Chicken + Whiskey moves into Clarendon (photo courtesy of Twitter/David Kinney)
(Updated at 5 p.m.)Chicken + Whiskey is crossing the river to get to Clarendon.
The new South American rotisserie chicken restaurant and whiskey bar is hoping to open this spring, co-owner Des Reilly confirmed to ARLnow.
Permitting and construction remain ongoing in the nearly 6,000 square-foot space at 3033 Wilson Blvd, where window stickers are now advertising the restaurant. One sticker reads, “Chicken in the front, Whiskey in the back.”
The new eatery and bar moves into a space that was formerly occupied by Hunan Number One, which closed three years ago. It will be in the same building as Waterhouse Coffee and the newly-opened Bar Ivy while across the street from Mexicali Blues.
The menu consists of Peruvian chicken, homemade sauces, sides like yucca fries and black beans, and a wide selection of whiskeys. There are also cocktails, churro donuts, arepas, and salads.
This will be Chicken + Whiskey’s fourth location, but first outside of the District. The restaurant is led by Chef Enrique Limardo who is “commonly credited as the pioneer of modern Venezuelan cooking in the U.S.,” per Huffington Post. He’s also the head chef at Immigrant Food and D.C.’s Seven Reasons, which was named 2019’s best new restaurant in the country by at least one publication.
Reilly said that the reason Clarendon was chosen as the next location for Chicken + Whiskey is that they believe good Peruvian chicken is “missing” from the neighborhood.
“In my opinion, we are the best in the DMV,” he said. “No one is doing what we are doing at this price point.”
That section of Wilson Blvd, the two blocks between N. Highland Street and N. Fillmore Street, has been undergoing some changes recently. Bar Ivy opened this summer while the former sports bar G.O.A.T. is being converted into a bank. Meanwhile, Maison Cheryl is currently closed for a “fall refresh.” Just beyond N. Fillmore Street, buzzy Middle Eastern restaurant Tawle is looking to open in the spring as well.
Seafood spot Seamore’s is opening in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Seamore’s)
Seafood spot Seamore’s is opening in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Seamore’s)
(Updated at 5:30 p.m.) Arlington’s newest seafood spot is finally ready to open.
Seamore’s is expected to open its doors this week in Clarendon. Currently, the opening is set for Thursday, after being pushed from Wednesday.
The restaurant serves sustainably-sourced seafood, including clams, lobster rolls, arctic char, fish and chips, and oysters. This will be the first location outside of New York for the chain.
“We believe Clarendon will love our sustainable seafood, our delicious cocktails, and beachy Montauk vibes,” owner Jay Wainwright said in the press release. “D.C. is closely connected to the Chesapeake Bay supply chain. This made our decision to open our next location in Clarendon a natural one.”
It was first announced late last year that Seamore’s was bringing a location to the old Baja Fresh space in Clarendon, which had been vacant for more than three years. It was initially supposed to open in late summer, but it was pushed to the back end of September.
Located at the corner of Clarendon Blvd and N. Edgewood Street, next to the one-year-old Tatte Bakery, the 2,605 square-foot restaurant space is now complete.
Back in March, Wainwright told ARLnow that Clarendon is a “perfect fit” for Seamore’s because of the walkability of the neighborhood and and the proximity of the Chesapeake Bay. He additionally noted that a large portion of the catch served at the restaurant will come out of the Bay.
The decor will also differ from the New York locations with decor, colors, and art all inspired by the region and the Chesapeake Bay. Additionally, the restaurant says it wants to build relationships with Bay improvement projects and organizations.
“Seamore’s does not merely look to bring New York flavors to Virginia. Rather, building local relationships such as the Oyster Recovery Partnership will not only ingratiate the new establishment into the community but contribute a positive impact,” said the press release.
For those seeking to add some education to their dining, oyster shucking classes at the restaurant are in the works.
Prior to Seamore’s, Wainwright helped open the first Cosi in America in the mid-1990s. There were at one point a number of locations in Arlington, but the last one, in Rosslyn, closed in early 2021. He also helped build Le Pain Quotidien, which still has a location in Clarendon, one block up from Seamore’s.
Then, in 2014, the Arlington County Board had enough and passed a number of regulations designed to allow local officials at least some control over how bar crawls operated in the county. It made event organizers apply for a special events permit, have insurance, and reimburse the county for any event-related expenses, like the cost of assigning extra police officers.
The regulations not only curtailed the number of incidents related to bar crawls but decreased the number of crawls in Arlington overall. From many people’s perspectives, the regulations worked.
Eight years later, the bar crawl scene in Arlington still hasn’t recovered.
Only 9 bar crawls have been issued special event permits since 2018, per data provided to ARLnow by the county’s Dept. Parks and Recreation (DPR), which manages the process.
“Pub crawls can draw a crowd and impact our community, so their organizers need to have a permit to hold a pub crawl,” DPR spokesperson Susan Kalish told ARLnow. “Special event organizers are required to pay any costs to the County due to their event, such as public safety, trash removal, and more.”
The upcoming crawls include an 80’s and 90’s themed crawl set for this Saturday (Sept. 17) in Clarendon. It’s being co-organized by local restaurateurs Christal and Mike Bramson.
There are two more bar crawl applications pending for this year as well.
While DPR said statistics are not available for permitted bar crawls prior to 2016, anecdotally and going through the ARLnow archives, it appears there are now far fewer bar crawls — especially those of the large, 1,000+ attendee variety — than prior to the enactment of regulations.
While the pandemic certainly impacted the last several years, 2018 and 2019 both only had 3 permitted crawls per year. That’s out of combined 401 permitted special events. With 2022 wrapping up, though, special events are returning to the level of the “before times,” including bar crawls.
“This fall we are pretty much back to pre-pandemic levels of applications,” said Kalish.
It takes a lot more to put on a bar crawl in Arlington today than it did in the free-wheeling days of the early 2010s.
“You’d be surprised how many people who are organizing a special event haven’t thought about all the specifics,” Kalish wrote. “Trash. Toilets. Noise. Flow. The [county’s] Special Events Committee helps them through a number of possible scenarios so they can have a successful event.”
How far in advance organizers need to submit their application, either 30 or 90 days, depends on a number of factors including the size of the crawl. Kalish noted crawls with only three or four establishments on the route usually require less time to process.
“The first year we had [permitted] pub crawls they were quite large, but recently they have gotten much smaller,” Kalish said.
A crawl or organizer “with a satisfactory history” of managing safe events also requires less processing time, as well as one that has a clear mapped route.
Because of these regulations, guidelines, and extra costs, though, some companies have decided to forgo organizing crawls in the county and instead stick to a place where the process is more straightforward and there’s no shortage of potential young and single attendees: the District.
A number of in-person events are back in Arlington this weekend after extended pandemic-related hiatuses. With those, though, comes road closures.
Clarendon Day is returning this Saturday (Sept. 24) for the first time since 2019. One of Arlington’s largest street festivals, the event will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and include music, food, vendors, and art.
There will be road closures throughout the neighborhood, including large swaths of Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd. The closures will begin in the middle of the night, around 3 a.m., and go as late as 10 p.m.
The closures include:
Wilson Boulevard, from N. Highland Street to Washington Boulevard
Clarendon Boulevard, from Washington Boulevard to N. Garfield Street
N. Highland Street, from 11th Street N. to Wilson Boulevard
N. Herndon Street, from Wilson Boulevard to alleyway behind CVS
N. Hudson Street, from Wilson Boulevard to alleyway behind CVS
Southbound N. Highland Street, from N. Hartford Street to Wilson Boulevard
There’s only one road closure related to this event and that’s 9th Street S. from S. Highland Street to S. Walter Reed Drive. The closure will be from 6 a.m. Saturday until midnight on Sunday (Sept. 25).
There are also two events in the Shirlington and Green Valley neighborhoods this weekend.
Beckett’s Celtic Festival is also set for Saturday in the Village of Shirlington. Campbell Avenue from S. Randolph Street to 28th Street S. (the alleyway near the Harris Teeter) will be closed from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Finally, Valley Fest is taking place near Four Mile Run Drive on Sunday. The beer-centric event, organized by New District Brewery, did take place last year. The festival is set to begin around noon and go until 5 p.m.
S. Oakland Street, from S. Four Mile Run Drive to S. Nelson Street, will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Sunday to accommodate the event.
Valley Fest 2022 road closures (image via ACPD)
Arlington County police are cautioning that roads may be congested with vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the areas around these events, asking drivers to “remain alert.”
Parking will be restricted and there will be a larger police presence in the area, according to ACPD.
“Street parking near the events may be restricted. Motorists should be on the lookout for temporary ‘No Parking’ signs. Illegally parked vehicles may be ticketed or towed,” said a press release. “If your vehicle is towed from a public street, call the Emergency Communications Center at 703-558-2222.”
Banks on the 2500 block of Wilson Blvd (via Google Maps)
(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) A middle-aged man robbed a bank in the Courthouse area Friday afternoon.
The robbery happened on the 2500 block of Wilson Blvd, near the border of the Courthouse and Clarendon neighborhoods, around 3:15 p.m.
From an Arlington County police crime report:
BANK ROBBERY, 2022-09160150, 2500 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 3:20 p.m. on September 16, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the unknown male suspect entered the bank, approached a teller, implied he had a weapon and demanded money. The suspect then fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was seen or displayed and no injuries were reported. The suspect is described as a light-skin Black male, approximately 40-60 years old, 5’04”, 180 pounds, wearing a black and white hat, black glasses, black face mask, light-gray long sleeve button-up shirt, black pants, and dark shoes, carrying a grocery bag. The investigation is ongoing.
ACPD typically does not reveal the name of a business that has been the victim of a crime. There are two banks on the 2500 block of Wilson Blvd: FVCbank and National Capital Bank.
The last reported bank robbery in Arlington was back in May, when three banks in the Ballston area were robbed in the span of about a week. The suspect in two of those robberies was also described as a short, middle-aged Black man who ran off while carrying a plastic bag.
“This is an ongoing investigation and detectives will work to determine if it is linked to the incidents reported in May,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage, in response to an inquiry from ARLnow.
The company grew rapidly after its January 2017 founding by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, former stars of Rosslyn-based Politico, which itself was recently acquired.
Just a year after its launch Axios graduated from a co-working space on a lower floor of 3100 Clarendon Blvd to snazzy new digs on a top floor. In 2020, after establishing itself as a prolific publisher of scoops in the worlds of U.S. politics, dealmaking, media and other topics, it set its sight on an unlikely expansion opportunity: local news.
Axios acquired the local news website Charlotte Agenda in December 2020 for a reported $5 million, rebranding it Axios Charlotte and enlisting its co-founder, Ted Williams, to help lead the rapid expansion of Axios Local.
Not even two years later, Axios Local now has 24 local newsletters across the country, operated by two-to-three person local teams that do a mix of original reporting and curation of other local news sources. The Axios D.C. newsletter launched about a year ago.
Local news, of course, is a difficult business. Newspapers are in rapid decline, with revenue down 60% and overall employment down 70% since the mid-2000s. TV stations, which generate much of their revenue from local news, may be at or near a peak before revenue starts to decline. Cox sold a majority stake in its TV station group to a private equity company in late 2019 and sold off stations in 12 markets earlier this year.
Axios is among a newer generation of online-only local news publishers that have not yet matched the journalistic firepower of local newspapers in their pre-internet heyday, when the printed paper was the go-to route into the homes for local advertisers, from department store inserts to “help wanted” classifieds.
Google, Facebook, Craigslist, Angie’s List, Yelp and any number of other online resources have since given advertisers more ways to reach local consumers, leading to a decades-long bleeding of revenue away from local newspapers and what had been their distribution-based monopoly on customer attention.
Into the breach have stepped Axios and its fast-growing local newsletter competitor 6AM City, as well as earlier local-news-at-scale efforts like Patch and more localized, independent online-only publications like ARLnow (plus sister sites ALXnow and FFXnow).
There are currently more than 700 independent local news startups in the U.S. and Canada, according to Local Independent Online News Publishers, a trade group that ARLnow helped to found. While a handful of online news ventures have grown to rival the size of local newspapers — the nonprofit Texas Tribune has more than 50 journalists — none so far have achieved anything approaching nationwide ubiquity.
Axios is seeking to be the first.
“Our goal of 100 cities is in reach,” Axios Local publisher Nick Johnston told Poynter’s Rick Edmonds in August. “I have a list of 384 metropolitan areas in my office, and we cross them off one by one.”
It was those kind of grand local ambitions that drew the 124-year-old, privately-held Cox Enterprises — which dates back to 1898, when its founder purchased the Dayton Daily News in Ohio — to Axios.
The company ramped up talks to buy Axios several months ago, intrigued by the company’s push into local journalism, VandeHei said in an interview. […]
While some current investors weren’t interested in adding more capital, Cox felt confident in the leadership’s ability to monetize local journalism at scale with a lean digital-first approach, said Cox Enterprises Chief Financial Officer Dallas Clement in an interview.
“Cox became an investor in Axios last year and has a lengthy history of supporting local news,” Axios spokesperson Lauren Shiplett told ARLnow last month. “Cox’s leadership has publicly expressed its excitement about Axios Local’s rapid growth as well as the strength of our national platform.”
A 3D image of the proposed Courthouse West development on Wilson Blvd (image via Arlington County)
The Arlington County Board is finally set to vote this weekend on the potential height of a new development coming to Wilson Blvd between Clarendon and Courthouse.
For months, height has been the topic of conversation for the proposed project being dubbed “Courthouse West” at 2636 Wilson Blvd on what is currently a parking lot housing ghost kitchen trailers.
Back in July, the Planning Commission voted to amend the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) from “service commercial” to “Office-Apartment-Hotel.” That designation allows the development to be between 6 and 16 stories high.
However, that is where the differences in opinions lie.
Last week, after a public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended that County Board adopt the county staff’s GLUP study — but with one very notable change.
In the study, county staff recommended a designation of “Medium Office-Apartment-Hotel” which would cap the height of the building at 12 stories, reasoning that height is in line with the rest of the planning for the corridor, would “fit well into the existing skyline,” and would minimize shadows on nearby residential properties.
This is also seemingly closer to what nearby residents who voiced their opinions on the project want. In December, an online survey was disseminated to the public where more than half of the respondents voted for a maximum height of 6 to 10 stories.
At its early September meeting, however, the Planning Commission voted to amend the study to change the designation to “High Office-Apartment-Hotel,” which would allow up to 16 stories. This is also what the applicant, the Ballston-based developer CRC Companies, wants as well.
The Planning Commission went against staff recommendation not to guarantee the highest possible building, several commissioners said, but to allow the height talk to continue without ruling out up to 16 stories.
More affordable housing, concentrating more residents in proximity to transit, and an increased likelihood of a revamped Courthouse Metro entrance all are potential advantages of a taller building, several noted.
“I want to make sure the community knows we are not approving a 16-story building… We are giving the option to allow staff to potentially negotiate up to that height if they provide community benefits that the Planning Commission thinks are valuable,” said commissioner Tenley Peterson at the Sept. 7 meeting.
The vote was not unanimous, with other commissioners calling the 12-story height cap proposed by staff a “reasonable compromise.”
Now, the decision goes to the County Board this weekend. Even if the Board allows consideration of a 16-story building, it would still have to go through a public review and engagement process prior to any final approvals and construction.
“After the Board’s action this weekend, adopted guidance would be in place to inform a future application for development, and a property owner would have to submit an application that would go through the County’s public review and engagement process on the specifics of the development proposal,” Erika Moore with the county’s Dept. of Community Planning, Housing, and Development told ARLnow.
Beyond this particular project, there was a clear sentiment from the Planning Commission that the way the county is conducting comprehensive community planning may need a revamp.
Clarendon and Lyon Park power outage (via Dominion)
Update at 3:20 p.m. — The number of outages is down to just over 600, according to Dominion. Police are in the process of removing cones from intersections with traffic signals that are working again.
Earlier: More than 3,500 homes and businesses are currently without power in Arlington due to a reported transformer fire.
The outage is centered around the Clarendon and Lyon Park neighborhoods. Initial reports suggest that a tree fell on power lines somewhere in the area and sparked the transformer fire that is causing the large outage.
Traffic signals are said to be dark at numerous busy intersections. Police are responding to assist with traffic control.
Another several hundred Dominion customers were initially reported to be in the dark around Courthouse, though power is back on in most of the neighborhood.
One office worker in Courthouse described experiencing 3-4 power surges that “went through the building like a wind blowing… about 2 minutes from start to finish.”
In addition to calls about non-functioning traffic lights, police and fire radio channels have been busy with reports of smoke coming from sidewalk grates — a normal occurrence in commercial areas during outages, caused by diesel generators starting up.
As of 2 p.m., Dominion’s website estimates a timeframe of between 5-8 p.m. for restoration of power.
Looks like there’s a power outage right now in Clarendon. It’s not just residential; some street lights are also out. CC: @arlnowdotcom
The future home of Clarendon Wine Shop on N. Irving Street in Clarendon (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Coco LaRue Beauty Studio in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Coco Coco LaRue)
A new wine shop is getting ready to be uncorked in Clarendon this fall.
The aptly named “Clarendon Wine Club” is moving into 1114 N. Irving Street just off the main Wilson Blvd drag. It’s just a couple of doors down from O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub and around the corner from the recently revamped Clarendon Ballroom.
The owners of the shop are subleasing the space from Coco LaRue Beauty Studio, which is moving next door. The beauty studio temporarily closed earlier this year and is planning to reopen in its new space at 1112 N. Irving Street in January or February 2023, owner Coco La Rue told ARLnow.
Not much is known about Clarendon Wine Club at this point. The owners, a self-described “Lyon Village couple,” only shared that the shop “will focus on high end wines in an intimate space” and that they hope to open this fall.
Le Rue also told ARLnow that the shop will sell her champagne, the passion fruit-flavored “Butterflies Champagne.”
Clarendon does have at least two other businesses that can reasonably be classified as wine shops. Screwtop Wine Bar on N. Fillmore Street also has a retail wine shop. Oby Lee Winery on Washington Blvd sells a selection of bottles to take home as well. There used to be another wine shop right by the Whole Foods on Wilson Blvd, but “quirky” Grateful Red closed in 2016.
This western portion of Clarendon is in throes of change, including development projects both underway and planned.
The Silver Diner across the street is set to close in October after 26 years at that location as a new one in Ballston opens. A new development is coming to that corner featuring a hotel, rooftop bar, gym, residential building, and 16,000 square feet of retail space. It will still probably be a few years before it’s constructed and opened, though.
That development will likely lead to the Clarendon beer garden The Lot being closed, but the owners in June couldn’t elaborate on its future beyond noting it will be open for the rest of the 2022 season.
Coco B’s is set to open on the roof of B Live (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
B Live, a live music and dining venue on Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy of B Live/Albert Ting)
Clarendon’s newest open-air hangout is aiming to start partying by October.
“Tropical glam” bar Coco B’s, the latest venture from local restaurateurs Christal and Mike Bramson, is looking to open on the roof of Whitlow’s former home at 2854 Wilson Blvd this fall, a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.
The hope is to start serving in late September or early October. The initial plan was to start serving by late July or early August, but the opening has been pushed by about two months.
The bottom floor of 2854 Wilson Blvd is now the live music venue and restaurant B Live, also owned by the Bramsons.
Back in June, the couple shared with ARLnow what locals can expect from Coco B’s.
“I’d describe [the look and feel of Coco B’s] as ‘tropical glam.’ If you think of B Live as the male version of the two of us, then Coco B’s is the female version… the his and hers,” said Christal Bramson. “It’s definitely going to be more female-focused. There’s going to be a lot of pinks, velvets, feathers, and it’s going to attract the softer side of Arlington.”
The menu, while not yet set, will have “tropical-inspired” drinks. The plan was to do “some cosmetic changes” to the rooftop, open it this season, and do a more complete overhaul over the winter. Whitlow’s originally opened the rooftop deck in 2010, with a tiki bar theme and the name “Wilson’s on Whitlow’s,” a reference to Tom Hanks’ favorite volleyball in the movie Castaway.
Coco B’s will occupy the rooftop of the Wilson Blvd building while B Live, which opened in May, takes over the rest of the space that once housed Whitlow’s on Wilson. That one-time Arlington landmark has since moved to the District.
The Bramsons also own several other Clarendon food and drink destinations, including The Lot and Pamplona. ARLnow also reported yesterday that the couple has taken over management of the revamped Clarendon Ballroom from owner Michael Darby.
When Coco B’s opens later this year, the Bramsons will be operating five Clarendon businesses all within a half mile of each other.
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driving west on Wilson Blvd from Clarendon, there’s a new addition to the landscape near Mario’s Pizza: a large cement block wall.
The wall is the rear of a new CVS going up along the 3330 block of Wilson Blvd, the former site of the Highlander Motor Inn. The nearly 20-foot-tall, windowless monolith is oriented so that it faces the street. The entrance to the new CVS is set for N. Kenmore Street.
The large blank wall has already attracted the ire of some residents. ARLnow recently received emails from several locals calling the structure an “eyesore,” a “failure,” and “The Great Wall of Clarendon.”
This all comes after a multi-year legal battle that included an unsuccessful appeal by Arlington County to the Virginia Supreme Court. It ended with the county being handcuffed in terms of regulating what’s built at the site.
“The design for this project shows a solid wall fronting on Wilson Blvd. The store frontage will be on N. Kenmore St,” a Department of Community, Planning and Housing Development spokesperson told ARLnow. “This project is occurring through by-right development; therefore there are no Zoning requirements for the orientation of buildings or structures. In addition, the County is limited in its overall regulation of by-right development projects.”
For more than five decades, the 3330 block of Wilson Blvd was the home of the Highlander motel, owned by the family of local businessman Billy Bayne.
In 2015, Bayne made the decision to lease the land to CVS, which planned to build a new store and pharmacy. However, there were complications to the deal, with the county balking at allowing the existing parking lot on N. Kenmore Street to be used again for parking.
Decisions were appealed several times before a circuit judge ruled that Bayne, as owner, was allowed to do what he wished with the property. The case was denied consideration by the state’s top court after a series of appeals.
Bayne, who also owns the Crystal City Gentlemen’s Club and Restaurant, claimed he lost nearly $2 million while the project stalled.
“It’s not okay to do this to somebody,” Bayne said in 2018. “There will be ramifications for this.”
He ended up suing the county for civil rights violations in 2019, but the suit was ultimately dismissed.
The project moved forward, with the motel closing early last year before being torn down. Before it shuttered, though, Arlington’s Dept. of Human Services rented out the hotel as a Covid quarantine location. While it probably didn’t resolve all animosity, the county thanked Bayne as someone who “really stepped up and helped” during a time of crisis.
But now it is neighbors in the Ashton Heights and Virginia Square area who are upset with what’s being done to the property.
“After the long court battle with the owner of the Highlander, CVS is throwing its ‘f you very much’ by placing a blank wall along Wilson Boulevard,” one resident told ARLnow. “Can’t wait for the future graffiti — I mean, community arts project!”
“There is no other commercial enterprise on Wilson Blvd in the area that presents so brazenly (or more likely thoughtlessly) a facade that is so grossly inconsistent with the urban ‘smart growth’ model,” another resident wrote, calling it “unfit… for this area.”
ARLnow reached out to CVS about the wall and received the following response.
“A new CVS Pharmacy store is currently under construction on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The wall that is currently facing Wilson Boulevard will be part of the permanent structure and is included in the overall construction and design plan approved by Arlington development officials,” a CVS spokesperson said.
So, the “Great Wall of Clarendon” is apparently here to stay and there isn’t much the county or residents can do at this point.
“It could be a major eyesore on the street for the next 30 to 40 years,” said a local resident.
