Feature

Arlington-based catering company HUNGRY almost profitable after latest funding round

By Hallie LeTendre

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

After raising tens of millions of dollars, Ballston-based catering startup HUNGRY says it is on the verge of being profitable.

Last week, the company — which partners with chefs who prepare meals for offices and events — announced that it raised $10 million in possibly its last fundraising round. HUNGRY has raised $60 million to date and is now valued at $270 million.

A number of professional athletes, including players from the Portland Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, contributed to HUNGRY’s $10 million Series C1 funding round.

The company has also received funding in previous years from rapper Jay-Z and comedian Kevin Hart.

In a statement, co-founder and CEO Jeff Grass he is proud that HUNGRY has attracted the attention of big-time investors and leading investment funds.

“It’s a recognition of the unique strengths of our business model and how far we’ve progressed since inception in late 2016/early 2017,” he told ARLnow. “It represents a step-up in valuation during a time where average valuations have fallen a great deal. It also represents investor confidence in our team and a recognition that, with Return-to-Office driving accelerated growth in office catering, we’re a fast growth company in a fast-growing industry.”

Indeed, Inc. 5000 has recognized HUNGRY as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies.

Since the recognition last summer, the company has been setting new sales records monthly, Grass said. The company also acquired NatureBox and now delivers health-conscious snacks to offices in a bid to lure workers back to the office after Covid and the embrace of remote work.

HUNGRY founders Eman Pahlavani, Shy Pahlevani and Jeff Grass (photo courtesy HUNGRY)

The startup has expanded to 13 U.S. cities, according to its website. The chefs and meals available vary based on the location of where the order is placed.

Through this expansion, Grass emphasized the importance of HUNGRY’s Arlington roots.

“Most of our senior leadership team works out of our Arlington office,” he said. “We’re proud of where we come from, as Arlington provides us access to some of the best talent in the country.”

Events

Rosslyn Jazz Fest to return in September for its 31st year

By Hallie LeTendre
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The Rosslyn Jazz Fest is returning for its 31st year, with groups coming from as near as across the Potomac and as far as New Orleans.

The free outdoor event will take place on Sept. 9 from 1-7 p.m. in Gateway Park (1300 Landston Blvd).

Throughout the afternoon, performers will take the stage to play a variety of music styles, from R&B to soul and hip-hop to traditional jazz, a press release said. There will also be food trucks and games for attendees to enjoy.

Headlining the event is New Orleans-based quintet Galactic, which has performed with famous acts such as Dave Matthews Band and the Allman Brothers Band, and at high-profile venues, including Coachella.

Other groups include:

  • Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez
  • D.C.-based Oh He Dead, a six-piece group known for playing everything from soul to rock and putting on energetic live shows
  • DuPont Brass, a nine-person group that got its start playing in D.C. Metro stations

“Over the last three decades, Jazz Fest has become Arlington’s largest outdoor music festival that the community has come to know and love,” said Mary-Claire Burick, the president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, which co-sponsors the event. “Jazz Fest exemplifies the vibrancy of our region and this year’s diverse lineup of artists will fill Gateway Park and bring us together to enjoy an afternoon of great music and fun with family and friends.”

This year’s lineup will get audience members jazzed about the wide-ranging genre, according to Josh Stoltzfus, the director of the Arlington County Cultural Affairs Division.

“Fueled by the deep creative well of jazz and its extensions, Jazz Fest is a showcase for artists who are inspired to take music in new directions,” he said in a statement. “From the Afro-Cuban jazz throughline of Pedrito Martinez, to Galactic’s fresh take on the musical mash-up of New Orleans traditions, to the soulful Oh He Dead, this year’s high-energy mix of genres will keep audiences on their feet.”

Ticketing for the festival will open on Aug. 1. Guests are not required to register for the event, however, it is encouraged in accordance with the park’s capacity limits, the festival webpage said.

Sponsored

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington: October 15, 2025

By Sponsor

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Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

As of October 13, there are 210 detached homes, 54 townhouses and 244 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 44 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:

6223 Langston Boulevard

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.

Around Town

The new “athletic country club” in Clarendon is sprinting to open next month

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Clarendon’s huge “athletic country club” is hustling to open within the next few weeks.

The long-planned Life Time fitness center, inside of a renovated office building at 1440 N. Edgewood Street, is looking to open in early-to-mid July, a spokesperson tells ARLnow.

The original hope was to open by the end of this week — the website still lists June 29 as the opening date — but the company is currently waiting on its final permits, we’re told. Some builders and business owners have previously criticized Arlington’s permitting system for excessive delays.

Billing itself as an “athletic country club,” the four-floor, 113,000-square-foot Life Time Clarendon will feature high-end fitness facilities, multiple studios, childcare facilities, a salon and spa, a cafe and lounge, and a 28,000-square-foot coworking space.

A preview center opened in April.

It was nearly two years ago when Life Time first announced it was opening a facility in a converted office building at The Crossing Clarendon. Initially, an Equinox gym was supposed to move in but that company pulled out and was sued for breach of contract in early 2021.

Construction, meanwhile, has continued on Life Time for the past year or so as other new businesses opened around it.

There are several other Life Time locations in Northern Virginia, including in Fairfax, Reston, Centreville and Ashburn. The Clarendon location is roughly the same size in square footage as the Reston and Ashburn locations, but it will be the only one with a co-working space.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Do you consider ‘Karen’ an offensive term?

By ARLnow.com
A file photo of a business woman who is stressed and frustrated (Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash)

“Karen” has been making the rounds again in Arlington.

The slang term, popularized after a 2020 incident in New York City that got national attention, refers to “a middle-class white woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal,” according to Wikipedia.

It was brought last week in the context of the Democratic primary.

Geographic distribution of votes for Commonwealth’s Attorney on Election Day (via Virginia Public Access Project)

From an ARLnow article Friday morning:

[Political consultant Ben] Tribbett was more blunt about what he saw as the electoral dynamic, citing the geographic distribution of votes in the Commonwealth’s Attorney race in particular.

“It’s the Karens versus the non-Karens,” he said. “Clearly, there’s a divide in the community that jumps out at you.”

“When that divide crosses over into multiple races and they follow the same pattern of results, even when fought on different issues… it tells you this is a lot more about different visions for the community than it is about any individual issue,” Tribbett added.

That did not sit well with some segment of our readership.

“Karen” in that context is generally considered a pejorative term, but at least one reader saw it as a slur, and wanted its use — including by those in the comment section — banned.

From an email we received:

Please STOP allowing ArlNow commenters to call women who are concerned with deteriorating quality-of-life in Arlington, and speak out about it, “Karens”.

The meme “Karen” has evolved over several years into borderline hate speech directed against middle aged White women who are unhappy with deteriorating quality of life here (e.g., crime in their neighborhoods) and call ACPD when, for example, they see suspicious behavior.

Charles, Arlington

Do you agree with the emailer that the term “Karen” is offensive? Or something more benign?

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

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