Clarendon

Galaxy Hut to Stay Takeout Only Until Staff Vaccinated

By Vernon Miles
1/2

In better times, Galaxy Hut’s main room at 2711 Wilson Blvd would be filled with busy chatter, patrons playing arcade games, and the TV playing a worn out VHS copy of Excalibur (1981).

For the last year, that room has been an empty stretch for staff to cross as they carry food from the kitchen to the barricaded front door, where they drop off food for customers. Even as other Clarendon spots draw customers for indoor dining and drinking, Galaxy Hut’s owner said the restaurant will remain takeout only until their staff is vaccinated, no matter the cost.

“As a bar, gathering place, and live music venue, choosing to be pickup only has been devastating for our sales,” proprietors Lary and Erica, who also own Spacebar in Falls Church, said in an email. “Both of our restaurants occupy small spaces, so we don’t have as many options available to us as restaurants with more indoor square footage and larger outdoor seating areas do. That said, there is more that we are allowed to do under current restrictions, but we have made a choice not to. We continue to make that choice, despite financial harm, until food service workers can be vaccinated.”

While neighboring Alexandria has been able to move food service workers into the current phase of vaccination, in Arlington they’re still listed in the pre-registration phase, as is the case elsewhere in Virginia.

Lary and Erica said holding off until staff is vaccinated is as much for the safety of customers as for staff. Once employees are vaccinated, they said the restaurant will begin a gradual reopening.

“We determined early on in the pandemic that due to the size of our restaurants, it would not be safe for customers or staff to be in the same space without masks on,” Lary and Erica said. “We decided to remain pickup only until we can get ourselves and our staff vaccinated. Arlington is currently vaccinating group 1b. Food service workers have been placed in group 1c. Once we are all vaccinated we will begin a phased opening plan.”

In the meantime, Galaxy Hut’s menu is almost entirely vegan, with dairy-options offered as alternatives on some dishes. As a new Ethiopian restaurant on Columbia Pike recently discovered, Lary and Erica said there’s been some community excitement for having those options available.

“We’ve thankfully had a lot of support and positive feedback from the community,” the pair said. “We now have a set of new pandemic regulars in addition to our pre-pandemic regulars who continue to support both of our restaurants with food orders and merch purchases. There’s a lot more excitement and support for vegetarian and vegan food now than there was back in 2013 when we first tried an all-veg menu, so that’s been great to see.”

Galaxy Hut is open for takeout orders from 4 p.m.-7:45 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-8:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Framebridge is Coming to Clarendon

By Matt Blitz

Framebridge is coming to Clarendon.

The D.C.-based custom framing company, owned by Rosslyn-based Graham Holdings, is opening a brick and mortar location at 2839 Clarendon Blvd.

It will be a part of the newly-renamed The Crossing Clarendon (formerly Market Common Clarendon) and takes the place of Lou Lou Boutiques, which closed the past summer.

The store is planning to open “this spring,” a Framebridge spokesperson tells ARLnow, but did not provide more details.

The company is already looking to hire for the location.

This is currently the company’s third physical store in the region, along with stores in D.C. and Bethesda. Another location will soon open near Union Market in D.C., according to the Washington Business Journal.

Framebridge started as a venture capital-funded ecommerce and online-only company, but has since expanded to brick and mortar storefronts. Besides the locations in the D.C. area, it also opened stores last year in New York and Atlanta.

Clarendon has seen a number of comings and goings in recent months.

Heritage Brewing Company closed in November, but it will be replaced by another restaurant later this year. The G.O.A.T. sports bar closed in January as well as the Bracket Room, another sports bar, just this past week.

New Restaurant ‘Maison Cheryl’ Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) A new restaurant appears to be coming to the former Heritage Brewing spot in Clarendon.

The brewpub closed its doors at 2900 Wilson Blvd in November, citing the difficulties of making ends meet during the pandemic. A restaurant called Maison Cheryl is set to take its place, according to a recent permit filing.

No contact information was listed in the filing, but a job ad for a General Manager, posted in late December, sheds some light on what type of restaurant Maison Cheryl will be.

“We will be offering refined New American cuisine with a French influence as well as top shelf cocktails, beer and wine,” the ad said. “Our restaurant will have around 70-80 seats, a large bar with a staff of 15-20. The menu is incredibly refined, often changing and hits many price points.”

The ad says the restaurant is owned by the chef and was, as of its posting, planning to open in a few months.

Photo courtesy Joseph Morrell

NEW: Bracket Room in Clarendon Has Closed

By ARLnow.com
1/4

Bracket Room, the Clarendon sports bar co-founded by Chris Bukowski of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise fame, has closed — for real this time.

The bar served its last customers on Sunday, we’re told. On Monday, employees could be seen hauling items out of the venue at 1210 N. Garfield Street and loading them into a pickup truck.

Much of the restaurant’s equipment was recently placed on a local auction website.

The bar announced the news on Instagram yesterday, saying that it was unable to renegotiate its current 10-year lease.

With great sadness, Bracket Room in VA is having to close its doors for good. We had a 10 year lease with the building and when renegotiating the terms, we weren’t able to come to a common ground.

We want to thank everyone who has supported us throughout the years, the people who have had many memories at Bracket Room and we will forever be grateful for you all. This parting ways is just as hard on us and it is on you.

We will think about you ALWAYS and hope to see you around the way ❤️ you all were the best. Thank you.

Forever grateful,
Bracket Room Owner & Staff

Bracket Room opened in 2013, seeking to provide a higher-end, “female-friendly” experience with higher-quality food and drink. Over the years it attracted it attracted sizeable gameday and Bachelor-watching crowds, and also the ire of some neighbors who thought it made too much noise.

The bar eventually spawned sister locations at Reagan National Airport and in Bukowski’s hometown of Chicago, the latter of which has since closed.

Last March, as the pandemic got underway, Bracket Room announced it would close in Arlington for good. With little further explanation, it reopened for takeout shortly thereafter and then reopened for dine-in customers as well.

By ARLnow’s count, Bracket Room is the 26th restaurant in Arlington to close since the start of the pandemic.

‘Clarendon Popup’ Prepares for New Theme, March Festivities

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 12:15 p.m.) Clarendon Popup Bar, located inside the former Clarendon Ballroom space, is about to shift to its second theme.

The concept bar opened at 3185 Wilson Blvd in time to ring in the New Year with its temporary theme, “Winter Wonderland.” That theme will still be in effect this weekend, but will then be changed over the course of the following week. (An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that it would be closed this weekend.)

“Winter Wonderland was a success and more popular than anticipated,” owner Mike Bramson tells ARLnow. “The next theme is ‘Fire & Ice.’ We don’t want to give anything anyway, so you’ll have to come see it.”

Weather permitting, the rooftop will open in March, he said.

The debut of the “Fire and Ice” theme is set for Thursday, March 4, according to the calendar. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which falls on a Wednesday, Clarendon Popup Bar will also have “ShamRock N’ Roll” event on Saturday, March 13.

“For St. Patrick’s Day weekend we are still working out the details, but you can most definitely expect a band and DJ lineup, and of course some green beer,” he said.

The pop-up will be showing games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, better known as March Madness, from March 18 to April 4.

“We will be opening early to show the March Madness games on our huge projector wall and TVs,” Bramson said. “Every seat in the house will be able to see a screen.”

The next round of events will end on April 3 with the Final Four games and a “Fire and Ice”-themed night.

Not everybody has been enamored with Clarendon Popup. An anonymous tipster sent ARLnow Instagram videos inside the venue, showing crowded dance areas and a number of people not wearing masks.

In response, Bramson said Clarendon Popup Bar has been working with the health department to “ensure we are following all necessary regulations and precautions.”

Since opening, he and staff have rearranged the layout “a few times” to adapt to demand. The large indoor space has allowed them to properly distance and section off tables, he said.

“We feel comfortable that we have taken the proper safety measures going into our next theme,” said Bramson. “Anyone not at their table is required to wear a mask and all staff is on top of enforcing that rule.”

The County Board approved Clarendon Popup’s request for a live entertainment and dancing permit in mid-December on the condition that the owners abide by all local, state and federal COVID-19 regulations.

Photos (2-3) via Instagram

Metro Asking Public To Weigh In On Cuts, Including Closing Several Arlington Stations

By Matt Blitz

Metro is asking the public to weigh in on possible options for drastic service cuts, including potentially closing several Arlington stations in January 2022.

On Wednesday Metro announced that the public comment period for its 2022 fiscal year budget had officially opened.

With it, they are asking riders to fill out a survey about what options they’d be willing to deal with beginning on Jan. 1, 2022 if more federal money is not received.

The options on the survey include closing Metrorail every day at 9 p.m, trains arriving only every 30 mins at most stations, and shuttering up to 22 stations that have low ridership or are near others.

That list includes four stations in Arlington: Clarendon, Virginia Square, Arlington Cemetery, and East Falls Church.

Screenshot of the Metro survey, asking about potential service cuts in 2022 (Photo via Screenshot/Metro press release)

These were the same stations that were closed earlier in the pandemic due to lower ridership and construction.

The survey also asks about prefered options for cutting Metrobus service, including a number of lines that run through Arlington and Northern Virginia.

Proposals include consolidating the bus system into 50 lines that serve only the highest ridership routes as well as limiting overall service to about half of pre-pandemic levels.

Metro is asking riders to fill out the survey by Tuesday, March 16 at 5 p.m.

The potential cuts come as Metro continues to say they are facing a significant budget shortfall if no additional federal money is received — a shortfall caused in large part by decreased ridership during  the pandemic.

The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority says ridership has decreased by 90% overall on Metro.

Back in December, Metro was promised more than $600 million in the latest coronavirus relief package. That funding, notes Metro, has helped to avoid layoffs, provide essential service, and prepare for riders returning.

But even with that funding and other austerity measures, “there is not enough money to fill the entire budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2021,” Metro’s press release says.

There’s a decent chance, however, that this public survey will become moot.

President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan has $20 billion earmarked for public transit agencies. At this time, however, it remains unclear how much would go to Metro if the plan does pass in Congress.

Still, county leaders say the potential cuts are concerning.

“Arlington agrees with Metro that federal funding is essential to ensuring that the sort of drastic cuts that could profoundly impact Metro in Arlington will not have to be made,” writes Arlington Board Chair Matt de Ferranti in a statement to ARLnow. “Our Senators and Representatives fully support Metro funding in the federal legislation currently under consideration on Capitol Hill. We are grateful for their critical leadership and are staying in close contact to ensure this critical federal support for our community gets enacted and appropriated. ”

In recent weeks, though, service changes have already come to Metro based on the revised 2021 budget approved in November.

Starting last week, trains started coming every 12 mins on the Orange, Blue, Silver, and Yellow lines. However, Metrobus will start expanding service beginning on March 14. Buses are being added on 125 lines and weekend service is being expanded.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Advertises Property Tax Rates — “The Arlington County Board today voted unanimously to advertise no increase in the Calendar Year 2021 base real estate property tax rate, citing the toll the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is taking on residents. The Board also voted to advertise a proposed Stormwater tax rate of 1.7 cents per $100 of assessed real property value to fund the full cost of operations and planned capital improvements to the County’s stormwater infrastructure and flood mitigation… The estimated annual impact for the average household with an assessed home value of $724,400 is $123.” [Arlington County]

Snow Falling in Arlington — Updated at 9:10 a.m. — Snow is falling in Arlington, which is just outside of a newly-expanded expanded Winter Weather Advisory. Be careful out there! [Twitter]

Business Owners Talk About Burglaries — “Metry describes the Bluemont neighborhood where his business was burglarized as safe. He doesn’t understand why his business was targeted. ‘The whole register, the iPad, the square scan, all of this was missing,’ Metry said. Surveillance footage captured at neighboring restaurant La Union shows the burglars wearing dark clothing, hoodies, masks and gloves. Jose Zelaya has owned the Mexican restaurant La Union for 21 years. Aside from a random car break-in, he said he’s never experienced any crime like this.” [WUSA 9]

St. Patrick’s Pie at Clarendon Pizzeria — “Colony Grill, Clarendon’s new family-friendly tavern, known for its gracious hospitality and famous ‘hot oil’ bar-style pizzas, will serve a special corned beef & cabbage “Bar Pie”… [f]rom Friday, March 12 through Wednesday, March 17.” [Press Release]

Reminder: Trash Collection Delayed a Day — Due to ice and snow last week, Friday’s residential waste collection will be completed today, shifting this week’s collection schedule by one day. [ARLnow]

County to Consider Major Changes to Washington Blvd Near Clarendon

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Arlington County is looking to overhaul the reversible lanes and the triangle-shaped intersection at Washington Blvd and 13th Street N., near Clarendon.

Washington Blvd would be widened to create a four-lane road between Clarendon Circle and N. Kirkwood Road, while 13th Street N. would be realigned to form a “T” intersection with Washington Blvd, according to a county staff report.

“The project will improve pedestrian safety and accessibility along Washington Boulevard and 13th Street North to provide a safe, and practical pedestrian route,” staff said.

The County Board is slated to hear proposed changes to the traffic patterns and pedestrian infrastructure at this intersection — which staff call a “porkchop” — during its regular meeting on Saturday.

As a part of the project, utilities would be moved underground, and revamped sidewalks, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps, and other streetscape elements will be constructed to match improvements at Clarendon Circle.

The county’s Washington Blvd plans, made in conjunction with the Clarendon Circle work and the redevelopment of the nearby Red Top Cab properties, were delayed by more than a year.

“[The project] required coordination with Dominion Power on the utility undergrounding part of the project and staff work to improve the plans for walking pathways during construction, to make it safer for people walking around the construction area,” Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesman Eric Balliet tells ARLnow. “Both of these items have been worked on for over a year, and needed to be completed before we issued the construction contract for bid in December.”

Arlington County has selected Sagres Construction — which bid just over $2.5 million, to which the county is adding $500,000 for contingency — as the contractor.

Taking the utilities underground means the project will take about 18 months, a timeline that, according to the county, concerned some stakeholders.

Still, “there is a general understanding of the technical difficulties associated with the undergrounding of utilities along Washington Boulevard” and “members of the community have expressed full support for the project,” staff said in the report.

This project is a part of the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan. In the intervening years, Arlington County said it has acquired three lots at Washington Boulevard and N. Johnson Street needed to make the intersection a “T.”

These changes are moving forward amid a county-led review of the Clarendon Sector Plan to accommodate a handful of major redevelopment projects. One such project is to update the St. Charles Church campus, which also includes changes to the walking and biking experience along Fairfax Drive between Clarendon Circle and Kirkwood Road.

Images via Google Maps

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Another Snowstorm on the Way? — “Confidence is growing in a messy mix of wintry precipitation in the Washington region Thursday, the latest in a parade of wintry weather events since late January… Parts of the region could see significant amounts of snow and/or ice before a possible change to rain. The precipitation, which may be heavy at times, is likely to continue into Thursday night or very early Friday morning.” [Washington Post]

More Details on Pike CVS Development — “Last summer, the public caught wind of upcoming plans to redevelop the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center on Columbia Pike in Arlington. Now… [a] rezoning application has been filed to apply Columbia Pike-specific zoning to the property at 2601 Columbia Pike (map) in order to deliver The Elliott, a six-story building with 248 apartments with a new CVS pharmacy and a grocery store on the ground floor.” [Urban Turf]

Equinox Isn’t Coming to Clarendon — “An affiliate of Regency Centers Corp. has sued an affiliate of upscale fitness chain Equinox for more than $20 million for allegedly pulling the plug on a planned location at the Market Common retail center… Clarendon Regency IV LLC sued Equinox Clarendon Inc. in U.S. District Court in Alexandria in mid-November for breaching the terms of its lease for space on the first and second floors of the nearly 68,500-square-foot building at 2801 Clarendon Blvd.” [Washington Business Journal]

Capitol Police Officer Died in Arlington — “Smith returned to the police clinic for a follow-up appointment Jan. 14 and was ordered back to work, a decision his wife now questions… Police found him in his cherished Ford Mustang, which had rolled over and down an embankment along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, near a scenic overlook on the Potomac River. He was the second police officer who had been at the riot to take his own life.” [Washington Post]

Reaction to Senate Trump Vote — Arlington’s Congressional delegation expressed disappointment with the acquittal of former President Trump in the Senate impeachment trial. Said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.): “A bipartisan majority of Senators voted today to send a clear message to future presidents that conduct of this nature is impeachable, intolerable and disqualifying. When the history books on this moment are written, I believe that judgment will be clear.” [Blue Virginia]

Solving Arlington’s Hunger Problem — “The pandemic has made it harder for many Americans to feed their families. After the COVID-19 outbreak, Arlington’s Department of Human Services estimated nearly 16,000 residents needed food assistance. Now the Capital Area Food Bank estimates 26,000 are at risk of hunger in Arlington. County leaders have a plan to help.” [WJLA]

Southwest Air ‘Love’ Story at DCA — “And of course, there’s the inspiring story of Reecie and Imani. Reecie met Imani in 2018 after Imani requested that her plane return to the gate [at Reagan National Airport] before taking off. Imani was the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding, but she was too nervous to fly.” [Twitter]

Jenna Bush’s Worst Date Happened in Arlington — “Hoda Kotb asked Jenna about her worst first date ever and boy, did the story deliver. ‘My worst first date involved the Secret Service, let’s just leave it at that,’ Jenna said, laughing…. She explained that they were in Arlington, Virginia, where her now-husband was living at the time. He had realized he was running out of fuel, so he tried to get to a corner gas station that was up a slight hill. ‘He started to go up the hill and then booooop, crash.'” [Today Show]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Clarendon Alliance Names New Executive Director

By Jo DeVoe

As soon as Jenée Padmore, the new Executive Director of the Clarendon Alliance, established her work email, she “hit the pavement” to meet local business owners.

In these conversations, she learned that “there is still some lack of clarity on what the Alliance is,” Padmore told ARLnow. “What we want to be able to do is let people know that we are here to be a voice for the community.”

About 50 businesses are members of the Alliance, a voluntary organization that promotes the neighborhood and its amenities while connecting individuals and businesses in Clarendon to each other and the rest of the county.

“We’re not just an organization that benefits businesses, but also people who live in Clarendon,” Padmore said.

A veteran special events planner, Padmore will also organize the Clarendon Day street festival — a yearly tradition that went virtual last year — and host events supporting Clarendon’s businesses and residents. She anticipates reincorporating in-person initiatives as the weather warms and people feel comfortable going out.

Padmore also wants to review the ideas that her predecessor, Elizabeth Crocker, could never realize due to COVID-19.

“Our goal is to back up look at all these things we were trying to accomplish and see if there are ways to implement them in this coming year,” she said. “These engagement opportunities will have to be innovative because we can’t have large-scale events and we know people are Zoomed out.”

Other approaches may have to be old-school, as Padmore said the Alliance needs to reach businesses and neighbors offline as well as online.

That is in her wheelhouse, having developed a regional census initiative to educate hard-to-count populations. Padmore also executed coronavirus relief for businesses in Northern Virginia and was an economic development associate for the Town of Vienna and the NoMa Business Improvement District.

“Jenée brings a wealth of experience in community organizing, economic development, nonprofit management, and event production,” said Scott E. Pedowitz, President of the Clarendon Alliance Board of Directors. “We are looking forward to working with a leader of her caliber.”

Ultimately, Padmore envisions partnerships among the Alliance, civic groups and businesses that lift up Clarendon.

“We are an urban village, and in a village, we all assist each other,” she said. “When you develop that sense of community… residents see it, visitors see it, and it attracts more people to the community.”

Photo courtesy Jenée Padmore

St. Charles in Clarendon Envisions New Parish and New Housing

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Clarendon is proposing to lease part of its campus for private development and to make its grounds greener and more walkable.

The mid-century church sits on two-and-a-half acres of land wedged among Washington Blvd to the north, N. Kirkwood Road to the west and Fairfax Drive to the south. Parking occupies much of the lot, with the church and its auxiliary spaces lining N. Kirkwood Road and Fairfax Drive.

New renderings, however, reposition the church at the corner of Washington and Wilson Blvd, closer to Clarendon, with parish spaces and a private residential building fanning out behind the church. The building is likely to be an apartment building with a 100-child preschool at the base.

Currently a through-road and one-way loop wrapping around parking, Fairfax Drive would be converted into a walkable plaza. This “enables a comprehensive, pedestrian-friendly connection to Virginia Square and addresses north-south pedestrian access,” according to an architect’s report. Church parking would be accessible from Washington Blvd.

Bike lanes would be rerouted along the south side of the plaza to reduce interactions with pedestrians, the report said. The buildings would provide internal access to protected open spaces — a cloister, a playground and a courtyard.

St. Charles pastor Fr. Don Planty said in a January report the parish has spent the last three-and-a-half years studying the land, working with lawyers and architects and projecting potential costs. Recently, the project turned a corner.

Planty said in the report that Bishop Michael Burbridge of the Diocese of Arlington “has approved our recommendation to move forward with our project, seeking a development partner.” (Diocesan laws require the bishop to approve all developments.)

“This marks an exciting transition for us: we have long spoken about the ‘potential’ redevelopment of our site,” he wrote. “We now set about the exciting business of turning our vision into a reality.”

St. Charles plans to lease the western half of its site to a private developer, which would fund the changes proposed for the sacred half of the site.

Drafting a Request for Proposal and selecting a development partner could take six months or more, but would “clear the path for local government approvals and eventual construction,” Planty said.

Although the pastor described the future as promising, he said “we still have a lot of work to do.”

Like other proposed developments, including mixed-use buildings where Joyce Motors used to be and on the Wells Fargo/Verizon Site, aspects of the church’s proposed changes will not meet guidelines in the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan. In preparation for these developments, Arlington County began mulling over changes to the sector plan in February 2020.

This winter, the county sought feedback on how people feel cycling and walking along Fairfax Drive and Wilson Boulevard between Clarendon Circle and N. Kirkwood Road and what could be done to improve the experience. This area includes St. Charles’s proposed pedestrian plaza and rerouted bike lanes.

Hat tip to Stephen Repetski

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