business closing

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Aerial view of the Pentagon (Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman)

Highest Voter Turnout in N. Arlington — The Arlington neighborhoods north of I-66 had the highest concentration of voter turnout for Tuesday’s election. Arlington’s high-density Metro corridors and neighborhoods south of Columbia Pike generally had the lowest turnout. [Twitter]

Eric Cantor Buys House in Arlington — Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has purchased a $1.8 million house near Pentagon City. Cantor, who works for an investment banking firm in D.C., formerly lived in the Representative condominium on Arlington Ridge, overlooking Pentagon City, while serving in Congress. [Washington Business Journal]

Sport & Health Closing in Crystal City — The Sport & Health Crystal Gateway club at 1235 S. Clark Street has told members that it will close Dec. 4, a tipster tells ARLnow.com. The health club is set to be replaced by a new Earth Treks Climbing Center.

Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman

RedRocks Closing Tonight, To Be Replaced By Wood Fire Kitchen and Whiskey Bar

By ARLnow.com

RedRocks Neapolitan Pizza on Columbia PikeRedRocks Neapolitan Bistro, the anchor restaurant at Penrose Square on Columbia Pike, will be closing after tonight.

RedRocks first opened at 2501 Columbia Pike in early 2013, then “relaunched” last year with lower prices, more burgers and delivery service. With middling results, the owners decided to shutter RedRocks and launch an all-new restaurant.

RedRocks will close its doors after 10 p.m. tonight.

A new restaurant and bar called Marble and Rye will be opening in its place, “offering a locally-sourced, seasonal menu highlighting the wood fire stove.”

Marble and Rye will offer “20 craft beers on tap, a carefully thought out cocktail menu, and bourbons and ryes to pair with every item on the menu,” according to its website.

RedRocks Neapolitan Pizza on Columbia Pike“Marble and Rye is moderately-priced contemporary American wood fire kitchen and whiskey bar that combines locally-inspired, seasonal, and creative food with one of the best and most extensive lists of whiskeys, and specialty seasonal cocktails,” a restaurant spokeswoman, Sarah Lakey, tells ARLnow.com.

“It will offer high quality food with a great atmosphere, ambiance, have a friendly and knowledgeable staff, and provide free and convenient parking in order to create a sense of ‘place’ and provide a great experience to our customers.”

Helming the new restaurant will be chef Kate Bennett, who has most recently been working as a private chef for a local real estate developer. Before that she worked for as an assistant kitchen manager for a large restaurant group in New York City.

“Our chef, Kate Bennett’s menus are always fresh and adapting with the seasons in order to provide farm-fresh northeast ingredients… from nearby farms and specialty purveyors,” says the website.

Marble & Rye logoAn early menu sent to ARLnow.com includes small plates from roasted marrow bone to mushroom gnocchi, a selection of wood-fired vegetables, salads, wood oven pizzas and grilled entrees like cedar plank salmon, caramelized diver sea scallops, baby back ribs, two types of burgers and quinoa cakes.

Entree prices range from $13 for a basic “chef’s burger” to $26 for an espresso rubbed filet.

“The restaurant will offer a lunch menu that will compliment our dinner menu, including specialty pizzas, salads and sandwiches, a daily happy hour, weekly events including Whiskey Wednesdays where customers can experience high end whiskeys from our tasting room at a reasonable price and a unique Sunday brunch with drink specials,” said Lakey.

The restaurant will also “actively promote and support local breweries and distilleries with an attractive tasting room and open floor plan for private events.”

While still majority owned by the owners of RedRocks, it will be run under the leadership of Bennett and a new management team.

Marble and Rye is expected to open in mid-to-late November.

Thirsty Bernie Changing from Sports Bar to a Lounge?

By Heather Mongilio
1/2

Hungry people looking for half-priced burgers at Thirsty Bernie (2163 N. Glebe Road) Monday night were met with disappointment and turned away by a sign on the door reading “Closed on short notice. Sorry.”

The sports bar and grill off of Lee Highway was only closed for the night and will be open tomorrow, said an employee. He declined to say why the restaurant was closed because the manager was not there.

There were at least five people milling about inside the restaurant last night, despite it being closed.

The closure comes amid rumors that changes are afoot at Thirsty Bernie. Two tipsers have told ARLnow.com that the neighborhood sports bar is changing management and its format.

“Thirsty Bernie… is abandoning the sports bar concept in favor of a ‘lounge’ theme,” a tipster said. Another tipster described the new format as a “nightclub.”

So far we have been unable to reach the restaurant’s owner for confirmation.

New Pizza Restaurant Replaces Little Caesars on Lee Highway

By Heather Mongilio
1/4

A new pizza joint has opened on Lee Highway, replacing a Little Caesars franchise location at the corner of Lee Highway and N. George Mason Drive.

Fillmore Pizza opened its second location at 5175 Lee Highway five days ago, said owner Bahruz Ahmadbayli. The Lee Highway location is the restaurant’s second in Arlington — the first is at 923 S. Walter Reed Drive.

The new restaurant sells pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads and wings and uses high quality and expensive ingredients, Ahmadbayli said. A small, 10-inch cheese pizza sells for $7.75, while a extra large, 18-inch pizza costs $14.95. Fillmore also sells gourmet pizzas, which start at $11.75 for a small, 10 inch pizza.

“The pizza is totally different from other stores,” he said.

The reason the pizza is better than other places is because of the cheese Fillmore Pizza uses, Ahmadbayli said.

“The main ingredient in this business is cheese,” he said. “Our cheese is the best quality and expensive.”

The restaurant runs daily pick up and delivery specials, and customers can order online. The new Lee Highway restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The Little Caesars, which previously occupied the space, opened in 2013. The company has another Arlington location on Columbia Pike.

Boston Market Has Closed in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 2:00 p.m.) The Boston Market store at 2046 Wilson Blvd in Courthouse has closed.

A sign on the door says the restaurant closed on Sept. 20. A reason for the closing is not listed. The sign directs customers to the Boston Market at 3233 Columbia Pike, which remains open.

The low-rise commercial building that housed Boston Market is just a block from the Courthouse Metro station and has been said to be a likely target for future redevelopment.

The restaurant business in Courthouse is no tea party: restaurant owners have been complaining that food trucks are hurting their lunch business, which is critical to their survival amid high rents.

Hat tip to Eric LeKuch

Willow Restaurant to Close This Month

By Heather Mongilio

New offerings inside Willow Restaurant: Nosh Bistro and Kate at Willow Bakery

Willow restaurant in Ballston will close its doors this month.

The eatery at 4301 N. Fairfax Drive announced its end in an email, saying that after 10 years and six days, the restaurant will “close for good” on Sept. 19.

“We plan on going out the same way we came in, with graciousness, generosity and positive energy… all sprinkled with some great food, wine & company,” Willow’s management team said in the email.

Nosh @ Willow, a small plates bistro within the restaurant, will also close.

The restaurant will offer specials and promotions leading up to it closing. In the email, the staff thanked its customers for the many years of support.

Willow Restaurant has been featured in several food events this year, including a Taste of Arlington, the Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week and the DC BRGR Bash, where it won for the third year in a row.

“For us, this adventure has always been about the people and the relationships that have grown out of Willow,” restaurant management said. “Whether it is a one time guest, a wedding reception, our amazing regular customers or our rock star staff, what stands out the most is how truly blessed we have been to have such amazing people in our lives.”

Willow opened in 2005, under the leadership of chef and co-owner Tracy O’Grady. ARLnow.com has reached out to O’Grady for more information on why the owners made the decision to close.

Charlie Chiang’s Closes in Crystal City, Uyghur Restaurant to Replace It

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Charlie Chiang’s has closed in Crystal City.

The Chinese restaurant, at 320 23rd Street S., has posted signs on the doors directing customers to its Shirlington location at 4060 Campbell Avenue..

“Thank you for your years of patronage!” the signs say. “We have consolidated our operations with our Village at Shirlington location — Ping by Charlie Chiang’s… Please visit us there!”

Another sign on the door says that a new restaurant will be replacing Charlie Chiang’s and will be “opening soon.”

The new restaurant will be called Amannisahan and will serve Uyghur cuisine, according to the sign. In an indication that a quick reopening may indeed be in the works, Amannisahan says it’s currently hiring restaurant managers and waiters.

Uyghur food is a blend of Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Chinese cuisines, serving dishes like kebabs and noodle soups.

Arlington Lumber Yard Set to Close

By Heather Mongilio
1/3

ABC Distributors, Inc., a lumber yard near Shirlington, will be closing its doors at the end of the summer.

The 50-year-old company is currently holding a liquidation sale to sell off the store’s entire stock. The sale started today and will last about six weeks, said Bernard Lynch, the president of the company and one of the owners.

Merchandise has been marked down by 10 to 40 percent, depending on the item, and prices will be reduced as the sale goes on, Lynch said.

“So everything has to go,” he said.

The store is also raffling off a 60-inch Visio Smart TV; customers can enter to win when they buy something.

The business’ closure comes after the owners of the property it sits on decided to sell. ABC Distributors is a part owner, but it owns a much smaller percentage of the property than those that decided to sell, Lynch said.

“It’s been a struggle, to be honest with you, in the last seven years to stay in business,” he said.

The home building business has been struggling as well after housing market crashes, Lynch said. He has seen multiple customers who were contractors go out of business or lose their jobs. And others just do not have the need to shop for housing materials as often because fewer people are building houses, at least according to Lynch.

ABC Distributors must be out of its location by Sept. 1, Lynch said. There are no current plans to bring the business to a new location.

The property was bought by an investors group, but Lynch said he does not know what their plans are.

Free People in Clarendon Closes, Moves to D.C.

By Mariah Joyce
1/3

The bohemian women’s clothing store Free People closed its Clarendon location as of the end of last week.

The clothing store’s staff could be seen packing away the stock last Thursday. There are now signs up in the window of the store, at Market Common Clarendon (2700 Clarendon Blvd) indicating that Free People will be moving to a space in Georgetown next month.

The store’s new address will be 3009 M Street, NW.

The Market Common location was one of two Free People stores in Arlington; the other location (1100 S Hayes Street) remains open.

Ted’s Montana Grill to Close in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Ted's Montana Grill in Ballston (photo via tedsmontanagrill.com)Saturday will be the last day for Ted’s Montana Grill in Ballston.

The bison-centric restaurant chain decided not to renew its lease at the Ballston Point building at 4300 Wilson Blvd, according to Ted’s President and COO Kristi Martin. It will close this coming Saturday, June 13, and the staff will be transferred to a soon-to-open location in Gaithersburg, Md., Martin said.

The new Ted’s is expected to open in Gaithersburg’s Downtown Crown development in August, said Martin.

“Team members at the Ballston Point location are aware of this closing, and all team members have been offered positions at the Gaithersburg or other Northern Virginia locations,” she said. “We look forward to expanding our Big Sky Spirit to the Gaithersburg community — an area that we see as a strategic fit for the growth and future of our company.”

Ted’s currently has two locations in Arlington — the Ballston location and another at 2200 Crystal Drive in Crystal City. No changes are planned for the Crystal City location, according to a PR rep for the restaurant.

Photo via tedsmontanagrill.com

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