The soup joint is opening in 4401 Fairfax Drive, occupying the ground floor of an office building undergoing a revitalization effort. A contractor working at the site said much of the work should be done within the next few weeks.
“We’re setting up ‘soft opening’ days on Oct. 18 and 19 with proceeds going to charity, opening to the public on Oct 21,” franchise owner Jim Beverley said in an email to ARLnow, “and then doing a grand opening celebration 6 weeks or so after that… we haven’t nailed that down yet though.”
As the name implies, the restaurant specializes in soup, but it also offers a wide variety along with salads, sandwiches and more. The soups include vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options served alongside a hunk of freshly-baked bread.
A press release for Zoup! Eatery noted that the company will also offer takeout and delivery options.
“Long before I even thought of becoming a franchisee, I was a Zoup! regular,” Beverley said in the press release. “A friend jokingly called me an addict after seeing my umpteenth Zoup! bag. I love Zoup!’s gourmet soups, fresh salads and sandwiches, delicious new Sustain-a-Bowls, and zesty craft beverages. I can’t wait to bring the Zoup! experience to my friends and neighbors in Ballston!”
The National Park Service (NPS) will host a special event near Rosslyn on Sunday (Aug. 25) to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first slaves arriving in the English colonies.
The Park Service is hosting events throughout the region as a day of remembrance for the first slave ship’s arrival at Point Comfort and the centuries of oppression that followed.
The Arlington event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Netherlands Carillon, near the Iwo Jima memorial.
According to the event page:
Beginning at 2 p.m. park rangers from George Washington Memorial Parkway will offer opportunities for visitors to explore themes of remembrance, healing and reconciliation related to African American history at the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington Ridge Park. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own bells to ring alongside the carillon at 3 p.m. The carillonneur will also play African American hymns and musical selections that reflect the African American experience.
After weeks of remodeling, the Wendy’s at 5066 Lee Highway is back open for business, with a “free food for a year” giveaway this weekend.
The fast food restaurant quietly opened earlier this week, but the grand opening celebration is scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) from 9-11 a.m. The first 100 customers in line by 10 a.m. will have a chance to win free food for a year, according to a press release.
Two of the biggest non-decorative upgrades for the new Wendy’s are a new Coca-Cola Freestyle beverage dispenser — a soda machine with a lot of choices — and free Wi-Fi internet service.
“This restaurant has bold curb appeal and features a compelling design — inside and out,” said Arif Islam, Wendy’s region manager, in the press release. “It’s very different from what our customers in Arlington are used to, but we think they’ll really like the fresh look and feel of the new Wendy’s.”
The press release boasts that the new Wendy’s boasts improvements like “large windows” and “multiple seating options,” which in practice means the fast-food restaurant has been brought up to par with other renovated spots like the Taco Bell down the street and fellow renovated Wendy’s locations on Columbia Pike and King Street.
Next door, however, the former Linda’s Diner location remains virtually untouched one year after it was “soon to be replaced” by a Bob and Edith’s Diner.
Diners seemed to be excited to finally have their neighborhood Wendy’s back. Lines for the drive-thru stretched back to Lee Highway during lunch hours yesterday.
Union soldiers stationed at Bon Air Park will offer a tour of their fortifications and military lifestyle tomorrow (Saturday) as they keep a watch on Confederate skirmishers to the south and west.
The Civil War reenactors will be posted at the park along Wilson Blvd and Four Mile Run from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. to honor the 158th anniversary of the Ball’s Cross Roads Skirmish, part of a series of small battles along the defenses of Washington, D.C. in the wake of the First Battle of Bull Run.
An article from the New York Times cited one Union death and two wounded, and up to 15 Confederate casualties.
“The companies under the command of Capt. Todd and Capt. Dingleday, of the Twenty-third New-York Regiment, conducted themselves heroically, returning the enemy’s fire, which evidently told upon them severely, and repulsed them, and after the rebels had retreated, fell back to the Cross Roads in good order, after which the pickets were again advanced to their original position, and there remained,” the New York Times reported. “Too much credit cannot be given to the officers and men, as each man behaved splendidly.”
The event is free to the public, and will include military drills, a photography exhibit, and various camp displays. One word of warning: the bathrooms at Bon Air Park remain inoperable due to storm damage, which will presumably lend the camp more mid-19th-century authenticity.
More from the event page:
During the war the area near Ball’s Cross Roads and Upton hill was host to tens of thousands of Union and Confederate troops. From June to October of 1861 Arlington’s Four-Mile Run Valley was witness to several Civil War skirmishes. One of the largest occurred on the afternoon of August 27, 1861. Several hundred Union soldiers from the New York 23rd were performing picket duty east of the railroad, which was then called the Alexandria, Loudon & Hampshire. The Union skirmishers were fired upon by Confederates from the 11th Virginia.
The military engagement, as documented by the New York Times, lasted several hours and involved close to 900 soldiers spread out along both sides of Wilson Blvd. including Bon Air and Bluemont Parks. Recent research, including written first hand accounts, suggest the skirmish may have been part of a much larger military operation conducted by the Confederates to probe the Union lines. The engagement, which included an artillery bombardment of Hall’s Hill, resulted in several soldiers being killed and wounded on both sides. The proximity of the skirmish forced General George McClellan to strengthen the forts protecting Washington DC.
Pedestrian bridge washed away along Lubber Run (photo by Ashley Hopko)
Pedestrian bridge washed away along Lubber Run (photo by Ashley Hopko)
Flooding along Lubber Run (photo courtesy Brandon Jones)
As some Arlingtonians are still struggling to put their lives together after flash flooding in July, the county is continuing to work to repair flood-damaged public property.
Early estimates put damage to the county at $3.5 million, but Hannah Winant, a spokesperson for Arlington County Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management, said estimates for the damage to county property has swelled to $5.8 million. Those costs include debris cleanup, emergency protective measures, and repairs to County facilities like parks and community centers.
Winant said bridges in Lubber Run and Glencarlyn parks suffered the worst damage from the storms. A storage building at Bon Air park was also seriously damaged, as were other pedestrian bridges, playgrounds and more across Arlington. Additionally, the County is assessing the erosion to local waterways that could require long-term fixes.
Arlington has submitted its preliminary assessment to the state, but after the state receives the assessment it must be validated.
“This process can go on for a few weeks, as crews triage the damage and more information becomes available,” Winant said. “This is where we are now.”
Once the state completes its assessment, that information is submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), after which the agency portions out funding and technical support for public properties that have been damaged.
“Reimbursement is also being sought through the County’s insurance,” Winant said. “During this time, the County cleans up from the disaster, removing the debris and cleaning right-of-way, and tries to get back to normal operations for the community such as opening parks and other affected facilities. The recovery process can be a long one and we appreciate the community’s patience and support as we navigate the process of requesting aid.”
Going forward, Winant predicted recovery costs will continue to increase as weather changes become more severe.
“Weather is consistently increasing in its severity and frequency,” Winant said “Nationally, both insured and uninsured losses continue to grow — so costs from disasters are rising as disaster frequency also increases.”
For homeowners, businesses, and renters who were affected by the flooding, the Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans. The filing deadline for physical property damage is Oct. 7, and the deadline for economic injury applications from business owners is May 7, 2020.
Diagram of boardwalk proposed for Ballston Beaver Pond (image courtesy Arlington County Department of Environmental Services)
2019 diagram of Ballston Beaver Creek improvements with the trail closure marked in yellow (image via Arlington County Department of Environmental Services)
The Ballston Beaver Pond is about to get a makeover, but a little later than originally anticipated.
In January, county officials re-initiated a public discussion on a redesign for the pond. The pond was originally built in 1980 to collect stormwater runoff from I-66. To the surprise of county officials, beavers moved in and made the pond their home. The beavers dammed up the drainage system and were joined in the habitat by muskrat, geese, ducks, heron, egrets, redwing blackbirds, fish, turtles.
The stormwater goals have since been further hampered by invasive vegetation and litter. But after some initial work 5-6 years ago, Arlington now hopes to transform the pond to something beyond its initial concept: it wants to turn the pond into a stormwater management facility and pedestrian-accessible wetlands.
“This pond receives runoff from more than 300 acres of urban and suburban land and represents the most feasible opportunity within Arlington for a larger regional stormwater management facility,” the county said on the project page. “Retrofitting the pond so it provides more water quality treatment helps the County comply with the municipal separate storm sewer system permit and contributes to restoring the Chesapeake Bay.”
Plans for the project include a boardwalk with informative signs and benches along the eastern edge of the pond.
Initial projections for the project had construction starting sometime this winter, but stormwater outreach specialist Lily Whitesell said the project is currently still in the permitting phase with VDOT. Once construction of the project starts, it’s projected to last 9-12 months.
“Once [permitting] is completed, it will go to procurement, likely in early 2020,” Whitesell said. “Then we will likely go to construction in summer or fall 2020.”
The fundamental design of the project remains the same, and Whitesell said the intense storm in July showed the need for expanded capacity at the pond.
There will be some closures during the project. Whitesell said the trail on the east side of the pond will be closed during construction, but the trail adjacent to Fairfax Drive that leads to the Custis Trail will remain open.
When the trail reopens, the wetland will be designed to revive the native wetland plants and habitat, like turtles.
“We anticipate that turtles, a wide variety of migratory birds, pollinators, amphibians, and other valuable wildlife will use the pond,” Whitesell said. “We’ve heard from local birders and other wildlife enthusiasts that they are excited about the new habitat benefits of the project.”
But despite the namesake, the county are not planning to bring beavers back to the park, and in fact will actively do all they can to keep them away.
“Unfortunately, beavers would reshape the land and potentially compromise the water quality and habitat goals of the project and pond safety,” Whitesell said. “Beaver baffles will be installed to discourage beavers from the pond area.”
ART bus lodged up against other cars outside the Penske Truck Rental depot
ART bus lodged up against other cars outside the depot
Interior of the truck depot where the ART bus crashed
Warning notice posted on the rental truck depot
Exterior of the damaged truck depot
ART bus lodged up against other cars outside the depot
A little over two weeks after an ART bus made an unexpected detour into the side of a truck depot at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive, the wayward bus is still there.
The Arlington Transit bus is sitting exactly where it was when first responders arrived to the scene, face planted against the side of the concrete wall.
Eight days into the bus’ tenure at the crash scene, ABC 7 reported that structural concerns for the building are keeping the bus in place. Officials confirmed to ARLnow this week that that is the reason it’s still there and will remain in place indefinitely.
“We are not able to move the vehicle at Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive until the building structure is stabilized,” county transportation spokesman Eric Balliet told ARLnow. “Because columns were displaced and damaged, the roof must be properly shored up by a professional shoring contractor before removing the bus.”
ART’s service contractor National Express has been attempting to work with the property owner on the repairs, Balliet said, but there is no estimate for when those repairs will be done and the bus can be moved.
“Once repairs are complete and deemed safe by building authorities, the bus and the other vehicle pushed into the building will be moved and County police will finalize their investigation,” Balliet said.
The Giant store at Penrose Square is adding a new online pickup kiosk.
The grocery store just off Columbia Pike, tucked away in the Penrose Square building at 2501 9th Road S., recently was issued permits for interior alterations to create an online pickup area near the front of the store.
Staff at the Giant confirmed to ARLnow that the area will be turned into a place for guests to pick up groceries they ordered online. When the new section will open is currently unknown.
The company has been rolling out the new curbside service called Giant Pickup since July, according to Supermarket News. Orders must be $30 or more and come with a $2.95 fee.
Arlington switched over to a more “rational” street naming system in 1934, but documents from the transition give some insight into the names that were lost.
Many of the casualties were founding fathers and other Revolutionary War-related vocabulary words.
American and French revolutionary leader Marquis de Lafayette had his road stripped and incorporated into 8th Street N.
Other streets throughout the area, like S. Kent Street, were previously named after George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but don’t be too sad for those two founding fathers: they both still have streets named after them in other parts of Arlington.
A few streets were named after Native Americans. N. Hancock Street in Lyon Village was once Pocahontas Avenue. 25th Street N. in Donaldson Run was Algonquin Way, either a reference to the Algonquin tribe from the Great Lakes area or an alternate spelling of Algonquian, a Native American language associated with Virginia’s Powhatan tribe. Moccasin Trail, renamed to 24th Street N. and 22nd Street N., was once called Indian Trail.
Arlington Ridge Road has gone through a series of name changes over the years. N. Arlington Ridge Road, in once-seedy Rosslyn, had previously been called Oil Plant Road, or Oil Road, though no further information on an actual oil plant could be found.
From zoning to storefronts to its very name, Green Valley (formerly known, officially, as Nauck) is changing — so one Arlingtonian put together a book to remember the neighborhood as it exists today.
As We Areis a new book by Robin Stombler, vice-chair of the Four Mile Run Valley Initiative Working Group and a frequent voice of the neighborhood, collecting of photographs from 2015-2019 taken around Green Valley.
The book highlights a neighborhood on the eve of revitalization, Stombler says.
“After thumbing through a couple thousand photographs that I’d taken of Green Valley, I saw a theme emerge that I wanted to share,” Stombler said in an email.
Green Valley was a community founded by freed slaves, who settled there during and just after the Civil War. The area was initially known as Green Valley but at one point in the 1970s county officials began referring to the areas as Nauck, honoring a former Confederate soldier who purchased land there in the 1870s.
Now, the entire Four Mile Run area — which includes Green Valley — is being targeted for broad revitalization. It’s a plan that Stombler helped craft, but has also been openly very critical of.
“Green Valley has a smart vision for the revitalization of this community that’s worth a listen,” Stombler said. “As one example, the creation of an arts and industry quarter along Four Mile Run Drive would refresh the area, make it an arts destination in Arlington, yet retain the needed light industry, employment opportunities, and cool vibe.”
Stombler said the neighborhood has always been a close-knit community. As it is revitalized, Stombler says she hopes the family bonds remain intact.
“The community has a vision for how the area may be revitalized,” Stombler said. “In the period these photographs were taken, Green Valley has spoken loudly with one voice about this vision. Slowly, very slowly, we are seeing some of our vision take shape. The photographs hint at this change.”
Barriers, like razor-edge wiring near a park, are prevalent throughout Stombler’s collection. Stombler cited the physical and social barriers as a recurring visual throughout the area and one of the main reasons she compiled the photographs into a book.
Despite some somber themes, Stombler said that the story of Green Valley’s residents is the story of joy, intellect, and perseverance in the face of these obstacles.
The book is scheduled to launch on Sunday, August 25, with a gallery of the photography at a house in Green Valley (2206 S. Monroe Street) from 4-6 p.m. Another exhibit is scheduled for Thursday (Aug. 29) from 7-9 p.m.
If you cruise Rosslyn streets late at night, you might want to avoid Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn over the next month.
From Sundays through Thursdays between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., Wilson Blvd is scheduled to be closed between N. Oak and N. Quinn streets.
The closures are expected to start Sunday, Aug. 18, and continue through the end of September.
The street will be closed to allow Dominion workers to upgrade power service to handle Arlington Public Schools’ new Heights Building and the redevelopment of 1555 Wilson Blvd as luxury condos and retail, according to a press release.
Cars and buses are expected to be detoured north to Key Blvd during the closures, though the sidewalk on the south side of the street will remain open for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
