Store closing signs at Macy’s in Ballston (staff photo)
Store closing signs at Macy’s in Ballston (staff photo)
Store closing signs at Macy’s in Ballston (staff photo)
Macy’s in Ballston (staff photo)
The Macy’s store in Ballston is slated to close this spring, as soon as March, ARLnow has learned.
The department store at the Ballston Quarter mall was one of five locations the company identified last week as set to close in 2024. Macy’s is also planning to cut some 2,350 jobs this year.
Signs are now up outside and inside the store, advertising a storewide 30% off sales. All sales are final as of Monday, Jan. 22, according to the signage.
A Macy’s spokesperson tells ARLnow that the clearance sale “will run for approximately 8-12 weeks.” The store is expected to close after that.
The Arlington County Board approved a redevelopment plan for the Macy’s site in December 2022. The plan calls for a 16-story, 555-unit apartment complex atop a grocery store and another 1,400-square-foot retail space.
Shuttered Jos. A. Bank at The Clarendon Crossing on Jan. 23, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Jos. A. Bank at Pentagon City mall on Jan. 23, 2024 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Jos. A. Bank in Clarendon has shuttered, adding to the recent string of business closures in the area.
Located at 2800 Clarendon Blvd in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, the well-known men’s clothing brand — one of two Jos. A Bank stores in Arlington — officially closed its doors on Saturday, Jan. 6.
The ghost of an outline of the Jos. A. Bank sign still lingers above the storefront, which opened in 2001, per county records. A notice also hangs in the window announcing the store is “permanently closed” and directs customers to visit its remaining Arlington outpost in the Pentagon City mall.
EJ Enciso, the General Manager of The Clarendon Crossing, told ARLnow the property owner, Florida-based Regency Centers, decided against renewing the company’s lease as part of its strategy to “modernize” the business mix in the shopping center.
“We’re bringing in new and exciting concepts,” Enciso said.
He mentioned that Regency Centers is considering various tenants to replace Jos. A. Bank but declined to provide more details.
Within the last few months, the area has seen several closures, including Mediterranean restaurant Cava Mezze, the international bakery Le Pain Quotidien and outdoor goods store Orvis.
Additionally, the D.C.-based South American rotisserie chicken and whiskey bar Chicken + Whiskey temporarily closed earlier this month, reportedly due to poor sales.
Despite these closures, The Clarendon Crossing has seen some new arrivals, such as the fashion, home goods, and accessories boutique Golden Fox, and the cookie shop Chip City.
Macy’s store at Ballston Quarter (via Google Maps)
A rendering of the proposed development for the Ballston Macy’s department store (via Arlington County)
A rendering of the proposed development for the Ballston Macy’s department store (via Arlington County)
A rendering of the proposed ground-floor grocery store that is part of the Ballston Macy’s department store redevelopment (via Arlington County)
The Macy’s store at Ballston Quarter will close later this year, the company announced Thursday.
The Ballston location is one of five Macy’s stores set to close in 2024, as the department store chain aims to cut 2,350 jobs, or 3.5% of its workforce, including 13% of corporate staff.
The closure of the Ballston Macy’s is not exactly a surprise. The Arlington County Board approved a redevelopment plan for the site in December 2022. From our previous reporting:
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.
There’s no immediate word of an updated timeline for the development, which was the subject of scrutiny from local residents and transportation planners.
Veo e-bikes at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Rhodes Street in Rosslyn (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Seated and standing e-scooters by LINK (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
LINK’s standing scooters in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Arlington County is losing a pair of scooter operators this year.
California-based Veo — which operated both scooters and e-bikes — is leaving the area due to market conditions while LINK, the service from Boston-based Superpedestrian, is shutting down all of its U.S. operations.
“It was Veo’s pleasure to serve Arlington County,” Veo told ARLnow in a statement. “However, current market conditions led us to make the decision not to seek a permit renewal in Arlington and Alexandria.”
Veo says it will continue to provide transportation options in D.C and in College Park, Maryland.
“We commend Arlington County for its commitment to advancing sustainable and accessible transportation and look forward to serving the community in the future should circumstances allow,” Veo’s statement continued.
The company has recently expanded into some municipalities, including San Antonio, Texas, and limited access in other areas, such as the Bronx in New York City, where scooters would reportedly end up in the river. Also this year, Fort Wayne, Indiana, ended its 4-year partnership with Veo over alleged negligent behavior by riders.
Superpedestrian is out because it shut down its U.S. operations on Dec. 31 and has been auctioning off its 20,000 bright-yellow and silver electric scooters.
In February 2022, Superpedestrian introduced 333 bright-yellow and silver standing scooters and 50 seated ones to Arlington, its second U.S. market after debuting in Baltimore. Its time in Arlington was short-lived, however.
After getting into micro-mobility in 2020 and raising $125 million early on, Superpedestrian was in a lurch by late 2023, pinning its hopes on more funding and a potential merger that never materialized, TechCrunch reports. The outlet attributed the demise of Superpedestrian — and the death of “the shared electric scooter business as we know it” — to “unfavorable city regulations, high operational costs and hiring bloat as a consequence of VC funding.”
Scooter operators that still have permits to operate in Arlington, Spin and Bird, were not immune from slumps this year. Spin began exiting several European and American cities in 2022 before fellow operator Bird acquired it in September.
Bird, once valued at $2.5 billion, filed for bankruptcy this December after a rocky 2023: Its founder and CEO stepped down, it was removed from the New York Stock Exchange for overstating its revenue and was beginning to pull out of dozens of cities.
Financially, Veo seems to be doing better. This year, it started selling a scooter via online retail.
Arlington’s other authorized operator, Lime, also defied the dismal fates of its competitors, reporting profitability in the first half of 2023, Verge reports. The company ended 2022 with plans to go public on the stock market but remained privately held.
The application for scooter operators is currently available on the Arlington County website. The county allows up to 2,000 e-scooters and 1,000 e-bikes at one time. The companies leaving Arlington, meanwhile, are expected to take all of their scooters and e-bikes with them.
“Departing contractors are required to remove their devices, but if anyone sees a device left behind, they can send a message to the Shared Mobility team at [email protected],” said Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors.
This article was updated to correct where Veo is based and remove a reference to a different tech company by the same name.
Chicken + Whiskey in Clarendon (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Chicken + Whiskey in Clarendon “temporarily” closed last week, leaving its future uncertain.
Situated at 3033 Wilson Blvd, the D.C.-based South American rotisserie chicken and whiskey bar concept made its debut in the Northern Virginia dining scene last June.
Since its opening, however, the Clarendon outpost — one of four Chicken + Whiskey locations in the D.C. area — has experienced “lackluster sales,” according to a press release.
“Rather than continue to absorb dramatic financial losses throughout the typically slower winter months, the company has decided to conserve its resources, close the doors, and re-open at more appropriate time,” the company said in the release.
Co-owner Desmond Reilly said the Clarendon location’s failure was surprising.
“We thought Clarendon would love our Peruvian Chicken concept,” he said in the release. “We are going to rethink our product offerings and hopefully come back stronger than ever!”
Led by Chef Enrique Limardo, also the head chef at Immigrant Food and D.C.’s Seven Reasons, the restaurant chain serves Peruvian-style chicken, arepas and sandwiches and has a full cocktail and whiskey bar.
Limardo also co-founded the newly opened restaurant Surreal — described as an “elevated diner” concept — in Crystal City.
Bennie’s Pizza is also “temporarily closed” for the holidays and is working out some “culinary details” before reopening, according to the restaurant’s Instagram.
Within the last few months, Clarendon has seen the closure of a handful of other businesses, including Mediterranean restaurant Cava Mezze, the international bakery Le Pain Quotidien and outdoor goods store Orvis.
Though located at an address across from the Clarendon Metro station, Chicken + Whiskey is in the rear of the building, fronting N. Garfield Street in the former Hunan Number One space. Another restaurant in the same building but closer to the Metro station, Bar Ivy, closed just over a month ago.
Rice Crook in Ballston Quarter has quietly closed (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Fast-casual Korean restaurant Rice Crook has quietly closed its location inside Ballston Quarter Market.
The restaurant, a creation of noted local chef Scott Chung that was known for its customizable rice bowls, moved into the food hall at 4238 Wilson Blvd in 2019. Now, all that remains is a sign above its former stall.
There was no closure announcement on the restaurant’s Instagram page and Chung did not respond to a request for comment. Chung also owns Bun’d Up in Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) and, in a spare room of that restaurant, a speakeasy-style bar, restaurant and mahjong hub called Sparrow Room.
Ballston Quarter General Manager TaVida Rice confirmed the closure is permanent and revealed several forthcoming additions to the food hall.
Japanese crêperie T-Swirl is set to open this spring and D.C.-based Dumpling District is slated to open in the fall. Hal & Al’s BBQ, which serves halal brisket sandwiches, ribs and mac and cheese bowls, opened last month.
Korean BBQ restaurant Top Pot, meanwhile, is set to open in a restaurant space along the Glebe Road side of the mall, next to Chick-fil-A. And laser hair removal company Semper Laser is slated to open this spring in the mews area near Lenscrafters, Rice said.
None of the new businesses will take over Rice Crook’s former spot, and the shopping center is still looking for a replacement, she noted.
The Unleashed by Petco store is closing near Ballston (staff photo)
The Unleashed by Petco store is closing near Ballston (staff photo)
The Unleashed by Petco store is closing near Ballston (staff photo)
The Unleashed by Petco store near Ballston is closing this month.
The smaller-format chain pet store — which also offered pet vaccinations, dog training and a self-serve washing station — has been in business at 3902 Wilson Blvd for just over 10 years.
It plans to close on Saturday, Jan. 20, and is offering discounts of 10-60% as part of a store closing sale.
ARLnow reported on a “for lease” sign outside of the single-story, 4,666 square foot commercial building early last year.
A leasing flyer noted that the building was last renovated in 2013, when Petco moved in, and that it has 19 parking spaces.
The last remaining Unleashed store in Arlington is located at 5400 Langston Blvd. It opened in 2011. A previous Pentagon City location closed in 2021.
While store employees were not sure what would be replacing Petco, permits filed in September show that it will be an Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care clinic. Planned interior construction work to the circa-1925 building includes new rooms, walls, ceiling soffits, restrooms, lighting and relocated stairs.
An Inova spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. The healthcare system is in the midst of a major expansion that will see new hospitals in Springfield and Alexandria, as well as a sizable healthcare facility near Potomac Yard.
Owner and namesake Nick Freshman, in announcing the closing today, noted the lengthy delay in opening caused by Covid-19.
I am sad to announce that The Freshman has served its last espresso; we are permanently closed. I want to thank my staff for their tireless dedication, my investors for their unwavering support, my landlord JBG SMITH for their steadfast partnership, and lastly our loyal customers who made it a joy to be open every day.
When I began planning The Freshman in 2018 the landscape was very different. As the world changed, our team adjusted, pivoted, iterated, and endured. Now, with significant construction in our building on the way, it is time to move on. The good news is that Mothersauce Partners is growing, and you can look for our fingerprints on a number of exciting new projects; projects that are also new homes for many of the staff at The Freshman.
We hope to see all of you soon at our newest project in Rosslyn opening in Winter 2024!
American Real Estate Partners has tapped Mothersauce Partners, the hospitality company behind The Eleanor, Thompson Italian and City-State Brewing Co., to oversee the roughly 27,000-square-foot space at Rosslyn City Center. AREP owns the building, 1700 N. Moore St., and opened the food hall in 2021.
Mothersauce hopes to freshen up the design, branding and concept curation at the food hall. Details are still being worked through, and AREP and Mothersauce said it is premature to reveal more details of the partnership ahead of a more formal launch in the new year. […]
The change comes more than three years after AREP tapped another firm to establish a food hall from inside what was then known as Rosslyn Metro Center, a 40-year-old mall that’s since gotten a major makeover.
The Freshman was one of the first restaurants to announce an opening in Crystal City, following the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2, the main office complex of which opened in nearby Pentagon City this past summer. Leased Amazon offices remain open in Crystal City.
A notice on the doors of the bakery, located at 2900 Clarendon Blvd near The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, confirms the Arlington outpost of the international chain closed on Sunday.
“We’ve been lucky to call Clarendon our home for years and humbly thank our guests for helping us build a community in the time we’ve spent in this space,” the notice says.
Known for its assortment of baked goods, breads, salads, sandwiches and beverages, Le Pain Quotidien operates about 50 locations nationwide, including what are now six in the D.C. area. The Clarendon Blvd location was the only one in Arlington.
A representative from Le Pain Quotidien declined to provide details about the closure when ARLnow visited today (Tuesday).
Within the last few months, several other businesses have also closed nearby, including Mediterranean restaurant Cava Mezze and outdoor goods store Orvis.
San Antonio Bar & Grill in Crystal City (courtesy of Edwin Magne)
After a three-decade run, the San Antonio Bar & Grill in Crystal City is set to close this Saturday, marking the end of an era.
The Tex-Mex restaurant, a mainstay in the underground Crystal City Shops since 1993, was notified by its landlord, JBG Smith, three months ago that its lease would not be extended past December, according to co-owner Amparo Magne.
Magne, who operates two other San Antonio Bar & Grill locations in D.C. and Alexandria, said no specific reason was given for the non-renewal, but she suspects it might be due to the landlord’s desire to renovate the space.
“That’s what we think,” she told ARLnow. “We don’t know.”
A PR rep for JBG Smith declined comment.
Edwin Magne, Amparo’s brother and business partner, said the notice from JBG Smith was unexpected. Still, he noted there were signs that changes were coming based on the rapid changes in the area, such as the opening of Amazon Fresh, Alamo Drafthouse and the recently renovated Crystal City Water Park.
“I mean most of the stores in the mall are closing down as well,” he told ARLnow.
While his sister has the means to reopen the restaurant in Arlington, Edwin said rising rents — in an area now home to Amazon’s HQ2 and, potentially, a new sports arena in Potomac Yard — may push them further from their original location.
“It’s prime real-estate,” he said.
Wherever they reopen, Amparo and Edwin hope it won’t be too far from their loyal customers in Crystal City.
“We don’t want to go far away,” Amparo said. “We want something near.”
They are currently looking at Clarendon as a potential option, but no final decisions have been made.
“We just got to find a good place for us that’s gonna fit, that’s going to be good for our employees as well and it’s going to be close enough for our guests that we used to always have,” Edwin said.
Orvis at The Crossing Clarendon on Dec. 18, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Sporting and outdoor goods store Orvis is set to close in Clarendon and is going out with a closing sale.
The closure may not be permanent, however, as the store has hinted at reopening elsewhere in the area.
Located in The Crossing Clarendon at 2879 Clarendon Blvd, the business is scheduled to shut its doors on Jan. 20 of next year. The popularity of the closing sale has led to items selling out quickly, however, potentially leading to an earlier closure if supplies run out.
“We have been running through inventory, so we’re not 100% sure that we will make it that long, but that’s the planned date,” a store employee told ARLnow.
The employee emphasized that Orvis had “no intention of closing the store” but were left with no choice when their lease was not renewed.
“After a wonderful 20-year run, supported by amazing customers, Orvis Arlington’s lease has expired and our landlord has chosen not to renew,” Orvis said in a press release.
“We’re very sad to leave this space but are actively looking for new locations in the area,” the release continued. “Meanwhile, we thank our loyal customers and ask them to support our Tyson’s Corner store, which is entering its 30th year of business!”
The owners are seeking to reopen in either Arlington or Alexandria, though there is no set timeline for a potential reopening, according to several store employees.
Multiple employees at the Orvis store claim that the space will be occupied by a bank, though the identity of the bank is yet to be confirmed.
Regency Centers, which owns The Crossing, did not respond to inquiries about why the lease was not renewed or who the new tenant will be.
Currently, shoppers at Orvis in Clarendon can enjoy a 30% discount on all clothing, with the exception of Barbour branded items. Additionally, fishing tackle and gear are available at a 40% discount.
