Author: Matt Blitz

Local performing arts orgs are back in-person just in time for the holidays

By Matt Blitz
Encore Stage’s Enchanted Bookshop Christmas (Photo courtesy of Encore Stage/ Cindy Kane Photography)

As the region creeps back closer to normal, and with the holiday season now upon us, in-person performing arts are making a comeback.

Local theaters are once again welcoming back audiences for an assortment of concerts and productions.

If you’re interested in seeing a show and gaining some cultural enrichment while sitting among fellow humans, below are a few Arlington options to consider over the next few months.

The cast of Signature Theater’s Rent (Photo courtesy of Signature Theater/Christopher Mueller)

Signature Theater’s Rent 

When: November 2 to January 2, 2022

Where: 4200 Campbell Avenue in Shirlington

Safety Precautions: Proof of vaccinations or a negative test are required to attend a live, indoor performance at Signature Theater. Masks are also required at all times.

Details: In-person theater is back at Signature Theater with an all-new production of the iconic musical Rent.

“RENT is a musical about love, loss and community,” wrote director Matthew Gardiner in the press release. “After this past year where we’ve all felt isolated and disconnected, reopening Signature’s doors with this story about beautiful warriors and agents for change who found each other amidst unimaginable loss feels incredibly resonant.”

With a new artistic director at the helm, the Washington Post called Signature Theater’s production of Rent “gloriously harmonious.”

Encore Stage’s Enchanted Bookshop Christmas

When: November 19-21 & December 3-5

Where: Gunston ​​Arts Center, Theater 1 at 2700 S. Lang Street

Safety Precautions: Masks are required for everyone in the audience, including staff and students, except for children under the age of two. Concessions will only be available by pre-order and patrons must eat and drink outdoors.

Details: A sequel (with a holiday spin) to “Enchanted Bookshop,” which was performed at Encore Stage in 2019. Encore did two drive-by productions prior to moving back inside earlier this fall.

It’s four days before Christmas and a very special present has gone missing. Help come-to-life book characters solve the mystery and save the day. Enchanted Bookshop Christmas for all ages that’s 90 minutes including intermission.

Synetic Theater’s Cinderella (Photo courtesy of Synetic Theater/Johnny Shryock Photography)

Synetic Theater’s Cinderella 

When: November 27 to December 26

Where: 1800 S. Bell Street in Crystal City

Safety Precautions: All audience members over the age of 12 are required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test along with an ID. Children under 12 are not required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative. Masks are required at all times and concessions will not be sold during the performance.

Details: This is a modern re-telling of the classic magical tale of “a striking clock, a glass slipper, and a brave young woman who dares to pursue her wildest dreams.”

Synetic Theater kept active throughout the pandemic by streaming performances and doing outdoor theater earlier this fall.

Known for wordless physical theater, this performance is family-friendly as well as appealing to non-English speakers due to the fact that there’s little dialogue.

Avant Bard Theatre’s How I Learned What I Learned

When: December 1 to 19

Where: Gunston ​​Arts Center, Theater 2 at 2700 S. Lang Street

Safety Precautions: Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test are mandatory for entry. Face coverings must be worn at all times while in the building.

Details: This autobiographical one-man show from one of America’s most acclaimed playwrights, August Wilson, stars William Newman, who some might know as the Chief Judge of Arlington’s Circuit Court. This isn’t Newman’s first starring role on the stage, either.

The performance deals with mature themes and is not suitable for all ages.

BallotNova’s The Nutcracker (Photo courtesy of BalletNova)

BallotNova’s The Nutcracker 

When: December 2 to December 5

Where: Kenmore Middle School at 200 S. Carlin Springs Road

Safety Precautions: Attendees 12 years old and over are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within the past three days. All attendees are required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Fully vaccinated dancers over the age of 12 will not be wearing masks while performing.

Details: This BalletNova’s first live, in-person performance in nearly two years. This rendition has all-new choreography, sets, and costumes “that are sure to make this year’s production our most magical yet,” artistic director Matthew Powell writes ARLnow.

“There are also a few fun surprises in store, but we can’t give away all of our secrets,” he notes.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or on the website. The production is suitable for all ages.

National Chamber Ensemble’s Holiday Cheer (Photo via National Chamber Ensemble)

National Chamber Ensemble’s Holiday Cheer 

When: December 18

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington at 4444 Arlington Blvd

Safety Precautions: All patrons must be fully vaccinated, wear a mask at all times, and capacity will be less than 50% to allow patrons to spread out.

Details: A holiday concert featuring “star soprano” Sharon Christmann joining the ensemble and performing the favorites.

A streaming option will be available for those who don’t feel comfortable attending in person. This performance is family-friendly.

The Arlington Players’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Photo courtesy of The Arlington Players)

The Arlington Players’ A Midsummer’s Night Dream

When: January 15 to 30, 2022

Where: Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre at 125 S. Old Glebe Road

Safety Precautions: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test within the last 72 hours. Audience members must wear masks at all times as required by Arlington County.

Details: For the long-running community theater company, this William Shakespeare comedy is its first show back at Thomas Jefferson Community Theater. This past fall, the Arlington Players had an in-person, outdoor performance at Lubber Run Amphitheater.

A Midnight Summer’s Dream is family-friendly and open to all ages.

Know of any other upcoming performing arts shows in the area worth considering? Let us know in the comments.

Construction begins on towering public art sculpture ‘The Pike’

By Matt Blitz
1/5

It might now be an empty grassy space off of Columbia Pike, but in a few months this site will be home to a giant white spike that serves as a gateway to Arlington County.

Construction is set to begin at the southwest corner of Columbia Pike and S. Jefferson Street on The Pike, a large-scale piece of public art first commissioned nearly a decade ago. The sculpture is expected to be completed by the spring.

Foundation work is first up, beginning with surveying and site utility checks, Jim Byers of Arlington Cultural Affairs tells ARLnow.

To facilitate the work, there will be intermittent lane and sidewalk closures on both Columbia Pike and S. Jefferson Street. Construction will “generally” be between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Weather permitting, construction of the foundation is anticipated to be complete in December,” writes Byers.

After the completion of the foundation and a month-long concrete curing process, the sculpture itself will be installed. That’s expected to happen in early 2022.

The Pike will become part of the Arlington Public Arts’ permanent collection.

The sculpture is being made from a “reclaimed 50-foot tall wind turbine wing” and is supposed to represent a toll gate, in homage to when Columbia Pike was a toll road. The artwork’s location near the border of Arlington and Fairfax counties serves as a representative “gateway,” the county says.

The base of the sculpture will be studded with nearly 5,000 coins from all over the world, collected from county residents. The coins are another nod to Columbia Pike’s history as a toll road.

The Pike will also have lights around its base to illuminate it at night.

The sculpture was designed by Donald Lipski, who in 2017 explained he was inspired by wind turbines, toll gates, and the pike as a spear-like weapon.

“It’s just put up as this big beautiful thing. It’s a found object, it’s recycled, it’s emblematic of wind energy, it’s emblematic of a Pike, but one that’s vertical, one that’s in the open position and says, ‘Come on in. Everybody is welcome. You don’t have to pay a toll even though it used to be a Pike’,” Lipski said at a talk at the Columbia Pike Library at the time.

Back then, there were some objections to the process and design. The Arlington Mill Civic Association criticized the lack of public input and the Douglas Park Civic Association president noted that a blade and a toll gate were not great community representations.

Columbia Pike resident and ARLnow opinion columnist Chris Slatt, meanwhile, opined on Twitter that The Pike follows what appears to be the county’s preference for spikey, vertical sculptures which “would hurt King Kong if he stepped on it.”

The sculpture construction and installation has been included as part of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvement Project, a multi-year series of street improvements and utility upgrades along the entire stretch of roadway from the Fairfax border to just before the Pentagon.

The design, fabrication, and installation of The Pike is expected to cost about $250,000, writes Byers, “which is less than 1% of the total construction budget of $37 million for this portion of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvement Project.”

When the sculpture is completed next year, an celebration will be planned in coordination with the Columbia Pike Partnership.

Thaiphoon in Pentagon City expected to close this weekend, to be replaced by a “taco temple”

By Matt Blitz
Thaiphoon at Westpost in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Thaiphoon in Pentagon City is closing for good this weekend, we’re told, set to be replaced by a “taco temple” in spring 2022.

The Thai restaurant located in Westpost — formerly Pentagon Row — is closing on Sunday, Nov. 21, an employee confirmed to ARLnow. The owners made the decision to not renew their lease at the shopping plaza on S. Joyce Street, we’re told, and there are currently no plans to open another location at this time.

Thaiphoon has been serving customers for more than a decade at Pentagon Row.

As we previously reported, Baltimore-based Banditos Bar & Kitchen will be moving into the space. It could start serving as early as this coming April.

This is the first Virginia location of the self-described “taco temple.” The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will serve classic fare like tacos, quesadillas, and margaritas, and is planning to have outdoor seating.

Thaiphoon’s D.C. location is still open, though it’s run by separate ownership than the Arlington location, the employee noted.

A slew of new restaurants and businesses are opening in Westpost over the next year, but that also has come with a number of closings.

Namaste Everest closed earlier this year and is being replaced by the sushi restaurant Kusshi. Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Unleashed, and Champps all also closed over the last 20 months at the shopping plaza while being replaced by a Target, Road Runner Sports, and Nighthawk Pizza.

Westpost is fully leased up with tenants, as of earlier this month.

Hat tip to @CartChaos22202

Takohachi Japanese Restaurant hoping to open within month at Penrose Square

By Matt Blitz
Takohachi Japanese Restaurant sign at Penrose Square (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

Takohachi Japanese Restaurant is planning to reopen along Columbia Pike, albeit at a different shopping center.

The restaurant expects to open within the next month at Penrose Square, the owner tells ARLnow, provided it can secure the proper county permits in time.

The sushi restaurant was one of the last holdouts at Westmont Shopping Center prior to the development’s demolition to make way for a six-story mixed-use building. It there in early July, but it was reported at that time that Takohachi was set to move into the space formerly occupied by Josephine’s Italian Kitchen, below the Giant supermarket.

That space in the Columbia Pike development hasn’t been occupied in more than two years and has been somewhat of a revolving door in terms of tenants. Prior to Josephine’s, Marble & Rye and Red Rocks had been in the space. Both eateries closed without making it two years in that location.

The newly-renamed Columbia Pike Partnership helped Takohachi make its move down the Pike.

“Columbia Pike Partnership has been actively engaged with Takohachi, the owner, their representatives, BM Smith, and the County in effort to welcome Takohachi to its updated location on Columbia Pike,” writes CPP spokesperson Andrea Avendano to ARLnow. “We are glad to assist Takohachi in continuing to call Columbia Pike home.”

Initially, Takohachi was expected to open earlier this fall, but supply chain issues (recently, a common refrain) and securing proper permits pushed the timeline by a few months.

While the sushi restaurant has found a new home after exiting Westmont Shopping Center, Mom’s Pizza hasn’t. The pizza and Greek restaurant was on the Pike for more than three decades before being ousted due to the redevelopment. The owners of Mom’s are currently selling a few of their more popular dishes online, but told ARLnow back in March they had no plans to retire and wanted to revive the restaurant elsewhere.

Local Christmas tree sales kick off next week, despite shortage

By Matt Blitz
A local Christmas tree lot (courtesy of Peter Golkin)

(Updated at 6:30 p.m.) With cold weather here, holiday music returning, and Thanksgiving a week away, it’s time for many to pick out that perfect Christmas tree.

Arlington has several Christmas tree sales, though that number seems to have diminished in 2021 compared to recent years. Unsurprisingly the pandemic is playing a role, but another cause is a reported tree shortage.

Supply chain issues, wildfires and heat waves in the Pacific Northwest, shipping delays, and a pine tree pest infestation in Kentucky are all contributing factors to the nationwide shortage.

The Knights of Columbus Christmas tree lot at Our Lady of Lourdes, on 23rd Street S. near Crystal City, won’t be having a sale this year, after cancelling in 2020 due to Covid-related concerns. This time around, the shortage is the primary reason.

“Our supplier for the last 15 years recently informed us that he had supply chain issues and would not be able to provide us with trees this year,” a spokesperson told ARLnow. “We contacted various other farms in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia but none were able to provide trees either.”

They plan on coming back next year, however.

“We will work during the offseason to establish a relationship with a new supplier and plan on opening next year,” the group said.

The Arlington South Lions Club also won’t be having its sale near the intersection of Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run Drive in 2021, a club member said. It would have been the sale’s 59th year. The cancellation is not Covid- or shortage-related, we’re told.

Below is a list of sales that ARLnow has confirmed are happening.

  1. The Optimist Club of Arlington is holding its 75th annual sale at the corner of N. Glebe Road and Lee Highway, directly behind the Wells Fargo Bank and next to Metro 29 diner. It starts at noon on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving. The sale will be daily until the trees are sold out. Organizers claim it to be “the LARGEST tree lot in all of Northern Virginia by volume” and sell about 2,500 trees a year. All trees are grown on the Virginia and North Carolina border and cut on Nov. 23 and Nov. 30. They recommend buying early since it’s anticipated they’ll sell out by Dec. 12. Proceeds go to youth sports programs and scholarships.
  2. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at 4000 Lorcom Lane in Cherrydale also kicks off its sale on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving. Two-hundred trees will from Vermont will be offered. The hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organizers are recommending buying early since 85% of the trees were sold during the first weekend. Volunteers are needed.
  3. The Clarendon United Methodist Church at 606 N. Irving Street is holding its pre-sale now with tree pick-up starting on Saturday, Nov. 27. There will also be a lot set up for those who wish to come in person. However, only 200 trees are available (plus a number of wreaths) and the church expects to sell out quickly. All the trees come from Canada, cost $75, and proceeds will go to the non-profit Arlington Thrive.
  4. The boys and girls of Scout Troop 167 are partnering with Mount Olivet United Methodist Church at 1500 N. Glebe Road in the Ballston area this year for a Christmas tree sale. The sale will only be for three days, the weekend after Thanksgiving. It starts Friday evening and runs through Sunday afternoon. A rain date will be the following weekend. Wreaths, medium, and large trees will be available. There’ll be no small trees this year due to drought but bigger trees can be trimmed. Pre-ordering and, even, home delivery are available this year.
  5. Boy Scout Troop 162 is again hosting its Christmas tree sale at the Dominion Hills pool parking lot at 5960 Wilson Blvd. The sale kicks off on Friday, Nov. 26 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Regular hours are Monday-Friday from 4-8 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wreaths and garlands will also be sold. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted. “Boy Scout Troop 162 has been selling Christmas trees to their Arlington neighbors since the early 1970’s,” says the troop’s Facebook page. “We are proud to say that we have sold trees to generations of families and look forward to many more years!”

Aware of any other local Christmas tree sales? Let us know in the comments.

Broken links on county’s new website still frustrating many residents

By Matt Blitz
What appears when a broken link is clicked on Arlington County’s new website (via Arlington County)

Despite promising improved functionality, Arlington County’s new website launched last month remains riddled with broken links that are frustrating some residents.

Last month, Suzanne Smith Sundburg was preparing to make public comments at an upcoming Arlington County Planning Commission meeting. As someone who is a passionate about weighing in on local issues, she uses the county website often for research and updates on county happenings.

But, starting in mid-October when the new website launched, Sundburg started having issues accessing information through the county website. She’d click a link and it would take her to a dreaded “Page or Site Not Found” error message.

“I searched for something on Google and tried to click on several of the county links that popped up. All were broken,” Sundburg writes to ARLnow in an email about her troubles. “So I then went to the site to see if I could use a more direct method to find what I needed. No dice.”

The changeover to the new site caused links from both search engines and websites like ARLnow to break. As of last week, one link-checking website listed nearly 900,000 broken links to arlingtonva.us pages.

Listing of broken links pointing to the Arlington County website

Arlington County launched its brand new website, complete with the county’s new logo, on Oct. 18. The intention was to improve the website’s security, performance, look and navigation.

“The County website is the first and sometimes only stop for important information about Arlington for many of our residents,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a press release. “This upgrade will help ensure that the website is an easily accessible, safe, and reliable resource for our residents and businesses to engage with their government.”

For website users encountering broken links, however, that’s not yet the case.

Sundburg isn’t the only one who has noticed a number of dead-end links. ARLnow has received a tips in recent weeks from other users who have encountered broken links preventing them from accessing county webpages, documents and information, such as information on how to pay a parking ticket or the county’s Community Energy Plan.

“The Arlington County revised website is horribly broken, with links that don’t work,” said one anonymous tipster. “It’s a travesty.”

The Lyon Village Civic Association says it is still working with the county to update all the county links on its own website.

“We have asked the County webmaster to get these reestablished, some have, but not all,” it said in a recent post.

Last week, Sundburg wrote an open letter to county officials expressing her displeasure about this missing information.

“This revamp of the county website has been akin to the burning down of a library with half of the books still inside,” she wrote. “In this case, the ‘books’ still exist — the community simply has no access to them.”

County officials acknowledge the issues and say they’re working on it, noting the broken links are a result of issues migrating from the old site to the new site.

“The County is aware and actively working to resolve the issue of broken links on our new website, which launched last month,” county spokeswoman Jessica Baxter said. “Website migrations are highly iterative processes and we want to thank our residents and other website users for their patience during this time.”

Searching through Google for county webpages does result in a “higher prevalence” of broken links due to a “glitch,” she said.

“Our website provider, OpenCities, worked on resolving this glitch and we are beginning to see improved external search results to County webpages,” Baxter said.

Various county departments are prioritizing fixing broken links connected to current projects, plans, programs and services, since these are accessed most frequently, Baxter said.

“Our goal is to resolve as many of these broken links as possible by Thanksgiving,” she said. “An overall website clean-up is targeted to begin by the end of the year.”

Sundburg notes that, overall, county staff has tried to help and is “relieved” the link problems are being worked on, but she remains disappointed in so much older information remaining inaccessible.

“I understand prioritizing current items, that leaves out a significant portion of the site’s repository of documents,” she writes. “For those of us long in the tooth who have been around for decades, we have a greater knowledge base. But it’s not encyclopedic, and referring back to historical materials is frequently useful.”

A new &pizza is now open in Rosslyn

By Matt Blitz
&pizza in Rosslyn (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

A new &pizza location is now open in Rosslyn.

The newest Arlington location of the fast-casual pizza eatery, first reported in May, opened yesterday (Monday) at 1800 N. Lynn Street. It replaces Little Beet, which closed in September 2020, and marks &pizza’s 12th Northern Virginia location.

“With 58 shops, including 12 in northern Virginia, Rosslyn felt like the perfect location to expand our local footprint,” an &pizza spokesperson tells ARLnow. “At our Friends & Family event on Sunday 11/14, we were overwhelmed by the support of the Rosslyn community, serving up more than 600 free pies to local residents.”

Other locations in and around Arlington include Ballston, Seven Corners, and at Reagan National Airport.

Balloons encircled the entrance of the eatery yesterday, marking the opening.

https://twitter.com/RosslynVA/status/1460296655547379714

The locally based pizza chain is known for its customizability, letting customers choose from a wide variety of toppings, as well as various sauce, cheese and crust options. The pizza is then cooked assembly-line style as you stand in line.

The first &pizza opened in D.C. on H Street NE in 2012 and, in less than a decade, has expanded to nearly 60 locations from Virginia to New York. There are potentially a lot more on the way.

At Phoenix Bikes, learning how to fix a bike is a life lesson

By Matt Blitz
1/8

(Updated, 11/16) For a Thursday afternoon, Phoenix Bikes just off of Columbia Pike is busy.

School’s out due to the holiday of Diwali, so there are a number of teenagers here at the shop on S. Dinwiddie Street spending their time learning how to build and fix bikes.

“I’ve learned how to fix a flat tire,” says 12-year-old Evelyn McCabe, holding a wrench in one hand, noting that she’s going to be an engineer one day. “I was actually on a bike ride and got a flat tire, but I knew how to fix it… it makes me feel good because I’m able to do that stuff.”

Phoenix Bikes is an Arlington non-profit, founded in 2007, that teaches kids how to fix bikes. Of course, their mission goes way beyond that. As their website explains, “Phoenix Bikes harnesses the power of bikes to help youth build passion, purpose, and a place in the community.”

“They’re learning social skills, they’re building confidence, they’re learning how to problem solve, persevere through frustration,” Phoenix Bikes executive director Emily Gage tells ARLnow, as cranking and clanging echoes in the background. “It’s so much more than bike mechanics.”

All students in sixth through 12th grades are eligible to go through the programs at Phoenix Bikes.

There’s no application or filtering process, only registration, says Gage. While the vast majority are from either Arlington or Alexandria, students come from across the region to work at the shop.

The main program is “earn-a-bike” where students fix up a bike, then donate it to a community member in need. Phoenix Bikes works with a number of other local nonprofits to provide these bikes to those who are experiencing homelessness, coming out of incarceration, or just in need of reliable transportation. After building a bike for a community member, students get a bike of their very own.

“All the skills they’ve learned, they can put to use on their own bikes,” notes Gage.

Overall, it usually takes the students 12 weeks and about 20 to 25 hours to complete the program, Gage says, though they’re able to do it at their own pace.

Phoenix Bikes relies on donations, both financial and bikes. The shop gets about 1,000 bikes donated a year, says Gage, all going towards helping students learn to fix, build, and maintain a bike.

It’s also a full service bike shop for the community, where everything from tune-ups to repairs to custom build outs-are done, with the profits also going back to programs. Older students are store managers and sales reps, helping customers work through their issues and find the right bike for them.

Phoenix Bikes also brings its unique method of teaching life skills to several Arlington County and Alexandria schools every semester, by taking the earn-a-bike program to meet students where they are.

Additionally, it has a racing team and more advanced mechanical classes.

In a typical year, Gage says Phoenix works with about 400 students in total. The past year, however, that number has been cut intentionally by half, to only about 200 students, to keep groups smaller due to Covid protocols. The hope is next year the program will get back to its previous capacity.

Tofik Beshir, 14, is walking out the door with his bike that he just repaired. He’s a star pupil and a recent winner of the GRIT award, given to students who show perseverance, discipline, and enthusiasm. He’s been working at Phoenix Bikes for about two years. When he started there, he saw a bike as just a mode of transportation. Now, he sees it as so much more.

“It’s completely changed my world,” he says. “It lets me be myself.”

Beshir has gotten really into mountain biking — something that can be a challenge in Arlington — and racing. Despite his age, he says he’s got his life all “mapped out.” He envisions himself becoming a professional racer, opening his own bike shop, and traveling the world with his bike.

Right now, though, he goes to school, bikes a lot, and spends the rest of the time at Phoenix Bikes tinkering. He also says, laughing, that his friends are asking him to fix their bikes all the time.

With the skills he’s learned, Beshir feels free. He can go anywhere and, if his bike does get a flat or a chain breaks, he can usually fix it.

“Sometimes, I just ride and ride,” he says.

Pines of Florence is coming back, opening in Cherrydale as soon as this weekend

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated, 11/16) Long-time local restaurant Pines of Florence — and its owner — are each making an unlikely comeback.

The Southern Italian eatery will once again be cooking, this time in Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood, after stints in Virginia Square, Columbia Pike, and Old Town Alexandria, owner Jimmy Khan confirms to ARLnow. It’s coming to 2109 N. Pollard Street, the space formerly occupied by the recently-closed Portabellos restaurant, in a one-story shopping strip just off of Langston Blvd.

The plan is to have a “soft opening” this Saturday, Nov. 20, says Khan, where customers can bring their own beer and wine (there will be a service fee).  Khan expects to have their liquor license in about two weeks and will have a “grand opening” then.

The opening comes a year and a half after Khan suffered through a protracted and nearly fatal battle with COVID-19.

“I had a 6% chance of living,” he tells ARLnow. “I was on a ventilator for 40 days. The doctors say it was a miracle I lived.”

During that time and his recovery, he took a long look at his life and decided he needed to do more for his family. That’s why he decided to reopen Pines of Florence.

“God gave me another life, so I wanted to do something for my kids, the next generation,” says Khan.

Pines of Florence’s last location was on King Street in Alexandria in a building that was set for redevelopment. While that was a big reason the restaurant shuttered in June 2020, the closing was also related to Khan’s own battle with COVID and his co-owner (and uncle) retiring.

After some time away, Khan is ready for a restart.

“Being a restaurant owner is in my genes,” he said. “I quit for a while, but I’m re-energized.”

Khan says the plan is to open even more restaurants in the coming years.

The new Pines of Florence will, like the previous iterations, serve pizza, sandwiches, and homemade pasta dishes, as well as beer and wine. It will replace Portabellos: An American Cafe, which closed just this past September, after 15 years serving the Cherrydale and Maywood communities.

Khan says he stands by his June 2020 words about wanting to do more for his community, including creating jobs and helping those less fortunate, particularly after his near-death experience.

“[This restaurant] is going to be meaningful for my family and the community,” he says. “I want to help.”

Inca Social expected to open in Rosslyn next month

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Inca Social expects to start serving modern Peruvian cuisine on Wilson Blvd by December 21, though there will be a free preview this weekend.

The Peruvian restaurant and bar is looking to open its Rosslyn location by late December, co-owner Fito Garcia confirmed to ARLnow. It originally hoped to open in late October, but supply chain issues and a slight miscommunication pushed it by a couple of months.

The free preview will take place this Saturday from 12-4 p.m. on the restaurant’s outdoor patio, featuring tastings, music, dancing, and an appearance from a llama.

Inca Social is moving into the former Kona Bar and Grill space at 1776 Wilson Blvd, which rolled out of Arlington in April 2019.

Garcia is also co-owner of Courthaus Social on Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse, which opened in 2015. He tells ARLnow that they’ve always wanted to bring Inca Social to Arlington.

“I’m a big fan of Arlington and we were looking at multiple spots,” Garcia says. “We are very picky about what we want.”

The 7,600-foot restaurant will serve cocktails, empanadas, ceviche, and other Peruvian favorites. There will also be a focus on Nikkei cuisine, a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian, including sushi and ceviche, that’s becoming popular in Peru, says Garcia.

The menu will differ slightly from the original Vienna, Va. location in that it will highlight more modern cuisine.

“What’s blowing up in Peru is what you are going to find here,” he says.

There will be a large indoor bar with windows that serve the outdoor patio, Garcia notes. The bar will specialize in serving pisco sours.

There will also be a to-go market where customers can purchase a ceviche kit which will include bottles of Inca Social’s leche de tigre marinade, Eater previously reported.

The interior of the restaurant pays homage to Machu Picchu, the 15th-century citadel in the Andes mountains of Peru, and will feature a wall of moss, says Garcia. There may eventually be a projection screen outside, if the owners are successful in obtaining a permit.

The restaurant is currently hiring and recently held an interview open house. Inca Social’s first location near the Dunn-Loring Metro station opened in early 2019.

JUST IN: Advanced Towing ordered to pay only $750 in Attorney General’s lawsuit

By Matt Blitz
Advanced Towing truck in Clarendon

(Updated, 10:35 p.m.) The Arlington Circuit Court finally came to a decision in Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s lawsuit against Advanced Towing after last month’s multi-day trial.

The court has ordered the towing company, whose tactics have angered many in Arlington, to pay a civil penalty of just $750 for five separate violations. That’s a far cry from the $650,900 that the Attorney General’s office was seeking at trial.

“Although the Defendant’s conduct is sanctionable, the Court is constrained by the remedies available in both the Virginia and Arlington County Code,” wrote Judge William Newman in an opinion letter sent to both sides late Wednesday afternoon.

Additionally, the court did not issue an injunction against the towing company, writing that while there were “deficiencies” in Advanced Towing’s business practices and record keeping, the court “does not find evidence to issue a permanent injunction against Defendant.”

Chap Petersen, Advanced Towing’s attorney — as well as a Virginia state Senator — said at trial that he believed “the office of the Attorney General wants to put my client out of business.” He said the ruling largely vindicates the company and owner John O’Neill.

“While disappointed that the Court made any findings against our client, we feel vindicated in that the Court only assessed a $750 fine for the [five] found violations,” writes Petersen in a statement to ARLnow.

The court assessed one $150 civil penalty for not safely securing consumer vehicles with straps, one $150 civil penalty for not updating contract changes for a commercial parking lot in Ballston, and three $150 civil penalties for employing three drivers that were not registered with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

During the trial, the AG’s office, represented by Assistant Attorney General Erin Witte, called Advanced Towing’s practices “predatory, illegal, and dangerous.” To prove this, they called up a parade of witnesses, including Arlington County police officers and drivers who had their cars towed.

The court found merit in only some of the Attorney General’s claims.

The AG’s office argued that Advanced Towing didn’t clearly mark parking spaces at the Ballston lot, near Gold’s Gym on Wilson Blvd, leaving consumers confused. However, the court ruled the spots were properly labeled and signs properly posted and, therefore, didn’t assess a civil penalty.

Additionally, the AG’s office claimed that Advanced Towing didn’t have copies of towing contracts available for public inspection. But the court ruled that the relevant contracts were available to the public and, also, didn’t assess a civil penalty for that.

“Advanced Towing has been found to have violated the law and it’s time for the company to clean up its act. I am disappointed that the Court only awarded $750 in civil penalties and did not award restitution to consumers, especially the victims of Advanced’s dangerous towing practices who voluntarily testified in court to tell their story,” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring wrote in a statement to ARLnow. “Advanced Towing has employed predatory and illegal towing practices for years, costing Virginia consumers hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and it deserves to be held accountable for its actions. I am proud of the hard work my Consumer Protection Section has done on this case, and we will not stop going after bad actors who prey on Virginians just trying to go about their daily lives.”

Petersen noted that, before the trial, the Attorney General’s office offered to settle the case over the summer for $780,000 and an injunction against certain practices by the company.

“I think the difference between the AG’s offer and the Court’s decision speaks for itself,” he said.

While it remains possible that the Attorney General could appeal the ruling, Herring lost his bid for a third term last week, putting further action in the case into question.

A final decree is scheduled to be presented to both sides in court on December 10.

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