This year, the CPRO is partnering with Shirlington-area New District Brewing Company, which will serve up craft beer during the event, per an organizer’s announcement.
CPRO board president John Snyder said the organization is “delighted” to partner with New District Brewing this year.
“We love to get together with neighbors and local businesses — New District is both — and we love their beer!” Snyder said in a statement.
Thousands have attended the festival in previous years, which closes nearby roads from around 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. that day.
Details on the performance line-up, activities, and road closures are yet not available on the festival’s website.
(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) Arlington’s newest craft beer bar “Rebellion on the Pike” is opening this week.
An employee said it would be open Monday evening, though a phone for the business was not answered as of 5 p.m. A Facebook post from Monday afternoon says the bar was open over the weekend and will be “back open tomorrow after a good day of rest and restocking.”
Silver tables and chairs sit under the string lights of its outdoor patio area. Inside, black and brown wood furnish the bar. The bar is open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weeknights and from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Located at 2900 Columbia Pike across from the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse, the Rebellion’s menu features a variety of sandwiches like “The Ronnie” which stuffs 1/3 pound of smoked pork on ciabatta with an Alabama white sauce and bourbon picked slaw, and the “Rebel Yell” with smoked turkey breast, bacon, tomatoes, and white American cheese on sourdough.
Rebellion also serves wings, salads, a variety of pork sandwiches, and “communal grub” like fried pork belly bites, and poutine with house beer cheese, per the menu.
The bar will feature 24 draft lines of craft beer, according to social media posts. A full drink list of the beers, wines, and spirits was not available in time for publication.
Brian Westlye founded Rebellion and is the COO of the hospitality company that’s managing the bar. Westlye said in February he was “hopefully” opening by March 1, though most new restaurants in Arlington end up being beset by varying degrees of delays. Rebellion quietly opened its doors and served its first customers last week as part of a soft opening.
Wesley founded the first “Rebellion” in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. That location serves up a sizable whiskey list as well as burgers, beer, and cocktails.
Rebellion replaces “Brickhaus” which closed last year after owner Tony Wagner said it “never took off the way we expected and hoped it would,” after delays from a lengthy permitting approval process.
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
A worker reportedly fell and was electrocuted outside of the Dorchester Apartments
(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Police are on scene of an electrocution at the Dorchester Apartments on the 2000 block of Columbia Pike.
Police and medics were dispatched to the rear of the apartment community around 11:20 a.m. after multiple 911 callers reported that a man fell from a ladder or a rooftop and was electrocuted by nearby power lines.
The victim was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries, according to Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
Police and crews from Dominion Power remain on scene. A blackened portion of a metal downspout, potentially indicating contact with the electrical lines, could be seen near where the victim fell.
Occupational safety inspectors have been called to the scene for an investigation.
The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization tapped Kim Klingler as its new executive director, the group announced in a release today (Tuesday).
Klingler steps in for interim director Karen Vasquez, who’d been serving in that role since January.
She took over for Cecilia Cassidy, who stepped down last December after more than two years helming the group.
“We are excited that Kim will be joining CPRO as our new Executive Director,” said CPRO board president John Snyder in a statement. “She brings with her tremendous experience as an Arlington activist and civic leader, as well as business expertise. All will be great assets to our organization.”
More details on Klingler from a press release:
An Arlington resident for 18 years, in a professional capacity, Kim has been a Division Director at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting. She has also worked extensively with local organizations and Arlington County, serving as both Chair and Vice Chair for the Arlington Committee of 100, Chair of the Emergency Preparedness Advisory Commission, and Co-Chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee – Joint Campaign.
Kim’s volunteer work includes the Arlington Free Clinic, Lee Highway Alliance, Arlington County Civic Federation, Arlington Arts Center, Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department, among others. She is also a member of Leadership Arlington, the Arlington County Chamber of Commerce, and was a 2014 Inaugural Honoree of the Arlington “40 Under 40.”
“Columbia Pike is such an amazing place with so much history, diversity, and potential,” said Kim. “I am excited, and feel deeply privileged, to have the opportunity to combine my professional and community leadership skills and experiences in order to continue CPRO’s legacy and further shape Columbia Pike’s future.”
Seven Corners Suspicious Death — Updated at 10:25 a.m. — Fairfax County Police are investigating a “suspicious death” on the 6100 block of Arlington Blvd in Seven Corners, near the Arlington border. That block is home to the Willston Centre shopping center, a McDonald’s, a hotel and a number of commercial offices. [Twitter, Twitter]
What’s Up With the ‘Psychedelic Tower?’ — “You’ve probably seen the tower if you’ve ever driven across the 14th Street Bridge… It’s a hexagonal, granite structure that sits about a third of the way down the bridge, closer to the Virginia side. By day, it doesn’t look like much. But by night, its windows light up like a gigantic kaleidoscope.” [WAMU]
New Pike Library Remains a Goal — “Arlington government leaders haven’t given up their quest to add a new library branch on the western end of Columbia Pike. But unless an unbeatable opportunity presents itself, a new facility is not going to happen immediately.” [InsideNova]
Arts Cuts Highlighted in TV Report — Proposed budget cuts to the county’s scene shop, costume shop and technical services provided to local theater companies “would really destroy the arts community,” advocates told NBC 4 in a segment that aired last night. [NBC Washington]
Nearby: Seven Corners Office Buildings Purchased — “BoundTrain Real Estate has purchased the two commercial office towers located at 6400 and 6402 Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church for more than $38 million. The two 13-story buildings in the Seven Corners commercial district include more than 410,000 square feet of commercial space.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Acme Pie Co.’s Sour Cherry pie with Streusel topping (file photo)
Acme Pie Co.’s Pecan Maple Syrup with Belgian Chocolate pie
Slices of pie from Acme Pie Co.
Twisted Vines
For the last few years, pie chef Sol Schott has relied on the kitchen space at Columbia Pike’s Twisted Vines Bar and Bottleshop to whip up his wares — now, his Acme Pie Company is taking over the storefront.
Schott told ARLnow that he signed a five-year lease this week for the space at 2803 Columbia Pike. It’ll be the first brick-and-mortar location for his baking business, after he spent years selling his pies wholesale and offering them up at local farmers markets.
“It’s really terrifying, but weird and exciting,” Schott said. “This just sort of fell into my lap.”
Schott said he’d been toying with the idea of opening a physical location for a while now, but he felt compelled to act as he faced a stark choice at the start of the new year: “I had to either move the kitchen or take over the lease.”
That’s because Twisted Vines owner Tony Wagner decided to shutter the wine bar at the end of last year, along with the nearby BrickHaus beer garden, to focus on his new Italian restaurant in Penrose Square. Schott had relied on Wagner’s oven for his pie-baking ever since he launched Acme back in 2013, and he suddenly found himself without a home when Wagner closed up shop.
Though he examined other potential locations, Schott said he ultimately decided to try and stay put in the Pike space (he lives in nearby Douglas Park, after all) and he was eventually able to strike a deal with its landlord.
Schott is now envisioning a “1920s or 1930s pie bar” for the store, befitting his business’s throwback name. He’s also planning a bit of an old-school schedule as well — Schott hopes to keep his wholesale business going, so he’ll be hard at work baking pies from about 5-10 a.m. each day.
If anyone stops by the store while he’s slaving away at the oven, he’ll run upstairs and sell them a freshly baked pie.
“I’ll have a baby monitor or something out front so they can talk to me,” Schott said. “People used to do that back in the day, they’d ring a bell or something… It’s unconventional, but it makes no sense for me to just be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.”
When the store is open (likely starting around 2 p.m. each day), Schott hopes to still serve whole pies and pies by the slice, with many of the same flavors he currently bakes up. Options include everything from sour cherry to Scottish apple.
With the new store, he also plans to offer some “fancy sodas” and other sweet treats as well.
“If you’ve got pie, you should probably have ice cream,” Schott said. “And if you have that, it’s pretty easy to make milkshakes.”
He expects to offer limited coffee options, buying his beans from Misha’s Coffeehouse in Old Town Alexandria. But he doesn’t think he’ll get more complex than just drip coffee or a french press.
“As long you don’t come in there and think you’re going to get a vanilla macchiato or whatever, you’ll be OK,” Schott said. “I don’t know anything about it, I can’t compete with those other coffee places.”
So long as all goes well, he plans to open the shop for hungry customers by April 1. Schott says he has some painting to do “to make the place not feel like a wine bar anymore,” but otherwise already has many of the permits he needs from the county.
And considering that Schott says he’s already heard from a bevy of friends and customers excited about his new venture, he expects it should draw a crowd right away.
“I want it to be a fun place, a place for the community,” Schott said. “But my idea is kind of off the wall.”
Summer may feel pretty far off these days, as temperatures dip into the 20s, but there’s already a full slate of outdoor movie nights scheduled along Columbia Pike.
The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) announced the schedule for its annual movie series last week, with screenings set to start in mid-June.
The theme of this year’s series is “Heroes and Sheroes: Movies with a Mission.”
On Fridays, screenings will be held at the Arlington Mill Community Center (909 S. Dinwiddie Street). On Saturdays, movies will be shown at the Penrose Square development (2501 9th Road S.).
The full schedule is as follows:
Arlington Mill
June 14: Moana (PG)
June 21: On the Basis of Sex (PG-13)
June 28: A Wrinkle in Time (PG)
July 5: Hidden Figures (PG)
July 12: Aquaman (PG-13)
July 19: First Man (PG-13)
July 26: The Incredibles (PG)
August 2: Mulan (G)
August 9: Brave (PG)
August 16: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (PG)
August 23: Won’t You Be My Neighbor (PG-13)
Penrose Square
June 15: Black Panther (PG-13)
June 22: Wonder Woman (PG-13)
June 29: The Post (PG-13)
July 6: Apollo 13 (PG)
July 13: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (PG)
July 20: Akeelah and the Bee (PG)
July 27: Selma (PG-13)
August 3: Norma Rae (PG)
August 10: A League of Their Own (PG)
August 17: Life in the Doghouse (NR)
August 24: Won’t You Be My Neighbor (PG-13)
CPRO says it’s still looking for businesses to sponsor the movie series. Anyone interested can apply on the organization’s website.
(Update at 4:15 p.m.) Arlington firefighters have extinguished a blaze at an apartment complex just off Columbia Pike.
First responders were called to a complex along the 1300 block of S. Scott Street around 3:30 p.m. today (Friday). The block is home to the Wellington Apartments.
The fire was concentrated in a commercial drier at the complex, which was quickly shut off, according to the fire department’s Twitter account.
The department said there were no injuries as a result of the blaze, though they’re still warning people to avoid the area if possible.
Units from ACFD, @FortMyerFire & @AlexandriaVAFD have extinguished the fire in a commercial dryer and continue removing the smoke. No injuries reported. Fire Marshals on scene investigating. Avoid the area as there will be large FD presence for about next 30 minutes. pic.twitter.com/yCOZumOyUw
Idido’s Coffee and Social House opened its doors recently in the base of the Columbia Place condo complex, located at 1107 S. Walter Reed Drive.
Readers told ARLnow that the eatery opened up this past Saturday (Feb. 23). Its owners have been working to set up the space since March 2017, according to county permit records.
Idido’s offers a fully array of caffeinated beverages, snacks and even beer and wine.
The new cafe sits adjacent to the Pureluxe Nails and Spa nail salon, which is also located on the first floor of the building.
It sits across the street from a BB&T Bank branch and the Avalon apartment building (formerly the Halstead).
The Arlington Career Center (via Arlington Public Schools)
Some of the animals that used to be a part of the Career Center’s animal science program (via @APS_AnimalSci)
With more than 150 new students set to attend classes at the Arlington Career Center in the coming school year, officials are now scrambling to free up some extra classroom space at the facility.
The county school system now plans to move eight trailers over from the adjacent Patrick Henry Elementary School to free up room for those students in the 2019-2020 school year. Career Center Principal Margaret Chung informed parents of the move in an email Monday (Feb. 25) that was subsequently obtained by ARLnow.
Chung wrote that school leaders initially hoped instead to move students into the second floor of the Columbia Pike Branch Library space, which is located in the Career Center. But county officials rejected that request, prompting the reliance on the so-called “relocatable classrooms” instead.
“To accommodate our expected growth next year and beyond, we have had to identify space for the additional students,” Chung wrote.
The downside of that move is that the trailers will take up some space currently used for the Career Center’s Animal Science program.
The program includes classes focused on animal care and veterinary science, with a variety of animals housed at the site for students to study. Chung expects that the trailers will take up the space currently set aside for three grazing animals — APS spokesman Frank Bellavia says that includes two goats and a miniature pony — forcing the Career Center to “reimagine that program for a more urban setting.”
“This does not mean that we are discontinuing our focus on animal sciences,” Chung wrote. “We will continue to maintain the smaller animals onsite for learning and instruction.”
She added that her staff has “begun to explore options to find a new home” for the animals that need to move, with the goal having them settled by the time the new trailers are in place this summer. That’s also when the school system will move the Montessori program currently housed at Drew Model School into the Henry building.
But with demand for the Career Center’s programs anticipated to only keep growing in the coming years, and the planned expansion of the building to accommodate more high schoolers still years away, Bellavia says the new trailers won’t solve all the building’s space limitations.
Accordingly, APS officials plan to ask the county for permission to use both the first and second floor of the library as instructional space, Bellavia said, with the goal of having it available for students in time for the 2020-2021 school year.
It’s a move that “comes as a surprise” to Kristi Sawert, the president of the Arlington Heights Civic Association and a member of working group that spent months studying the planned expansion and renovation of the Career Center.
Eventually, the school system plans to build room for another 1,050 high schoolers at the facility. But the process of doing so has been a thorny one, with Sawert and other local parents pressing the school system to add a full suite of amenities at the site to make it equivalent to the county’s other comprehensive high schools.
Still, Sawert says that the need to take up the library space for the new students was “never mentioned” during the working group’s deliberations, some of which included the library’s future. The group suggested that the county could ultimately buy up some properties near the Career Center and use that land for a stand-alone library.
“We were told repeatedly during the [working group’s meetings] that internal modifications to the Career Center would accommodate the incoming class of 150 students,” Sawert wrote in an email to concerned neighbors she provided to ARLnow.
Roughly nine years ago, the county kicked off a firestorm of controversy when it proposed shuttering the Pike library and moving its offerings to the Arlington Mill Community Center. The branch has been located at the facility since moving there in 1975.
While moving students into the library space (and the changes to the animal science program) may end up ruffling a few feathers, Chung chose to paint the impending changes as indicative of the demand for the center’s programs.
“We are so pleased to see the excitement and interest in our programs, and it is extremely rewarding to know that more and more students and families want to be part of the opportunities that our programs provide,” she wrote.
The EvolveAll fitness studio is returning to Columbia Pike, with plans to move back to South Arlington sometime this spring.
The gym’s staff announced plans to move into a space at 1058 S. Walter Reed Drive, just off the Pike, last week. Owner and founder Emerson Doyle said in a video laying out his plans that he’s aiming to have the studio open by “the end of May.”
The gym is currently located in a shopping center near Bailey’s Crossroads, but it has a long history in Arlington.
Doyle and the rest of his EvolveAll instructors first started teaching classes at the Walter Reed Community Center and Thomas Jefferson Fitness Center more than a decade ago, according to a release from the studio.
The gym opened its first physical location at 2526 Columbia Pike, next to the Celtic House Irish Pub. It then moved to the Food Star shopping center, but was forced to relocate when the redevelopment process to transform the space into “Centro Arlington” got rolling.
This new space will be just down the street from its original home on the Pike. It was once home to True Health and Wholeness gym, which closed back in June 2017, and EvolveAll staff say the new space will be about 2,900 square feet larger than the gym’s current location.
That will open space for additional classes, and locker rooms with showers for both men and women.
EvolveAll currently offers classes in martial arts, yoga and massage therapy.
