The Pinemoor in Clarendon on Jan. 21, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Former Clarendon mainstay Mister Days appears to be opening in a new location, nearly five years after its closure.
An LLC associated with Mister Days, Celtic LB Group INC, recently applied for a liquor license for the currently vacant restaurant space at 1101 N. Highland Street.
Tiffany Lee, daughter of Mister Days founder Bobby Lee, said in an email to ARLnow that her father “is once again at the helm.” She noted that she is “not involved in the new one.”
The previous occupants of 1101 N. Highland Street include Clarendon Grill, which shuttered in 2018 after 22 years, and The Pinemoor, which closed its doors in July after three years. The Pinemoor was the last occupant of the large restaurant space, which features both an inside bar and an outside patio bar.
In late November, readers noted an old Mister Days sign in the space.
Sign in the new Mister Days space at 1101 N. Highland Street (courtesy anonymous)
Mister Days first opened in an alleyway off Dupont Circle on Nov. 21, 1977 serving prime rib, ham sandwiches, a soup and a salad. In the years that followed, Mister Days moved to 18th Street NW between L and M Streets NW before opening in Arlington in 2000.
Mister Days grew a strong following and remained a local staple for over 40 years. The Arlington sports bar closed permanently in April 2019.
The original bar served famous guests like movie star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as former Washington football greats like Sonny Jurgensen and John Riggins. It also had live entertainment from singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter early in her career.
Shuttered Jos. A. Bank at The Clarendon Crossing on Jan. 23, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Jos. A. Bank at Pentagon City mall on Jan. 23, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Jos. A. Bank in Clarendon has shuttered, adding to the recent string of business closures in the area.
Located at 2800 Clarendon Blvd in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, the well-known men’s clothing brand — one of two Jos. A Bank stores in Arlington — officially closed its doors on Saturday, Jan. 6.
The ghost of an outline of the Jos. A. Bank sign still lingers above the storefront, which opened in 2001, per county records. A notice also hangs in the window announcing the store is “permanently closed” and directs customers to visit its remaining Arlington outpost in the Pentagon City mall.
EJ Enciso, the General Manager of The Clarendon Crossing, told ARLnow the property owner, Florida-based Regency Centers, decided against renewing the company’s lease as part of its strategy to “modernize” the business mix in the shopping center.
“We’re bringing in new and exciting concepts,” Enciso said.
He mentioned that Regency Centers is considering various tenants to replace Jos. A. Bank but declined to provide more details.
Within the last few months, the area has seen several closures, including Mediterranean restaurant Cava Mezze, the international bakery Le Pain Quotidien and outdoor goods store Orvis.
Additionally, the D.C.-based South American rotisserie chicken and whiskey bar Chicken + Whiskey temporarily closed earlier this month, reportedly due to poor sales.
Despite these closures, The Clarendon Crossing has seen some new arrivals, such as the fashion, home goods, and accessories boutique Golden Fox, and the cookie shop Chip City.
Sprinkles may occur before 3pm, followed by a slight chance of rain and patchy fog after 3pm and 9am respectively. Expect a cloudy day with a high near 47°F and a southeast wind of 3-5 mph; there’s a 20% chance of precipitation. For Wednesday night, rain is likely after 1am, with patchy fog and a cloudy sky. The temperature will rise to around 52°F by 3am, accompanied by a south wind of 6-9 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60%, with possible new precipitation amounts under a tenth of an inch. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.” – Margaret Atwood
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
According to the general manager, the grand opening Friday was successful with folks waiting in the snow to take a peek at the new sweets shop.
“We had a line out the door on Friday while it was snowing,” she said. “It was crazy.”
The Clarendon location at 2700 Clarendon Blvd is the cookie business’s first foray into Virginia, though Chip City is in the midst of a big expansion effort overall in the D.C. area and across the country.
Known for its large, gooey 5.5-ounce cookies, Chip City has a rotating weekly menu of 40 different flavors, including the classics, chocolate chip and triple chocolate, and more inventive flavors, from cannoli to horchata.
There are two dairy-free options: chocolate chip and a rotating flavor.
There’s no shortage of cookies in Arlington. Captain Cookie and the Milkman opened a location in Courthouse earlier this year while Crumbl Cookies is planning to open this spring at the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center. There’s also delivery-only local cookie purveyor MOLTN.
Expect a mostly cloudy day with a high temperature close to 41 degrees and gentle, variable winds. Tuesday night brings a 30% chance of rain, mostly after 2 am, under continued mostly cloudy skies and a low temperature around 32 degrees. A light east wind will persist through the night. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Astro Beer Hall in Shirlington (courtesy of Farah Skeiky)
Doughnuts at Astro Beer Hall (via Astro Beer Hall/Facebook)
Fried chicken at Astro Beer Hall (via Astro Beer Hall/Facebook)
Brunch offering at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Scott Suchman)
Waffle at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Scott Suchman)
Food at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Farah Skeiky)
Brunch offering at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Scott Suchman)
Brunch offering at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Scott Suchman)
Brunch offering at Astro Beer Hall (photo courtesy of Scott Suchman)
Astro Beer Hall’s second location in Shirlington is thriving four months after its opening.
Peter Bayne and Elliot Spaisman, two of the beer hall’s owners, said they receive more patronage in Shirlington than in their downtown D.C. location at this point.
“We opened up and it was like pure madness,” Bayne said. “We had so many people coming through the door. We were just trying to keep our heads on, essentially. It was overwhelming, the amount of support and love we felt from the community. People were even more excited than we were to get open.”
The beer hall’s second location opened Sept. 19 and has seen consistent business. Bayne credits much of the Shirlington location’s success to the mix of ages and professions in the area.
“They all interact and they all are like regulars together,” Bayne said. “It’s nice to see these cross-generational friendships that happen in the neighborhood of Shirlington… I was just really happy because we clearly picked great real estate to be at and something that we know is going to be there for a long time, and just a wonderful community to be a part of.”
Spaisman and former Washington Capital Jeff Halpern were childhood friends. They opened the first Astro Doughnuts — which later became Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken — in 2013, inspired by the doughnut shop they visited after hockey practice when they were kids in Bethesda.
The pair quickly expanded the business by offering fried chicken, chicken sandwiches with airy doughnut buns.
Elliot Spaisman (left) and Peter Bayne (courtesy Farah Skeiky)
Spaisman and Halpern later partnered with a hospitality development group, Tin Shop, and conceived the idea for a donut-shop-turned-beer-hall.
The 14,000-square-foot two-story beer hall features a game room, a 140-seat patio and a full-service coffee shop. The restaurant offers brunch, lunch, dinner, a variety of beer and cocktails, and of course coffee and doughnuts.
According to Spaisman, the most popular menu items across the board are the chicken fingers and the asteroid fried chicken sandwich. The most popular drink: the ‘Woke Up Sexy Again’ hazy IPA.
Following the Shirlington location’s successful launch, there are now plans in the works to revamp the basement area with pool tables, music and visiting DJs, giving the space more of a bar feel.
“We’ve been really happy with the level of business we’ve had and we’ve had a problem where we don’t have enough seats for everybody,” Bayne said. “It would be great for the basement to really have a nightlife activity, a spot that feels that it’s going to be a bar as opposed to a restaurant.”
Bayne and Spaisman are excited to add a level of nightlife to the beer hall and are hopeful this addition will open by the spring.
“It’s a busy operation and we’re having fun with it,” Bayne said. “Overall it’s been a great success.”
Brick House Butcher in Falls Church (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
A new butcher shop is set to open in Falls Church within the next few weeks, giving Arlingtonians more options for high-end, locally sourced meats.
Brick House Butcher, owned and operated by brothers Afsheen and Arash Tafakor, will be located just off of W. Broad Street, next to Dominion Wine & Beer, which they also own. They aim to open the shop by the end of January.
The shop at 109 Rowell Court will offer an array of beef, poultry, pork and seafood products and a variety of homemade items — like crabcakes and meatballs — that are ready to cook or eat. It will additionally feature different types of compound butter made and sold in-house and will serve OddFellows Ice Cream.
The two butchers working at Brick House, Mike and Emma Ferguson, have a combined 23 years in the hospitality industry, including fine dining and livestock management, according to the shop’s Instagram account.
Butchers Mike and Emma Ferguson (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
Afsheen says Brick House Butcher has a “farm-to-butcher-to-table” concept and will source meat from Virginia farms. The butcher will also find ways to use the whole animal, rather than focus on specific cuts.
“We’re a whole-animal butcher shop, so we’ll break down a whole animal,” Afsheen said. “We don’t just get, like, loins of ribeye. We have a lot of the parts of the animal that we gotta use.”
The brothers decided to open Brick House Butcher after noticing a lack of “old-school American butchers” in Falls Church, Afsheen said. The closest option is The Organic Butcher in McLean, a perpetually busy shop that serves many Arlington clients.
The butcher will eventually provide meat to Dominion Wine and Beer’s in-house, second-floor restaurant, as well as to Stratford Gardens, according to the brothers.
Meat from Brick House Butcher (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
“The decision to extend Winter Restaurant Week is reflective of our commitment to the well-being and enjoyment of our restaurant community and its consumers,” RAMW President and CEO Shawn Townsend said in a press release. “This extension is an opportunity for more people to safely enjoy what our local restaurants have to offer, showcasing the resilience and adaptability of our industry.”
Roughly half of Arlington’s eateries that participated in the initial Winter Restaurant Week are extending their offers, as of this article’s filing. The continuing restaurants will retain their previous promotions, including three-course lunches and brunches at $25 or $35 and dinners for $40, $55, or $65.
The list of Arlington restaurants extending their promotions is below.
La Cote D’or Cafe, French/Mediterranean, $25 and $35 brunch, $25 and $35 lunch, $40, $55, and $65 dinner
Makers Union Arlington, American, $25 lunch, $40 dinner (paired wine or cocktail included)
Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 24 degrees and northwest winds ranging from 11 to 18 mph, gusting up to 32 mph. The night will be mostly clear with a low around 17 degrees, and northwest winds persisting at 14 to 16 mph, gusting up to 26 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming” – David Bowie
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Father and daughter on their way to sled on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
A woman braves the snow on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Family enjoys snowy stroll with dog in Hillside Park, Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Plows clearing snow on Cherry Hill Road (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Two people enjoying a hot cup of coffee during snowfall, Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Car covered in snow heading West on Cherry Hill Road (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Snowy street on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Woman walks her dog in the snow through Quincy Park (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Man treks through the snow in skis on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Young boy plays in the snow in Quincy Park (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Toddler sledding in Alcova Heights Park (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Families sledding in the snow on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Snow-covered cars on Key Blvd in Colonial Village (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Rhodeside Grill covered in snow on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Ballston Quarter during winter snowstorm on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Dogs play in the snow along N. Carlin Springs Road on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Key Blvd covered in snow facing east toward Rosslyn on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Facing West from 23rd floor of Cortland Rosslyn apartment complex during snowstorm on Jan/ 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Woman takes a jog in Quincy Park during snowstorm on Jan. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Pink moped covered in snow (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Babbling brook in Alcova Heights Park during snowstorm (staff photo by James Jarvis)
(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) A significant snowfall blanketed Arlington today, transforming the county into a picturesque winter scene.
Residents across the area experienced a mix of disruptions and delightful winter activities as the snow, which began in the early morning, continued steadily throughout the day on Friday.
While VDOT and Arlington County crews were busy treating the roads, children and families ventured to parks and hills, reveling in sledding and play following the closure of Arlington Public Schools.
Today’s snowfall is the second significant snowstorm of the week after none for two years.
Earlier today, Arlington County announced it had begun phase two of its snow removal efforts, focusing on treating and plowing arterial roads. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. tonight (Friday).
This morning, meanwhile, Arlington County announced the cancellation of trash and recycling collection today due to the inclement weather and challenging road conditions. Trash and recycling, but not organics, will be collected tomorrow instead.
“The County’s contractor will have additional trucks and crews tomorrow, Jan. 20, to service customers who are on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday routes,” per the county website.
❄️⚠️🌨️ Winter Weather Advisory in effect for Arlington until 7 p.m., Jan. 19.
Searching for a small animal companion? Do you love guinea pigs?
Meet Bratwurst, the newest Adoptable Pet of the Week!
This brown, white and orange guinea pig is adorable and would make the best companion. She is currently in foster with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.
Her foster had a few words to say:
Bratwurst is a very sweet female piggy.
She may be shy at first but she’ll warm up to you quickly if you hand feed her veggies!
Soon enough you’ll notice what a sweet and gentle piggy she is.
Bratwurst’s favorite thing is: Vegetables
But she’s not so into: Being picked up
Her special talents are: Being cute and eating
Her perfect day would be: A day full of veggies and relaxation
If Bratwurst was an ice cream flavor, she would be: Strawberry
Important facts about Bratwurst: She may be shy at first but after some love and hand feeding you’ll see her come out of her shell!
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with 2-3 paragraphs about your pet and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos.
