That includes the Spokes Etc. location in Ballston at 3924 Wilson Blvd.
Trek, which manufactures bikes and operates its own retail stores, already has a shop in Clarendon on Wilson Blvd, a mere nine-minute bike ride from the Spokes location in Ballston. The two stores were one and two, respectively, in this year’s Arlies for favorite bike shop in Arlington.
Spokes Etc. made the move into Ballston in 2018, replacing Freshbikes.
The locally owned and operated bike company was founded in 1985 and prides itself on not being “a company that gives ‘cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all’ service,” according to its website.
There are five other Spokes Etc. locations, in Fairfax, Leesburg, Vienna, and two in Alexandria: Belle Haven and N. Quaker Lane, near Fairlington.
ARLnow has reached out to Trek about what the sale could mean for the local shops, but have yet to hear back as of publication. Strang declined to comment on whether all current Spokes Etc. locations will remain open after the sale.
Trek has been on a bike store buying spree as of late, with deals to buy independent bike retailers in Maryland, New York and several Western states announced in the past two weeks.
The Brass Rabbit Pub is coming soon to the former site of Bracket Room (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Inside of Brass Rabbit Pub in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Brass Rabbit Pub)
Inside of Brass Rabbit Pub in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Brass Rabbit Pub)
Inside of Brass Rabbit Pub in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Brass Rabbit Pub)
Brass Rabbit Pub is looking to open next month, in the Clarendon space formerly occupied by the Bracket Room.
In July, ARLnow reported that a new bar planning to have “elevated pub fare with a healthy twist” is coming to 1210 N. Garfield Street. Now, owner Reese Gardner tells us that he’s looking at a mid-February opening for Brass Rabbit Public House, barring delays in securing county permits and passing inspections.
Details are limited, though, about exactly what patrons will see and experience. A July Facebook notes that “to keep the place hoppin'” there will be a selection of 14 draft beers, a craft cocktail menu, house infused vodka, and an “extensive” wine list.
In terms of the menu, there will be burgers, wings, and sandwiches as well as a “large variety of lettuce wraps and unique salads” in keeping with the rabbit theme. Additionally, there will be happy hour specials, weekend brunch, and sports on the televisions with NFL and NHL packages.
Interior photos provided to ARLnow show plenty of rabbit-themed decor, as well.
The pub is replacing the Bracket Room, which closed back in March. That restaurant and bar opened in 2013 and was co-founded by Chris Bukowski of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise fame. It gained a reputation for a place to watch sporting events, the Bachelor, and for annoying some of its neighbors with what they described as excessive noise.
Former Whitlow’s space, with permit applications for B Live and Coco B’s (staff photo)
Building permits affixed to the window of an entertainment venue in Clarendon (file photo)
A look at ongoing work inside the former Whitlow’s space on Jan. 6, 2022 (staff photo)
Former Whitlow’s space, with permit applications for B Live and Coco B’s (staff photo)
Former Whitlow’s space, with permit applications for B Live and Coco B’s (staff photo)
The former Whitlow’s space will apparently three separate identities when it reopens under new ownership.
In December we reported that Michael Bramson, who’s behind The Lot beer garden and the Clarendon Pop-Up Bar, was opening something new called B Live in the long-time local watering hole’s former Clarendon home. Before that, we also reported that locally-founded burger chain Five Guys was planning to take part of the space, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Whitlow’s closed in June after more than 25 years at 2854 Wilson Blvd.
But B Live and Five Guys aren’t the only things planning to open there. A new permit application has been filed for “Coco B’s,” another forthcoming Bramson concept.
While B Live will occupy the first floor and possibly the basement of the space, according to building permit applications, it appears that Coco B’s will be the name of what used to be Whitlow’s rooftop tiki bar.
A stop by the space today revealed the Coco B’s application posted on the street-level entrance to the stairs that lead to the tiki bar, while B Live permits were near the main entrance to the indoor space. Most of the windows were papered over, but a gap in the covering revealed an interior that had mostly been cleared of its former accoutrements — as well as two people working inside.
Bramson and his PR rep both declined to reveal any information about the new concepts last week.
“At the moment there actually isn’t anything to share about B Live or Coco B’s,” wrote Vicki Holcomb, the PR rep.
“I don’t have any info to share at the moment,” Bramson himself told ARLnow.
The name Coco B’s seems to have been chosen because Bramson is retaining the tiki bar theme. It’s sure to raise some eyebrows, however, given its similarity to the name of a noted local TikTok personality whose arrest and subsequent exoneration — amid allegations against two Arlington bars — attracted considerable attention last summer.
Maison Cheryl in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Maison Cheryl)
Interior of Maison Cheryl in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Maison Cheryl)
Seared duck breast entree at Maison Cheryl (photo courtesy of Maison Cheryl)
Interior of Maison Cheryl in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Maison Cheryl)
The past several months haven’t exactly gone as expected, but Maison Cheryl in Clarendon is very much looking forward to the future, chef and co-owner Robert Maher tells ARLnow.
The business has been growing and already has a number of regulars, Maher says, but a combination of continued COVID-19 concerns and not securing an outdoor seating permit has dampened expectations a bit.
“We’re still trying to get our outdoor seating, which is amazing how it’s been like five months and we still don’t have it,” he says. “But we should be getting that next week.”
Though, mid-January isn’t exactly the ideal time to eat outside.
Nonetheless, Maher is encouraged by the experiences he’s had so far in Arlington. He and his wife moved from New York City to Bethesda during the pandemic to be closer to family. He initially looked at opening a restaurant there and in D.C., but was attracted to Clarendon’s growing population.
“It looked like such a growing area. Not only with people that have been here for decades and live in the houses, but younger [people] who are working in D.C.,” he says. “I think it’s one of the best places to open a restaurant.”
Another thing that Maher is learning is the amount of work it takes to be both the head chef and co-owner of a restaurant.
“There’s a lot on the plate,” he says. “There’s so much that has to be done besides cooking, food ordering, costs…that’s been the most eye-opening experience. I take a lot of work home with me.”
Maher is a trained French cook and the menu is inspired by “French-New American” cuisine. Best sellers are the Maison Wagyu burger and seared duck breast, but his personal favorite is the bucatini and fried burrata in a zucchini sauce.
Maison Cheryl changes the menu seasonally and next week it will shift to winter. Most of the favorites will still be on it, but Maher is adding several new dishes including mussels mariniere, a honey lavender duck breast, and bouillabaisse with muscles, clams, shrimp and Chilean sea bass.
“Bouillabaisse is one of the first dishes I perfected so I love coming back to it especially during the cold winter months,” he says.
He’s enjoying his time growing Maison Cheryl and becoming part of the Clarendon community.
“I’m hoping to see the same faces over and over again,” Maher says. “One day, I might think of [opening] another one, but right now just trying to become a staple in the community. I’m having the time of my life doing that.”
This is the second of two phases for the “Clarendon West” project by Arlington-based Shooshan Company and its partner, Trammell Crow Residential.
“Construction has started with piles being driven,” CEO Kelly Shooshan told ARLnow this week. “So, we are a go.”
The local developer anticipates delivering the project by the end of 2023 or in early 2024.
The second phase, at the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N., is comprised of one 269-unit multifamily building. Shooshan increased the number of units from 247 in the winter of 2020.
In October, Shooshan made a pitch for one extra hour of work on Saturdays, but the County Board denied that request, saying it would be too disruptive for nearby residents. At the time, work was expected to begin in November.
Project representative Adam Stone told ARLnow in December that construction had yet to start because some permits were still being finalized.
In 2015, the Arlington County Board approved a proposal for a three-building, mixed-use development, replacing the old Red Top Cab headquarters and dispatch center, and two small commercial buildings.
The first phase, comprised of two buildings with a total of 333 apartment units on N. Hudson Street and 13th Street N., was completed in the spring 0f 2021. Construction broke ground on the pair of buildings in March of 2019 and the complex, dubbed The Earl Apartments, was sold to another property owner last July.
(Updated 4:25 p.m.) Symplicity, a Clarendon-based company that helps college students find jobs and internships, is expanding its international presence.
This month, the company announced its third international acquisition in five years: Canadian company Orbis, a technology platform that connects university students with job and internship opportunities. Symplicity bought Australia-based CareerHub, an online career services platform, in 2017 and Brazil-based Contratanet, the country’s largest network of job portals for students, in 2018.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” CEO Matt Small tells ARLnow. “Together, we have most of the universities in Canada.”
Small oversaw all these acquisitions, which add to Symplicity’s growing career services platform — one of its eight solutions for institutions that range from student conduct to academic advising. In the last five years, he says, the company has simplified and improved the quality of these solutions and boosted sales to and renewal rates with universities. Today, the company has more than 2,000 college and university clients in more than 35 countries.
“We’ve been growing by leaps and bounds and have ben wonderfully successful,” he said.
That growth is happening amid a reportedly unsteady job market for college graduates due to the pandemic. Small says more colleges and universities are making employability a top priority, as hiring rates still flag for Gen Z graduates and as student loan debt deepens. He adds that institutions leaned on Symplicity in new ways when universities, and all the services they provide, had to go virtual.
But the chief problem for graduates and universities alike — a skills gap between higher education and industry — predates and has been exacerbated by the pandemic, Small says. When polled, he says, universities would say their students were ready for work, while heads of student recruiting would say students weren’t ready.
“They weren’t talking to each other: employers preferred three years work experience, so they didn’t have to train workers in the actual job,” he said. “Having right major and good grades wasn’t enough to do the job.”
Symplicity CEO Matt Small speaks at a conference (courtesy photo)
He tells students to get to the career center “early and often” to map out what work studies, internships or volunteer programs they can complete and which technology platforms they can master concurrent to their four years of classes. Symplicity placed 450,000 students in internships in the last 12 months.
“It just makes you much more marketable when you graduate,” he said.
Small was tapped in 2016 to work for Symplicity after Miami-based H.I.G. Capital purchased the company. At the time, he was the president of Blackboard International. Symplicity attracted a number of other Blackboard employees and executives, he says.
“I would say we came in and fully professionalized the company and made big product enhancements,” he said.
Two years before Small came on, Symplicity’s founder and then-CEO Ariel Manuel Friedler pleaded guilty to federal computer hacking charges after gaining access to his competitors’ computers in order to steal customer and product design information. Former President Donald Trump pardoned him in February 2020. Symplicity was not charged in the case.
Under the new leadership, Symplicity has also swelled to 300 employees, about a third of whom work from the Clarendon headquarters (3003 Washington Blvd, Suite 900), says Small. The company is actively hiring talent in the software industry.
“I joke that we’re the Ted Lasso of the software industry — everyone here is that level of caring and committed,” he said, referencing the TV show about a college football coach whose charm and optimism win over the English soccer team he is unexpectedly hired to coach.
“We work really hard, but it’s a fun, vibrant culture and a personable place,” he added.
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A crash along Clarendon Blvd in December that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Slow traffic near the Clarendon Whole Foods after a pedestrian was struck (via Google Maps)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash along Clarendon Blvd that seriously injured a pedestrian (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) A woman suffered potentially life-threatening injuries after a crash in front of the Clarendon Whole Foods on Wednesday.
Initial reports suggest that the woman was walking in the area when the crash occurred on Clarendon Blvd and the force of the collision sent two vehicles careening onto the sidewalk, knocking down a light pole.
Details surrounding what exactly happened were fuzzy at the time. A police spokeswoman said it is too early in the investigation to determine a cause of the crash or a sequence of events.
The woman was rushed to a local hospital via ambulance after the crash. Arlington County police set up a command post as detectives conducted a full investigation.
A lone shoe could be seen on the sidewalk as police cordoned off the area and onlookers watched from behind the wall of the Whole Foods parking lot.
Clarendon Blvd was blocked near the crash for an extended period of time.
On Thursday, the Arlington County Police Department released more information about the crash, which detectives say was caused by a driver who struck a parked car. The victim remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a critical crash which occurred on the afternoon of December 22 in the Clarendon neighborhood.
At approximately 1:44 p.m., police were dispatched to the 2700 block of Wilson Boulevard for the report of a crash with injuries involving a pedestrian. The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the striking vehicle was turning from N. Edgewood Street onto Clarendon Boulevard when he struck a parked vehicle. The impact of the crash resulted in the pedestrian being struck and damage to an additional parked vehicle and a light pole.
The pedestrian, an adult female, was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries and remains hospitalized in critical condition. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene.
The crash remains under investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective K. Stahl at [email protected] at 703-228-7145. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
The parking lot near the Whole Foods in Clarendon eyed for redevelopment, where “ghost kitchens” currently operate (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
What a possible 17-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
What a possible 10-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
What a possible 6-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
What a possible 17-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
What a possible 10-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
What a possible 6-story redevelopment in Clarendon, dubbed Courthouse West, would look like (via Arlington County)
Side-by-side comparisons of varying heights for the potential Courthouse West development in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
Side-by-side comparisons of varying heights for the potential Courthouse West development in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
“Ghost kitchens” on the parking lot eyed for redevelopment near the Whole Foods in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County is soliciting public input on what the potential redevelopment of a Clarendon parking lot should look like.
The lot at 2636 Wilson Blvd, between the Clarendon Whole Foods and the PNC Bank, is currently occupied by “ghost kitchen” trailers. Property owner Ballston-based CRC Companies envisions rental housing and retail at the site on the Clarendon-Courthouse border.
Currently, the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) for the site only allows “service commercial” uses and buildings up to four stories tall. CRC Companies requested a change to the GLUP to allow for taller apartments and hotels, a change Arlington County is currently studying.
Now, the county is seeking public feedback on the study’s scope and the size of the potential redevelopment, which CRC Companies has named Courthouse West. Planners previously said this work will add clarity where existing Courthouse Sector Plan documents “lack sufficient planning guidance” to inform a County Board decision on the developer’s requested changes.
These documents do identify the lot — bounded by N. Danville Street, Clarendon Blvd, N. Cleveland Street and Wilson Blvd — as a “key redevelopment site,” since it mostly falls within a quarter-mile radius of the Courthouse Metro station, per a recent staff presentation.
ATTN RE: Courthouse West Special Land Use Study: We updated the feedback form. If you completed it before 8:30 a.m. today (Fri. Dec. 17), please fill it out again. If you haven’t provided feedback yet, please do so! https://t.co/yQXFhsp7Jp… *Form closes Sun. Jan. 9* pic.twitter.com/p9kCS8GTvx
Through Sunday, Jan. 9, survey respondents can choose one of three preliminary scenarios for an apartment building:
a 6-story, 70-foot tall building with 150 residential units and 11,000 square feet for commercial use
a 10-story, 110-foot tall building with 215 residential units and 16,000 square feet for commercial use
a 17-story, 180-foot tall building with 300 residential units and 16,000 square feet for commercial use
In all three scenarios, planners say they’re assuming parking would be underground and a tenth of the site would become some type of public space, likely along Clarendon Blvd, according to the staff presentation.
The survey asks participants to consider how the building’s architecture could transition into the shorter shopping areas and houses nearby.
Respondents can also indicate what additional topics the study should address, including:
Public space
Affordable housing
Improvements to vehicle access and loading
Parking
Streetscape, bicycle, and pedestrian improvements
Safety improvements
Stormwater improvements
Biophilic elements
Historic preservation
Public art
The Long Range Planning Committee is expected to hold a meeting on the results of the survey in January.
LRPC members are interested in “exploring higher density and height on the site” and seeing “residential uses, appropriate tapering and height, public space and affordable housing, and biking and pedestrian improvements,” county planner Tim Murphy said during the presentation.
Demolition is underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition is underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition is underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition is underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition is underway on the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Former Highlander Motel sign, now taken down (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Highlander Motel in January 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The iconic Highlander Motor Inn on Wilson Blvd in Jan. 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Highlander Motel is finally coming down, with a CVS set to go up in its place.
Demolition has begun on the nearly six-decade-old, two-story motel on Wilson Blvd after it closed a year ago. The tear down is expected to be completed within the next several days, according to former owner Billy Bayne.
Video taken by a local filmmaker, below, shows a large excavator eating through the brick, siding, and metal of the old building.
Despite the motel turning into rubble, construction on the new CVS won’t actually start for a “few months” due to it being winter, a construction manager tells ARLnow. A tentative time frame for the building to be completed is mid-to-late August, but that deadline is weather-dependent.
The Atlanta-based Project Builders Inc. is the general contractor, as county permits show.
After the project is turned over to CVS, it likely will take at least a month for the store to open, notes the construction manager, putting an estimated opening date around late September.
There are currently at least three other CVS stores within about a mile of where the new one will be constructed, including locations in Clarendon and Ballston.
The plan to demolish Highlander Motel and replace it with a CVS has been in place since at least 2016, with permit applications being filed two years ago. Bayne still owns the land at 3336 Wilson Blvd and is leasing it to CVS.
As for the Highlander, Bayne admits watching it be demolished does conjure up emotions.
But it’s time for it to go, Bayne says. The motel was struggling to stay afloat and had overstayed its usefulness, he says.
“My father would be happy since [leasing the property] is going to help out his children and grandchildren,” Bayne says, “Plus, having a CVS there is good for the neighborhood.”
(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) Arlington police had their hands full in Clarendon early this morning.
First, a rowdy bar patron allegedly started an altercation with police after getting kicked out of a venue on the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd, Clarendon’s busiest stretch of bars. shortly after midnight. The man, a 33-year-old D.C. real estate agent, tried to flee and was arrested after a brief foot chase, according to Arlington County police.
Then, a second man approached and tried to sucker punch a female officer in the back of the head, according to ACPD. The man is also accused of throwing jackets at officers as they took him into custody.
ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2021-12160006, 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 12:26 a.m. on December 16, police were dispatched to the report of a disorderly conduct regarding a subject who had been removed from an establishment by security and was attempting to reenter. Upon arrival, officers observed the suspect involved in a verbal dispute with a group of individuals. Officers made contact with the suspect who became uncooperative and aggressive during their investigation. When officers attempted to take the suspect into custody, he actively resisted arrest, kicked an officer multiple times and attempted to flee the scene on foot. A brief foot pursuit was initiated and the suspect was subsequently taken into custody. [The suspect], 33, of Washington D.C., was arrested and charged with Drunk in Public, Obstruction of Justice, and Assault & Battery on Police. He was held on no bond.
ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2021-12160013, Wilson Boulevard at N. Irving Street. At approximately 12:36 a.m. on December 16, police were on scene investigating the previous incident (2021-12160006), when the uninvolved male suspect approached an officer from behind and attempted to strike her in the back of the head. Other officers intervened and as they attempted to take the suspect into custody, he threw jackets at officers, continued to act disorderly and resisted arrest. The suspect was subsequently taken into custody without further incident. [The suspect], 29, of No Fixed Address, was arrested and charged with Disorderly Conduct, Obstruction of Justice, and Assault & Battery on Police. He was held on no bond.
There has been a spate of assaults on law enforcement in Arlington recently. Two other notable incidents were reported over Thanksgiving weekend.
ARLnow no longer publishes the names of suspects, with the exception of public figures, major criminal cases, and situations in which the suspect’s identity is a key component of the story. Suspect names are still published in Arlington crime reports.
People walk past Whitlow’s on Wilson in the afternoon light in 2020 (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
It looks like the former Whitlow’s space in Clarendon will not be vacant for much longer.
The long-time local watering hole at 2854 Wilson Blvd closed in June. In July, we reported that the locally-founded burger chain Five Guys was planning to take part of the space. Now, it appears that another venue is also in the works.
A restaurant called “B Live” has applied for permits at the space, according to public records. It will serve beer, wine and cocktails and seat more than 150, according to permit applications. A building permit, applied for in November, calls for interior renovations to the basement and first floor of the space.
The applications suggest that the business is associated with local nightlife entrepreneur Michael Bramson, who’s behind The Lot beer garden and the Clarendon Pop-Up Bar — a temporary venue with rotating themes in the former Clarendon Ballroom space — nearby, among other local bars and restaurants. So far, Bramson has not responded to a request for comment.
Little is known about B Live except for the name, which suggests that there might be a live entertainment component. That could fill a void created by the closure of Clarendon concert venue Iota Club in 2017, though that void has been at least partially filled by The Renegade, which opened a few blocks away in late 2019.
