Ballston Quarter

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Sunset along Columbia Pike at the Arlington National Cemetery expansion site (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Resident Moving to San Diego — Baseball superstar Juan Soto, who recently moved to Arlington, has been traded by the Nats to the San Diego Padres. He’ll presumably take with him some photos and art that were framed at a Clarendon frame store. [MLB]

Fairfax Barricade Ends — Updated at 9:25 a.m. — A man reportedly barricaded in a condo with a rifle near Lake Barcroft has been taken into custody. The barricade situation prompted a Fairfax County police helicopter to circle over parts of Arlington for hours. [FFXnow, Twitter]

County Getting Part of Opioid Settlement — “It’s not a princely sum, but cash is cash and the Arlington County government is set to receive its share of a new payment based on a legal settlement with a number of opioid distributors… Of the first settlement payout, about $9.94 million will go to the state government’s Opioid Abatement Authority and about $4.07 million will be distributed to localities. Arlington is entitled to 1.378 percent of that latter figure, which works out to $56,034.” [Sun Gazette]

Ballston Quarter Gets Small Tax Break — “Owners of the Ballston Quarter retail-restaurant-and-entertainment complex came away from a recent Board of Equalization hearing with a very partial victory, as that body reduced the property’s assessed valuation but not nearly as much as its owners had sought. On a unanimous vote, Board of Equalization members on July 13 voted to reduce the assessment rate – which is used to calculate the property’s annual tax bill – from $91.1 million as determined by staff to $86.7 million.” [Sun Gazette]

Va. Sens. Celebrate Vets Bill — “Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine celebrated Senate passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 following obstruction efforts by Senate Republicans last week. This legislation will expand health care and benefits for toxic-exposed veterans under the Department of Veterans Affairs.” [Sen. Mark Warner]

YHS Grads Makes Youth National Team — “Yorktown High School graduate Lauren Flynn was named to the U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team soccer roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica from Aug. 10-28.” [Sun Gazette]

Feedback Sought for Eco Plan — “Arlington County would like your input on the draft Forestry and Natural Resources Plan. To assure future generations of Arlingtonians enjoy the benefits of nature, the County must identify what needs are urgent, what are aspirational, and how each can be addressed through both long-term initiatives, incremental change and immediate action.” [Arlington County]

Crash in D.C. Shut Down Chain Bridge — From WTOP’s Dave Dildine: “Chain Bridge closed both ways along with Canal Road and Clara Barton Parkway at the bridge. A crash occurred when traffic signals were malfunctioning. Witnesses say an officer was struck under the malfunctioning signals. These lights fall out of phase frequently.” [Twitter]

It’s Wednesday — Another hot and humid day. High of 90 and low of 71. Sunrise at 6:13 am and sunset at 8:19 pm. [Weather.gov]

Ballston Quarter to hold free international food festival this weekend

By Mavis Chan
The plaza at Ballston Quarter where the food festival is set to be held (courtesy of Chris Chern)

Ballston Quarter is set to hold a free food festival featuring international cuisine this Saturday (July 30) at its food court.

Ballston Quarter Food Fest is set to be held at the plaza of the mall, adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall, between noon and 4 p.m., according to the event’s webpage.

The event is expected to feature different restaurants at the food court providing food from around world, including Mexican and Japanese among others. No registration is required, spokesperson for the event Ali Zeliff said.

Attendees will receive passports and stamp card as they arrive.

“Participating restaurants will offer sample-sized food to guests as they tour Quarter Market with their Ballston Quarter passports,” the event webpage notes.

More than 10 restaurants are expected to participate, according to the mall’s Facebook post, including the following.

  • Rice Crook, an East Asian fusion restaurant, is offering chicken fried rice
  • Ice Cream Jubilee, an Asian American-owned ice cream shop, is offering flavors such as Thai Iced Tea
  • Go Poke, a Hawaiian restaurant, is offering tuna and salmon poke bites
  • Punch Bowl Social, an American gastropub, is offering its Knockoff Slider and vegetarian mini quesadillas
  • Jinya Ramen, a Japanese restaurant, is offering gyoza
  • Hot Lolas, a Nashville hot chicken restaurant with a Chinese kick, is offering chicken tenders with Szechuan spice
  • Bartaco, a Latin street food chain, is offering tuna poke and salsa verde and chips

Meanwhile, the artisan sandwich and cocktail restaurant Superette, Turu’s by Timber Pizza and the brewery Ballston Service Station are also set to join the event, but their tasting menus are yet to be announced.

Aside from food, the D.C.-based DJ CYD is scheduled to play current hit songs at the event.

This is the first time Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd) has organized an event of this nature, Zeliff said. The mall organized this event because of the new restaurants and vendors that opened in the past few months, such as Jinya Ramen, she said.

“We are excited to invite the Ballston Quarter community into Quarter Market and give them the opportunity to try restaurants they might not have experienced before,” Zeliff said.

All About Burger is all but gone in Ballston Quarter

By ARLnow.com
1/3

All About Burger appears to have vacated its storefront in the Ballston Quarter mall.

“Completely cleaned out,” is how one tipster described the space, which is located between Slapfish, which closed this past December, and the still-open Mezeh, near the N. Glebe Road entrance to the mall.

The Ballston outpost of All About Burger opened in the spring of 2019 but never drew the consistently large crowds of its other nearby neighbor, Chick-fil-A. It could not be immediately confirmed whether the location is closed for good or may reopen later, though the removal of most of the interior furnishings and the fact that the phone number has been disconnected suggests the former.

All About Burger, which split off from Z-Burger after a legal settlement, has an existing location near Clarendon, at 3325 Wilson Blvd, that is still open today.

Hat tip to Chris T.

Local Oyster in Ballston appears to have closed, after another seafood spot ran aground

By Matt Blitz
Local Oyster in Ballston appears to have closed (staff photo)

The catch is a little bit less fresh in Ballston with the likely recent closing of another seafood spot.

The Local Oyster at Ballston Quarter appears to have ceased operations in recent weeks. Its former stall in the back right corner of the downstairs food hall is now dark and cleared out, with signs removed and the walls blank.

The Arlington location is also no longer listed on the website of the Baltimore-based restaurant.

ARLnow has reached out to the restaurant to confirm and ask why it closed, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

The Local Oyster first opened in Ballston over three years ago, in April 2019. It couched itself as “no frills seafood” that sourced oysters locally from southern Maryland.

Last month on Instagram, restaurant founder and co-owner Nick Shauman advocated for the replenishing of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and asked customers to reach out to a number of senators to help pass the bill.

“This is our last chance to save thousands of restaurants from closing their doors for good,” he said in the Instagram video.

The legislation ended up not passing.

Local Oyster isn’t the only seafood spot at Ballston Quarter to shutter over the past few months. Slapfish also closed its doors in late December, the franchise owners confirmed to ARLnow.

Slapfish in Ballston is now closed (staff photo)

Slapfish, billing itself as “sexy” seafood, opened three years ago on the first level of the mall at 671 N. Glebe Road, near Chick-fil-A but otherwise a bit removed from the mall’s more highly-trafficked corridors. The restaurant chain was founded by Andrew Gruel, known for his occasional turns as a judge on food competition shows.

The Arlington location was owned by Raghu Reddy and several partners. They wrote to ARLnow in an email that they closed because of high rent and insufficient marketing by the mall.

“Landlord wants pre-COVID rent and has not promoted the mall,” they wrote. “There is no foot traffic and the rent was very high.”

There are no plans to open another Slapfish in Arlington.

A number of restaurants have opened at Ballston Quarter recently, including JINYA Ramen Bar and British cuisine purveyor Salt Pop Kitchen.

JINYA Ramen Bar opening this weekend and giving away free ramen in Ballston

By Matt Blitz
1/3

JINYA Ramen Bar is set to open its newest location in Ballston this weekend.

The noodle eatery says its official opening will happen this Saturday (May 21) at 11 a.m. The first hundred people in line will get free ramen. Additionally, there will be specials, a live DJ, and coupon giveaways.

The restaurant first announced it was coming to the space adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall in November. It was formerly occupied by Copa Kitchen & Bar, a Spanish tapas restaurant and soccer-watching venue. That restaurant closed in the fall 2021.

JINYA was initially aiming to open in March but experienced delays “common in construction,” according to a spokesperson.

This will be the restaurant chain’s fifth D.C.-area location with other locations in Reston, Merrifield, D.C., and Bethesda. It has locations across the United States and several in Canada.

JINYA Ramen’s D.C. area locations are all owned by Sam Shoja, a company spokesperson confirmed. He’s also the co-owner of Paraiso in D.C. and previously held a stake in Hot Lola’s, which has a location in Ballston Quarter and is another that is opening in Rosslyn soon.

JINYA eatery specializes in ramen made with broths that are simmered for up to 20 hours, according to its website.

“JINYA is ramen culture, where the relationship between broth and noodles is serious but delicious business,” the company previously said a press release. “From the water we use to prepare our broths — we only use FUJI which is 99.9 percent free from impurities — to the special aging process that our noodles undergo before they’re cooked and served, we’re crazy about ramen and pay meticulous attention to everything that goes into your bowl… You’ll quickly see why at JINYA we say, No ramen, no life.'”

JINYA Ramen Bar looking to open in Ballston early next month

By Matt Blitz
1/3

JINYA Ramen Bar is aiming to open its newest outpost at Ballston Quarter by early next month, a restaurant spokesperson tells ARLnow.

We reported late last year that the ramen eatery was coming to the former location of the Spanish tapas restaurant and soccer bar Copa Kitchen and Bar, which had closed after more than two years in the space adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall.

JINYA is now aiming for an opening date of Saturday, May 7, though the spokesperson cautions that it is not yet finalized.

The growing, international restaurant chain’s move into Ballston marks its fifth D.C.-area location including restaurants in Reston, Merrifield, D.C., and Bethesda.

The D.C.-area locations are owned by local restaurateur Sam Shoja. He’s also the co-owner of Paraiso in D.C. and formerly had a stake in Hot Lola’s, which also has a location in Ballston Quarter. That eatery is opening another outpost in Rosslyn sometime in the coming months.

JINYA Ramen Bar has more than 40 locations across the U.S. and Canada. It specializes in ramen made from broths that are simmered for more than 20 hours, plus Japanese whisky and rice bowls.

“JINYA is ramen culture, where the relationship between broth and noodles is serious but delicious business,” said a press release from last year. “From the water we use to prepare our broths — we only use FUJI which is 99.9 percent free from impurities — to the special aging process that our noodles undergo before they’re cooked and served, we’re crazy about ramen and pay meticulous attention to everything that goes into your bowl.”

JINYA isn’t the only restaurant in Ballston readying itself to open. Grill Kabob, Silver Diner, Pirouette Cafe, and Hawkers are all planning to start serving in the coming months. In Ballston Quarter, British cuisine purveyor Salt Pop Kitchen is hoping to open by May 1.

British cuisine purveyor Salt Pot Kitchen planning to open in Ballston next month

By Matt Blitz
1/4

British-inspired Salt Pot Kitchen is planning to open in Ballston next month.

The Loudoun County-based “upscale British street food” eatery is moving into the Ballston Quarter Market stall formerly occupied by perogi stand Rogi, co-owner Wendy Salt tells ARLnow.

Salt Pot Kitchen is looking to start serving by May 1.

The restaurant comes from mother and son team Wendy and Charlie Salt — hence, the restaurant’s name — who are currently working out of a commercial kitchen in Leesburg. This is their first brick and mortar location after mostly selling their British delicacies like sausage rolls and cottage pies wholesale and at farmers markets.

Wendy Salt says they think Ballston is the perfect location for their business because of the neighborhood’s “international demographic” made up of many who are familiar with British food from their time traveling or studying abroad. Plus, the family previously lived in nearby Falls Church for 17 years.

“We are bringing British food to the people who perhaps don’t have time to cook good wholesome food for themselves and their family,” Salt says. “We think people in this area will appreciate that.”

The menu will consist of traditional English fare, like meat pies, sausage rolls, and soups. Salt says the two most popular items at markets are the beef and mushroom pies and Wiltshire plaits (pork, apple, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a flaky pastry).

There will also be a number of vegetarian and, even, vegan options, like a vegetarian curried pasty (curried vegetables wrapped in a vegan flaky crust) and roasted cauliflower and turmeric soup.

Salt says she’s hoping to expand the menu once they get settled into the space to include other traditional British bites like bangers and mash.

Rogi owner Ed Hardy closed down his Quarter Market stand, situated near the escalator to and from the mall above, in February. At the time, he had hoped to replace it with “a series of collaborations and pop-ups from other regional restaurateurs.”

Those exact plans never materialized, but Salt Pot Kitchen was one of the potential pop-ups that was initially proposed.

Ballston Macy’s proposal draws concerns about density, land use

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Concerns are emerging about a proposed residential redevelopment that would replace the Macy’s in Ballston.

Insight Property Group proposes to demolish the longtime department store and vacant office building at 685 N. Glebe Road and replace it with a 16-story, 555-unit apartment complex atop a grocery store. In response to online engagement, it is adding a second, 1,400-square-foot retail space on the ground floor.

The units would be spread across two 14-story towers joined at the penthouse level. Residents would have 250 underground parking spaces while grocery store patrons would have 148 spots on the building’s second story.

Insight is considering how to celebrate the building’s history as part of the D.C. area’s first indoor regional shopping center, built in 1950, possibly by preserving some tiling and stairwells.

But during the first Site Plan Review Committee meeting last week, the proposal elicited apprehension from community members about density, from Planning Commissioners about community benefits, and county planners about cohesion with the rest of the mall.

Insight proposes to use two mechanisms to earn the right to build 275 additional units on top of the base density allowed for the site of 280 units. First, by using a novel zoning tool called a Transfer of Development Rights, it can tack on another 236 units.

The TDR rewards developers who commit to preserving affordable housing, open spaces, historic sites and community facilities on Columbia Pike. In exchange for this commitment, they can either build double the number of preserved units elsewhere in the county, or build triple the units preserved elsewhere on the Pike.

Insight proposes preserving 118 units of garden apartments on Columbia Pike as affordable for 30 years so it can tack on 236 extra units to its Ballston Macy’s project. Some civic association leaders oppose this, however.

“This is a dangerous precedent and should never be done,” said Bernie Berne, representing the Buckingham Community Civic Association, which voted to oppose this aspect of the project. “Keep it to Columbia Pike — find a place to transfer the units in Columbia Pike. There’s no reason to put it in Ballston.”

Representing the Arlington Mill Civic Association, Cate Harrington said the group also opposes the TDR.

“It commits that entire area to being the same for 30 years, which we object to, we would like our area to grow and change organically,” she said.

Insight intends to build an extra 39 units by achieving LEED Gold certification for the building. The developer proposes powering the building almost exclusively with electricity, save for gas-powered kitchens within the grocery store, installing solar panels on the penthouses and dedicating 10% of parking spaces for electric vehicles.

(more…)

Group gaming experience Electric Gamebox opens in Ballston Quarter

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

An “immersive group gaming” experience called Electric Gamebox is officially open in Ballston Quarter mall.

Electric Gamebox opened its Arlington outpost on Thursday, and we’re told the opening weekend went smoothly and business was steady. The entertainment facility is located in Suite 2233 of Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd), in a 2,217 square-foot space, the entrance to which is on the second floor of the outdoor portion of the mall.

“We chose Arlington because of its reputation as a young, vibrant, family friendly community,” said Will Dean, Co-founder and CEO of Electric Gamebox, in a statement. “Visitors to the Ballston Quarter location can enjoy a range of games, including our recently launched Shaun the Sheep game, and they can feel assured that they are doing so in a Covid-safe and family-friendly environment.”

The debut follows openings in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas, as well as Salt Lake City and Chicago — all part of the London-based company’s foray into the U.S. that began in December 2020.

Dean and his co-founder David Spindler founded the popular obstacle race Tough Mudder and Tough Mudder Bootcamp, respectively.

Inside Electric Gamebox, visitors will find a series of rooms called “gameboxes,” which can host two to six players for games that last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

Users don visors with motion tracking that allow them to use their entire body to play games that are projected onto the four walls of their “gamebox.”

New games, to be released monthly, “can only be successfully completed through collaboration,” according to a press release.

Electric Gamebox says its games are suitable for all ages. Ticket prices range from $20 to $35 and can be purchased both online and in-store.

The location is open 12-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 12-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The now-annual Ballston Quarterfest Crawl is coming back in May

By Matt Blitz
1/3

Ballston Quarterfest Crawl is coming back in May.

The now-annual free event put on by the Ballston Business Improvement District is set for Saturday, May 21 this year.

It’s expected to follow a similar format as last year, with neighborhood restaurants offering food and drink specials throughout the day. In 2021, organizers emphasized that the event would be spread out and more “free-flowing,” as opposed to 2019 when it was more concentrated in one location.

This year, as in past years, there will be live entertainment, local art, and music. Maps, a list of artists, a schedule and additional details are forthcoming, organizers noted in an announcement.

After three decades, the “Taste of Arlington” — a popular annual event that drew massive crowds to sample dishes from restaurants throughout Arlington, arranged in booths along Wilson Blvd — was replaced in 2019 by “Quarterfest” as Ballston’s annual springtime event. The event was canceled the following year due to the pandemic and was restructured as more of a “crawl” of Ballston area restaurants in 2021.

BREAKING: Firefighters battling sauna blaze at Ballston mall

By ARLnow.com
1/10

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) A large fire department response is on scene at the Ballston Quarter mall for a fire on the third floor of the building.

Initial reports suggest that the fire was in a sauna inside the men’s locker room of the Onelife Fitness gym. Light smoke could be seen coming from the roof of the gym near the Ballston pedestrian bridge.

A larger response was dispatched to the mall after the first firefighters on scene confirmed a “working fire” inside the sauna. The flames have since been brought under control, according to scanner traffic.

So far no injuries have been reported. Wilson Blvd is currently blocked in front of the mall.

The gym was evacuated due to the fire. Patrons in their exercise gear could be seen standing around in other parts of the mall.

Firefighters are now starting to set up fans to remove the thick smoke that has filled the gym.

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