Around Town

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 10, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 10, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

The weather forecast predicts mostly sunny conditions with a high around 87 degrees and a west wind at approximately 8 mph. Friday night will be partly cloudy with a low of around 69 degrees, accompanied by a southeast wind at about 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
– Coco Chanel

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Most and least expensive homes sold in Arlington (July 2023)

By ARLnow.com

Here in Arlington, real estate is a spectator sport. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive single-family homes sold last month (July 2023).

Most expensive single-family homes sold

  1. 3616 Roberts Ln — Bellevue Forest — $3,200,000 (6 beds | 9 baths | 7,279 sq. ft.)
  2. 804 N Highland St — Clarendon/Courthouse — $3,150,000 (6 beds | 6 baths | 6,182 sq. ft.)
  3. 1422 N Herndon St — Lyon Village — $2,850,000 (6 beds | 5.5 baths | 4,918 sq. ft.)

Least expensive single-family homes sold*

  1. 2000 6th St S — Penrose — $450,000 (1 beds | 1 baths | 644 sq. ft.)
  2. 5736 N Carlin Springs Rd — Glencarlyn — $650,000 (3 beds | 2 baths | 1,509 sq. ft.)
  3. 1421 S Randolph St — Douglas Park — $700,000 (2 beds | 1 baths | 980 sq. ft.)

*Minimum home value of $200,000 set to exclude certain land sales, retirement condos, properties with expiring ground leases, etc.

D.C. restaurant Immigrant Food to journey across the Potomac into Ballston

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) D.C. restaurant Immigrant Food appears to be coming to Ballston.

The eatery looks to be moving into a building across the street from the Ballston Metro station, according to an application filed with the county.

This would be the restaurant’s first foray out of the District, where Immigrant Food has three outposts: the Planet Word Museum, the White House and Union Market.

As part of its move, the restaurant applied for permission to build out a patio seating area for the space it is leasing at the base of a 7-story office building. The office tower, owned by The Nature Conservancy, is located at the corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Taylor Street, while the restaurant’s address is 4245 Fairfax Drive, Suite 150.

“The proposed changes, if approved, would further the Countywide goal of promoting the economic vitality of Arlington by increasing the walkable restaurant space within the high-traffic Ballston Metrorail area,” land use attorney Andrew Painter wrote in a letter to the county filed with the patio application.

The head chef of Immigrant Food is Enrique Limardo, of D.C. restaurant Seven Reasons fame. With the expansion of Immigrant Food into Arlington, Limardo cements his culinary presence in the county, as he is also behind Chicken + Whiskey — another restaurant that started in D.C. and opened in Clarendon earlier this summer.

The space was last occupied by Zoë’s Kitchen, a Greek-inspired soup, salad and sandwich restaurant, which appears to have closed some four years ago. Fast-casual chain Cava purchased the Zoë’s Kitchen in 2018 and has since taken over many locations.

Immigrant Food did not return requests for comment submitted to their website.

The proposed patio for a forthcoming location of Immigrant Food in Ballston (via Arlington County)

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 9, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 9, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

⛈️ Thursday’s forecast

Expect a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day, with a high near 78°F and south wind gusts up to 22 mph. Rainfall may amount to a quarter to half an inch. The chance of precipitation decreases to 30% by Thursday evening and the weather becomes mostly clear, with a low around 66°F and west wind at 6 to 10 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
– Mark Zuckerberg

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Coco B’s, Peruvian Brothers, and Astro Beer Hall all hope to open in the next few weeks

By Matt Blitz
Carbonara, soon to open in the Ballston/Virginia Square area (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

As we move through the dog days of August, several highly anticipated local restaurants are looking ahead to openings in the coming late summer or early fall.

Coco B’s is finally set to open on the roof of Clarendon’s B Live next week, pending permits, co-owner Christal Bramson confirmed to ARLnow. Besides the roof, the “tropical glam bar” consists of nearly 4,000 square feet of bars, dining rooms, and a back patio. Coco B’s has been in the works for a year and was originally supposed to open this past spring. This comes as B Live continues to revamp, including shifting away from hosting original acts and debuting a new beach bar concept this weekend.

Astro Beer Hall in Shirlington was also finally hoping for an opening this month, but that’s being pushed back at least a few weeks. While no exact timetable has been set for the two-level bar and coffee shop, a spokesperson confirmed a debut is likely coming next month. So, it will be a bit before its donut robot starts its world takeover, one pastry at a time.

Peruvian Brothers is aiming for a “soft opening” at Amazon HQ2 as soon as later this month, co-owner Giuseppe Lanzone told ARLnow. A grand opening is scheduled for September in Pentagon City, he said. It was July 2022 when the fast-casual Peruvian restaurant announced it was moving into 1400 S. Eads Street. The initial hope was to open earlier in the summer, but permitting is again the culprit.

Westover Taco also had planned to start serving this month, but that’s been pushed back. Co-owner Scott Parker told ARLnow that the new spot in Westover will “for sure” open this year but couldn’t provide an exact timetable yet. It was almost exactly a year ago when ARLnow first reported that Parker, along with owners of Lost Dog Cafe, was taking over the space once home to Forest Inn.

Carbonara, the self-described “old school” Italian restaurant in the Ballston area, is now aiming for a November debut, a spokesperson told ARLnow. The Italian eatery and wine bar is moving into the former home of Next Day Blinds on Wilson Blvd and was originally supposed to open this summer. But “difficulty with [the] mechanical system” and permitting hang-ups has pushed it to later in the fall.

Wagamama in Clarendon is coming along. While the British restaurant chain has announced several timelines for opening, none have proven to be the case. Construction does appear underway, but a spokesperson declined to give ARLnow any substantial information. “There are no updates to share regarding the opening timeline for Wagamama Arlington,” they wrote in an email.

Several other notable restaurants are also looking to open later in 2024, including Kirby Club in Clarendon and Yunnan By Potomac in Pentagon City. They are both aiming to open in the spring.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 8, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 8, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

The weather forecast predicts a mostly sunny day with a high temperature close to 87°F and a west wind of 6 to 9 mph. During Wednesday night, it will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature of around 69°F and a southwest wind of about 6 mph, which is expected to become calm as the evening progresses. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Give light and people will find the way.”
– Ella Baker

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

A popular noodle restaurant is moving to Pentagon City from Old Town Alexandria

By Matt Blitz
1/2

A popular noodle restaurant is leaving Alexandria and making the move to Pentagon City.

Yunnan By Potomac is looking to start serving its contemporary Yunnan cuisine on the ground floor of the new Milton building along 15th Street S. by March 2024, owner and executive chef Shao Bruce told ARLnow in an email.

The restaurant is relocating from its home in Old Town Alexandria, where it’s been since early 2019.

“We chose to relocate to Pentagon City because it offers us a wide base of both residential and office business to draw from and is projected to be one of the fastest growing markets locally,” Bruce said in response to why they decided to move.

Bruce said the Alexandria location will remain open until the 2,015-square-foot Pentagon City space is ready to be moved into.

Last year, Yunnan By Potomac was named one of the 100 best restaurants in the country by Yelp reviewers. The eatery specializes in mixian, a rice noodle popular in southwest China that often comes with braised meat, broth, and different sauces. Bao buns, dumplings, and shaokao barbecue are also on the menu.

“Yunnan By Potomac Noodle House strives to be an ambassador for the people and culture of Southwest China and add to the story of what it means to be Chinese-American through our lens on contemporary Yunnan cuisine,” the website says.

The Milton is an 11-story, 253-unit building with ground-floor retail that is part of the multi-phase redevelopment of the Pentagon Centre shopping center, which includes the perpetually busy Costco store. The apartment building opened for move-ins at the beginning of June and units remain available for leasing, a building employee tells ARLnow.

Two other retail spaces in the Milton have been leased so far, per a recent leasing brochure. First National Bank and a salon named “Sparkle & Pop” are also moving in along 15th Street S.

Three other spaces remain available in the building, including a 1,649 square foot space intended for a “fast casual restaurant” and a much larger 5,375 square foot space for a “full-service restaurant.”

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 7, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 7, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

☀️ Tuesday’s forecast

The weather will be mostly sunny and breezy with temperatures reaching a high of around 83°F. The west wind will blow at a speed of 14-20 mph, with gusts going up to 28 mph. As night falls on Tuesday, the sky will remain mostly clear and temperatures will drop to a low of around 66°F. Winds will reduce to 6-11 mph from the west, with gusts peaking at 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Cuban-inspired Colada Shop looking to call Clarendon home by early next year

By Matt Blitz
Colada Shop is opening in Clarendon early next year (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

The Cuban-inspired Colada Shop plans to open a Clarendon outpost early next year.

The Sterling-based Cuban cafe is moving into a 2,200-square-foot space next to Tatte and Seamore’s at the intersection of N. Edgewood Street and Clarendon Blvd. The hope is to open by “early 2024,” per a spokesperson.

This will be the fifth Colada Shop location, including one that opened in the Mosaic District in 2021. The bar space at the Clarendon shop will be what separates it from the other locations, a press release notes.

“The Clarendon store boasts a spacious interior and available seating on the inviting patio. The highlight of this new location is undoubtedly the bar space, which has been thoughtfully designed to create a lively and convivial atmosphere for guests to relax, mingle, and indulge in an array of delectable Cuban-inspired libations,” the release reads.

The exact address is 1440 N. Edgewood Street, Suite 160 and no other Arlington locations are being planned at the moment, a spokesperson told ARLnow.

Colada Shop is known for its coffee, cocktails, and Cuban-style empanadas, croquetas, and sandwiches. The first location opened in Sterling in 2016 before quickly expanding to D.C.

The building that Colada Shop is moving into dates back to 1941 but has been renovated and rebranded in recent years. Along with Tatte, Seamore’s, and now Colada Shop, Life Time fitness center and cafe opened there last month.

There’s a surprising twist to that viral Wendy’s police dispatch tweet

By ARLnow.com
The then newly-renovated Wendy’s open on Columbia Pike in 2019 (staff photo)

An ARLnow tweet that went viral locally on Friday has quite the twist ending.

The post, on the social network now known as X, went out shortly before 2 p.m., following an unusual Arlington police dispatch.

The report: two people were apparently having sex in the bathroom of the Wendy’s at 3431 Columbia Pike, and the restaurant wanted them to be banned from the premises.

Our tweet quickly became fodder for jokes as dozens of replies and quote tweets starting flooding in.

In addition to the humorous responses, there was also some earnest discussion of the issue of people fornicating in restaurant bathrooms, which turns out to not be that unusual.

But — the story was not what it seemed at first.

According to someone with knowledge of the police response, officers did not find a copulating couple in the bathroom, but instead found just one person engaged in an altogether different activity.

“The Wendy’s bathroom sex call turned out to just be a solo individual having a very relieving No. 2,” the person said.

Ballston’s new live music and comedy venue The Filling Station opens this weekend

By Matt Blitz
1/3

A new live music and events venue is opening in Ballston this weekend.

The small, 50-seat Filling Station at 4201 Wilson Blvd is opening its doors on Friday night. It’s owned by brothers Ian and Eric Hilton, who also own the adjacent restaurant El Rey.

The venue will focus on hosting live music, comedy, and private events, per its website.

“Filling Station is an intimate venue with an elevated stage that will be host, with no cover charge, to a rotating schedule of musicians, bands and comedians,” says a press release.

“Set with community-style and small group tables, the rustic interior harkens to mid-century culture with the walls filled with that era’s album and magazine covers and music posters,” the press release continues. “Large screen TVs and mounted televisions will show NFL football games and sports this fall.”

Friday night’s inaugural show will feature Cowpoke, a country rock and folk band from Leesburg. Saturday’s show will feature Arlington-based funk-rock band Skip House.

Food will be available from the next-door El Rey, including quesadillas, nachos, torta sandwiches, fries, wings and 17 beers on tap.

ARLnow first reported last month that Filling Station’s opening was imminent, though signs had been up dating back to August 2022.

The venue is part of the Hilton brothers’ burgeoning local restaurant empire. Cafe Coline on Langston Blvd was named one of Washingtonian’s Top 100 restaurants earlier this year. El Rey in Ballston opened in late 2021 as a second location of the popular D.C.-based taqueria.

Arlington’s live music scene has seen some changes in recent months.

B Live opened in May 2022 as a music venue and restaurant in the former Whitlow’s space in Clarendon. But this summer, the venue announced it was shifting to featuring more live karaoke and becoming a “beach bar,” at least temporarily.

The Renegade in Clarendon, which opened in 2019, also features live music.

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