coffee

South Block Smoothie to Add Espresso, Change Menu

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 10:35 p.m. on 10/27/11) South Block Smoothie and Wrap Co. (3011 11th St. N.) in Clarendon is adding to its list of offerings.

South Block’s new espresso machine just arrived today (Oct. 26), and the eatery plans on serving coffee drinks brewed with Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso starting in November.

A manager tells ARLnow.com that the staff and atmosphere at the newly opened shop will remain the same, but owner Amir Mostafavi is tweaking the menu. In addition to serving coffee drinks, certain menu items — like Boar’s Head deli meat paninis — will be added.

There’s no specific launch date for the coffee bar and changed menu, but apparently it’s going to happen “sometime before Thanksgiving.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free Coffee Today — 7-Eleven stores are offering a free medium coffee, any flavor, from 7:00 to 11:00 this morning. [Facebook]

Marshals Service Sheds Staff Cars — The free ride is over for dozens of employees at U.S. Marshals Service headquarters in Crystal City, the Wall Street Journal reports. The law enforcement agency is sending more than 100 take-home vehicles, including SUVs and high-powered sedans, from its headquarters to its field offices. Since the cars were law enforcement vehicles with emergency lights, they allowed Marshals Service employees to use HOV lanes on their commutes to work. Now, only about 30 headquarters employees will have that privilege. [Wall Street Journal]

Lackluster Fundraising for Arlington GOP — The Arlington County Republican Committee has been running a fiscal deficit since the beginning of the year. Even with the November election approaching, the organization was only able to raise $4 during the first 28 days of September. [Sun Gazette]

Grand Opening for Yoga Studio — The new Little River Yoga studio at 6025 Wilson Blvd will be celebrating its grand opening on Friday with a weekend of free classes, massages, and giveaways, according to owner Stair Calhoun. [Little River Yoga]

Flickr pool photo by Clio1789

Cafe Caturra Now Open on Glebe Road

By ARLnow.com

Cafe Caturra, a Richmond-based coffee shop/wine bar/soup-salad-and-sandwich restaurant, is now open in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center. The 3,400 square foot eatery, which features a decor partially made from reclaimed materials, officially opened its doors to customers on Friday.

Located at 2931 S. Glebe Road, Cafe Caturra offers specialty coffees, 24 boutique wines, two draft beers, and 20 bottled beers. The restaurant is offering mimosa specials on Sunday and is planning to eventually offer a weekday happy hour, according to marketing director Melissa Kirkpatrick.

The food menu includes soups, salads, paninis, pizzas, brioche sliders, small plates, cheese, charcuterie and desserts.

The restaurant will be hosting local musicians between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. It also has a local art program that will display works from local artists. Founder Jeff Grant says he hopes Cafe Caturra becomes a neighborhood hangout.

“We’ve built a strong heritage as a gathering spot for people in the communities we serve,” he said.

Cafe Caturra opens at 11:00 a.m. seven days a week. It closes at 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9:00 p.m. on Sunday.

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Another Coffee Shop Coming to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Crystal Drive might as well be called Coffee Drive. Another coffee shop is planning to open on the southern end of the office-heavy thoroughfare later this fall.

We’re told that a coffee shop recently approved for construction at 2450 Crystal Drive, near Buffalo Wild Wings, will be a Seattle’s Best Coffee franchise. The owners are hoping to open around mid-November.

The coffee shop will be located on a block that sits between two Starbucks — one at 2600 Crystal Drive and the other at 2231 Crystal Drive. Seattle’s Best, it should be noted, is a subsidiary of Starbucks.

Other coffee shops along Crystal Drive in Crystal City include Caribou Coffee, at 2100 Crystal Drive, and Dunkin Donuts, in the Crystal City underground near 18th Street.

Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream Now Open in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream (3018 Wilson Boulevard) opened in Clarendon over the weekend.

The store offers a wide variety of ice cream flavors, as well as sundaes, milkshakes, frozen yogurt, fruit smoothies, baked goods and espresso drinks.

Larry’s is located next to BGR: The Burger Joint, on the ground floor of the Clarendon Center project’s north building. Starting next week, the store will be open from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, an employee said.

Larry’s operates an existing location at 2450 Crystal Drive, in Crystal City. More photos, after the jump.

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Cafe Caturra Coming to Arlington Ridge

By ARLnow.com

A Midlothian, Va.-based coffee shop/wine bar/soup-salad-and-sandwich restaurant is coming to the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center (2901 South Glebe Road).

Interior construction is underway on Cafe Caturra, located in a storefront once occupied by a Blockbuster video store. The store’s arrival coincides with a pedestrian-oriented renovation of the 85,000 square foot shopping center, which is anchored by a Giant supermarket.

Founded in 2005, Cafe Caturra offers specialty coffees and boutique wines to drink, as well as breakfast sandwiches, soups, salads, paninis, mini pizzas and other fresh fare to eat. The growing chain currently has five locations in Virginia and North Carolina. This will be the company’s first D.C.-area restaurant.

No word yet on an opening date.

Hat tip to John Breyault

Greenberry’s Becomes “Bean Good: The Coffee Pub”

By ARLnow.com

Say goodbye to Greenberry’s (1737 Wilson Blvd) and hello to “Bean Good.”

After about eight years in business as Greenberry’s, the new owner of the coffee shop between Rosslyn and Clarendon has decided to go “indie.” Out is the Charlottesville franchise that just won a “Best of NoVA” award in the latest issue of Northern Virginia Magazine. In is “Bean Good: The Coffee Pub,” a brand of owner Shain Noorali’s own creation.

Without the legal constraints of a franchise, says Noorali, the cafe will be able to offer more items, including locally-roasted coffee, locally-sourced food and, of course, beer and wine.

“It gives us the freedom to do things we wanted to do,” said the McLean resident, who grew up on a coffee farm in Tanzania.

Later this summer Noorali expects to introduce new desserts — gelato and cupcakes are both possibilities. Then this fall she expects the license to come through to serve beer and wine. At some point Noorali also hopes to introduce live entertainment — local musicians, mostly.

While the name has changed and new offerings are being added, Noorali — who has owned the store for a couple months now — says that the low-key vibe will remain.

“There are not going to be any drastic changes… we’re not going to change the culture of this place,” she said. “We really want this to be a place where everyone feels comfortable… a living room away from home.”

H/t to Lauren Hassel

Boccato Gelato Expanding with Boccato Lounge

By ARLnow.com

When the adjacent El Chaparral Meat Market closed earlier this year, the owners of Boccato Gelato & Espresso in Clarendon (2719 Wilson Blvd) spotted an opportunity. They signed a lease for the space, and are now in the process of converting it into a bar/lounge.

The new “Boccato Lounge” will serve as a “place for families and the community to gather,” according to co-owner Cristian Velasco. Featuring beer, wine and live entertainment, the lounge will similar to Tryst in Adams Morgan — a hybrid coffee/alcohol hang-out spot.

Velasco says the lounge will allow Boccato to give its coffee and espresso program the attention it deserves, while giving customers more room to enjoy their drinks. There will, of course, be free WiFi.

The lounge will include a stage where local musicians will be able to perform and movies will be able to be screened. Velasco envisions Latin, jazz and bluegrass musicians taking the stage on some nights, and DJs performing on other nights. The rest of the lounge space will be able to accommodate various community uses, including yoga in the mornings, educational events during the day, salsa dancing at night and kids activities on weekends.

“Chill atmosphere, good music,” is how he summarized the concept.

Meanwhile, Velasco is busy opening a second Boccato Gelato on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. He expects the store to open in late June. No word yet on when Boccato Lounge may open.

H/t to John Fontain

Online Fundraiser Seeks New Router for Pike Coffee Shop

By ARLnow.com

Jason Gooljar, the technology director for a D.C.-based environmental non-profit, is on a mission.

Gooljar wants to raise $200 to get local, independent coffee shop Rappahannock Coffee & Roasting (2406 Columbia Pike) some new WiFi gear. It seems that the cafe’s existing wireless router is slow, outdated and can barely accommodate more than four simultaneous WiFi users. To remedy the situation, Gooljar is asking customers to make donations to help update the equipment.

“It’s a small coffee shop and the owners don’t make that much to be spending it on things like this but people are here all the time and we could benefit from a new router!” he wrote on ChipIn.com, a web site that helps users conduct grassroots fundraisers.

While we don’t doubt Gooljar’s sincerity — he said he’ll provide donors with a photo of him presenting the router to the store’s owners — we ask that potential contributors do their own due diligence before donating.

Photo via ChipIn.com

Ballston’s Buzz Bakery Will Open Monday

By ARLnow.com

Buzz Bakery will open its new Ballston location on Monday.

That’s the word from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the company that runs Buzz and its next door neighbor on the 4000 block of Wilson Boulevard, Rustico. Buzz is expected to open its doors as early as 7:00 a.m. on Monday, with plenty of free samples of coffee and baked goods.

The 2,000 square foot shop will have many of the same features and menu items of the original Buzz location on Slaters Lane in Alexandria, but will add treats like breakfast pop tarts, made-to-order waffles, individual serving quiches, homemade ice cream, sorbets, popsicles and “take-and-bake” products.

See more information on Buzz’s Ballston location from the company’s press release, after the jump.

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Restaurant Group

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Petition Contractor Waives Extradition — The man whose company was hired to collect signatures for a petition to change Arlington’s form of government is likely headed to the Arlington County lockup. Shawn D. Wilmoth, 24, was indicted last month on voter fraud charges. Yesterday he waived extradition in Macomb County, Mich. [Washington Post]

McLean Residents May Sue Over Redistricting ‘Insult’ — McLean residents are apparently none too pleased that their pristine ‘burb has had its state Senate representation split in two by redistricting. One of the new McLean districts is the 31st, which also includes most of North Arlington. One resident said it was an “insult” to have their neighborhood lumped in with Arlington. A McLean citizens group is contemplating a lawsuit over the redistricting outcome. [Sun Gazette]

Curious Grape to Hold Moving Sale — The Curious Grape will be closing its Shirlington location at the end of the month. To help prepare for the move to a new, thus-far-unannounced location, the store is holding a moving sale. Alexandria-based wine-and-cheese retailer Cheesetique will be taking over the store after Curious Grape moves out. [Shirlington Village Blog]

How to Score Free Coffee — Patch has come up with a comprehensive guide for scoring free coffee in and around Arlington. Among the tips: pretend like you’re interested in the espresso maker at Williams Sonoma and ask for a sample, go car shopping and ask for coffee, or get free samples at Whole Foods. [Patch]

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