Ballston

Construction Underway on New ‘World of Beer’ in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Work is underway on a new “World of Beer” in Ballston, two blocks from its original location along N. Glebe Road.

World of Beer, a restaurant that offers a large selection of beer from around the globe, is coming to the former Ted’s Montana Grill space at 4300 Wilson Blvd. That’s just down the street from Crafthouse, which rebranded in 2017 after formerly being a World of Beer location.

Late last week workers could be seen inside the space, which had been largely cleared of the former Ted’s decor. As construction continues, World of Beer has already applied for a Virginia ABC permit; the filing suggests that the restaurant will serve beer, wine and cocktails and will have a seating capacity of more than 150.

The chain applied for construction permits this past fall. So far there’s no word as to an expected opening date.

Neighborhood Spotlight: Our Favorite Ballston Restaurants

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This content was written and sponsored by The Keri Shull Team, Arlington’s top producing residential real estate team.

Join the members of The Keri Shull Team as we take you on a tour of our 3 favorite restaurants in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington.

This area has a ton of different options for delicious food, and we want to show you some of the best dishes you can eat when you’re visiting or living in Arlington.

Are you already familiar with the food in Ballston? Did we miss your favorite spot? Let us know where you like to eat in the comments below — we’d love to check it out!

Make sure to check out the rest of our Neighborhood Spotlights to find out some of our favorite places to eat, drink and have fun in the DMV. Leave a comment to let us know if you have any suggestions for where we should spotlight next!

Are you interested in moving to Ballston, one of the other Arlington neighborhoods, or anywhere else in the D.C. area? Well, The Keri Shull Team can help — we are the top-producing team in Northern Virginia and the DMV!

If you want to learn about how we can help you find your dream home and win it for a price that you’ll love, contact The Keri Shull Team today!

Ballston Quarterfest Returning With New Exhibits and a Chance to Win Free Caps Tickets

By Vernon Miles

Ballston Quarterfest — the event that replaced Taste of Arlington last year — is coming back this summer with some new features.

This year’s festival — now dubbed the Quaterfest Crawl — has been scheduled for May 16, along Wilson Blvd. between N. Taylor Street and N. Randolph Street. The event is scheduled to run from 12-8 p.m. rain or shine, which are extended hours compared to last year.

The event is hosted by BallstonGives, a charitable arm of the Ballston Business Improvement District.

Unlike Taste of Arlington, restaurants don’t come to Quarterfest’s main drag and set up tents. The Quarterfest Crawl is a for-purchase wristband that gets the visitor access to free tastings and special discounts on meals at dozens of restaurants around the neighborhood.

The event is free and open to the public, but a wristband is required to participate in the restaurant crawl and to get drink tickets for the street pub — a pop-up bar serving beer, cider, wine and cocktails. The Quarterfest Crawl wristband is $45 online before May 1, though there are other prices for other types of packages.

This year, the event is set to feature a new “culinary discovery” and expo pavilion at the center of the festival, also on Wilson Blvd.

“Think of the culinary discovery pavilion as a live cooking demonstration area with classroom seating and additional seating for people to stand and socialize,” Ballston BID spokeswoman Catherine Roper said said. You’ll also be able to try what’s being cooked.

“Think of this as Quarterfest’s Kitchen Stadium,” Roper said.

Meanwhile, at the expo pavilion, visitors can turn in a fully stamped “Crawl passport” to be entered to win two free tickets to a Washington Capitals game. Registration is now open for local businesses that want to sign up as exhibitors at the expo pavilion or as sponsors for the event.

In addition to food, drink and exhibitors, attendees will also be able to enjoy some live music. The following bands are scheduled to play throughout the event.

File photo

Compass Coffee Is Now Open, Plans to Offer Free Coffee Tuesday Morning

By ARLnow.com
1/6

Compass Coffee has opened in Ballston.

The cafe at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Randolph Street opened over the weekend, an employee told us, after more than a year of anticipation. It’s located at 4100 Wilson Blvd, on the ground floor of the Origin apartment building that was built as part of the recent renovations to what is now Ballston Quarter mall.

To celebrate the opening, Compass will be offering a “free coffee day” tomorrow, from 6 a.m.-7 p.m., according to a mall spokesman. Customers will be able to receive a drink of their choice during that time.

The new cafe will offer the same drink selection as other Compass Coffee locations — including the Rosslyn location at 1201 Wilson Blvd that opened in 2018 — but its food menu will vary slightly, ARLnow previously reported. Beyond standard coffee shop staples, drink offerings include nitro cold brew coffee (also available in a growler), apple cider, matcha latte, maple latte, and nutella mocha.

Ashley Hopko contributed to this report

Become an Original Member of VIDA Ballston

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

VIDA Fitness is expanding our family and opening our doors in Virginia!

Coming this spring, VIDA Ballston is our sixth location, and promises to offer all the exceptional and upscale amenities that members have come to expect over the years. VIDA has been voted the Best Gym in D.C. by Washington City Paper and The Washingtonian, and offers countless services to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle.

VIDA features state-of-the-art equipment, and boasts spacious weight room floors perfect for all types of strength work. We draw the best instructors in the D.C. area to drive results and engage members in hundreds of classes on our expansive group fitness schedule.

Between yoga, mat Pilates, barre, Zumba, Body Pump, and much much more, we have something that every member is sure to enjoy. Our dedicated staff of Personal Trainers are some of the best in the industry, and will work with you to create and design individual workout plans to help you achieve your goals.

All of our facilities feature luxurious locker rooms that are fully stocked to ensure you have everything you need to start your day, and leave the gym feeling refreshed. Relax in our steam rooms and saunas after your workout, and enjoy quality Bang Salon products to leave feeling nourished and restored.

Be sure to lock in our special Ballston introductory rate by the end of February, to take advantage of pricing that will never be this low again! You will receive discounted personal training, discounts off Aura spa services, access to SweatBox, and much more!

Visit www.vidaballston.com/ballstonlastcall today, and become the latest member of the VIDA family! We can’t wait to share the VIDA experience with you.

Taco and Tequila Joint Bartaco Under Construction in Ballston Quarter

By Vernon Miles
1/3

It might not court the controversy of the new Columbia Heights Taco Bell Cantina, but national taco and tequila chain Bartaco is coming to Ballston Quarter.

The restaurant is one of the last remaining pieces for the recently-renovated mall, which has seen numerous eatery openings over the last year. It will be located adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall, with a new outdoor dining area in the Quarter Market courtyard.

The restaurant offers a variety of tacos — with ingredients from portobello mushrooms to pork carnitas to tuna — on 4-inch corn tortillas or lettuce shells. Most tacos range from $2.50-$3.50 per piece. Bartaco also offers rice bowls, salads, and more.

The Ballston Quarter location plans to serve cocktails, tequila, wine and beer as well.

Workers at the site are still in the early stages of construction and said they do not know when the restaurant will open. The Ballston Quarter website only says the restaurant is coming soon.

Bartaco currently has nearby locations in the Mosaic District and Reston Town Center.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

No Coronavirus in N. Va. So Far — “UPDATE: Tests came back negative on a second Northern Virginia resident suspected of having the novel coronavirus.” [Twitter]

HQ2 Search Was Intended to Extract Handouts — “When Elon Musk secured $1.3 billion from Nevada in 2014 to open a gigantic battery plant, Jeff Bezos noticed. In meetings, the Amazon.com Inc. chief expressed envy for how Musk had pitted five Western states against one another in a bidding war for thousands of manufacturing jobs; he wondered why Amazon was okay with accepting comparatively trifling incentives.” [Bloomberg]

Todd Hitt’s Path to Fraud — “Todd Hitt had never worked for the family company. He’d built spec houses around the same North Arlington neighborhoods where he’d grown up, but according to a court document, his homebuilding business had collapsed… now solidly into midlife, Hitt suddenly seemed eager to leave his fingerprints on the Washington landscape.” [Washingtonian]

Ballston Homicide Investigation Update — An update on last month’s homicide in Ballston, from an Arlington County Police spokeswoman: “The homicide investigation remains a top priority of the department with detectives continuing to process evidence, interview witnesses and follow-up on investigate leads. At this time, there is no new information to provide regarding the investigation. Arlington County Crime Solvers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest of a suspect. Report tips anonymously by calling the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at ‪1-866-411-TIPS (8477).”

Virginia’s Favorite Valentine’s Candy — Virginia’s favorite Valentine’s Day candy is conversation hearts, followed by heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, according to a candy website. [CandyStore.com]

Mezeh to Open Tomorrow in Ballston Quarter

By Vernon Miles
1/5

Fast-casual Mediterranean grill Mezeh is scheduled to open tomorrow on the Glebe Road side of Ballston Quarter mall (4238 Wilson Blvd).

The grand opening is scheduled to run from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., with the restaurant then reopening from 5:30-8 p.m. According to a press release and signs around the restaurant, visitors can get a free bowl with purchase of a drink, though steak or lamb bowls are $1.50 extra.

A growing chain, Mezeh started in Northern Virginia and has locations throughout Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. The company’s first stand-alone restaurant opened in Crystal City (2450 Crystal Drive) in 2015.

In Ballston, Mezeh will face some stiff competition in the “fast-casual Mediterranean grill” market. Cava at 4121 Wilson Blvd attracts a consistently large lunch crowd and Arlington-based Lebanese Taverna’s quick-service concept LEBTAV opened at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Quincy Street last month.

Huevos in Ballston Nearing Construction Phase, Still on Track for Spring Opening

By ARLnow.com

Progress is being made on Huevos, a new “all-day egg concept” from Chef Victor Albisu of Taco Bamba fame.

Albisu tells ARLnow that the restaurant’s design is nearly complete and the interior build-out will begin soon. He still expects the restaurant, in the former Yona space at 4000 Wilson Blvd, to open at some point this spring.

Opening a new restaurant with an unusual concept, in a space slightly off the beaten path along N. Quincy Street, in a neighborhood full of new restaurants, is a bold move. But one doesn’t win the RAMMY award for Chef of the Year and become a James Beard award nominee by being basic and unchallenging, and Albisu thinks Arlingtonians will embrace the idea of the egg as an ingredient for all times of the day.

“Just like any other concept or anything I embark on, I put my perspective out there,” said Albisu, whose nickname as a child was “huevos,” for his love of the humble egg.

“I just want to make a really cool concept,” he said of the egg-centric idea. “It’s a food that makes everything better.”

So what kind of dishes can you expect? A Latin-accented version of green eggs and ham; a crispy egg roll with chorizo and poblanos; bacon, egg and cheese empanadas; egg salad topped with caviar; and, yes, tacos — with an egg-based “Huevos yellow sauce.”

“As a chef and restaurateur, you want to put your spin on it,” said Albisu. “There will be some curveballs and other things on the menu that will also attract people.”

There will also, of course, be various types of coffee, along with a “modest bar” serving craft beers, mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Albisu, who grew up in Falls Church and would regularly go out to eat in Arlington, says he hopes this is the beginning of even more restaurants here. While some might be disappointed that Ballston is not getting a Taco Bamba — the existing Chipotle leaves something to be desired — he says to stay tuned.

“If what I do is interesting to everybody there, and hopefully it is, we can expand what we do in the future,” he said. “We’re always looking in Arlington. It deserves the best it can get.”

Ballston Harris Teeter Reduces Hours Ahead of Redevelopment

By ARLnow.com
1/5

(Updated at 9:40 a.m.) The Ballston Harris Teeter store is set for redevelopment, but in the meantime it remains open and is reducing its hours.

Signs posted around the store say that starting Wednesday, Feb. 26 it will go from being open 24 hours a day to being open from 6 a.m. to midnight.

A reason for the change was not given. A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

It’s unclear when work on the new development will start. Apartment buildings with hundreds of units of housing, along with a new Harris Teeter store and a some public open space, are set to replace the current store, nearby Mercedes Benz dealership parking lot and a single-family home.

According to a staff report from the Arlington County Board approval of the redevelopment in November, the Harris Teeter store will remain open until the new store is built:

It is anticipated that the project will develop over three (3) major phases, with minor subphases. During Phase I, the existing ASC is demolished, and Building #1 (new Harris Teeter) is constructed, along with the streetscape and streets wrapping Building #1. The existing Harris Teeter will remain open, served by the remaining surface parking from the grocery store and ASC property, during Phase I. During Phase II, the old Harris Teeter is demolished to create new temporary surface parking, and Building #2 is constructed, along with the remaining North Tazewell Street sidewalk and street sections. The public open space will also be constructed during Phase II, and must be completed before the final Certificate of Occupancy for Tenant Occupancy in Building #2 (Condition #57). Further, temporary surface parking in the area of the old Harris Teeter / new Building #3, will be removed and planted as a temporary lawn area until Phase III begins (Condition #59). During Phase III, Building #3 is constructed, along with the remaining street and streetscape improvements wrapping the building along North Glebe Rd. and North Randolph Street and the two (2) levels of below-grade parking.

VIDA Fitness Eyes March Opening in Ballston, 2021 Opening in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com
1/2

High-end D.C.-based fitness chain VIDA Fitness says its expansion into Arlington is just a couple of months away from coming to fruition.

VIDA announced today that it expects its new 29,000 square foot health club in Ballston to open in “mid to late March”

The club is located at the bottom of a new, 22-story mixed-use tower at 4040 Wilson Blvd. It will feature “over 100 state-of-the-art machines, 25 personal trainers and other high-end amenities,” as well as a spa, spin studio, “Fuel Bar” and co-working area.

The Ballston gym will be the brand’s first non-D.C. location, but it’s not the only facility VIDA, an ARLnow advertiser, has planned in Arlington. A second location, at the new “Highlands” development in western Rosslyn, is now expected to open in 2021, according to VIDA.

More from a press release:

The 29K SF premier health club facility, conveniently located next to Ballston Quarter and the Ballston Metro, will consist of three levels and will feature the lifestyle centers affiliate companies such as SweatBox, Aura Spa, and Fuel Bar.

Some of the highlights of the new location includes:

  • Over 100 state-of-the-art machines, 25 personal trainers and other high-end amenities;
  • A weight room with the latest equipment for strength work, including extensive free weights, an open layout for endless stretching;
  • Second-floor level dedicated to group fitness classes which includes yoga, pilates, barre, Zumba, Body Pump and more;
  • Aura Spa where members can indulge in one of the many signature treatments such as facials, massages, waxing, body scrubs, as well as CBD oil and cupping treatments;
  • Sweat Box – newest and most innovative workouts featuring jam-packed cardio and strength interval training;
  • A spin studio featuring 30 brand new coach by color bikes which allow you to set your bike based on your fitness level and get a personalized challenge in a fun, interactive class;
  • Luxury locker rooms featuring modern and luxury amenities, plus steam and sauna rooms;
  • Co-working area for members located by the Fuel Bar who need to take care of a little work before or after their workout session;
  • Complementary events and happy hours for members

“In our search for new locations, Ballston is a perfect fit”, said David von Storch, President, and Founder of Urban Adventure Companies. “It’s an active, health-oriented, well-educated submarket that we think will respond well to what we offer. We want to make sure that we open in locations where we believe that we can foster a new sense of community for those committed to fitness and wellness as an important part of how they live. We are excited to expand what we offer to this neighborhood. Ballston, we’re are all in!”

VIDA Fitness worked with leading architecture firm OTJ Architects on the Ballston design. The Ballston location is scheduled to open mid to late March. VIDA Fitness is also planning to open its second Northern Virginia location in Rosslyn in 2021.

Individuals interested in becoming a member or want to learn about upcoming pre-opening community events can visit VIDABallston.com for more information. The location is also planning a community Open House in early April.

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