s opening along Fairfax Drive at the corner of N. Lincoln Street. That’s the former location of Cosi restaurant, which closed about three years ago.

It’s also about half of a block from the Virginia Square Metro station and just down the street from the Arlington campus of George Mason University.

There are more than 130 locations of Korea-based bb.q Chicken in the United States, specializing in Korean-styled fried chicken. Among them: five locations in Northern Virginia, including in Chantilly and Falls Church.

However, those are run by different franchisees than that which is opening in Virginia Square.

The location in Virginia Square, Arlington’s first, is set to be run by Om and her husband Harrison Om. This will be their first restaurant after running a grocery store in D.C. for years. They’ve decided to open their restaurant in Arlington because they “love” to come to eat here and know there is a crowd hungry for Korean fried chicken.

Om and bb.q Chicken have applied for a Virginia ABC license and are set to serve alcohol.

Nearby, the Arlington campus of George Mason University is currently undergoing a $250 million expansion.

Rosslyn’s Barley Mac’s new owners plan to make it more “lively”

By Matt Blitz
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Rosslyn’s Barley Mac has changed ownership and diners can expect some changes.

An ownership group that included local dining and nightlife entrepreneurs Scott Parker and Mike Cordero has sold the Rosslyn restaurant to restaurateur Fitzgerald Lewis and his partners, both groups confirmed to ARLnow.

Lewis currently owns about 20 restaurants in the region, including Meridian Pint in Dominion Hills, Crafthouse Arlington in Ballston, and a number of Denny’s.

Parker’s restaurants include Don Tito’s in Clarendon and Nighthawk Pizza in Pentagon City, as well as Bearded Goat barbershop and doggy daycare Playful Pack. Additionally, he’s working on converting the old Forest Inn into a new taco eatery in Westover.

Parker told ARLnow via email the reason the decision was made to sell the six-year-old restaurant was so that the “partners could focus on other projects.”

Lewis took over Barley Mac last month and has already completed minor alterations, including painting, cleaning, and adding more televisions to the bar area.

The plan is to do a larger renovation within the next three months, said Lewis, focused on making the restaurant more “lively,” including updating and adding televisions to the exterior patio. Lewis hopes to attract a sports-watching crowd, showing NFL games every Sunday and mixed martial arts matches.

There will also be more craft beers, pub-style food, and maybe even a wine club.

“That’s where the need is,” Lewis said.

One thing that won’t change is that Mike Cordero is sticking around, per Lewis. He will still be the head chef creator of the restaurant’s recipes. Cordero also runs nearby Taco Rock and is working on opening an “old school” Italian restaurant in Virginia Square later this year.

Barley Mac first opened in 2016 along Wilson Blvd as a bourbon bar serving “American tavern cuisine with an Italian twist.” In 2018, the restaurant received some regional attention when a server saved a diner from choking on cauliflower.

SCOOP: New District Brewing in Green Valley on tap to close in May, looking for new location

By Matt Blitz
New District Brewing in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s only production brewery is set to close in late spring, but its owners remain hopeful about moving to a new location.

New District Brewing Co. in Green Valley is closing at the end of May, co-owner Mike Katrivanos confirmed to ARLnow. Memorial Day weekend is currently scheduled to be the brewery’s last days of operation at 2709 S. Oakland Street.

“Arlington’s first production brewery in one hundred years” was unable to renew its lease due to a rent increase and the landlord wanting them to lease the whole building, a large industrial space near Four Mile Run and the Shirlington Dog Park.

“It would have been more than two and a half times the current rent that we pay,” said Katrivanos. “Plus, an all-new build-out for the unrenovated portion of the building that we didn’t have when we initially moved in.”

Despite the brewery being profitable, those extra expenses are not tenable for New District, Katrivanos said.

“We are being priced out,” he said.

Even during rough times, New District — which opened in early 2016 — has had a consistent community presence in Arlington. That includes a beer garden at the county fair, a stand at the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, and organizing the Valley Fest, an arts and music festival in Green Valley.

The community stepped up for the brewery last year, helping it to purchase its own canning line. But then last month, an indoor dog park and bar announced it was coming to 2709 S. Oakland Street with an opening planned for August 2023. This led to some confusion since that was the same address as the well-known, local brewery, which had not yet announced its own closure.

Katrivanos clarified that this was simply a gap in communication and timing, noting that new tenant locked down its own lease before New District was informed about what was happening.

Now, with a few weeks to digest the news, the brewery is looking to the future and remains hopeful that this simply will result in a move as opposed to full-on closure.

Katrivanos said he no longer wants to rent and is looking to buy a commercial property in Arlington, where he spent much of his childhood. It’s something he’s “made no secret” about wanting to do since the brewery first opened seven years ago.

A number of years ago, New District put in an offer to buy the old WETA building on 27th Street S., not far from the brewery’s current location. But that building and land ended up being sold to the county and demolished for the expansion of Jennie Dean Park.

More recently, there was an offer to buy a building on Columbia Pike, Katrivanos said, taking advantage of code changes approved last year allowing breweries to move in. But that also didn’t pan out.

Nonetheless, Katrivanos is still optimistic they’ll find a new home for New District in Arlington and is seeking a 4,000 to 6,000-square-foot commercial property priced around $1.5 million.

If a new home isn’t secured by end of the May, a tough decision may be on tap for New District.

“Either, we’re going to have to relocate out of Arlington or, something even worse, like probably shut down,” Katrivanos said.

For the moment, though, the brewery is focused on celebrating its seventh anniversary on Thursday, January 12. There are going to be limited bottle releases, half-price growler fills, and music throughout the weekend.

With the end of May in the not-too-distant future, Katrivanos is focused on finding a way to keep New District in Arlington.

“We’ll see how the fortunes of fate treat us,” he said.

SCOOP: Chef Tim Ma is bringing back a popular sandwich shop to Pentagon City’s “cube”

By Matt Blitz
Chef Tim Ma is opening two new concepts inside of the cube at Westpost in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local chef Tim Ma is reviving a popular sandwich shop and bringing it to the former Bread and Water “cube” in Pentagon City.

Ma’s well-regarded Chase the Submarine, which closed in Vienna about five years ago, is making a comeback at Westpost on S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City, the chef confirmed to ARLnow. It’s a joint venture with Scott Chung, who co-owns Bun’d Up, also located in Westpost.

The sandwich shop is moving into the relatively small “cube” space in the development’s plaza which was home to Bread and Water until this fall.

This will be Ma’s second Westpost restaurant. Chinese-American take-out eatery Lucky Danger opened on the other side of the development in July 2021.

Construction is essentially done, Ma said, and he’s just waiting on permits. The hope is to start serving within a few weeks, meaning likely later this month.

Along with that, Ma is also planning another concept in the cube.

At night, sandwiches will transform into cocktails with a new wine and cocktail bar called No Chaser. That isn’t expected to open quite yet, with Chase the Submarine opening first and No Chaser coming later this year.

Window stickers are already on plastered on the building, advertising both the new eatery and the cocktail bar.

Ma, who grew up in Centreville and previously owned Water & Wall in Virginia Square, said that all of this came together very quickly.

When Bread and Water closed in October, Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) suggested the space to him. FRIT owns the mixed-use development, as well as the Village of Shirlington.

Lucky Danger has been doing quite well at Westpost since it opened about 18 months ago, Ma said, and FRIT has continued to be a “fantastic partner.”

“I’ve been very happy with my return to Arlington and, generally, very hopeful about the [dining] future of the area,” he said.

So, they decided to take the space and, then, just had to figure out what to put there. They turned to an old favorite.

“My team and I always talked about bringing [Chase the Submarine] back,” Ma said. “It was truly one of my favorites.”

Ma said, at least for the time being, this version of Chase the Submarine will be a more “consolidated” version than the previous one in Vienna. There will be fewer hot sandwiches and some different cold sandwiches.

The exact menu and website have not been released publicly quite yet, but that’s expected to be out in the coming days. He said he’s excited to be partnering with Chung, with whom he worked on a night market this past fall.

As part of the agreement to open the two new concepts, Ma extended Lucky Danger’s lease to keep it in Westpost for the foreseeable future. That future includes the opening of Amazon’s HQ2 this year, a few blocks away in Pentagon City, as well as expected development across the street on the Riverhouse property.

“I’m here to stay for a long time,” Ma said.

The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike is a new partner in a Glebe Road restaurant

By Matt Blitz
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The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike has combined forces with his brother for a new restaurant.

Back in May, the well-loved Turkish restaurant Atilla’s and its next-door grocery store closed on Columbia Pike after nearly five decades of operation due to the building’s impending demolition. At the time, Atilla’s management told ARLnow that they were looking for another close-by space where they could open a new business that would focus on carry-out and retail.

But those plans appear to have changed somewhat.

Instead, Atilla’s owner Zulkuf Gezgic is now working with his brother at a relatively new restaurant on S. Glebe Road called Akivva Grill.

That restaurant opened at 2921 S. Glebe Road in the fall of 2021, but it was about two months ago when Gezgic “combined” his business with his brother’s.

Akivva, located about two miles away from Atilla’s former home, is a “different concept” than his previous eatery, Gezgic told ARLnow, but the Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine is similar to Atilla’s.

At the moment, he’s “unsure” if he’ll open another Atilla’s. Gezgic said he decided to not open an altogether new restaurant but, rather, work with his brother on an already existing one because Akivva was already an “established brand.”

The former location of Atilla’s is still standing, though it’s expected to be torn down soon to make way for a new residential development. Currently, there’s a sign on the door directing people to the new location.

Sign on the door of the former location of Atilla’s Restaurant on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Gabe Paal)

The restaurant’s original owner, Atilla Kan, opened the restaurant on Columbia Pike in the mid-1970s.

In 1998, he sold it to Gezgic but Kan stayed on making bread, hummus, and other items for the majority of the next two decades. Because of that, the menu didn’t change that much from when it first opened nearly 50 years ago.

But what did change was the neighborhood, with impending development up and down Columbia Pike prompting several other businesses like Atilla’s to close. Next door, The Salsa Room moved to Tysons in 2020. Last year, both the Columbia Pike Partnership and the Black Heritage Museum closed and relocated down the street.

In May, the Atilla’s long-time manager Sarah Engi told ARLnow that it felt like many of Arlington’s older, small businesses were being pushed out.

“I’m sad. We are losing family,” Engi said. “Big companies are moving in and smaller businesses are leaving. Things are changing. It’s really sad.”

Life Time fitness center aiming to open in Clarendon in the first half of 2023

By Matt Blitz
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You’ll likely have to wait a few months longer to tackle those new year’s resolutions at a new gym in Clarendon.

Life Time, the self-described “luxurious athletic country club,” is set to take over much of the one-time office building at 1440 N. Edgewood Street in Clarendon, filling the multi-story, 113,000-square-foot space. The fitness center received county approval in November 2021 to allow for retail and fitness activities in the building.

The plan is to open “likely [in] the first half” of the year, a company spokesperson tells ARLnow via email.

Some signage and window stickers are already up, though, advertising that Life Time is coming to the multi-block stretch of mixed use development known as The Crossing Clarendon.

We first reported that Life Time was opening a large, upscale fitness center in Clarendon back in August 2021. It’s set to feature a spa, dressing rooms, a small cafe, two floors of gym space, and a co-working area.

Life Time also has locations in Fairfax, Reston, and Centreville, as well as a few in Maryland.

Initially, an Equinox gym was going to move into the building but the project was canceled due to the company suffering “financial hardship” related to the pandemic.

Soul Wingz taking flight at the Pentagon City mall

By Matt Blitz
Soul Wingz at Pentagon City mall (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new locally-owned soul food restaurant is now open at the Pentagon City mall.

Soul Wingz appears to have opened last week, per its Instagram account, after several days of practice runs the week prior. It’s located next to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, near the entrance to the Metro.

The new restaurant serves up chicken wings, pork chops, fried fish, shrimp and grits, hush puppies, and other items.

ARLnow first reported that Soul Wingz was coming to Pentagon City back in July. The restaurant started as a pop-up in 2008 and opened a food truck in 2016. Then, a brick-and-mortar location near D.C.’s Howard University opened last year.

It took “6 years of negotiations and meetings with several potentials investors” to get the Arlington location off the ground, reads an Instagram post from late last month.

The mall has seen some turnover over the past couple of months months, as 2022 transitioned into 2023. Noodle eatery Yong Kang Street closed in November while Rosa Mexicano opened in early December.

Maizal, a Latin American street food stand, and corn dog eatery Kong Dog are both expected to open soon at the mall.

Ballston resident’s new book serves up dishy stories about working at local restaurants

By Matt Blitz
Isa Seyran (photo courtesy of Ibrahim Turk)

As a waiter at some of the region’s glitzy, famous, and most expensive restaurants, Ballston resident Isa Seyran has seen it all.

Tense political negotiations. Joyous family reunions. Power brokers holding court. Elaborate marriage proposals. A first lady having a great night out.

And now, after more than two decades, Seyran is telling his story about serving others in his new book “Waiter: Reflections and Memories, A Brief History of Washington D.C’s World-Class Dining Scene.”

“Call me crazy. Call me romantic,” Seyran told ARLnow. “But I think there’s something sacred about feeding people.”

Seyran made his way to this country and Arlington 22 years ago. He grew up in a small village in Turkey, always interested in “literature, language, and poetry.” While he says he could have had a fine life there in a “diplomatic career,” Seyran knew that wasn’t for him.

“I wanted to be free. So, I escaped with a one-way ticket and $300,” he said.

And that’s how he landed in the Ballston neighborhood, where he has lived since moving to the U.S.

He calls himself a true “Ballstonian,” throwing out memories like how there used to be a Shell gas station where he washed his car at the spot where The Salt Line is now.

Isa Seyran (photo courtesy of George Kolotov)

Seyran began working in restaurants, using his charisma, love of people, “genuine smile,” and ability to learn quickly to earn a place working as a waiter, bartender, host, and manager at some of the region’s most well-known eateries.

That includes ​​Zaytinya, Rasika, Bombay Club, Galileo, Fiola Mare, Faccia Luna, and Ballston’s The Salt Line, where he works as a waiter today.

By his estimate, he’s served nearly a half million diners in his career.

Besides working at restaurants, he’s also found time for his “hobby” as an author, playwright, and filmmaker. In 2015, a play he wrote was part of the Capital Fringe festival. Then, in 2019, Seyran’s short film about working in the local restaurant industry was chosen to be part of an Amazon-sponsored film festival.

The new book is an all-encompassing look into his life over the past two decades filled with stories, experiences, and memories.

The point of the book, he said, is not to be “salacious or malicious” about the industry he has worked in, but to provide an “honest account” of what restaurant workers experience on an everyday basis.

“There are people who are the unseen heroes of our industry, the busboys, the managers, and the dishwashers I work with. I thought it would be a nice tribute…writing their stories,” Seyran explained.

That being said, there are a number of anecdotes in the book that may create some good old-fashioned D.C. buzz.

There’s the one about former First Lady Michelle Obama being a “camper.”

Michelle Obama had the night of her life with two of her female friends at Rasika, drinking martinis first, then a bottle of wine, eating a sumptuous meal with appetizer, main course, dessert, masala chai and the whole nine yards. But when her security detail did not eat or drink anything, I lost between seventy and a hundred dollars in the first seating.

Like that was not enough of a loss, Ms. Obama turned out to be what we call in the industry “camper,” a guest who overstayed their welcome, which cost me another hundred dollars in the second seating.

Or how he once got bribed to give up a famed Washington Post restaurant critic’s identity.

(more…)

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