The New York City-based cookie shop is making its move into Arlington by opening up at the Crossing Clarendon at 2700 Clarendon Blvd. It is setting up shop near the back of the development, a few doors down from Barnes & Noble and next to the recently opened cosmetic dermatology business Ever/Body.
The plan is to start baking by the fall, CEO Peter Phillips told ARLnow.
Chip City is known for its “big, gooey five and half ounce cookie,” as Phillips put it. It has a rotating weekly menu encompassing 40 different flavors, including classics like Chocolate Chip and Triple Chocolate and more unique flavors like Blueberry Cheesecake, Horchata, and Cannoli.
Chip City’s weekly menu (image via Instagram)
The Clarendon location 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.
“We spent a lot of time canvassing the area and I fell in love with the opportunity when I saw all of the strong growth energy in the area and just the general vibe,” Phillips said. “I really fell in love with it. And, then, we identified a small space that fits our model and we were quick to jump on the opportunity.”
This is not the only Arlington location that Chip City is planning, either. Phillips told ARLnow they are also considering a space in Shirlington.
“We are very excited about entering the market,” he said. “There’s a great food scene in [Northern Virginia].”
Cookie shops seem to be having a moment in Arlington. Captain Cookie and the Milkman opened a location in Courthouse earlier this year while Crumbl Cookies is planning to open this fall at the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center. There’s also delivery-only local cookie purveyor MOLTN.
Afomia Organic Market on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Afomia Organic Market on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Afomia Organic Market on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) A new Ethiopian market has opened along Columbia Pike.
Afomia Organic Market at 4105 Columbia Pike opened its doors late last week, co-owner Shah Feyisa confirmed to ARLnow.
The market is in a shopping center near the corner of S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike in the Alcova Heights neighborhood. It is two doors down from Papa Deeno’s, a family-owned halal pizza shop that opened last year. Afomia is in a 960-square-foot space that was formerly occupied by a hairstylist and beauty salon that has since moved to S. Glebe Road.
The market stocks a large selection of spices, grains, meat, and groceries “from home,” Feyisa said. Plus, everything is organic.
“Afomia Organic Market is a small, family-owned business that sells injera, bread, herbs, spices, clothing, coffee sets, traditional coffee, and accessories, from Ethiopia. We additionally sell vegan cakes, which can be ordered for special occasions (by our email: [email protected]), and also vegan cookies and sweets! We also have non-vegan treats as well,” reads the business’s Yelp page.
The decision was made to move into this location because there’s a large population of Ethiopian immigrants living along the Pike but there are few markets to meet the demand, Feyisa noted. Plus, more and more people are becoming vegetarian and vegan, he said, and the market provides plenty of choices for them as well, he continued.
There are at least a couple of other Ethiopian markets in the area, including Ayana Ethiopian Market a half mile west on Columbia Pike and Lideta Gebeya about a mile away, on S. Glebe Road.
Address:6223 Langston Blvd Neighborhood: Lee Ridge Type: 3 BR, 2 BA single-family detached – 3300 sq. ft. Listed: $1,299,000
Noteworthy: City living with tailored country surroundings/two-car garage
A timeless North Arlington Cape Cod, lovingly maintained and thoughtfully upgraded by the same owners since 1995.
This home features three upstairs bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Set behind a handsome stone retaining wall, the home enjoys wonderful privacy and quiet, thanks to its solid one-foot-thick stone construction. Large windows on every side invite natural light to spill across the high ceilings, solid wood floors, and custom built-ins found throughout both levels.
The kitchen is a chef’s delight, complete with a gas cooktop, granite countertops, and a suite of thoughtful additions including a microwave with convection capabilities. Surround sound enhances the first floor, ceiling and wall speakers in the sunroom, dining room, and living room, and SpeakerCraft ceiling speakers in the kitchen. Bright recessed lighting runs throughout the home, while the basement shines with upgraded fixtures that bring exceptional brightness to the space.
Outdoor living is equally as inviting with a rear stone patio and exterior lighting with carriage lamps and multiple spotlights that showcase the grounds beautifully. The primary suite is a true retreat with custom built-in cabinetry featuring granite countertops that flow seamlessly into the walk-in closet and bathroom.
Recent updates include exterior and interior painting (2024), a fully renovated lower-level bath (2024), and roof replacements over both the house and garage (2017). An oversized detached two-car garage with storage plus a driveway accommodating four or more cars provides exceptional convenience. This residence offers easy access to Georgetown, downtown DC, Airports, and Metro.
A sleeping bag and roll of toilet paper in an alcove of the elevated walkway in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County says it provided assistance to 1,070 people who were experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing last year.
This number is five times higher than the number of people found living outside or in a shelter one night in January 2022. One night last winter, as part of the “point-in-time” count, 182 people did not have permanent, stable housing, according to a new report on homelessness in Arlington.
The recently released report says the larger figure more accurately captures the portion of the population experiencing homelessness in Arlington.
In a statement, Arlington County Dept. of Human Services Director Anita Friedman said that, without Covid-era eviction prevention efforts, the number of people who received services would have been higher.
“The total number of individuals served in FY 2022 was almost identical to pre-pandemic levels,” Friedman said. “Without strong eviction prevention efforts, we would have seen many more households upended and in crisis.”
Some $20 million in local, state and federal funding helped more than 3,400 households stave off eviction, according to the county.
The report comes as Arlington County embarks on a goal to bringing homelessness down to what it calls “functional zero” for several specific demographics. That means homelessness is “rare and brief” for a given population, such as young adults, families and survivors of domestic violence.
“For those households that do experience homelessness, it is traumatic, and we remain committed to working alongside them as they return to housing stability,” Friedman said. “We will also continue to address critical gaps, including in the areas of racial equity, immigrant and refugee households, and the aging population.”
Arlington County addresses homelessness through a network of programs and services it calls the Continuum of Care, or CoC. The report says that DHS staff and nonprofit program leaders have spent the last 10 years improving how the CoC prevents homelessness and finds permanent housing for people.
For instance, through the CoC, county and community partners work together to connect people to stable housing, jobs, childcare and emergency financial assistance, and provide behavioral health services to people living on the streets — a service that helped 65 people last year.
What homelessness looks like in Arlington
Of the 1,070 who received services through the CoC, there were:
744 single adults
105 families
36 veterans
74 young people aged 18-24
192 people in “chronic homelessness,” or individuals with a documented disability who have experienced at least 12 months of homelessness in one stretch or at least four times in less than three years
Excluding people in Arlington’s shelter for people escaping domestic violence, run by the nonprofit Doorways, 305 people were served in Arlington shelters. This includes 13 veterans and 25 chronically homeless individuals. The average length of stay was three months.
Meanwhile, the county report says demand for safe housing among domestic violence survivors — including individuals and families — is increasing.
Rising need for safe housing from domestic violence is on the rise (via Arlington County)
While some 165 people received shelter at Doorways, the number of people who called its hotline was much higher: advocates counseled people on domestic and sexual violence during a total of 1,039 calls, per the report. Most of the time, people leaving these situations are women.
“Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for families, and the leading cause of homelessness for women,” the report says.
Women are also more likely to be at the head of a family experiencing homelessness, per the report. Of the families counted one night in January, women were the adult in the family 95% of the time.
Meanwhile, 78% of homeless individuals were men and 1% identified as transgender.
Gender of people surveyed in the 2022 point-in-time count (via Arlington County)
2450 Crystal Drive in 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 11 a.m.) Crystal City, for years a grocery desert, appears set to land a coveted Trader Joe’s store.
A construction permit application has been filed for 2450 Crystal Drive, one of the newly-upgraded Century Center towers just south of 23rd Street S. It calls for “landlord prep work to prepare for new Trader Joe’s Grocery Store.”
“Garage Levels, B1 and B2, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor are affected,” notes the permit application, which was filed on Friday.
As reported in February, a website for the renovated office complex says that a “food market,” as well as “casual and upscale restaurants, [a] boutique fitness club, and more,” are “in the works.” A new open-air retail plaza at the complex is set to open this spring, we reported.
Responding this morning to an inquiry from ARLnow, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson did not directly address whether the company would be opening at 2450 Crystal Drive, instead noting only that it’s not on a published list of imminent store openings.
“We consider many locations,” wrote Nakia Rohde. “All of the locations that are opening soon are listed on our website. Unfortunately, Arlington is not on the list at this time.”
Arlington has an existing Trader Joe’s store that opened in Clarendon in 2011. Other nearby locations include 1101 25th St NW in D.C.’s West End, 612 N. St. Asaph Street in Old Town Alexandria, 7514 Leesburg Pike in Tysons and 5847 Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads.
Crystal City’s long grocery drought ended last year with the opening of an Amazon Fresh store at 1550 Crystal Drive. There are other grocery stores just outside of the neighborhood, with a Whole Foods at 520 12th Street S. in Pentagon City, and Harris Teeter locations at 3600 S. Glebe Road in the Potomac Yard area and 900 Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City.
