A new Starbucks as opened at 4000 Wilson Blvd in Ballston (staff photo)
A new Starbucks as opened at 4000 Wilson Blvd in Ballston (staff photo)
A new Starbucks as opened at 4000 Wilson Blvd in Ballston (staff photo)
There’s now a new spot to get a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino in Ballston.
The new Starbucks at 4000 Wilson Blvd held its grand opening this morning (Monday). It’s located in the ground floor retail space of the View Apartments, in the former home of Lebanese Taverna’s quick-service concept LebTav, which closed earlier this year.
ARLnow first reported in late February that a Starbucks was set to move into that location.
Starbucks store No. 71315 has some indoor seating and an outdoor patio. Seating, in general, appears to be rather limited, however.
This morning, employees were outside the store shouting “happy opening day” and providing free samples to passers-by.
The new location gives the densest census tract in Virginia and the entire D.C. region its own adjacent Starbucks.
There are at least four other Starbucks stores within walking distance, however. Among them: next to the Virginia Square Metro station, at the bottom of the Marymount University building at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive, inside of the Westin Hotel on N. Glebe Road, and adjacent to the Ballston Metro station.
There are also several other non-Starbucks coffee options nearby, including Compass Coffee, Dunkin’, and Slipstream, which opened in March.
Sunny, with a high near 84. West wind 7 to 9 mph. At night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
🌅 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. 👋
Matt White, before and after his haircut (courtesy of Sharon White, edited by ARLnow)
Matt White after his haircut with hairdresser Clinton Jones of Magnum Opus (courtesy Sharon White)
When the pandemic hit, Arlington resident Matt White, like many others, could not get a haircut.
He noticed his hair grew quickly and, rather than cut it, he decided to challenge himself and see how long he could grow it out.
“At some point, I realized it could definitely be long enough to donate,” White told ARLnow.
Last Wednesday — almost three years after his last haircut — the 21-year-old went to his mother’s hair salon, Magnus Opus, for a long-anticipated haircut. Hairdresser Clinton Jones tied it into a long, 12-inch ponytail and snipped it off.
White sent his hair to Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit that donates wigs made with human hair to children and adolescents suffering from medically-related hair loss. Picking the organization was an obvious choice for White because of a family friend who also donated her hair there.
Leading up to the haircut, White said he was excited to see how long his hair had actually grown — four inches longer than the nonprofit’s donation minimum.
Dealing with longer locks, however, had its challenging moments, he admitted.
“The hardest part of the process is when your hair isn’t long enough to go into a ponytail but too long to stay out of your eyes,” White said. “For those with short hair — it can be a challenge, and it can feel quite weird — but you will get used to it pretty quickly.”
The least expensive condo, single-family home or townhouse sale over the past seven days was $239,000 while the most expensive was $1,900,000.
Over the past month, meanwhile, a total of 18 townhouses were sold. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive townhouses sold over the past month.
Widespread haze. Areas of smoke. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. North wind around 8 mph. At night: Widespread haze. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northwest wind around 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Gyu San is now open in Ballston (staff photo by Vivian Hoang)
Gyu San is now open in Ballston (staff photo by Vivian Hoang)
A new Japanese barbeque restaurant has started sizzling in Ballston.
Gyu San BBQ opened late last month at the corner of N. Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd, a restaurant spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.
ARLnow first reported last September the restaurant was coming to the space that was formerly occupied by Bangkok Bistro, which closed in 2020.
It’s in the Ballston Point building, which it shares with the coffee shop Slipstream, which opened recently, albeit on the opposite side of the triangular building. World of Beer, at the building’s “point,” closed in April.
Gyu San is from Ivea Restaurant Group, which owns a number of other restaurants in Arlington and across the region. That includes Chinese dim sum eatery Tiger Dumpling and Japanese izakaya-style restaurant Izakaya 68, which are set to open next to each other on Washington Blvd in Clarendon. No word yet on when those establishments might start serving.
While Gyu San BBQ has only been up for a short time, Yelp reviews are already generally positive.
“Fun new spot in Ballston that did not disappoint,” reads one. Several reviews did note that it gets busy on weekends.
Gyu San is competing with at least one other local Japanese barbeque restaurant, Gyu-Kaku, which opened several years ago in Clarendon.
Widespread haze. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph. At night: Widespread haze before 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northwest wind around 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
The location at 2647 N. Pershing Drive has been serving customers for a few months, but will formally celebrate its opening on Saturday, June 10. The event will include a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and giveaways.
“During Saturday’s celebration, we will offer a 20% discount on bikes and accessories,” said John McClanahan, a volunteer for the cooperative. “Giveaway items will include socks, shirts, caps, and basic tune-ups with pickup at Arlington. And, we’ll offer coffee, water, juices, and small pastries.”
Founded by John Patterson and Christian Myers in 2009, Velocity aims to foster an inclusive biking community through “affordability, education, and embracing the fun of riding,” according to its website.
The new Lyon Park location is its second location; the first is at 2111 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.
Velocity’s storefronts facilitate sales, bike donations, bike education, as well as do-it-yourself and full-service repairs. Regular shop hours in Arlington are Tuesday-Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Inside of the Chicken + Whiskey in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Chicken + Whiskey)
Chicken + Whiskey is opening in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Chicken + Whiskey)
Chicken + Whiskey is opening at 3033 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Chicken + Whiskey)
(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) Chicken + Whiskey is preparing to open in Clarendon later this week, a co-owner confirmed to ARLnow.
The new South American rotisserie chicken restaurant and whiskey bar at 3033 Wilson Blvd aims to start serving this Friday (June 9), co-owner Des Reilly said, provided a Virginia ABC liquor is in hand by then. A grand opening is set for next weekend, June 16.
In September, ARLnow reported that Chicken + Whiskey was crossing the river to get Clarendon to open its first location outside the District and fourth overall. The menu consists of Peruvian-styled chicken, arepas, and sandwiches, plus a full cocktail and whiskey bar.
What makes Chicken + Whiskey different, said Reilly, is the chef.
“I bet you five bucks we are the only fast-casual restaurant on the East Coast that has a Michelin star,” he said. “Chef Enrique Limardo is really the uniqueness of it all.”
Limardo is “commonly credited as the pioneer of modern Venezuelan cooking in the U.S.,” so says the Huffington Post. He’s also the head chef at Immigrant Food and D.C.’s Seven Reasons, which was named one of the most important restaurants of the last decade by Esquire.
“Getting a guy like that who can make $8.50 Peruvian chicken with all the beautiful… Venezuela sides, that’s different,” Reilly said.
The nearly 6,000-square-foot space the restaurant is moving into was once Hunan Number One, which closed three years ago.
Reilly said that Clarendon had been “on their radar” for years and they very nearly leased out the exact same space in early 2020. However, the pandemic put expansion efforts “on the backburner.” When they came back a few years later, the 6,000-square-foot space at 3033 Wilson Blvd was still available.
The other businesses in the neighborhood are a big reason why ownership is so optimistic about Clarendon and this block of Wilson Blvd in particular.
“We always look at the other operators in the area. We like to see other brands… doing well, other restaurants thriving,” Reilly said. “There’s Ambar… Bar Ivy, which is in the same building as us… Wilson Hardware is across the street. There’s a whole sort of plethora of other great restaurants and bars that populate this area and makes it a real sort of critical mass location for us.”
While Chicken + Whiskey is set to hold its “soft opening” this Friday, there will be giveaways, food specials, and entertainment during its “grand opening” on June 16. That includes branded swag, a chance to win free chicken for a year, a $150 bar tab, and a lunch special of a chicken meal with two sides for five dollars.
As Reilly kept pointing out, the draw of Chicken + Whiskey will be the food at a decent price.
“To have a [chef] so highly rated doing a restaurant of a per person average of really $16… it’s pretty remarkable,” he said.
Business sale question graphic (photo illustration by ARLnow)
Arlington is full of great local businesses, and sometimes those businesses change hands.
We occasionally check in on the state of local business by taking a look of the entities being offered for sale via BizBuySell, an online aggregator. The businesses are described but usually not named in the listings.
When ARLnow last checked in this past October, we highlighted eight businesses for sale, including restaurants, a moving company and a salon.
Today, we have a dozen to highlight, including one that appeared — for some reason — via a real estate listing.
Perfect Location with Huge Potential Deli. Deli has demonstrated its pandemic proof with steady sales generated by a well-established core customer base within the neighborhood. Great business opportunity for first-starters.
European café and market. Serving breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and deserts. All types of coffees, lattes, and teas. Pastries and bagels. Sandwiches, soups, and salads. Chips, candy, cigarettes’, and Ice cream, Refreshments, select micro beers, and fine wines. Inside and outside seating. A real must see.
High volume restaurant & bar in a prime location of Arlington surrounded by residential & office buildings. This restaurant has been in business for over 10 years and averages an immaculate $3,200,000 in annual sales. Beautifully built out with a full service bar serving some of the best wines and specialty cocktails in the area.
Specialty dessert & gift franchise locations for sale. For a low price of $149,000 you can be the owner of 2 dessert franchise businesses located in Arlington & DC. The current owner of these locations is absentee and we are looking for a new hands on owner to take this established business to the next level.
Top rated gourmet Burger with potential growth in different directions. Located next to a bustling high-rise residential area. It is not just a burger joint, but also a bar and a hanging out place for the community. With top sales and great revenues, it’s evident that this burger have become a favorite among locals and visitors alike.
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
Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. At night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. North wind 6 to 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
