A new Ethiopian restaurant is potentially coming to the former Cinthia’s Bakery II location on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new Ethiopian restaurant is potentially coming to the former Cinthia’s Bakery II location on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new Ethiopian restaurant and lounge is opening on Columbia Pike, potentially by the end of the month
Meda Restaurant and Lounge is looking to open by the end of April or early May at 5037 Columbia Pike, in the former home of a long-time bakery. Owner Yohannes Getachew tells ARLnow the restaurant is just waiting on the approval of its alcohol permit.
It’s set to fill the space that was formerly Cinthia’s Bakery II, which closed up shop in the summer of 2020 due to a decrease in business amid Pike road construction and the pandemic.
Meda will focus on “speciality foods” as well being a coffee shop and bakery.
Getachew is the former co-owner of another Ethiopian restaurant in Alexandria near the Van Dorn Metro. That restaurant was named Meda before recently being renamed ZeMeda Market and Restaurant.
The new restaurant on the Pike will be located just up the street from Arlington Mill Community Center and less than a half of a mile from the Fairfax County border. Getachew says he choose this spot because he lives in the area, as does a number of his customers.
Cinthia’s Bakery II was the second location of the Bailey’s Crossroads bakery that remains open, also along Columbia Pike, only a five minute drive away.
Tacos from Banditos Bar & Kitchen in Pentagon City (photo courtesy of Banditos & Kitchen)
“Taco temple” Banditos is looking to open next month in the old Thaiphoon space at Westpost (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Banditos Bar & Kitchen is set to open in Pentagon City (photo courtesy of Banditos & Kitchen)
Ice skaters on a 60 degree day in March in front of Banditos (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new taco-and-tequila spot in Pentagon City is now looking to open in the middle of next month.
The Baltimore-based Banditos Bar & Kitchen is planning on a mid-May serving date at 1301 S. Joyce Street in the Westpost shopping center, formerly known at Pentagon Row, the restaurant announced.
The restaurant is known for its 20 different types of tacos as well as a wide selection of tequila and mezcal. It currently has two other open locations, both in the Baltimore area.
The self-described “taco temple” is moving into the former home of Thaiphoon, which shuttered in November after more than a decade. Banditos is taking over a 3,000 square foot space with outdoor seating and will be adding several other features.
“Our Arlington location will be an energetic gathering spot showcasing an open urban vibe with indoor and outdoor dining,” co-owner Sean White says in the press release. “Our 3,000 square-foot restaurant features folding garage doors, an indoor to outdoor bar that opens to Pentagon Row Plaza and a convenient exterior pick-up window.”
Last year, White told ARLnow that the layout and design of the Arlington location would be similar to the other Banditos locations in Maryland. He also noted that Amazon’s HQ2, located less than a mile from Banditos in Westpost, made the county a good fit for the restaurant’s expansion.
A second Virginia location for Banditos, in Fairfax, is expected to open in the fall.
Tyler Baras, co-founder of Area 2 Farms in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm, is opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm, is opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
An alpine strawberry growing at Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm, is opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A tomato growing at Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm, is opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical farm, is opening in Green Valley (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
(Updated, 1:50 p.m) A new indoor vertical organic farm has put down roots in Green Valley, looking to deliver Arlington-grown farm to table produce.
Inside of a nondescript warehouse on S. Oxford Street near the Shirlington Dog Park, Area 2 Farms is growing — both produce and as a company. Racks of green-leafed, brightly-lit veggies are stacked on top of each other. Water pipes twist between the planters. The smell of soil permeates the space.
Some of what is being grown is familiar to the average supermarket-goer, like carrots, arugula, and tomatoes. Others not so much.
Co-founder Tyler Baras hands over a green leaf with a warning. It’s fish mint, he says, and tastes exactly what it sounds like it would. He’s right.
There are also buzz buttons, the inside of a flower that tastes like a cucumber with honey, and foliage that’s reminiscent of Luxembourg cheese.
The aim of this community-supported indoor urban farm in Arlington isn’t just to deliver freshly-picked produce to customers within a ten mile radius — Arlington, Alexandria, parts of Fairfax County, and D.C. — on a weekly basis. It’s also about fostering a relationship between the community and the farmer.
“People want to know where they are getting their food from,” Baras tells ARLnow. “People can come get a tour of the farm, meet me, and have a relationship.”
Baras and his co-founders aren’t the only ones that think a local indoor vertical organic farm is a good idea. Today, Arlington County and the state announced a pair of $40,000 grants that will provide Area 2 Farms with for a total of $80,000 in public funding.
“It is always exciting when successful entrepreneurs like those behind Area 2 Farms bring their ideas and technologies to help grow Virginia’s largest and oldest industry, agriculture,” said Va’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry at the press conference this morning revealing the grant. “This project adds to the region’s growing cluster of innovative, indoor urban agricultural operations and shows us how the Commonwealth’s oldest industry will remain a vital and growing part of the Virginia economy going forward.”
Baras has spent his career being an indoor vertical farmer and has written a number of books about it. His methods are a combination of hydroponics and traditional farming, including using soil, worms, and compost.
It was about a year ago that he moved to Clarendon and realized that Arlington could be a perfect fit to set up an indoor urban farm.
“[Arlingtonians] love their food. So, everyone’s been so supportive,” he says. “I’ve seen vertical farms do really well when they act like traditional farms — when they do farm stands and build relationships with customers.”
The plan is to start slow and let the farm take root in the neighborhood. Area 2 Farms only moved into the warehouse on S. Oxford Street in October, so it’s still growing.
Next week is Area 2 Farms’ first big harvest. It will begin sending out boxes of their produce to the few dozen customers that have signed up so far later that week. At this point, that’s mostly friends and family, but new customers are welcome to sign up for boxes through the company’s website.
A Virginia State Police vehicle (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Both Virginia State Police and Arlington County police are planning coffee-centric community engagement events in the coming weeks.
This Saturday, April 16, state troopers will be at the Italian Store in Westover (5837 Washington Blvd) from 10 a.m. to noon, ready to engage with the public. VSP will also be recruiting at their “Coffee and Conversation with Virginia State Police” event, looking for new hires to join their ranks.
There is also a chance new state hires could be working more closely here in Arlington. In November, the County Board approved a mutual aid agreement that allows troopers to aid Arlington police in keeping the nightlife scene in Clarendon and Crystal City safe.
Stop by The Italian Store – Westover at 5837 Washington Blvd in #Arlington to share a cup of coffee & conversation w/#VSP Troopers! Find out more about the many sworn & civilian careers VSP has to offer. For more info &/or to apply for trooper, click on https://t.co/Q8syF1w57p. pic.twitter.com/d8B0YQjNXt
“It’s an informal opportunity to ask questions, discuss public safety and get to know the officers and neighbors in your community,” police said.
The department has been hosting these coffee-centric engagement events since at least 2015.
ACPD also continues to struggle with staffing shortages, recently announcing that the department would cut back on some services while those reporting minor crimes well after the fact are increasingly directed to do so online rather than with an on-scene officer.
Quincy Hall in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Inside of Quincy Hall in Ballston (photo courtesy of Tin Shop)
A cheese pizza slice from Quincy Hall in Ballston (photo courtesy of Tin Shop)
Expansive pizzeria-slash-beer hall Quincy Hall is finally set to start serving slices and pints tomorrow (Friday) in Ballston.
First announced nearly three years ago, the “American Pizza Beer Hall” at 4001 Fairfax Drive is planning a soft opening for this weekend. There will be a more formal grand opening, with specials and festivities, set for late next week, a restaurant spokesperson tells ARLnow.
Quincy Hall will feature pizza from “world pizza guru, Giulio Adriani” and “rare beers from local breweries.” The 8,000-square-foot space at the corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Quincy Street has a 245-person capacity indoors and an extra 80-person, dog-friendly patio outside. Wall art comes from D.C.-based artist Kelly Towles.
“We wanted to create the perfect gathering space in the Ballston neighborhood, a spot where fun meets delicious. The pizza’s are unmatched and we’ve selected unique local beers to pair perfectly,” co-owner Peter Bayne writes to ARLnow. “Three years later… we are excited to have this place open and be the neighborhood hangout.”
Tin Shop also operates several well-known D.C. bars including Franklin Hall, Penn Social, and Church Hall in Georgetown, which just announced it was closing.
The pizza is the star of Quincy Hall’s show, according to the press release. Adriani is from Rome and was taught how to make pizza by his grandmother. He worked “under pizza-masters throughout Italy,” opened restaurants across the globe, and has won four world pizza championships, the release notes.
“Adriani’s passion is dough and constantly seeking illusive crust perfection,” it reads. “He created a challenging three-day fermented dough for Quincy Hall which Adriani insists is his ‘best ever!'”
Also on the menu, there will be smashburgers, wings, truffle fries, tenders, garlic bites, and caesar salad.
In what might be a sign of a popular emerging genre of restaurant, this is the second pizza and beer hall to open in Arlington over the last month. Nighthawk Pizza started serving in Pentagon City in March.
Amina Luvsanchultem and her family receiving the college scholarship from Amazon (photo courtesy of Amazon)
Amazon surprised a Washington-Liberty student with a $40,000 college scholarship and a paid internship with the company earlier this week.
An Amazon engineer showed up at the door of W-L senior Amina Luvsanchultem on Monday (April 11) with a surprise Amazon Future Engineer scholarship, the company announced in a press release.
The $40,000 scholarship will go towards her studying computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) next fall. Additionally, she’ll take on a paid internship with Amazon after her freshman year in college.
A video from the company shows Luvsanchultem answering the door and being in understandable shock while being greeted with the news.
Luvsanchultem is a first-generation Mongolian-American student who hopes to work at NASA one day, Amazon said. She also founded the organization Students for Racial Equity, which works with students, parents, and educators to better understand how race, cultural, and linguistic diversity impacts Arlington classrooms.
The Amazon scholarships were aimed at high school seniors from “underserved and historically underrepresented communities.” Recipients were chosen based on academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, participation in school and community activities, work experience, future goals, and financial need.
Of the 250 scholarships (totaling $10 million) handed out by Amazon, 18 were to students from the D.C. region. Luvsanchultem was the only student from Arlington to receive a scholarship.
More than 70% of recipients identified as Black, Latino, and Native American while half identity as women, Amazon notes.
Construction on the first phase of Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City is coming along while, earlier this month, the second phase of the headquarters was approved by the county’s Planning Commission ahead of County Board consideration.
Rising high school seniors can apply for next year’s round of Amazon Future Engineer Scholarships when the application opens again in the fall. Requirements include completion of an Advanced Placement computer science course in high school, the intent to pursue a computer science degree at a four-year school, and a teacher recommendation.
Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique is opening in Crystal City (photo courtesy of SV Images)
Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique is opening in Crystal City (photo courtesy of SV Images)
Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique is opening in Crystal City (photo courtesy of SV Images)
Zena Polin, co-owner of Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique, which is opening in Crystal City (photo courtesy of SV Images)
A new champagne bar, market, and restaurant is finally set to serve bubbly early next month in Crystal City.
Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique is aiming for a Thursday, May 5 opening at the corner of 23rd Street S. and Fern Street in Crystal City, owners Zena Polin and Meshelle Armstrong announced via a press release.
The concept is an all-in-one champagne and wine bar, market, and “light bites” restaurant.
The new shop is from two well-known local restaurateurs, Zena Polin and Meshelle Armstrong. The two are also behind Hummingbird Bar & Kitchen in Old Town Alexandria as well as being associated with Eat Good Food Group. That restaurant group owns a number of local restaurants including Pentagon City’s Mattie and Eddie’s and is helmed by Meshelle’s husband, chef Cathal Armstrong.
Additionally, Beauty is somewhat of a revival of Alexandria’s Society Fair, Polin told us back in February. That’s the shop she owned that closed in 2019. A Columbia Pike offshoot shuttered in 2014.
The small-ish, 800-square foot space at 576 23rd Street S. will be divided into three rooms.
The front will be the retail shop and market, selling locally sourced cakes, cookies, treats, and other items. To the right, will be the wine room with champagne and wine being sold to drink on or off the premises. To the left, will be the 12-seat restaurant that will serve flatbreads, dips, charcuteries, sandwiches, and desserts including a “Big Ass Chocolate Cake” and the shop’s signature cookie “The Guilty Pleasure.”
The cookie is a Polin creation, according to the release, and made with “housemade marshmallow fluff, dark chocolate chunks and potato chips.”
The origin of “Beauty” goes back nearly two years, with a decision driven by a unique opportunity. In 2020, the partners happened upon the small residential-looking building in Crystal City that was once the home of consignment boutique Agents in Style.
“We jumped on it before [the concept] was quite ready, but that happens,” Polin said earlier this year. “We’ve been working on it for about a year.”
The location is a relatively short distance from Amazon’s new headquarters, as the press release points out. The partners had hoped to open the boutique in March, but permitting and licensing delays pushed the opening back by about two months.
Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique will be open Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
A Malibu Barbie Truck is set to roll into Pentagon City next month (photo courtesy of Barbie Malibu Tour)
A Malibu Barbie Truck is set to roll into Pentagon City next month (photo courtesy of Barbie Malibu Tour)
A Malibu Barbie Truck is set to roll into Pentagon City next month (photo courtesy of Barbie Malibu Tour)
A Barbie truck — yes, as in the plastic doll — will be rolling through Pentagon City next month.
On Saturday, May 7, the “Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Malibu Tour” is planning on setting up shop at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) in the courtyard near DSW shoe store. The truck will be selling “retro-inspired” Barbie merchandise — like Barbie logo embroidered denim jackets and Malibu Barbie necklaces — from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Merchandise prices range from $12 to $75.
The vibe is apparently “70s beach,” according to the press release.
The truck’s stop in Arlington is part of its “U.S. tour to celebrate the 50th Anniversary and iconic heritage of the original California girl, Malibu Barbie.” The tour started in Los Angeles back in 2019.
The Malibu Barbie’s 50th anniversary actually was last year, since it debuted in 1971. The original Barbie made its first appearance on toy shelves in 1959.
Pentagon City isn’t the only local stop that the Barbie Truck is making. This Saturday, April 16, the Malibu Barbie tour is hitting the sands of Tysons Corner Center. It will be in Bethesda on Saturday, April 30, and in Columbia, Maryland on Saturday, May 14.
2910 Columbia Pike, the soon-to-be new location of Stella Restaurant and Lounge (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
2910 Columbia Pike, the former location of P. Brennan’s (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
2910 Columbia Pike, the former location of P. Brennan’s (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A mysterious new restaurant may be coming to Columbia Pike, potentially filling the vacant space once occupied by P. Brennan’s.
A business that goes by the name “Nightbird Restaurant & Lounge” applied late last month for a building permit at 2910 Columbia Pike, county records show. That’s the former home of P. Brennan’s Irish Pub, which was open from 2010 to 2017. The storefront has remained vacant ever since.
It appears that Nightbird was recently looking to hire an executive chef, based on the result of a Google search, but that job posting has since expired.
The Union restaurant on Fairfax Drive (photo courtesy of Giridhar Sastry)
The Union restaurant on Fairfax Drive (photo courtesy of Giridhar Sastry)
The Union restaurant on Fairfax Drive (photo courtesy of Giridhar Sastry)
McLean-based The Union restaurant has opened its second location in the Virginia Square neighborhood.
The “casual fine dining” eatery opened last Monday (April 4) at 3811 Fairfax Drive, chef and owner Giridhar Sastry confirms to ARLnow. Business, so far, has been “okay,” but Sastry says it may take some time for locals to know that the restaurant is there and open.
The menu, decor, and experience in Arlington are exactly the same as the original in McLean, he says.
The menu at the Union is, as the chef and owner described it last month, is made up of a range of cuisines.
“The DMV is a melting pot of different cultures,” Sastry said in March. “So, we have a little bit of everything.”
That includes Mumbai paninis, shrimp po-boys, beyond burgers, sorbet adas (Lebanese lentil soup), and chicken milanese.
Sastry, originally from Calcutta, India, has worked as a chef throughout the region, including the Ritz-Carlton, Mayflower Hotel in D.C., and several other Northern Virginia restaurants. He chose the Virginia Square neighborhood as the spot for his second location, which is also within walking distance of Ballston, because of the demographics and increasing population of the neighborhood.
The first Union opened in McLean in February 2020, but shut down shortly thereafter due to the pandemic. However, Sastry said that 2021 was a good year overall for the restaurant and an Arlington location was always part of his plan.
Sastry says the Union on Fairfax Drive is still hiring, particularly servers and cooks, and interested people are asked to contact the restaurant.
The annual free, outdoor arts festival is returning to Washington Blvd on April 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will cover several blocks, with an entrance at the intersection of N. Highland Street and Washington Blvd.
The festival was canceled in 2020 due to Covid concerns and the 2021 version was pushed to September. So, this year marks the festival’s return to spring for the first time since 2019.
There are set to be over a hundred local and national artists selling their wares at the show. All artists were “hand-selected by [an] independent panel of expert judges,” a press release notes.
“Whether your passions run to sparkling jewels and one-of-a-kind paintings, masterfully crafted glasswork, or an art deco sculpture, you are sure to find it during the free, two-day event,” the press release says.
There will also be a “juried, first-class outdoor art gallery,” for attendees to peruse.
Pets on a leash are welcome, festival organizers say, adding that “ample” parking will be available in Clarendon.
While the Arlington County Police Department has not yet announced any no road closures, it probably can be expected that parts of Washington Blvd will be closed during event hours. Typically, local authorities urge drivers to avoid the area around the closures and take public transit to the event.
A number of annual Arlington events are marking their return this spring and summer after several years of scaling down or cancelling such events due to Covid. That includes last month’s DC Tattoo Expo in Pentagon City, May’s Ballston Quarterfest Crawl, and the yearly “Arlington Reads” series, which is back to being in-person through the spring and summer.
