Author: Matt Blitz

Local pie shops are baking up surprises for next week’s Pi Day

By Matt Blitz
1/7

Two Arlington pie shops are baking up some surprises for Pi Day, now one of the biggest days of the year for their sales.

March 14 (aka 3.14) is Pi Day, honoring math’s greatest mystery  It has become a day of celebration for mathematicians and dessert enthusiasts alike. Locally, Arlington’s two dedicated pie shops have taken full advantage of this baked good boon.

Last year, Pi Day was “almost-Thanksgiving busy” for Acme Pie Company which opened a storefront on Columbia Pike in 2019. This year, owner Sol Schott is preparing for similar levels of business.

“March 14 is always huge for us,” says Schott, speaking via phone from Florida where he’s enjoying a vacation before heading back home for the big day. “And I think [sales] will be close to what it was last year.”

In 2021, he sold about 100 large pies, 70 small pies, plus “a whole heck of a lot of slices.” This year, he says he’s going to make 500 to 600 pies total for the occasion. While Acme Pie normally has a rotating selection of flavors available, on March 14, the shop is going to try having most of their flavors ready to order.

Schott calls Pi Day one of the “top 3 days of the year” in terms of sales, behind the day before Thanksgiving and possibly Christmas. Both of those days, though, require more lead-up and preparation.

“It’s more of a blip,” says Schott. “But it’s great and we will take it.”

Acme Pie is also participating in BikeArlington’s Bike for Pie event this Sunday, the day before Pi Day. The five-mile ride ends at the Pike pie shop.

Livin’ the Pie Life on N. Glebe Road is where the Bike for Pie event begins.

The 11-year-old shop in the Glebewood neighborhood also is expecting a surge in business on March 14. Normally the shop is closed on Mondays, but this week, it will be open on Pi Day with special sweet offerings.

That includes a “Pi Day sampler box” which will contain three “cocktail-size pies + one surprise equalling 4 sweet treats” (3.14, get it?). Additionally, five random boxes will contain a $20 gift card to make the numerical holiday extra sweet for a few.

They are expecting to sell more than a thousand pies, co-owner Heather Sheire tells ARLnow. That includes the 150 pre-orders the shop has taken already for the sampler boxes. There will also be a hundred or so boxes waiting for those who are walking into the shop looking for a Pi Day treat.

(It’s hard not to get into Pi Day’s numerical spirit. In honor of Arlington’s two pie destinations, for instance, this article and its photo captions are exactly 628 words, or 2 times 314.)

Sheire says it’s hard to compare Pi Day to a normal day since the shop will have offerings that aren’t typically sold.

Thanksgiving is “a different animal,” says Livin’ the Pie Life’s other co-owner Wendy MacCallum, that lasts a whole week in terms of preparation, baking, and sales. This past Thanksgiving, the shop sold about 2,000 pies, she says.

While Thanksgiving is big business, Pi Day is much more fun, the local pie shop owners say. Less stressful and more opportunity to be creative, they note.

“Businesses, schools, mathematicians, they all love Pi Day,” MacCallum says. “And so do we.”

Part of Columbia Pike to close next year as cemetery expansion project ramps up

By Matt Blitz
1/4

A portion of Columbia Pike near Pentagon City is set to be closed and re-routed to side streets early next year due to work to expand Arlington National Cemetery.

The work, which will add 60,000 burial sites and space for the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center, will also involve moving Columbia Pike closer to I-395, so that gravesites can be placed where it currently curves around the Air Force Memorial.

Grading work along the new planned path of the Pike has already started, as have some occasional lane closures.

“Crews have implemented various, intermittent lane closures on the project to begin work,” Amber Vincent, Public Affairs Specialist at Arlington National Cemetery, told ARLnow. “In the next six months, long–term lanes closures/shifts will be implemented to access work areas within the project.”

Lane closures are planned on Southgate Road, which runs alongside the Pike next to the current cemetery border, the spokeswoman said. That will be followed by the construction of a new road connecting the Pike and Southgate, west of the Air Force Memorial, and then the closure of the Pike itself.

“Long term lane closures are roughly 1-2 months out and will take place on Southgate Road and Joyce Street in order to begin preparations for what will ultimately be a full closure of Columbia Pike,” said Vincent. “While these closures are in place, a new roadway (South Nash Street) will be constructed between Columbia Pike and Southgate Road one block east of Oak Street.”

“We anticipate South Nash Street to be complete and open late 2022 or early 2023,” she continued. “At that time, Columbia Pike will be closed and traffic will utilize the newly constructed South Nash Street and Southgate Road to bypass the closed section of Columbia Pike to Joyce Street.”

Known as the Arlington National Cemetery Defense Access Roads (DAR) Project, the work is being funded by the federal government and managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as is part of the 70-acre southern expansion of the cemetery.

The detours will maintain pedestrian access, we’re told, while the project will add a new sidewalk and a shared-use trail, add street lighting, and put utility lines underground.

“Access to existing facilities, as well as pedestrian and vehicle will be maintained throughout construction,” Vincent said. “Arlington National Cemetery and our partners… recognize that pedestrian infrastructure is important to those living in the D.C.-Maryland-Northern Virginia area and we have made appropriate plans to incorporate adequate pedestrian access to and around the Southern Expansion area.”

In the fall, parking was permanently prohibited on Southgate Road between S. Oak Street and Columbia Pike. After its use as a detour, that portion of Southgate Road will eventually become part of the cemetery.

Officials are still eyeing a late 2025 opening for the new burial ground, Vincent said.

Arlington National Cemetery expansion and Columbia Pike realignment, set to be completed in 2025 (image via FHWA)

Arlington vaccine worker will tour the country as a Broadway star

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Joey Collins is a Broadway actor by training and an Arlington vaccine helper by heart.

After assisting the Arlington Public Health Division with distributing Covid vaccines for most of 2021, accomplished stage actor Collins is hitting the road this year as part of the Broadway touring company of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

He’s playing the villain Bob Ewell in the iconic story. It’s a life-altering role, one that he’s ready for after spending close to a year helping Arlingtonians get vaccinated.

“One of the things that I’m grateful that happened for me was working in the [vaccine] clinics,” Collins tells ARLnow. “I believe it’s the Dalai Lama that said that genuine compassion is unbiased.”

The longtime New Yorker moved to Arlington with his family, which includes a partner and two kids, in 2019 with his partner getting a job at a nonprofit here. He immediately began to look for his community, through local theaters, and acting groups. Then, the world shut down.

Collins was in a new place with few friends, not much of a network, and — like many — had little work. So, he turned to volunteering.

He first began by helping with voter protection but with vaccines becoming available in December 2020, Collins reached out to Arlington Public Health to see if the department needed help.

Public Health accepted and, with his gregarious nature, Collins was first asked to greet people as they came to the Arlington County Department of Human Services at Sequoia Plaza on Washington Blvd. Those lines were often long with many residents over the age of 75.

“You’re the first voice… and first eyes that people saw when they came,” Collins says. “I really enjoyed that.”

His acting training kicked in too, helping him to figure out how to best greet those coming for their vaccines.

“You’re always reading the other person. Sometimes that person is nervous, sometimes they are excited or grumpy,” Collins says. “I just tried to be a positive person in their life for those few minutes that I had contact with them.”

Particularly those early days, when it was older residents who were getting vaccinated, the experience was incredibly rewarding for Collins. He even gets a bit emotional talking about it, remembering that for some, he may have been the first person that they had talked to face-to-face in months.

“Sometimes they just wanted to talk and it was great,” he says. “We were hopefully giving them the opportunity to not be so isolated. My heart is full and my eyes are teary… just thinking about it.”

(more…)

Four Courts Four Miler to close parts of Wilson Blvd Saturday morning

By Matt Blitz
2014 Four Courts Four Miler road race (photo courtesy of Brian W. Knight/Swim Bike Run Photography)

The Four Courts Four Miler is back and is set to close a stretch of Wilson Blvd in Courthouse and Rosslyn for several hours on Saturday morning.

The annual St. Patrick’s Day-themed race, sponsored by Ireland’s Four Courts and organized by Pacers, will shut down Wilson Blvd between N. Courthouse Road to N. Rhodes Street starting at 6 a.m. and, then, the rest of Wilson Blvd to Route 110 starting at 8:30 a.m.

Northbound Route 110 will also be closed from I-395 to I-66 starting at 8:30 a.m. Southbound Route 110 will remain open through the duration of the race. Metro buses will continue to operate, though detoured.

All the roads will reopen at 11 a.m.

Arlington County Police Department recommends using Route 50 to get to Courthouse Road and Langston Blvd to get through Rosslyn. Street parking will be limited in the area, so be on the lookout for “no parking” signs.

Runners and spectators are encouraged to use Metro or other forms of “multimodal transportation.”

Planned Four Courts Four Miler road closures (via ACPD)

The Four Courts Four Miler is one of a number of St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Arlington. The race was canceled in 2020 due to the emerging pandemic and was virtual last year. This year, it’s back to being in-person, though there remains a virtual option.

The race starts at 9 a.m. The first half of the course is downhill while the second half is uphill, notes the race information page.

After the run, the nearly-three-decade old Irish pub in Courthouse will host live music and Irish dancers all day, until last call at 1:30 a.m., per the pub’s website.

More in-person sales means more cookies sold for local Girl Scouts this year

By Matt Blitz
Girl Scouts delivering cookies to Virginia Hospital Center in 2021 (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Increased in-person sales have led to more cookies sold for local Girl Scouts in 2022.

With cookie sales coming to a close this weekend, Girl Scouts in Arlington and Alexandria are celebrating a solid season of sales.

So far, local Girl Scouts have sold more than 270,000 boxes of cookies. That’s an increase of about 35% from last year, despite an 11% dip in online orders compared to 2020 when sales were mostly all virtual.

Much of the increase can be attributed to more booth and in-person sales, local co-cookie chair Laura Loomis tells ARLnow. She helps oversee sales for Association 60, which encompasses Arlington and Alexandria and is comprised of 60 troops with more than 3,000 girls.

There was also a 26% increase in the number of boxes donated to military services, Loomis notes.

Overall, the D.C. area regional branch of the Girl Scouts sold more than 4 million cookies, according to a press release. This exceeded both last year’s total of 3 million and this year’s stated goal of 3.6 million.

There are still several days left, though, to get those Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Adventurefuls, and Lemon-Ups at ten in-person booths in Arlington County.

Below is a list of Arlington booth locations for last-minute cookie purchases this week:.

  • East Falls Church Metro (2000 N. Sycamore Street)
    • Tuesday, March 8, 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
  • Courthouse Metro (2100 Wilson Blvd)
    • Wednesday, March 9, 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
  • Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street)
    • Thursday, March 10, 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    • Friday, March 11, 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    • Saturday, March 12, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  • Ballston Metro (901 N. Stuart Street)
    • Wednesday, March 9, 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    • Friday, March 11, 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    • Saturday, March 12, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Giant Food (2901 S. Glebe Road)
    • Friday, March 11, 4 p.m.- 8 p.m.
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
    • Sunday, March 13, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
  • Giant Food (3115 Langston Blvd)
    • Friday, March 11, 4 p.m.- 8 p.m.
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
    • Sunday, March 13, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
  • Giant Food (3450 Washington Blvd)
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
    • Sunday, March 13, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
  • Safeway (3717 Langston Blvd)
    • Friday, March 11, 4 p.m.- 8 p.m.
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
    • Sunday, March 13, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
  • Safeway (5101 Wilson Blvd)
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
    • Sunday, March 13, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
  • Westover Market (5863 Washington Blvd)
    • Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Girl Scouts website has a full booth sales calendar.

Taqueria el Poblano is closing its Columbia Pike location this spring

By Matt Blitz
Taqueria el Poblano on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

(Updated on 8/7/22) Taqueria el Poblano is now expected to stay open until the end of August. The restaurant and property owner BM Smith agreed on a lease extension.

Original:

Taqueria el Poblano is closing its Columbia Pike location later this spring, its co-owner confirms to ARLnow.

A decade ago the local staple known for its margaritas and its Southern California-inspired Mexican cuisine opened at 2401 Columbia Pike, amid a wave of new businesses centered around the then-new Penrose Square development. But the restaurant has decided to not re-up its lease for another ten years.

A two-step of decreased revenue and increasing rent drove the decision, co-owner Thomas Stevens says.

While the lease ends March 31, the restaurant and property owner BM Smith agreed on a 60 day extension to allow Taqueria El Poblano to remain open for Cinco de Mayo.

The restaurant is planning to close at the end of May, but not before a proper send-off Stevens promises. The several month lead time gives both staff and regulars a chance to say goodbye.

“We are sad and our regular customers are sad,” he says. “But it’s a business and we just couldn’t make ends meet here.”

Sales at Taqueria el Poblano’s other two locations, in the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center and in Del Ray, remain solid and those nearly 20-year-old locations will remain open for the foreseeable future, we’re told.

Stevens believes the Pike’s “transient” nature is a reason why Taqueria el Poblano didn’t survive on Columbia Pike. The location has fewer regulars than the other locations, Stevens says, and the volume of sales needed to cover rent per square foot just wasn’t there.

“For whatever reason, this one doesn’t do the same business as the others,” Stevens says.

A representative for BM Smith says that Taqueria el Poblano has always been a good tenant and was one of the first when Penrose Square reopened after a two million dollar facelift.

As of this moment, the space remains available to rent starting June 1, but BM Smith expects it to be filled quickly after Taqueria el Poblano moves out.

In the meantime, Stevens says the restaurant is going to relish the last weeks on the Pike. Formal announcements are forthcoming about Cinco de Mayo festivities and the goodbye party.

“We will have a farewell to the neighborhood, a send-off party,” he says. “We will miss it here.”

A new cookbook will help anyone eat and cook like a Arlington firefighter

By Matt Blitz
An ACFD ambulances heads to a call (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

A new guide will help anyone eat like an Arlington firefighter.

The Arlington County Fire Department recently released online a 103-page nutrition guide and cookbook detailing what local firefighters and emergency responders eat, cook, and have in their kitchens. Firehouses are famously home to some top tier amateur chefs, and the mix of culinary skill and practicality is on display in ACFD’s new publication.

Appropriate portion sizes (“a golf ball = 2 tablespoons”), pantry staples, and wholesome, filing dishes are all cataloged in the guide. Recipes like summer breakfast skillet and cauliflower alfredo are designed to be big enough to feed an entire family or an entire firehouse. There are separate sections for all shifts, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, sides, and dinner.

“The recipes do not follow a strict macro-nutrient profile or calorie count, as everyone’s needs are different in that regard,” reads the introduction. “Instead, they are focused on whole foods and minimally processed, nutrient-dense ingredients, in dishes that can be prepared on a budget and scaled for firehouse crews of different sizes.”

Arlington firefighter and nutrition specialist Clare Sabio helped assemble and verify the guide. She tells ARLnow that the reason behind releasing this large guide publicly is because they get questions all the time about how firefighters eat, train, and stay ready to respond to calls.

“We wanted to proactively share this with the public as a free resource for their health benefits as well as ours,” she says. “Citizen health and education is a big part of our job as Emergency Medical Service providers so it’s nice to be able to help our citizens stay healthy.”

The recipes and ingredient lists avoid “empty calories,” like refined sugars, Sabio notes, and highlight complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, proteins, and plant-based sources of vitamins.

The point is to keep folks full in between opportunities to eat, which can be an extended period of time due to constant calls. Plus, they must be delicious.

“Healthy food doesn’t work if it doesn’t taste great & make our folks want to eat it. That was also the reason for having every recipe in full color with a photograph,” she says.

The guide also is designed to help long-term, including to encourage longevity, muscle gain and recovery, and cancer prevention.

Firefighters have a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than the general population due to exposure to toxic substances and stress on the job.

The project of finding, writing, compiling, and putting together the book took about three months, Sabio says. The guides are not just available for the public, but are being distributed to county firehouses as well.

The physical books are intended to be used in firehouse kitchens for the long haul. Pages are removable to take to the store and are lamented for an easy clean in case of a spill.

Sabio would love it if Arlingtonians reached out saying which recipes worked for them and which ones didn’t.

“We are all happy with how it turned out & hope the citizens of Arlington enjoy it,” says Sabio. “We would love to see pics of anyone who tries a recipe from the book & get their feedback on how they liked it!”

Japanese restaurant Yuraku planning to open next month in long-vacant Rosslyn space

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Japanese restaurant Yuraku is looking to open in Rosslyn by next month.

The Germantown-based sushi spot is aiming to start serving by early April, a co-owner says. The menu likely will be “slightly different” than the menu at the Maryland location, we’re told.

There will also be both outdoor and indoor seating. A permit issued in the summer notes that a new sushi bar was added, in addition to other changes including alterations to the kitchen.

ARLnow first reported nearly a year ago that the restaurant was moving into the long-vacant ground floor restaurant space of the Turnberry Tower condo building at 1850 Fort Myer Drive, a block or two from the Rosslyn Metro station.

The off-the-beaten path location, which is somewhat obscured by shrubs, was previously home to Secret Chopsticks and Pancho Villa Mexican Cuisine. Both restaurants closed in relative short order. The space has been vacant for more than four years.

Yuraku first opened in Germantown in 1998, per its website, and serves sushi, sake, udon noodles, sashimi, tempura, and other Japanese fare. The name “Yuraku” translates to “pleasure,” according to a trademark filing.

Hat tip to Edward MacNabb

Arlington detectives honored for recovering $89,000 of stolen goods

By Matt Blitz
Detectives Parsons and Galiatsos honored by a national task force for organized retail crime (Image via Twitter/ACPD)

Two Arlington County detectives are being recognized for leading an investigation that led to $89,000 of stolen merchandise being recovered.

The TJX National Task Force for Organized Retail Crime, formed by the parent company that owns department store TJ Maxx, honored Arlington detectives Tim Parsons and Diane Galiatsos earlier this week for their part in arresting a man and recovering tens of thousands of dollars of stolen property.

In December, police got a tip from the task force about an employee stealing merchandise from a business on the 1100 block of S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City, ACPD spokesperson Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.

Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s the same block as the T.J. Maxx in Pentagon City, though ACPD typically does not reveal the identity of businesses that have been victims of crimes.

A police investigation was launched and resulted in an employee being arrested and charged with embezzlement and larceny with the intent to sell. The police recovered $89,000 of merchandise.

The case remains active and in the court system, notes Savage.

“Det. Parsons and Det. Galiatsos are an inspiration to your organization. The professionalism and participation put forth in this case sets an example for other Law Enforcement Agencies to follow,” the award reads. “With the highly impactful nature of this case and the quick closure, we at TJX are very thankful for the ongoing partnership with the Arlington County Police Department.”

Organized retail crime is defined as two or more persons illegally obtaining retail merchandise in large quantities as “part of an unlawful commercial enterprise,” according to Loss Prevention Magazine.

Since police statistics do not specifically track organized retail crime, Savage said she could not provide ARLnow with data about its prevalence in Arlington. However, last year the county experienced a wave of a crime, with a seemingly organized group of burglars breaking into numerous cash-based local businesses to steal money and items.

Besides TJX, ACPD also partners with the Mid Atlantic Organized Retail Crime Alliance (MAORCA) to share information on these types of crime in the region.

Tesla is charging up to open at former Maserati dealership near I-395, permits show

By Matt Blitz
A Tesla location is opening soon along S. Glebe Road near I-395 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Tesla is in the process of building out its new Arlington location.

The electric car company is moving into the building formerly occupied by Maserati on S. Glebe Road near I-395, county permit records show.

A building permit was approved in January and calls for the building to get “improvements for ‘Tesla, Inc.’ auto sales, delivery and vehicles service as well as minor interior alterations, new equipment installation, and new furniture.”

At the moment, it’s unclear when the store will open. Repeated emails and calls to corporate headquarters in California have so far gone unanswered, perhaps on account of not having a public relations department.

When ARLnow stopped by, there were a couple of workers reviewing the electrical systems but they were unable to provide information about any opening date.

The permit confirms what’s long been thought since Maserati stalled out at 2710 S. Glebe Road more than a year ago. In September 2021, the Washington Business Journal reported on plans to transform the 63,854-square-foot space for its new tenant, though it was unclear whether a lease was finalized at that time.

The property is still owned by an LLC associated with the former Maserati of Arlington dealership, according to county property records, with the last sale happening in 2014 for $3.7 million. In 2016, the original building — which was previously a seafood store — was knocked down and a new expanded facility was erected in its place.

With construction permits approved as of about six weeks ago, it’s possible that Tesla could open this spring, given a buildout process that was “expected to be fairly quick,” according to the Business Journal.

This will be the fourth Washington area Tesla location, with others in Tysons, D.C., and Bethesda.

McLean-based The Union restaurant is coming to Va. Square

By Matt Blitz
The Union is coming to 3811 Fairfax Dr. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Union, a McLean-based “casual fine dining” restaurant, is opening a second location in Arlington.

The hope is to start serving at 3811 Fairfax Drive, in the Virginia Square area, by the end of the month, chef and owner Giridhar Sastry tells ARLnow.

The Union is coming to the former location of Burgerim, which closed early last year. The menu, decor, and experience at the Arlington location will be “exactly the same” as it is in McLean.

Sastry describes The Union’s menu as a showcase for a diverse range of cuisine.

“The DMV is a melting pot of different cultures,” Sastry says. “So, we have a little bit of everything.”

That includes shrimp po-boys, Asian salad, Thai coconut shrimp soup, Mumbai paninis, and churros. The beer menu will keep things closer to home — everything on tap will be local.

Sastry is originally from Calcutta, India and came to America for culinary school about two decades ago. He’s worked as a chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Mayflower Hotel in D.C., and other Northern Virginia restaurants.

He opened The Union in McLean in February 2020, having “one good month” before needing to shut down due to the pandemic. But 2021 was a solid overall, he says, and opening a second location was always part of the plan.

Sastry says he chose the neighborhood, within easy walking distance of Ballston, because of the demographics.

“The menu is geared towards the fast paced, younger crowd who’s hungry,” he says.

Construction is nearly done, Sastry said, and the restaurant is now waiting on licenses and final inspections.

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