business closing

Sichuan Wok in Ballston Appears to Have Closed

By Alex Koma
1/2

The Sichuan Wok Chinese restaurant in Ballston seems to have closed.

The restaurant, located at 901 N. Quincy Street, has been closed during normal business hours for the last two days and caution tape now blocks off its entrance. No one answered the phone at Sichuan Wok this morning (Friday).

Readers first alerted ARLnow to the closure yesterday (Thursday), and one tipster said movers were busy clearing out the restaurant.

The property has long been home to the restaurant, with county records suggesting it’s had the same owners since at least 1987.

County permit records don’t offer any indication of what might take its place.

Potomac CrossFit in Courthouse Shuts Its Doors

By Alex Koma
1/3

Potomac CrossFit in Courthouse has shut down, just a few weeks after celebrating its 10th anniversary in Arlington.

The gym’s last day offering classes was last Friday (Oct. 26), according to employees at a chiropractor operating adjacent to the gym. Potomac was located in the base of an office building at 1320 N. Courthouse Road.

Two of Potomac CrossFit’s co-owners and coaches did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what prompted the closure. The space, along with several other suites in the office building, is currently listed for lease.

The gym moved into the Courthouse space in 2013, relocating from Clarendon after its old home was redeveloped. Potomac then merged with Patriot CrossFit, located just near the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Lee Highway, and that gym appears to still be operating.

Potomac celebrated its 10th year in business on Sept. 22, according to its social media posts.

Colin Farrell, the gym’s director of operations and training, penned a farewell to Potomac on the gym’s blog, describing its closure as “one of the harder things I’ve had to grapple with in my adult life.”

“There is nothing I could ever do to thank and repay you all for letting me be a part of your life over these past few years,” Farrell wrote to the gym’s members. “I cannot express how much I have enjoyed the process and how much I will miss each of you… This not just a gym closing, we all know that.”

Pizza Autentica in Ballston Shuts Down

By Alex Koma
1/3

Pizza Autentica in Ballston has shut down, after serving up slices for roughly eight years in the space.

Workers began emptying out the restaurant today (Wednesday) at its space in the ground floor of an office building at 850 N. Randolph Street.

A sign on the door thanks customers “for your business all these years,” adding that the restaurant’s lease just ended, prompting the permanent closure.

The pizzeria opened in the space back in 2010, and operates seven other restaurants around the D.C. area. Its only other Arlington eatery is located in Crystal City.

County permit records don’t show any other applications for a new business looking to move into the space, as of yet.

H/t Timothy R. 

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

MCM This Weekend — The Marine Corps Marathon is taking place Sunday morning, shutting down a bunch of streets around Arlington. Many of the street closures will be centered around Crystal City, a favorite gathering spot for spectators who root on runners on the final leg of the race, and Rosslyn, which hosts the starting miles of the race and its Finish Festival.

Last Days of Clarendon Grill — Long-time local nightlife spot Clarendon Grill is closing and hosting its final musical performances this weekend. [Twitter]

Candidates Weigh in on LGBT Center — “Wonderful in theory, but perhaps impractical in the current economic environment. That’s the Cliff’s Notes version of the response of the two Arlington County Board candidates to a calls for creation of a local community center specifically geared toward the county’s LGBT community.” [InsideNova]

Big Raise for Arlington Startup — Courthouse-based WireWheel, a data privacy compliance SaaS company, has closed a $10 million Series A round. Total funding raised to date is $13 million. [WireWheel]

Storm Approaches — “Here comes our nor’easter. Rain starts today and it’ll last into early tomorrow. It may amount to nearly two inches in some spots. Our weather turns windy tonight and perhaps much of tomorrow, when we could see some late-day clearing. Luckily for Sunday’s Marine Corps Marathon, shower chances are low.” [Washington Post]

Local GOP Getting Jump on Recruitment — “In recent years, the [GOP] has not only not been competitive in Arlington races, but at the local level often fails to field candidates at all. Presswood, who has been party chairman for almost three years, has worked hard to try and reverse that trend.” [InsideNova]

Photo courtesy John Broehm

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Major Crystal City Development Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved a two-phase plan to redevelop a portion of Crystal Square, in the heart of Crystal City. The project will add 100,000 square feet of street-oriented retail businesses, including a new Alamo Drafthouse movie theater and a grocery store, to Crystal Drive, and upgrade an existing office building to ‘Class A’ office space.” [Arlington County]

Sunflower Restaurant Closed in Falls Church — Vegetarian restaurant Sunflower recently closed its location in Seven Corners. In its place, Bawadi Mediterranean restaurant has opened. Meanwhile, Sunflower has a location in Vienna that remains open. [Twitter]

HUD Grant to House Low-Income Arlingtonians — “The nearly $464,000 HUD Housing Choice Mainstream Voucher Grant is a specialized voucher program that will help non-elderly persons with disabilities who are transitioning out of institutional settings, at risk of institutionalization, homeless, or at risk of being homeless, rent housing in Arlington. The County’s Department of Human Services expects 40 Arlington residents to will be housed through the grant.” [Arlington County]

Another Arlington Money Diary — Another Arlington resident is the subject of a Refinery29 “money diary.” The latest profile subject is “an administrative assistant working in law who makes $57,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on candles for her daughter’s birthday cupcakes.” [Refinery29]

GW Unveils New Clubhouse at Barcroft Park — “[GW] Baseball’s first on-site clubhouse was unveiled at Tucker Field Saturday after more than a year of renovations. The Fassnacht Clubhouse and Training Facility is a 6,200-square-foot space that includes a locker room, coaches’ offices, a players lounge and an indoor turf training space. Each player received a customized locker, and the existing batting cages at the field were also enclosed, according to an athletics department release.” [GW Hatchet]

Fall Foliage Mostly MIA in Va. — “By the final third of October, fiery colors of fall are usually all over the place in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Not this year. While we are still at least a week or two from typical peak fall foliage in the immediate D.C. area, this year’s delay in autumn color is unlike anything in recent memory.” [Washington Post]

Longtime Nightlife Venue Clarendon Grill to Close

By ARLnow.com

Clarendon Grill is closing at the end of the month, the longtime Clarendon nightlife spot announced today (Monday).

Long a venue for live music, Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street) first opened in 1996. Its interior and back patio were both renovated in 2010.

In a Facebook post, the bar thanked its customers for its more than two decades in business.

“When the Grill first opened there were few bars and fewer customers. As Clarendon grew in popularity, so did The Grill. We were extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of a community that has since blossomed into a vibrant collection of local businesses,” said the post. “Thank you all for your support over the past 22 years.”

ARLnow reported in August that “for lease” signs were posted on Clarendon Grill’s windows. The last event currently posted on the bar’s website is a Halloween party scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27.

Also via social media, prolific local restaurateur and businessman Scott Parker, whose venues like Don Tito and The G.O.A.T. competed with Clarendon Grill, lauded its contributions to the local nightlife scene.

“Congrats to them and their team on an absolutely amazing 22 year run,” Parker wrote. “People outside the industry often have no idea the true blood, sweat, and tears that go into running an establishment. 22 years in business is no small feat. Absolutely amazing! I’m thankful for what they have brought to Arlington, and how they paved the way for more bars and nightlife to come in.”

The closure represents another blow for live music in Arlington. Another major Clarendon music venue, Iota Club and Cafe, closed last fall.

It is unclear at this point what may be taking Clarendon Grill’s place.

The bar’s full announcement post is below.

So Long, Farewell…

It’s been an amazing ride. Our hearts are heavy as we share that the doors of the Clarendon Grill will be closing for good at the end of October. We were not ready, but sometimes things happen to change the course.

Some of you were around when the doors of the Clarendon Grill first opened back in the 1996 and some of you may not have been born yet. Either way we have truly enjoyed being the go to place for live music in Clarendon. When the Grill first opened there were few bars and fewer customers. As Clarendon grew in popularity, so did The Grill. We were extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of a community that has since blossomed into a vibrant collection of local businesses.

One of the most unique aspects of the Clarendon Grill is the staff. From our General Manager, to our bus boys, to our bartenders-the staff has remained the same for close to 20 years. That is a reflection of the unique culture and values that went well beyond a typical neighborhood bar. The Clarendon Grill was not just burgers, beers, and live music; it was a family to it’s staff and a “Night Out” for the community.

One of the many things we can be thankful for is all of the memories we have helped create, whether happy, funny, sad or forgettable (purposely or not). Thank you all for your support over the past 22 years.

It’s been a great run, but alas all good things must come to an end. There will be other bars, but none quite like the Clarendon Grill. Some things are replaceable like burgers and beers, but other things are intangible and we will argue that the staff and the experience we provided, will not be matched.

Cheers!

The Clarendon Grill Staff

Journey Yoga Off Columbia Pike Shutting Down Today

By Alex Koma

Journey Yoga is shutting down after more than a decade in business in Penrose.

The studio, located at 2501 9th Road S. in a shopping center just off Columbia Pike, announced that it will close today (Friday) in an email to its members.

“I love the community of Journey Yoga and I am honored to have been your teacher and the teacher of many of your teachers,” owner Sarah Lynn wrote in the email. “It is time for my journey to continue in a new direction. It’s been 11 amazing years, two locations, international and regional retreats, teacher trainings, workshops and special events.”

Lynn added in the email that YogaWorks, a regional chain with a location near Virginia Square, plans to honor any unused class passes from Journey Yoga attendees. Lynn herself also plans to teach some classes at the YogaWorks studio, adding “I respect YogaWorks immensely and hope you can find a home there.”

Journey Yoga plans to sell off its props and furniture in the coming days, and Lynn invited anyone looking to bid the studio farewell to drop by between 5-7:30 p.m. tonight.

Crystal City Noodles & Company Shuts Down

By Alex Koma
1/2

The Noodles & Company restaurant in Crystal City has closed.

The fast casual eatery opened back in 2008 in the first floor of an office building at 2011 Crystal Drive, but signs now list the space for lease.

The location is also no longer displayed on the Noodles & Company corporate website, which now suggests that people in Arlington turn to nearby locations in D.C. and Alexandria. One Yelp commenter first reported that the restaurant was closed back on Sept. 13.

Noodles & Company once operated as many as 500 locations across the country, but persistently declining revenue figures have forced the chain to shutter dozens of its restaurants in recent years. The company also closed its Pentagon Row location back in 2016.

It’s Official: Taylor Gourmet Locations Are Closed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/3

It was the biggest sandwich-related news to hit the D.C. area since Wawa announced it’s coming to town: on Friday we learned that Taylor Gourmet was closing and preparing to file for bankruptcy liquidation.

Washingtonian first reported the news of the submarine sandwich shop — or, in Philly-inspired Taylor Gourmet parlance, hoagie shop — going under, prompting a wave of social media-expressed shock. The final hoagies were served over the weekend.

Today, Taylor’s Ballston location at 4000 Wilson Blvd was dark, with a hand-written sign saying simply “close.” Bags of bread sat on a table near the door. Phones for the D.C.-based chain’s other two Arlington locations, in Crystal City and at Reagan National Airport, went unanswered.

The only bit of good news to come out of the closures: CAVA and numerous other restaurants said they would be seeking to hire Taylor’s now-jobless employees.

Lotus Grill and Noodles in Shirlington Closes

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) Lotus Grill and Noodles, a Vietnamese restaurant in Shirlington, has closed its doors for good.

The restaurant has been on 4041 Campbell Ave in the heart of Shirlington since 2013. From its Facebook page:

We’d like to thank all our local patrons, loyal customers and our friends & family [who supported] us over the past 5 years, and even thanks to our Facebook fan just hitting “like” us and never had a chance to visit us once. Yes, we surely missed being a part of a nice area [like] Village of Shirlington. Adieu, ciao, sayonara, bye bye and thank you again.

The interior of the restaurant is currently empty, but the owners said at the door that they are currently showing off the space to new clients.

The Great Eatery in Rosslyn Has Permanently Closed

By Vernon Miles

A long-time restaurant inside the 1000 Wilson Blvd food court has closed its doors for good.

The Great Eatery was a cafeteria-style restaurant offering convenient, casual dining to those working in the office tower. It had been located inside 1000 Wilson Blvd for 30 years.

According to Monday Properties, the owners of the restaurant decided to retire.

For over 30 years, The Great Eatery has been an essential part of our daily routines. The Moon Family has dedicated their time to serving us our breakfast in the mornings and welcomed everyone in the Rosslyn community for lunch. However, at the end of August, Mr. Moon will retire, and The Great Eatery will discontinue doing business.

Monday Properties has certainly valued the warmth and hospitality from The Moon Family over the years, and we congratulate them for over three decades of hard work. The Great Eatery was the first dining option to open here at the towers, and we are thankful for many memories. We wish everyone at The Great Eatery all the best.

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