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Shake Shack Eyes Pentagon City Location

Published June 24, 2014 at 2:15PM

Shake Shack is looking at the burger desert of Pentagon City for a possible future expansion.

The New York-based burger, hot dog and milkshake chain opened its fourth D.C. location yesterday, at Union Station.

At the opening, Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti told Eater.com that he’s considering a future location in Pentagon City.

Eater’s Missy Frederick reports:

“I’d like to someday be further outside the city,” he said, though there are no concrete plans to open any locations there yet. Garutti could see such markets as Bethesda, Reston and Pentagon City responding well to a location.

While Crystal City has a Good Stuff Eatery, the only fast food burger option of note in Pentagon City is the McDonald’s in Pentagon City mall.

Photo via Wikipedia/Beyond My Ken

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 18, 2014 at 9:15AM

Politico to Stay in Rosslyn — The Capitol Hill publication Politico has been looking for new office space, but will keep its home at 1100 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn after all, according to an internal memo. Politico’s owner, Allbritton Communications, said last year that it plans to use proceeds from the sale of its Rosslyn-based TV station WJLA (ABC 7) to fund an expansion of Politico. [Fishbowl DC]

Woodstock Park Improvements Approved — The Arlington County Board has unanimously approved a $644,127 contract to construct improvements to Woodstock Park, including a new basketball court and playground. [Arlington County]

Ray’s, Heavy Seas Makes Burger List — Two Arlington eateries are among the D.C. area’s ten hottest places for burgers, according to online food publication Eater. Rosslyn’s relatively new Heavy Seas Alehouse is No. 5 while Ray’s to the Third, also in Rosslyn, is No. 7. [Eater]

A Very Arlington Tweet — Was it the “Arlington-est tweet ever” when Bike Arlington tweeted today that “it’s flip-flop commuting weather?” [Twitter]

Photo courtesy @rydaka

‘DC Sliders’ Food Truck Debuts in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 20, 2014 at 10:00AM

A new food truck, DC Sliders, has come to serve lunch to customers in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

The truck’s first day in Arlington was Feb. 6. It serves an array of mini-burgers, including the “Elvis” slider, featuring the King’s favorite sandwich ingredients: peanut butter, banana and bacon. Currently, it has regular stops in Courthouse and Rosslyn, as well as Reston and Tysons Corner, but it has also stopped in Ballston in the last two weeks.

Other menu items during its stop in Rosslyn yesterday (Wednesday) included the “Del Toro” — which comes topped with tomato salsa, refried beans, guacamole, corn, greens and tortilla chips — and the “Slider Mac,” a burger topped with ketchup and macaroni and cheese. Customers can choose two types of sliders and combine with an order of garlic fries for $11.

The line for sliders at 11:45 a.m. was the longest on the block, even with four other food trucks parked close by.

The truck was launched in Loudoun County last August, according to co-owner Carmen Morse, who owns the truck with her husband, Chris. Carmen Morse told ARLnow.com that they are waiting for permits to park in D.C. and, if business continues to go well this summer, they are aiming to launch another truck and, a bit down the road, open a brick-and-mortar store.

BGR: The Burger Joint Closes in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Published January 13, 2014 at 3:30PM

After just under 3 years in business, BGR: The Burger Joint has closed its doors.

The “better burger” eatery opened to large crowds in April 2011, amid something of a burger craze in Arlington. More recently, the restaurant struggled to attract customers willing to pay what usually came out to $10-20 for a burger, fries and a drink.

“We’d like to sincerely thank everyone for visiting our Clarendon location in the past — unfortunately we have had to close this location for various reason[s],” the restaurant said via Facebook today. “We hope you will come visit us at our Arlington location, located only a half mile down the road at 3129 Lee Highway! See you soon!”

As of this afternoon the restaurant’s outdoor sign had already been taken down.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 10, 2014 at 9:30AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:48PM

Orange, Blue and Yellow Line Work This Weekend — Getting anywhere on Metro this weekend will take longer than usual. Trains will run every 20 minutes on the Orange, Blue and Yellow lines due to track work. The Yellow Line, meanwhile, will end at Mt. Vernon Square rather than Fort Totten. The changes will be in effect from 10:00 p.m. Friday through system closing on Sunday. [WMATA]

Superintendent Hopes to Avoid Class Size Increase — Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy says he’ll try to avoid an increase in class sizes in the school system’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget. It’s unclear how Murphy plans to close a projected $8.8 million budget gap. [Sun Gazette]

Howze Wins Teacher Endorsement — Arlington County Board hopeful Alan Howze has won the endorsement of the Arlington Education Association Political Action Committee. The political arm of the teachers’ association said Howze “recognizes that investing in our schools is one of the very best ways to make our community even stronger.”

Brink Proposes Under 15 Tanning Salon Ban — Arlington’s Del. Bob Brink (D) has proposed legislation that would ban children under the age of 15 from Virginia tanning salons and would require teens ages 15 to 17 to obtain written parental permission to use such facilities. [Sun Gazette]

Ballston Burger Shop Renames RG III Burger — The RG III burger at Big Buns in Ballston has received an alternate name, “The Kirk Cousins.” The $15 burger contains a beef, a chicken and a turkey patty. Dan Steinberg writes: “No word on what the sandwich will be called next fall.” [DC Sports Bog]

Flickr pool photo by Ddimick

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 3, 2013 at 9:00AM

Z-Burger to End Free Burger Promotion — Z-Burger is ending its free burger promotion for furloughed federal workers. The local burger chain says they’ve given away more than $60,000 worth of burgers to more than 15,000 federal workers. The company says it’s losing too much money to continue, so the giveaway will end tonight (Thursday). “In order for us to stay in business, we had to make the hard choice,” said owner Peter Tabibian.

New Townhouses Coming to Westover — A new townhouse development is coming to the Westover neighborhood. The Westover Place townhomes are replacing a series of aging but mixed-income low-rise apartment buildings on N. Kensington Street. Prices for new homes in the development start in the $800’s. [Arlington Housing Report]

CivFed Calls for County Audit Staff — Delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation voted 40-2 this week on a resolution that calls for Arlington to hire an independent, internal auditing and financial control staff. [Sun Gazette]

WRIT Buys Crystal City Building — Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has purchased The Paramount, a 17-story apartment building at 1425 S. Eads Street, for $48 million. [Globe St.]

Flickr pool photo by Lawrence Cheng Photography

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 1, 2013 at 8:50AM

Free Burgers for Feds — Because the federal government shut down early this morning, Z-Burger is following through on its offer to serve free burgers for all federal and D.C. workers who have been furloughed. The local burger chain, which has a location at 3325 Wilson Blvd, near Clarendon, says customers must present a government ID to get the free burger.

Task Force Recommends More School Buses — An Arlington Public Schools task force has recommended that the school system’s bus service be expanded, at least for elementary school students. Elementary students should be supervised on their way to school, said the task force, which also said that buses are safer and produce less traffic than cars. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Startup Raises $100 Million — Arlington-based Evolent Health has raised a whopping $100 million in its latest funding round. The health management company expects to rapidly hire and develop technology in order to meet heavy demand from the hospital industry, spurred on by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. [Washington Business Journal]

Crystal City Showing Resilience — Despite heavy military job losses caused by the Base Closure and Realignment Act, Crystal City is starting to bounce back and find new tenants to fill vacant office space. Property owners are also using the tough times to upgrade or redevelop older buildings. The office vacancy rate in Crystal City stands at 24.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent in 2011. [Washington Post]

Vintage Plane Flies Over Arlington — The photo above was taken from a Ford Tri-Motor, the first mass-produced airliner in the world. Built in the 1920s, the plane has been carefully maintained and, on Saturday, flew over Arlington in a flight organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association. [EAA]

Photo courtesy Mary Dominiak/Experimental Aircraft Association

Z-Burger: Free Burgers If Caps Win

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2013 at 11:45AM

If the Washington Capitals win tonight against the New York Rangers, the new Z-Burger in Virginia Square will offer free burgers tomorrow.

The Capitals are facing the Rangers tonight in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at Verizon Center. The winner will advance to the semifinals, against the winner of the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs series, and the loser will go home for the summer.

Should the Capitals win, the Z-Burger at 3325 Wilson Blvd will give away free burgers during lunchtime on Tuesday.

“If the Caps win tonight, the Z-Burger location in Arlington will be offering free burgers for fans during Tuesday’s lunch from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.,” Z-Burger said in a press release. “All the fans have to do is show up during these hours and say the secret password — ‘CAPZ’ and they will be treated to any single hamburger, veggie burger, turkey burger or single cheeseburger of their choice.”

The offer is only valid at the Arlington Z-Burger location and is good for one burger per person.

Z-Burger Now Open in Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com

Published April 23, 2013 at 1:55PM

After more than two years of construction, Z-Burger has finally opened its new restaurant in Virginia Square.

The D.C.-based local burger chain opened its first Arlington location, at 3325 Wilson Blvd, to the public over the weekend.

Inside, the restaurant features a bright interior with high ceilings, plenty of floor-to-ceiling glass, and lots of red design accents, from the seating to the multiple Coca-Cola Freestyle drink machines. Outside, there’s free parking for customers — through several spots require drivers to exit by reversing onto busy Wilson Blvd.

No store hours are posted, but an employee tells us the restaurant will be open very late on Fridays and Saturdays — from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. On all other days, Z-Burger will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., we’re told.

Z-Burger offers hamburgers, turkey burgers, hot dogs, cheesesteak sandwiches, a large selection of toppings and sauces, 75 milkshake varieties, and freshly cut fries and onion rings.

Z-Burger Nearly Ready to Open in Virginia Square

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 13, 2013 at 11:55AM

There have been some delays in opening, but the finishing touches are now being worked on at the new Z-Burger at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Kenmore Street, between the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro stations.

After nearly two years of construction, owner Peter Tabibian hopes to open the restaurant in the next two to three weeks. He said an inspector asked for a few more fixes before the final occupancy permit is granted. Tabibian thinks the timing should be better with a March opening anyway, considering it may not be as cold outside.

“I think it’s better to open when it’s a little bit warmer,” he said. “When you open, you want to open with a big bang. It’s not as good when it’s winter.”

Although there are a number of Z-Burger locations throughout the D.C. metro area, this will be the first in Virginia.

“Arlington is a very good place for businesses because it has the right demographics and what we were looking for,” said Tabibian. “They’re building a lot of stuff here and I think this will be a good place for our first Virginia location.”

Z-Burger touts homemade custard in its 75 varieties of milkshakes, freshly cut fries and onion rings, fresh bread that’s delivered twice daily and even cheesesteak sandwiches. Tabibian said the burgers are different than at other restaurants due in a large part to the special spice blend, which he says “is very addicting.” He believes another aspect that sets Z-Burger apart from competitors is the service.

“We are very quick. We have a system that as soon as people come in, the patties are already dropped down on the grill,” said Tabibian. “Everything is cooked to order so people don’t have to wait a long, long time. By the time you order, our goal is to get your food in six to eight minutes.”

Once it opens, the restaurant will celebrate its grand opening with several days of burger giveaways. Until an opening date is set, crews will continue construction work and Tabibian will continue hiring staff. Anyone interested in applying for a position at the new Z-Burger should email [email protected].

Burger 7 Opens on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

Published November 15, 2012 at 11:50AM | Updated November 15, 2012 at 12:06PM

A new burger eatery has opened in Arlington.

Burger 7, at 2515 Lee Highway, opened its doors to the public yesterday. It is open today and will celebrate its “grand opening” tomorrow (Friday) with a 2-for-1 burger deal.

Burger 7 is a new local burger chain, touting itself as “committed to bringing you a quality, juicy burger.”

“Our special proprietary blend is 100% certified Natural Angus Beef, ground right here each day,” according to the restaurant’s web site. “Our cattle are only fed a high quality vegetarian diet and we are proud our cattle are [humanely] raised and tracked from their birth. They are never given hormones or antibiotics, no fillers or artificial ingredients.”

In addition to beef, turkey and vegan burgers, the eatery offers fresh-cut olive oil french fries, all-beef hot dogs, and hand-dipped milkshakes. Other menu items include sweet potato fries, onion rings and a salad.

Burger 7 has locations and planned locations in Tysons Corner, Alexandria and Falls Church. The Arlington location, situated next to a 7-Eleven Store off of Lee Highway, will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Photo (top, right) via Facebook