Ballston

New Restaurant to Replace Leek in Ballston

By Katie Pyzyk

The former Leek American Bistro in BallstonComing on the heels of the sudden closure of Leek American Bistro last month, a new restaurant is now moving into the space. “Republic at Arlington” should open in Ballston early next year, its managers say.

Executive Chef and operating partner Alan Newton describes the concept as “modern comfort food with some international flair.” He said customers can expect high quality, made from scratch food in a casual setting.

“We want to be known as a great place for drinks and great food. There’s a lot of French influence in the food as well,” Newton said. “You can wear a suit or wear shorts, you’ll feel comfortable either way.”

Republic at Arlington is expected to serve dinner dishes priced at $20 and less, as well as lunch dishes for $10-15. The bar will feature a selection of craft beers and specialty mixed drinks. The owners have a unique idea for how to compile the drink menu — let the patrons decide.

“Since the restaurant is called Republic, we want people voting and picking out what they like,” Newton said. “We’ll either incorporate an online voting system or something when you stop in the restaurant.”

Along with Newton, the management team includes owner Thanh Caodac and general manager Anthony Catselites. All three have management experience at McCormick & Schmick’s. Newton also helped to open Sweetwater Tavern in Centreville.

Newton is trying to make sure customers don’t draw parallels between the new restaurant and Leek. So far, the only connection appears to be the location at 801 N. Quincy Street.

“It’s going to have a totally different feel from Leek,” he said. “We’re hoping that no one will recognize the place when they walk in.”

Newton described the restaurant design as “industrial vintage with a slight touch of neoclassic twist.” Unlike Leek, he said, the new restaurant will not have tablecloths.

Currently, there’s not much to see at the restaurant — the windows are covered with paper. However, renovations are underway inside and the owners hope to open in mid-February. They expect to hold a grand opening event in the spring.

“We plan on being there as a member of the community for a long, long time — just a great neighborhood restaurant,” said Newton.

Noise Complaints Lead to Changes at A-Town

By Ethan Rothstein

A-Town Bar and Grill(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) Neighbors of Ballston’s A-Town Bar & Grill (4100 Fairfax Drive) have convinced the Arlington County Board to force the night spot to close its outdoor bar early.

On Saturday, the Board approved new restrictions to the bar’s outdoor patio. Despite A-Town’s owner’s objections, the outdoor bar will no longer be able to serve alcohol directly to patrons after 10:00 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. All alcohol served on the patio will have to be delivered by a waiter to patrons at a table.

The change to the bar’s site plan was made after residents of nearby condominiums, in particular The Berkeley at Ballston (1000 N. Randolph Street), lobbied the Board with complaints that the bar was making too much noise and negatively impacting property values.

“Commercial businesses must understand that they are doing business where people live,” Berkeley Unit Owner’s Association President Roger Lindberg said in a letter to the Board. “Late night disturbances make it an unpleasant community experience and thus directly impact the value of all our homes. Late night outdoor partying even on weekends, is not a reasonable expectation of any homeowner.”

“In addition to the noise… A-Town has attracted a more rowdy group of patrons who hang out in our public garden area after closing, creating noise, tossing trash onto our property and frankly causing a security concern for the whole building,” Lindberg added.

In addition, the bar will install a theater-style curtain around the patio to further block out noise. Attorney Jon Kinney, speaking on behalf of A-Town’s owners at the meeting, said the closure of the outdoor bar should at least be held off until it can be determined if the curtain is effective enough.

“We think the curtains are going to work and be able to contain the noise,” Kinney said. “We worry if we close the bar and the serving area and and we put the curtains up, that we won’t be able to open back up and know what worked.”

Members of the Board said they believed the curtain would help and questioned whether to hold off on forcing A-Town to close its outdoor bar, but the motion passed unanimously.

“It’s been really hard for the neighbors,” Board member Libby Garvey said. “I’m not saying it’s anybody’s fault, but I think we just need to bring [the noise] down as much as possible.”

Lindberg called the site plan amendment, which also renews the site plan conditions that allow live music and dancing at A-Town, a “reasonable… middle ground for all interested parties.”

Staff will conduct a review of the changes in three months, and the site plan amendment will go before the board in June for renewal.

Red Parrot Closes in Ballston

By Katie Pyzyk

Red Parrot Asian BistroRed Parrot Asian Bistro (1110 N. Glebe Road) in Ballston has closed after a little more than nine months in business.

The Asian fusion restaurant opened in March and held its grand opening celebration in May. However, owner Wendy Cheng said she found Arlington to be too far from Maryland, where she lives and runs the other two Red Parrot locations. She said the long commute was causing too many problems with maintaining the Arlington location.

Cheng confirms the Arlington location “is closed as of this week.”

Morning Poll: Hipsters in Arlington?

By ARLnow.com

People walking in BallstonAccording the real estate information firm RealtyTrac, Arlington’s 22203 ZIP code is the 7th-most “hipster-friendly” area in the United States.

A hipster ZIP code is generally defined by RealtyTrac as an area where residents are young and lots of people rent and take public transportation. The 22203 ZIP code, the second-highest ranking ZIP in the D.C. area next to Alexandria’s 22304 ZIP code, includes the neighborhoods of Ballston, Virginia Square, Bluemont and Buckingham.

Arlington’s 22201 ZIP code, meanwhile, ranked 23rd on the list. That ZIP code includes Courthouse, Clarendon, Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and parts of Ballston and Virginia Square.

No ZIP codes in the District of Columbia made the rankings.

RealtyTrac’s methodology seems questionable at best, ignoring the more nuanced cultural factors that define a “hipster.” That said, which Arlington locale would you consider to be the biggest hipster hotbed?
 

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Playground equipment at Woodlawn Park

Looking at Campaign Sign Removal — Arlington County Board members may consider asking state transportation officials for authority to remove improperly placed campaign signs from state roads. Virginia law prohibits campaign signs from being placed on state roads, but it also prohibits anyone besides state officials from removing them unless the jurisdiction has a deal with the state. [Sun Gazette]

McAuliffe Adds to His Cabinet — Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) made appointments yesterday for several of his key cabinet positions. He named Paul Reagan as chief of staff, Suzette Denslow as deputy chief of staff, Ric Brown as secretary of finance and Levar Stoney as secretary of the commonwealth. Reagan had previously served as chief of staff for Rep. Jim Moran (D) and Sen. Jim Webb (D). [Washington Post]

Library Displays Rare Kennedy Newspapers — The Arlington Central Library has put on a display a number of rare newspapers from when John F. Kennedy was president. Some of the papers highlight Kennedy’s assassination 50 years ago this month. The exhibit also includes papers from Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961 and his burial at Arlington National Cemetery. [Arlington Public Library]

How Ballston was Named — Do you know how the Ballston neighborhood got its name? It goes back to the Ball brothers who owned more than 250 acres of land in the area back in the 1700s. [Ghosts of DC]

Leek American Bistro Closed?

By Katie Pyzyk

Leek American Bistro(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) It appears that Leek American Bistro (801 N. Quincy Street) in Ballston may have closed down.

Tipsters report the restaurant has looked deserted for several days. ARLnow.com staff stopped by today (Wednesday) and noted that the restaurant is dark, the doors are locked and the tables have been removed from the dining area.

Leek opened one year ago this month in the former Thai Terrace space.

Last week, Eater DC posted an article saying Leek closed briefly for renovations. The article included a photo of a sign in Leek’s window indicating the restaurant would re-open last Friday, November 8. That sign was not in the window, however, when ARLnow.com staff stopped by today. Nobody could be seen inside the restaurant, performing renovations or otherwise.

Leek’s Facebook page has not been updated since August. The restaurant’s owner could not be reached for comment.

UPDATED: Two Hurt in Construction Site Fall in Ballston

By ARLnow.com
1/10

(Updated at 10:20 a.m.) Two workers have been taken to the hospital after falling 20 feet at a construction site in Ballston.

The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. at an apartment construction site at 650 N. Glebe Road, across from the mall at the intersection of N. Carlin Springs Road.

Two workers were standing at a wall at the construction site when they somehow fell 20 feet into the construction pit, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Bill Shelton. One worker was able to walk out and seek medical attention on his own power, while the other had to be lifted out of the site with a crane.

Both workers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, Shelton said.

This is the fourth technical rescue of a construction or maintenance worker in Arlington in the past month and a half.

Taxi Drives Into Ballston Light Pole

By Ethan Rothstein
Taxi crashes into pole in Ballston
Taxi crashes into pole in Ballston
Taxi crashes into pole in Ballston
Taxi crashes into pole in Ballston
Taxi crashes into pole in Ballston
1/5

A Blue Top Cab driver drove his taxi into a light pole this morning (Friday) in Ballston.

The driver struck the concrete pole at about 10:45 a.m. on Fairfax Drive at the intersection with N. Quincy Street. The pole broke in half and shattered onto the street.

There were no passengers in the car, according to police, and the driver was up and talking to the responding officers. The traffic signal at the intersection was still operational and traffic wasn’t impeded.

County to Review Blue Goose Redevelopment Plan

By Katie Pyzyk

"Blue Goose" building in Ballston (photo courtesy Preservation Arlington) (Updated at 12:05 p.m.) A proposal for redeveloping Marymount University’s “Blue Goose” building in Ballston will go before the county’s Site Plan Review Committee tonight.

The proposal involves tearing down the existing 8-story building and replacing it with two new buildings. One would be a 9-story office and educational building, and the other would be a 15-story multi-family residence.

The L-shaped residential building would sit at the north end of the site, and would include 267 units. The ground floor would house about 3,000 square feet of retail space along Glebe Road. A landscaped plaza with specialty paving, lighting and planters would separate that building goose planfrom the office/educational building at the south end of the site, at the corner of N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive. The plaza plan includes outdoor seating for the retail and food vendors. A wall would separate the outdoor retail area from the ground floor residential area.

Both buildings would sit on top of a 3-level underground parking structure, which would include 265 residential spaces. Currently, the Blue Goose has 202 surface parking spaces with an entrance along Glebe Road. The plan for the underground structure involves moving the parking entrance to the lesser traveled N. Wakefield Street.

Rendering of proposed development on "Blue Goose" siteThe redevelopment proposal would keep the street lane configurations the same on Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive, but expand the width of the sidewalks. The developer would also provide a cycle track adjacent to the Fairfax Drive frontage. County staff will look at how best to improve bicycle and trail access with the wider streetscape.

In response to comments about the historic preservation of the existing Blue Goose structure (built in 1962) — which recently made Preservation Arlington’s “Most Endangered Historic Places” list — the developer has agreed to include blue panels on the ground floor retail space’s building facade and on part of the interior.

So far, it’s unclear if this will be the last time the Site Plan Review Committee addresses the Blue Goose development, or if more tweaks to the design are anticipated at future meetings. Once the committee feels a consensus has been reached on any outstanding issues, the project will move on to the Planning Commission, and then on to the County Board for final approval.

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Portal to Rosslyn Gateway Park

County Seeks Federal Funds for Transportation Projects — County officials are expected to apply for three grants for non-vehicular transportation projects. The $1 million in grant money would cover a bicycle and pedestrian connection between Four Mile Run Trail and Potomac Yard, improvements at Ashlawn Elementary School, and street and sidewalk improvements along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. [Sun Gazette]

Man Hospitalized After Fall at Airport — A man has been hospitalized after falling from a roadway at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday. He apparently climbed over the protective barrier near the ticketing level roadway and fell to the arrivals roadway below. [Washington Post]

Study: Arlington Could Cut Back on Parking Spaces — Researchers with the Arlington County Commuter Services’ Mobility Lab conducted a study of residents in 16 high rise towers to monitor their commuting habits. One of the significant findings is that residents are often choosing to walk, bike or use public transportation instead of driving, even if they own cars. A land use expert says the findings suggest that Arlington has more parking spaces than it needs, and can cut back on parking requirements for new developments. [WAMU]

No Anchor Tenant Yet for Ballston Development — All the pieces are in place for constructing a new development at 4040 Wilson Blvd in Ballston, except that there still isn’t an anchor tenant for the building. Developer Shooshan is waiting to sign such a tenant before commencing construction. The final building in the Liberty Center complex will have 20 floors and more than 426,000 square feet of space. [GlobeSt]

BREAKING: Office Worker Falls Through Grate in Ballston

By ARLnow.com
1/15

(Update at 11:25 a.m.) An office worker has been hurt from a fall behind 950 N. Glebe Road in Ballston.

The incident happened just before 10:00 a.m. The worker was walking to a meeting when he stepped on a steel grate, adjacent to the sidewalk, which collapsed. He fell about 15 feet into a ventilation shaft, landing on a concrete ledge. Scanner reports suggest he suffered head and rib injuries.

A technical rescue team from the Arlington County Fire Department used a Stokes basket to lift the man from the shaft. With dried blood visible on his face, he was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the trauma center at Inova Fairfax Hospital around 11:00 a.m.

The man, a white male in his 50s, was conscious, alert and breathing, fire department spokesman Capt. Bill Shelton said. There’s no official word on the nature of his injuries.

In his experience, Shelton said, incidents like this one, in which a grate collapses under the feet of a pedestrian, are uncommon.

Two lanes of N. Glebe Road were blocked by the emergency response. A county building engineer has responded to the scene to inspect the grate.

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