(Updated at 10:50 a.m.) As rumored, a 7-Eleven store will be replacing the former Lee-Lex Service Center along Lee Highway.
The service center closed in 2016 and is currently being torn down. A recently-posted sign on the fence surrounding the property says that a new 7-Eleven store will be coming soon.
Property records show that the property at 5747 Lee Highway was purchased in January 2017 for $1.65 million by an LLC associated with the home address of the owner of a D.C.-based architecture firm.
According to the chain’s website, there are existing 7-Eleven stores at 2525, 3901, 4505, 5030 and 6730 Lee Highway.
The 7-Eleven at 3901 Lee Highway is set to close at the end of the month
The building was recently bought by a new owner, who reportedly will not sign a new lease
Some neighbors fear the next-door and adjacent businesses could also close
But former landlord Kostas Kapasouris said he hopes no other closures will occur
A 7-Eleven on Lee Highway in Cherrydale will close by the end of the month, and local residents are concerned for the future of other business nearby.
Multiple anonymous tipsters said they heard the 7-Eleven at 3901 Lee Highway will close. One said the new landlord is refusing to sign a new lease with the convenience store. Former landlord Kostas Kapasouris sold the properties earlier this year, and confirmed in an interview Tuesday morning that the 7-Eleven will close by the end of June.
County property records indicate that Naqibullah M. Ismail bought the shopping plaza and the stores across N. Pollard Street from it in February. The plaza sold for $3 million, according to those records. Ismail, an Arlington resident whose LinkedIn page says he is the CEO of an Afghanistan-based contractor to the Dept. of Defense, did not respond to requests for comment.
Kapasouris also owned the buildings that housed Billy’s Cheesesteaks, Bistro 29 on one side, and the former Drug Fair building, which houses Sun & Moon Yoga, Sterling Frames, Company Flowers and almost housed the NOVA Firearms gun store until its lease was cancelled in 2015. He said the other stores should “hopefully” stay open for the foreseeable future.
Jim Todd, president of the Cherrydale Citizens Association, said that while all he has heard is “second hand or rumor” around the stores’ future, he hopes any possible redevelopment plans are consistent with previous guidelines approved for the area.
“Whatever happens, we hope that any redevelopment that might be coming follows the design guidelines set out in the Cherrydale Revitalization Plan and the Cherrydale Neighborhood Conservation Plan, and promotes the vision for the future of Lee Highway set out by the Lee Highway Alliance,” Todd said. “We also want to express our support for and continue to work with Kostas and all our locally-owned Cherrydale businesses.”
7-Eleven media relations staff did not respond to requests for comment.
A convenience store was robbed in the Shirlington area Wednesday night.
The 7-Eleven at 2815 S. Wakefield Street was robbed by a group of three suspects, one of whom had a gun, according to police. No one was hurt during the robbery.
The same store, located down the hill from the Fairlington neighborhood, was robbed by a pair of suspects in October 2015.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ROBBERY, 2017-03220254, 2800 block of S. Wakefield Street. At approximately 10:49 p.m. on March 22, officers were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Three unknown suspects approached a store, however one remained outside while the other two suspects entered. Once inside, one suspect displayed a firearm and demanded money from the register. All three suspects then fled the area with an undisclosed amount of cash and items of value. The first suspect is described as a white male, possibly Hispanic, approximately 5’05”-5’11” tall, weighing approximately 150-180 lbs, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, khaki pants and white shoes. The second suspect is described as a white male, possibly Hispanic, approximately 5’05”-5’11” tall, weighing approximately 150-180 lbs, wearing a tan jacket, blue jeans and white shoes. There is no physical description for the third suspect.
The Lee-Lex Service Center, a well-reviewed, long-time automotive business at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Lexington Street, has closed.
Lee-Lex’s website, which has remained largely unchanged for the past 12 years, says that the service center has “been a good neighbor in our Arlington community since 1978 and consistently receive[d] excellent ratings by consumer magazines.”
The service center was open for part of last week but closed just before Thanksgiving. This morning the shop’s technicians were clearing out their belongings and preparing to move to nearby service centers; signs were being posted on the windows, to let customers know who moved where.
Sources tell ARLnow.com that the property is being purchased by Southland Corporation, the parent company of 7-Eleven. It could not be immediately confirmed that a 7-Eleven store would be replacing the service center.
The Lucky Seven convenience store in Nauck closed after a fire in the summer of 2012, but the brand is now making a comeback.
The 7-Eleven at the corner of Shirlington Road and 24th Street S., which opened in 2014, has dropped its corporate affiliation and is now being rebranded as Lucky Seven.
The store closed over the weekend to facilitate the changeover. It was open on Monday, but many shelves were bare and the store was only accepting cash.
We’re told that the owner of the 7-Eleven was the owner of the Lucky Seven store and that the owner decided to make the switch after the expiration of the store’s contract with 7-Eleven. More products are expected to hit the shelves within the next week — and Slurpee-like machines and other convenience store staples are expected to be installed as well.
The convenience store’s interior appears to be mostly completed, though shelves have yet to be stocked. A stylized “7-Eleven” sign, in keeping with the building’s architecture, was recently mounted above the entrance.
Asked if they knew when the store would be opening, a pair of construction workers working on the entrance replied, “mañana.” Thus far, 7-Eleven has not responded to a request for comment.
Public Shoe Store in Clarendon, which first opened its doors in 1938, will close after Saturday, Feb. 27 to make way for a new 7-Eleven store, according to the daughter of store owner S.H. “Doc” Friedman.
“We’ll have an open house from noon to 6 that afternoon to say goodbye to our friends and customers and to give them a chance to say ‘happy retirement’ to Doc,” Karen Friedman Widmayer tells ARLnow.com.
The store was originally slated to close last summer, but lease negotiations and planning stretched longer than expected. After Public Shoe Store closes, a new 7-Eleven store will move in following some interior construction and exterior changes. Friedman, 82, is retiring from the shoe business but is leasing the space at 3137 Wilson Blvd to the convenience store.
Widmayer described the lease as “long term,” but declined to provide other details. She said the space would have been challenging for a restaurant and 7-Eleven was “very accommodating” and “terrific to work with.” The store is planning a “fitting” art deco-style sign, she said.
Public Shoe Store reopened over the weekend after closing due to the blizzard. The store is still “stocked with comfort and orthopedic shoes and sandals plus lots of good sale shoes,” Widmayer noted. Customers and well-wishers are both welcome to stop by between now and the 27th, she said.
There’s not much of note on this week’s Arlington County crime report, as the blizzard seems to have had a chilling effect on local criminals.
There were, however, three separate robberies of two 7-Eleven stores reported. Two of the robberies occurred at the tail end of the blizzard.
ROBBERY, 160120044, 3600 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 9:07 p.m. on January 20, two unknown male subjects robbed a 7-11 of an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspects then fled on foot. The first suspect is described as a black male in his twenties with a medium build. He was wearing a black hooded jacket, black pants, and black sneakers. The second suspect is described as a black male in his twenties with a medium build. He was wearing a black hooded jacket, black pants, and black sneakers.
ROBBERY, 160124002, 3600 block of S. Columbia Pike. At approximately 12:20 a.m. on January 24, two unknown male subjects robbed a 7-11 of an undisclosed amount of cash. The first suspect is described as a black male, wearing a black jacket with the hood up, white strings hanging from the neck, black gloves, and black pants. The second suspect is described as a black male, wearing a black jacket with a hood, black gloves, and black pants.
ROBBERY, 160124008, 4500 block of N. Lee Highway. At approximately 4:55 a.m. on January 24, a male subject assaulted a 7-11 employee and stole several cigarettes. Mariano Lagdameo, 42, of Arlington VA, was arrested and charged with robbery, obstruction of justice, possession of schedule I/II substance, and drunk in public.
The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.
Update at 4:35 p.m. — Public Shoe Store is still open, says owner S.H. “Doc” Friedman’s daughter. “Public Shoe is still operating and will continue to do so for another few months,” Karen Friedman Widmayer said this afternoon. In April, Friedman told ARLnow.com that the store would close by the end of the summer.
A new 7-Eleven store is coming to the heart of the Clarendon business district.
Permits have been filed for a 7-Eleven at 3137 Wilson Blvd, the former Public Shoe Store, which closed earlier this year is preparing to close after 78 years in business.
So far, it’s early in the permitting process and there’s no word as to when the store might open.
This will be the sixth 7-Eleven store within a half mile or so. The nearest store is a couple of blocks away, at 3000 Washington Blvd. Another is located at 2704 Washington Blvd, and three are clustered around the Virginia Square Metro station.
A 7-Eleven store in the Shirlington area was robbed Tuesday night.
Police say a man and a woman robbed the convenience store on the 2800 block of S. Wakefield Street around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday. They also allegedly assaulted a 55-year-old man who works at the store.
“The first suspect is described as a black male in his thirties, approximately 6’2″ and weighed 225 lbs, He was wearing a black zip-up hoodie, black sweatpants, black hat, black/red sneakers, and gloves.,” according to an Arlington County Police crime report. “The second suspect is described as a black female in her late twenties, approximately 5’5″ and weighed 130 lbs. She was wearing a black puma sweatshirt, black leggings, and black sneakers.”
The store is popular with residents of Shirlington and the nearby Fairlington neighborhood.
