An item on the County Board agenda for this weekend recommends that the Board discontinue a daycare permit issued to the business, which allowed it to provide a “Parent’s Night Out” childcare service.
“The operator of this use permit, Jumping Joeys, has closed and is no longer in operation,” the Board report notes. Attempts by ARLnow to reach the owner of the business, which formerly operated out of a more modest space across from Washington-Liberty High School, were unsuccessful.
The company’s website simply says it is “closed until further notice.” A Google listing for a second Jumping Joeys location on W. Broad Street in Falls Church says it is “permanently closed.”
Interior of the closed Cosi in Rosslyn (staff photo by Vernon Miles)
Interior of the closed Cosi in Rosslyn (staff photo by Vernon Miles)
Interior of the closed Cosi in Rosslyn (staff photo by Vernon Miles)
Starbucks at 1735 N. Lynn Street (staff photo by Vernon Miles)
Closing sign in Starbucks window (staff photo by Vernon Miles)
The doors are closed, the lights are off, and all the interior decorations and furniture are gone: Cosi (1801 N. Lynn Street) in Rosslyn is closed.
The fast-casual restaurant chain build on flatbread sandwiches had several closures — of locations in Crystal City, Virginia Square and Ballston — early last year when the company filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving the Rosslyn location as the last D.C. area location on this side of the Potomac River.
A Cosi employee confirmed that the Rosslyn location was closed, but said a D.C. location would still serve Arlington for catering orders. It’s unclear when exactly the eatery closed, but reviews of the location were still being posted as recently as a month ago.
The Starbucks up the block at 1735 N. Lynn Street, meanwhile, will also close soon. A sign in the window says the location’s last day will be Friday, Jan. 29.
“We would like to thank you for being part of our store community; you are the heart of who we are at Starbucks,” a sign written by the store managers said. “It has been a great pleasure to connect with you every day. We are thankful to have played a role in your daily routine and that you have shared these moments of your life with us.”
An existing, standalone Starbucks at 1501 17th Street N. in Rosslyn will remain open, the sign says.
Restaurants in Rosslyn have been hit hard by the pandemic, which greatly thinned out the previously bountiful lunchtime crowds from the neighborhood’s office buildings and hotels. Up the hill from the Cosi and the closing Starbucks, Tom Yum District and Subway also recently closed.
More than two dozen restaurants have closed in Arlington since the last March, when the first local coronavirus cases were reported.
‘The G.O.A.T’ sports bar has closed in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘The G.O.A.T’ sports bar has closed in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘The G.O.A.T’ sports bar has closed in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘The G.O.A.T’ sports bar has closed in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The G.O.A.T, a sports bar and lounge at 3028 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon, in the former Hard Times space, has closed permanently.
The bar remained closed for months during the pandemic, but its owners recently decided to make what was initially a temporary closure permanent. Retail leasing signs are now up in the windows, equipment was removed from the space, and the bar’s former website is defunct.
“We are moving on to other projects,” G.O.A.T partner Scott Parker confirmed to ARLnow this morning. “[Coronavirus] made it too difficult to sustain.”
G.O.A.T had the backing of Parker and Mike Cordero, the local nightlife titans behind Don Tito, Bronson Bierhall, and Barley Mac. But with a 350-person capacity, plus three full bars and tables across two levels, it proved difficult to fill on a regular basis, even with a location across from the Clarendon Metro station.
The bar opened to fanfare in the fall of 2017. It closed last year amid pandemic lockdowns and never reopened. By early fall, the TVs that adorned the walls, along with other furnishings, had been removed.
Parker, who’s working to open a new pizza and hangout spot at Pentagon Row called Nighthawk Pizza, said no other closures of existing bars are planned, though the pandemic has dealt the formerly high-flying venues a big blow.
“Everything else is staying open,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can like everyone else.”
G.O.A.T is the 24th restaurant to close in Arlington since the start of the pandemic, according to ARLnow’s count.
Burgerim at 3811 Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square is closed (Staff photo by James Cullum)
Burgerim at 3811 Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square is closed (Staff photo by James Cullum)
After a little more than two years in business, the Burgerim at 3811 Fairfax Drive is closed.
Thanks to a reader tip, we can confirm that the restaurant closed before the new year. It opened on the ground floor of a Virginia Square office building in the fall of 2017, and is among a handful of Burgerim locations that have closed over the past year in Virginia.
At its peak Israel-based Burgerim had hundreds of locations throughout the country. It was listed as the fastest growing burger chain in the country in 2019, but that same year faced bankruptcy as its CEO fled the U.S. for Israel amid allegations of deceptive sales practices against franchise owners by promising unrealistic profits.
The burger joint features packages of up to 16 gourmet mini-burgers, in addition to other sandwiches, chicken wings and salads. Currently, the nearest Burgerim location is in Ashburn.
The Green family, which owned The Inn of Rosslyn and the Americana Hotel in Crystal City — the sale of which was previously reported — has sold both hotels to developer JBG Smith before the new year, according to one family member. The family also sold two apartment buildings: Fern Gardens and Williamsburg Apartments.
“The whole COVID-19 thing has basically bankrupted our businesses,” Katherine Green, whose father built the hotel in 1957, told ARLnow. “There was no other option. There was no end in sight.”
Business looked good, pre-coronavirus. The hotels were generating income, and the general manager of The Americana told Washington Business Journal that 2017 was its best year. But when the economy crashed, Green said she had no income from April 1 until mid-December. (The County records the sales on Dec. 18.) She said a small business loan covered payroll for a few months, but the siblings still emptied their bank accounts to keep the hotels open for a paltry 10% occupancy.
“We were hemorrhaging money,” said Green, who is 60.
A spokesperson for JBG Smith confirmed the purchase of the 38-key Rosslyn hotel and the two apartment buildings, but declined to comment further. The company has been on something of a buying spree in Arlington; an affiliated nonprofit just bought the Crystal House apartment complex with funding from Amazon, as part of a $2 billion commitment by the tech giant to support affordable housing in Arlington, Nashville and the Seattle area.
The Inn of Rosslyn is assessed at $5,070,900, and the two apartment buildings are together worth $8.7 million, according to county records.
Prior to these sales, JBG Smith’s Arlington properties were cumulatively valued this summer at nearly $4.5 billion, according to Arlington County.
“This is an end of an era,” Green said of her family’s business. “It’s hard for the employees. Some have worked for us for 20-odd years. Many were housed in family property and we don’t know if they’ll find jobs.”
The coronavirus was not Green’s only worry. Some of her siblings are too old to be involved, or have died recently, leaving only Green and her sister, Carole Newman, poised to keep the doors open.
The Green’s story is playing out statewide. COVID-19 has crippled the hotel industry statewide, with hotel revenues down 51% from 2019, and the percentage of rooms booked down 33 percentage points, Virginia Business reports.
Still, Green considers herself lucky.
“My father built his businesses in an area that is so valuable that we could sell,” she said.
William Green Sr. quit his electrical engineering job with General Electric to build the hotels.
“He didn’t want to work for a big corporation — he wanted to give his family financial independence, and give them freedom,” she said.
And her father, a child of the Great Depression, chose the D.C. area, she said.
“He knew that if the economy crashed again, D.C. would be more insulated than anywhere else,” she said. “Arlington is really the center of the universe in some ways.”
Today, Green lives on more than one hundred acres in eastern Oregon, and even mulled investing in hotels two years ago — but is glad she did not.
“What is going down is a travesty unlike anything in my lifetime,” she said.
The Subway at 1401 Wilson Blvd is no longer there (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Tom Yum District at 1515 Wilson Blvd has permanently closed. (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Subway at 1401 Wilson Blvd and Tom Yum District at 1515 Wilson Blvd have permanently closed (Map via Google Maps)
A pair of Rosslyn restaurants within a block of each other in Rosslyn have shut their doors.
The Subway at 1401 Wilson Blvd and the Tom Yum District at 1515 Wilson Blvd are empty and have had their exterior signage removed. It’s unclear when each closed. Both primarily served a workday lunch crowd that was dramatically thinned out by the pandemic and office workers working from home.
Tom Yum District opened in 2013, and offered made-to-order Thai food in a fast-casual setting.
The Subway is no longer listed in the franchise’s locator, and the nearest location is at 1435 N. Courthouse Road. There are now nine Subway restaurants in Arlington, according to the company website.
By ARLnow’s count, Subway and Tom Yum District are the 21st and 22nd restaurant to close in Arlington since the start of the pandemic last March.
The Unleashed by Petco store is closing on Saturday, Jan. 23, according to signs in the window. The store is currently holding a 10-50% off sale ahead of the closure.
Unleashed, a smaller-format version of the big-box Petco stores, opened at Pentagon Row in January 2013, replacing a Hallmark store.
Signs in the window direct customers to two other stores that are remaining open: an Unleashed location at 3902 Wilson Blvd in the Ballston area, and a full Petco location at 5825 Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads.
The closure is the latest at the shopping center, which is in the process of being rebranded as “Westpost” and which now allows to-go alcohol consumption in common areas.
Long-time Pentagon Row watering hole Siné has closed its doors.
The Irish pub, a popular gathering spot that was perpetually packed around St. Patrick’s Day, announced the closure on Saturday.
“It is with sadness that we have to say goodbye!” the bar said on Facebook. “We have closed our doors permanently. It has been a pleasure serving you and we hope that you all find a new home at one of the other fantastic restaurants here in Pentagon Row.”
Siné has a second location, in Richmond, that appears to still be open.
By ARLnow’s count, Siné is the 20th Arlington restaurant to close during the pandemic. Early during the public health emergency, in March, Champps sports bar — next to Siné — also closed its doors; it is now set to be replaced by Nighthawk Pizza, a beer-centric hangout, as Pentagon Row rebrands as “Westpost.”
After nearly 50 years in business, the Americana Hotel in Crystal City permanently closed this month.
The hotel at 1400 Richmond Highway opened in 1963, and was one of the first hotels in Crystal City. As the area became a major employment hub, its retro sign remained visible to all driving past on Route 1. It was even featured in a Russell Crowe movie.
A staff member tells ARLnow that the hotel closed earlier this month partly due to negative effects on the travel industry from COVID-19. The staffer could not comment on future plans.
The hotel has gone through a room-by-room renovation over the last several years, and in 2018 its general manager told the Washington Business Journal that it had just enjoyed its best year to date, despite an uncertain future.
The hotel is situated on an acre of land across the street from the future home of Amazon’s HQ2.
As of Monday afternoon, the hotel’s website is down and social media pages have not been recently updated.
After months of losing business during the pandemic, Hendricks Gentlemen’s Barbershop in Clarendon will close for good just before Christmas.
Co-owners Melanie St. Clair and Lisa Dahl announced the closure to customers last night.
“We wanted to thank each of you for your loyalty and support,” they said in an email. “As a small business, navigating this pandemic has been extremely difficult. It is with a heavy heart, that after four years of serving the Clarendon community as your neighborhood barbershop, we have made the tough decision to close our doors.”
The barbershop at 3000 Washington Blvd opened in September 2016 and billed itself as Clarendon’s only upscale destination for men’s haircuts, beard trims and hot, straight-razor shaves. Hendricks gained popularity during its four-year stay, but it has not been enough to stay afloat during the pandemic.
“COVID-19 is really hitting us hard,” St. Clair said. “None of us could’ve predicted this.”
The last day of business is set for Wednesday, Dec. 23. But St. Clair and Dahl, who also own Smitten Salon in Lyon Park, are not done with the space just yet.
Clients at Smitten confirmed Internet tropes from the early stages of quarantine: wives were giving their husbands haircuts, while some men who no longer had to go to the office were growing their hair out. With partners to cut their hair and without suits to put on or clients to visit, men are coming in every two months instead of monthly, or not coming back at all, St. Clair said.
Hendricks took an additional hit because barbers cannot provide beard trims or hot shaves due to mask regulations, she said.
Meanwhile, she said Smitten has attracted new clients as other salons close. The thriving business gave St. Clair and Dahl the idea to replace Hendricks with a new, boutique location of the salon.
“Women want to look good on Zoom,” St. Clair said. “My clients tell me, ‘I’m not sitting on Zoom with gray roots,’ or ‘I’m bored staying at home with my kids at home,’ or ‘I’m not getting my nails done, so I’m getting a haircut to feel good.'”
Cosmetic changes to the space will begin in the new year, and St. Clair said she aims to be done with the work by February or March 2021.
“It’s like coming full-circle,” said St. Clair, who first opened Smitten in the current Hendricks location almost 10 years ago.
She said she is proud to have the brand survive, in a different way.
“We’re grateful to show Clarendon that [the neighborhood] is not going to shut down,” she said. “We don’t want to see everyone close up, and I hope other people are able to do the same thing.”
The Los Angeles-based yoga company expanded in 2017, and took over the studio at 3528 Wilson Blvd from local company Tranquil Space. YogaWorks filed for bankruptcy last month, and announced it would close all of its studios around the country.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our industry and business, including mandatory studio closures and social distancing-imposed attendance restrictions even where studios have been permitted to reopen,” YogaWorks CEO Brian Cooper said in a statement. “After considering a number of alternatives to overcome the financial challenge of the studio closures, we determined that implementing an orderly restructuring process is in the best interest of all of our key stakeholders, most notably our dedicated teachers and passionate students.”
Cooper said that the company has adapted to the pandemic by expanding its digital platform, with more than 40 live streaming yoga classes per day and upward of 1,000 hours of pre-recorded classes and yoga workshops.
“We look forward to continuing to serve our loyal students and positioning YogaWorks for long-term success,” Cooper said. “We will continue to make decisions that provide the most benefit to our team, students, and partners, and we are confident that we will emerge from this process a stronger organization.”
The former YogaWorks space — a one-story building next to the Arlington Arts Center in the Virginia Square area — is now listed for lease.
