The future location of Kirby Club, moving into the former home of IOTA Club in Clarendon (photo via Google Maps)
A buzzy new Mediterranean restaurant in Clarendon has pushed back its opening again.
Kirby Club, which previously was set to be called Tawle, is now aiming for a March 2024 opening in the former IOTA Club space at 2832 Wilson Blvd, a restaurant spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.
When it was first announced in May 2022 that a casual kebab-centric restaurant was coming to Clarendon, the hope was to open in about a year. That was later moved back to fall 2023. But, now, the eatery is looking at serving starting in early spring of next year.
No specific reason was given for the push.
“The restaurant plans are moving along as planned, just taking more time than originally planned,” a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.
Kirby Club comes from award-winning restaurateur Rose Previte, who recently won a RAMMY award for her work with D.C.’s Compass Rose and Maydan.
This will be the second location of the Eastern Mediterranean-inspired casual restaurant, with the other opening in Mosaic District late last year to plenty of fanfare and has received a number of accolades ever since.
A restaurant spokesperson said that diners should expect Clarendon’s Kirby Club to be “similar” to the Mosaic District location.
In an interview last year, Previte told ARLnow that she was excited to open in Clarendon because she had attended school at nearby George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and also had worked for Arlington Economic Development as part of a fellowship. While going to school and working, she often went out to Clarendon restaurants and bars.
“I maybe had too much fun in Clarendon because I was 25,” she said at the time. “So, to think we are going to have a bar and restaurant there is very cool.”
Historic photo of Clarendon (courtesy Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library)
Historic photo of Clarendon (via Clarendon Alliance)
Historic photo of Clarendon (courtesy Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library)
Historic photo of Clarendon (courtesy Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library)Court House, 1932
In 1922, Clarendon almost became a town.
The rallying cry was the neighborhood slogan, “Do it for Clarendon,” says local historian Sean Denniston.
Arlington County, formerly within the borders of what was then called Alexandria County, got its name in 1920, to avoid confusion with the City of Alexandria. Twenty years prior, however, residents already saw Clarendon as its own town.
Proud residents, unified by the “Do it for Clarendon” spirit, built their own town hall, volunteer fire department and schools, and created their own phone book, Denniston told people who came to his lecture on this little-known piece of Arlington history. He gave the talk on Tuesday at Arlington Central Library in Virginia Square.
By 1922, the population swelled to around 2,500 people, mostly comprised of white families, he said. (As noted by the Gazette Leader, “Restrictive covenants on the original land sales ensured that Clarendon at the time was an all-white community.”)
In addition to standing up their own municipal services, local residents formed the Clarendon Civic Association — with membership restricted to adult men — and formed audit and public order committees.
These neighborhood leaders began to chafe against what they considered to be a non-cooperative and unhelpful government, Denniston said. They criticized the county for being unable to provide for the good of the community, citing the lack of robust water and sewage systems and poor roads.
“Bennett v. Garrett was really a fight between Clarendon and county interests — and to put it nicely, majority interests,” Denniston said. “Really, minority interests were not given much mind except to bolster one or other arguments.”
Incorporating as a town was a way to break free from this. They proposed boundaries stretching from N. Veitch Street to N. Quincy Street, an area of about 702 acres, and housing the town hall in what is today Northside Social on Wilson Blvd.
“Feeling that they’d been doing their own show for a long time, trying to become their own town seemed like a logical next step,” Denniston said. “[Clarendon residents] feared that the district would get autocratic control, and that they’d have no stake in future planning.”
The Clarendonians took their case to court, where they argued that Clarendon was separate and distinct from other neighborhoods in Arlington. They said the neighborhood could afford to be self-sufficient and the majority of residents supported incorporating as a town.
When the local courts struck down their case, they appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
In Bennett v. Garrett, the state ruled against the Clarendon residents. The court said forming an independent municipality would not promote the general good. This case set forth the precedent Arlington would not be subdivided in any way because it is “continuous, contiguous and homogeneous.”
That legacy can be felt today, in Arlington’s distinct communities and “urban villages” making up the nation’s smallest self-governing county.
Denniston mused that, while Clarendon’s secession attempt failed, the saga may have galvanized an imperfect understanding of how Arlington is, or is not, homogeneous.
“In no danger of new towns, is [Arlington’s] county structure, cost of living and changing demographics excluding ethnic and economic voices?” Denniston asked. “While the town of Clarendon and county elites weren’t worried about such things, we do care about ‘One Arlington.'”
Outdoor bar at The Pinemoor (photo via The Pinemoor)
Indoor bar at The Pinemoor (photo via The Pinemoor)
The Pinemoor has reached the end of the dusty trail.
The vaguely Western-themed restaurant and bar in Clarendon, which replaced the former Clarendon Grill, is closing today, owner Reese Gardner tells ARLnow.
It opened at 1101 N. Highland Street three years ago, just a few months into the pandemic, after initially planning an ill-fated March 2020 opening.
“After opening during Covid we couldn’t find our footing with the concept or come to better terms with the landlord to continue to operate,” Gardner said. “We will be honoring all gift cards at Brass Rabbit and will be moving our popular $5 champagne brunch to Brass Rabbit and Quinn’s.”
The Pinemoor’s menu, originally described as “protein-heavy” with “family-style sides,” includes appetizers, flatbreads, wings, tacos and sandwiches, in addition to craft cocktails and special brunch offerings.
Smokecraft Modern Barbecue will be able to keep its live entertainment permit after all.
The Arlington County Board approved a 10-month permit for the restaurant at 1051 N. Highland Street in Clarendon this Saturday.
For the last two months, the permit was renewed on a monthly basis while the county and the restaurant went back and forth on policies that would comply with the Arlington Restaurant Initiative, a program that intends to make participating alcohol-serving restaurants safer. Compliance is required for Clarendon restaurants and bars to maintain a live entertainment permit.
Smokecraft had initially balked at some of these requirements because, “per guidance received from their lawyers and insurance agents, the applicant believed that these written policies posed a liability threat to their establishment,” the county said in a report.
“We are a safe establishment. We have been a safe establishment. We continue to plan to do so. Adopting these specific written policies isn’t going to change our commitment,” owner and pitmaster Andrew Darneille told the Board last month.
Since then, however, the county says it has received and accepted written policies and procedures that bring Smokecraft into compliance with ARI.
The old Silver Diner site in Clarendon (via Google Maps)
The old Silver Diner site in Clarendon (via Google Maps)
Renderings of the hotel building set to be built on the Silver Diner site (via Arlington County)
The sites for the hotel and apartment buildings by TCS Realty Associates and The Donohoe Cos. (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the hotel building set to be built on the Silver Diner site (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the hotel building set to be built on the Silver Diner assemblage (via Arlington County)
Renderings of plaza space in the Silver Diner site redevelopment (via Arlington County)
Renderings of plaza space in the Silver Diner site redevelopment (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the apartment building set to be built on the Silver Diner assemblage (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the apartment building set to be built on the Silver Diner site (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the apartment building set to be built on the Silver Diner site (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the apartment building set to be built on the Silver Diner site (via Arlington County)
The empty Silver Diner in Clarendon may remain standing for a little longer while redevelopment plans for the site wrap up.
The former restaurant at 3200 Wilson Blvd closed in December and soon thereafter reopened in Ballston. Seven months later, developers proposing to build a hotel and apartment building on the site say more time is needed to make the ground floor of their project more welcoming to pedestrians.
Bounded by 10th Street N., Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street, the site includes the diner, The Lot beer garden — itself issuing a last call for drinks this year — two brick structures called “The Doctors Building,” and an auto repair facility.
The developers, TCS Realty Associates and The Donohoe Cos., are asking the Arlington County Board for another two months to fix “unresolved design challenges” that arose during the public review process, per a county report. On Saturday, the Board is set to vote on the request, potentially delaying a final review until September.
Mostly, the design challenges relate to how the developer plans to use N. Irving Street.
TCS and Donohoe intend to put hotel-related facilities and a loading area along N. Irving Street, which Arlington County staff said in a report earlier this year deviates from the 2022 Clarendon Sector Plan. This plan, developed in anticipation of the Silver Diner redevelopment, among others, envisions this street as walkable and with outward-facing retail.
In response to earlier feedback, the developers added a “living green wall” to the hotel façade along N. Irving Street. While appreciative of the effort, staff said in March that a grassy wall does not address the lack of retail or the pedestrian-vehicle conflicts a loading area could create.
Façade changes to 3200 Wilson Blvd redevelopment (via Arlington County)
“The applicant has designed the ground floor plan of the Hotel building to have the less active uses (i.e. kitchen, employee break room, etc.) along Irving Street,” said a county report from March, adding that county planning documents instead suggest the street should have “retail, retail equivalents, food establishments, entertainment establishments.”
Arlington County says the loading area, meanwhile, pits vehicles turning in and out of the hotel against pedestrians who use N. Irving Street to access the Clarendon Metro station.
It anticipates more people using N. Irving Street to access a public plaza called for in the Clarendon Sector Plan. The space where this will go became public right of way after some street upgrades along Wilson Blvd. The future plaza will be delivered with a project to redevelop the Wells Fargo nearby.
Silver Diner site and future N. Irving Street plaza, elements emphasized by ARLnow (via Arlington County
“Irving Street is recognized as a pedestrian desire line from the Ashton Heights and Lyon Park Civic Associations to the Clarendon Metro stop,” the county report said. “The addition of a curb cut on Irving Street presents pedestrian conflicts and is contrary to County policies that discourage curb cuts and loading activity near public spaces, in this case the public plaza at the terminus of Irving Street.”
The sector plan suggests loading should instead occur on 10th Road N. It envisions the new road as an east-west connection to provide access to parking and loading facilities.
Window dressings for Zazzy, a forthcoming Lebanese restaurant (courtesy anonymous)
A new Lebanese restaurant is coming to Clarendon.
Bright yellow window coverings herald the arrival of Zeal Eatery to a vacant retail spot at the base of Zoso Apartments in Clarendon (1025 N. Fillmore Street).
“Zeal Eatery Inc.” was incorporated as a business four months ago on March 8, per the business records, but it also has an alternative name, Zazzy.
The signs, promising that Zazzy is “Revitalizing Lebanese Cuisine” and “Unveiling Urban Delights,” appear on a vacant window storefront next to Gallery Cleaners, in the same strip as Screwtop Wine Bar and Bakeshop.
The space used to be home to Revolve DC, which opened in 2011 and had the distinction of being the first indoor cycling studio in Arlington. It closed before the pandemic, someone familiar with leasing for the property told ARLnow.
He confirmed a new tenant is coming — possibly early next year.
Requests for comment to Zazzy’s Instagram account were not returned before deadline.
Police on scene of assault in Clarendon on Sunday, June 25 (photo courtesy Matthew Hurtt)
A man allegedly assaulted a police officer in Clarendon last night, prompting bystanders to intervene.
The incident happened around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. Police were initially dispatched to N. Danville Street near the Starbucks for a report of a potential domestic violence incident between a man and a woman.
The suspect reportedly started fighting with the first arriving officer before her backup arrived, according to scanner traffic, leading to numerous officers throughout the county speeding to the scene to assist.
Before they arrived, however, several bystanders “attempted to assist the officer as the suspect continued to struggle,” an Arlington County police spokeswoman said. The suspect was eventually taken into custody and now faces multiple charges, including assault on police and DUI.
More, below, from ACPD.
ASSAULT ON POLICE, 2023-06250225, 2600 block of Clarendon Boulevard. At approximately 7:45 p.m. on June 25, police were dispatched to the report of a dispute. The preliminary investigation indicates the male victim observed the suspect yelling at an individual inside a vehicle and banging on the vehicle’s window before the suspect entered the driver’s seat and turned the vehicle on. The victim was recording the incident with his cell phone when the suspect allegedly exited the vehicle, approached the victim and knocked his phone out of his hand. As the responding officer attempted to detain the suspect, he became combative and struggled with and assaulted the officer. Bystanders attempted to assist the officer as the suspect continued to struggle. With the assistance of additional arriving officers, the suspect was taken into custody. [The suspect], 26, of Annandale, VA was arrested and charged with Assault on Police, Assault and Battery, Driving under the Influence and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a secure bond.
Elder Julio Basurto speaks during the County Board recessed meeting in 2021 (via Arlington County)
A man well known as a local community activist has been charged with sexual assault.
Julio Basurto, 42, was arrested as part of an investigation into a sexual assault that happened early in the morning of Sunday, May 21, Arlington County police said this afternoon.
According to ACPD, Basurto picked up a woman from outside of a bar in Clarendon, then sexually assaulted her part-way through the ride. He was not working as a rideshare driver at the time, police noted.
Arlington police are now actively investigating whether Basurto might have assaulted others.
“This remains an active criminal investigation possibly related to other assaults in the area,” police said in a press release. “Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident or who has had past inappropriate encounters with this suspect is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line.”
Sources tell ARLnow that Basurto’s personality took a dark turn in recent months, leading to a fallout with another local activist. Basurto has no criminal record in Arlington beyond traffic violations over the past few years, according to court records.
The full ACPD press release is below.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is announcing the arrest of a suspect in a sexual assault investigation. Julio Basurto, 42, of Arlington, VA is charged with Abduction and Forcible Sodomy. He is being held in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
At approximately 6:40 a.m. on May 21, police met with the adult female victim who reported a sexual assault inside an unknown vehicle. The investigation determined that during the early morning hours, the victim exited a nightlife establishment and was in the 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard when the suspect approached in a black vehicle and the victim entered. During the course of the ride, the suspect sexually assaulted her before she was able to exit the vehicle. The suspect was not operating as a rideshare driver or in a for-hire status.
During the course of the investigation, detectives reviewed evidence and conducted witness interviews. The review resulted in additional information that led detectives to identify the suspect and obtain warrants for his arrest. He was taken into custody without incident on the evening of June 22.
This remains an active criminal investigation possibly related to other assaults in the area. Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident or who has had past inappropriate encounters with this suspect is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). For additional community resources and contact information, visit our website.
Basurto’s most recent Twitter post was of a bible verse.
Rendering of Life Time in Clarendon (courtesy Life Time)
Weight room at Life Time fitness center in Clarendon (via Life Time)
Life Time coworking space (courtesy Life Time)
Life Time gym is opening a new location in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Clarendon’s huge “athletic country club” is hustling to open within the next few weeks.
The long-planned Life Time fitness center, inside of a renovated office building at 1440 N. Edgewood Street, is looking to open in early-to-mid July, a spokesperson tells ARLnow.
The original hope was to open by the end of this week — the website still lists June 29 as the opening date — but the company is currently waiting on its final permits, we’re told. Some builders and business owners have previously criticized Arlington’s permitting system for excessive delays.
Billing itself as an “athletic country club,” the four-floor, 113,000-square-foot Life Time Clarendon will feature high-end fitness facilities, multiple studios, childcare facilities, a salon and spa, a cafe and lounge, and a 28,000-square-foot coworking space.
It was nearly two years ago when Life Time first announced it was opening a facility in a converted office building at The Crossing Clarendon. Initially, an Equinox gym was supposed to move in but that company pulled out and was sued for breach of contract in early 2021.
Construction, meanwhile, has continued on Life Time for the past year or so as other new businesses opened around it.
There are several other Life Time locations in Northern Virginia, including in Fairfax, Reston, Centreville and Ashburn. The Clarendon location is roughly the same size in square footage as the Reston and Ashburn locations, but it will be the only one with a co-working space.
B Live, a live music and dining venue on Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy of B Live/Albert Ting)
B Live, a live music and dining venue on Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
B Live, a live music and dining venue on Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy of B Live/Albert Ting)
B Live “has decided to pivot” to having live band karaoke for most of the weekend, decreasing the number of live original acts the local music venue will be hosting going forward.
Co-owner Christal Bramson tells ARLnow that the restaurant and live music venue, at 2854 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon, is shifting away from hosting a full slate of original musical acts all week long and towards more live karaoke.
The reason, Bramson said, is that Thursday night’s karaoke has proven to be so popular and has garnered so much “positive feedback” that it made sense for B Live to lean into it.
“We will still have live bands, but will have more nights of live karaoke,” she wrote. “Our Thursday evenings, we have received a lot of positive feedback on the live karaoke band.”
Bramson said B Live is “responding to demand” since there is no other dedicated live karaoke venue in Clarendon.
It’s unclear when this shift in programming might happen. The June calendar still has a number of weekend shows listed to appear later this month. Bramson said her team is “currently working on the calendar”
B Live, owned by wife and husband team of Christal and Mike Bramson, opened just over a year ago in the long-time space of Whitlow’s — which has since moved to the District — with a promise of allowing guests to “engage with the local music scene.”
In an interview last June, Mike Bramson told ARLnow that they wanted to open B Live in Clarendon because of the neighborhood’s long history of being home to live music venues. With several closing in recent years, including the beloved Iota Club in 2017, the hope was to fill that live music void for locals.
B Live is also making several other changes in the coming weeks. This coming weekend, the venue is opening an outdoor/lawn space complete with a “launch party.”
And, by the end of the month, a restaurant pop-up will be launching out of B Live. Wicked Buns from local chef Nacho Olivera, who also has worked at Detour Coffee and the Rebel Taco food truck at the Lot, will be serving double-patty burgers, kobe beef hot dogs, and fried chicken sandwiches at the venue.
The long-planned “tropical glam” bar coming to B Live’s rooftop is also planning a much-anticipated debut next month. Coco B’s, as the rooftop venue will be called, is described by Christal Bramson as the “female version” of B Live.
“We are awaiting a couple more inspections,” Bramson said. “But anticipate an early July opening date.”
A barbecue joint in Clarendon may have its occasional parties go up in smoke.
Arlington County says Smokecraft Modern Barbecue at 1051 N. Highland Street could lose its live entertainment permit because it does not comply with a local initiative requiring restaurants and bars to meet certain alcohol safety standards.
At issue: Since November, Clarendon venues with live entertainment permits need to comply with the Arlington Restaurant Initiative (ARI). One requirement is that establishments have certain written policies and procedures, which the award-winning, list-topping Smokecraft — which opened in 2020 — does not have.
The restaurant and its attorneys say they believe such written policies could make the restaurant vulnerable to litigation, meaning an increase in insurance costs of upwards of $10,000 a year.
“We are a safe establishment. We have been a safe establishment. We continue to plan to do so. Adopting these specific written policies isn’t going to change our commitment,” owner and pitmaster Andrew Darneille told the Board last night (Tuesday).
Further, he said, the live entertainment permit is not actively in use, all alcohol-serving staff are trained in how to serve safely, the restaurant has a “perfect alcohol safety record,” and alcohol only comprises 15% of sales.
Without compliance, the Arlington County Board says it will eventually revoke the live entertainment permit. In May, the county allowed Smokecraft to keep the permit and revisit the issue in a month while the parties cook up a solution.
Last night, the Board was poised to revoke the permit but instead voted to punt on the issue for one more month because negotiations are headed in the right direction.
Still, the patience of Board members appears to be wearing thin. Some seemed annoyed the issue had gotten to this point, where other restaurants found ways to make it work.
“I think you can get there without realizing the apocalypse your representatives see,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “For my purposes, each month that we continue in this dance is another month where you continue to enjoy a permit without adhering to ARI standards — a luxury that the other establishments haven’t had.”
Dorsey said Smokecraft has the flexibility to write policies that meet a “minimal bar for compliance” and work for the business.
“One of the beauties of this is that the policies are not proscriptive — they’re illustrative,” Dorsey said. “It’s not like it’s going to require you to upend your operations.”
In response to the argument that Smokecraft should be able to follow the lead of other businesses, Darneille said that is an unfair argument.
“I recognize 50 other restaurants signed onto this but I can’t speak to why they made decisions to do what they’ve done,” he continued. “We’ve raised a concern here that’s valid for us. We are working to try and resolve that concern.”
He shifted blame to the county for not promptly engaging with the restaurant when these concerns first were raised. Then, after a meeting last month, he said it took two weeks to receive responses from the county.
County Board members did not address this point. ARLnow has previously reported on restaurateurs and other business owners having trouble reaching staff in a timely manner.
