Some dishes on the menu at Padaek (courtesy Noh Leftovers)
Chef Seng Luangrath in her new kitchen at Padaek in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center (courtesy Noh Leftovers)
Cafe Colline (staff photo)
Ruthie’s All-Day in Arlington Heights (courtesy photo)
Ruthie’s All-Day (courtesy photo)
Falls Church may be pint sized compared to Arlington, but the Little City next door has the county beat handily in a new list of the region’s best restaurants.
Three Arlington restaurants appear in Washingtonian’s just-released 100 Very Best Restaurants list. Twice as many Falls Church restaurants appear in the same pages.
That’s despite solid Northern Virginia representation on the “Very Best” list.
“Some of the year’s coolest spots — Joon in Tysons, Ellie Bird in Falls Church, Kirby Club in Fairfax — debuted in the Virginia suburbs,” the magazine noted in its introduction. In all, 21 Virginia eateries were listed.
Brick House Butcher in Falls Church (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
A new butcher shop is set to open in Falls Church within the next few weeks, giving Arlingtonians more options for high-end, locally sourced meats.
Brick House Butcher, owned and operated by brothers Afsheen and Arash Tafakor, will be located just off of W. Broad Street, next to Dominion Wine & Beer, which they also own. They aim to open the shop by the end of January.
The shop at 109 Rowell Court will offer an array of beef, poultry, pork and seafood products and a variety of homemade items — like crabcakes and meatballs — that are ready to cook or eat. It will additionally feature different types of compound butter made and sold in-house and will serve OddFellows Ice Cream.
The two butchers working at Brick House, Mike and Emma Ferguson, have a combined 23 years in the hospitality industry, including fine dining and livestock management, according to the shop’s Instagram account.
Butchers Mike and Emma Ferguson (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
Afsheen says Brick House Butcher has a “farm-to-butcher-to-table” concept and will source meat from Virginia farms. The butcher will also find ways to use the whole animal, rather than focus on specific cuts.
“We’re a whole-animal butcher shop, so we’ll break down a whole animal,” Afsheen said. “We don’t just get, like, loins of ribeye. We have a lot of the parts of the animal that we gotta use.”
The brothers decided to open Brick House Butcher after noticing a lack of “old-school American butchers” in Falls Church, Afsheen said. The closest option is The Organic Butcher in McLean, a perpetually busy shop that serves many Arlington clients.
The butcher will eventually provide meat to Dominion Wine and Beer’s in-house, second-floor restaurant, as well as to Stratford Gardens, according to the brothers.
Meat from Brick House Butcher (via Brick House Butcher/Instagram)
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Police in Falls Church have arrested a man suspected of fatally stabbing a dog last night.
The incident happened on the 300 block of W. Broad Street around 9:15 p.m. No motive for the attack was given.
This morning, Falls Church police said the suspect, a 25-year-old Loudoun County resident, was at large. In an updated press release (below) issued around 12:15 p.m., police said the man is now in custody.
Reyan Hassan Ibrahim, 25 years old of Broadlands, Virginia, was arrested by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police Department during a traffic stop near Dulles Airport at 11 a.m. today. He is being transported to the Loudoun County detention facility, and is expected to be extradited to face charges by the City of Falls Church for stabbing a dog that resulted in the animal being euthanized.
“Our hearts go out to the family of this dog,” said Acting Police Chief Jiwan Chhetri. “Pets are members of the family, and we grieve along with them. We give our thanks to our colleagues at the MWAA Police Department for their swift action. We also thank the community members who took down the license plate Information when they saw this heinous attack — it was a critical piece in catching this suspect.”
Around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, January 14, near the intersection of W. Broad Street and S. Maple Avenue., a suspect fatally stabbed a dog that was being walked by its owner. The dog was euthanized later as a result of its injuries. There were no injuries to humans.
Witnesses reported the suspect’s license plate number to the police, which is registered to Ibrahim.
SUSPECT ARRESTED! Thanks to the good work of witnesses who shared the suspect's license plate number with police, the Metro Washington Airports Authority Police Department arrested Ibrahim near Dulles Airport around 11 a.m. today!
On social media, the dog was identified as a 12-year-old shepherd mix named Lucy.
The dog and its owner, an older man, were driven to a local vet but the dog did not survive.
DOG CRITICALLY STABBED— in the area of 300 blk West Broad St in the City of Falls Church. A 12yo shepherd-mix (named Lucy) was critically stabbed by a man around 9 p.m. No humans were injured. The suspect is at large. h/t @matthewyoung31 cc: @ARLnowDOTcompic.twitter.com/4ZyQDvugGb
I was the one that drove your dad and Lucy to the vet last night. Please know I am still thinking of him. I hope they can catch the guy. No one deserves that. I am so sorry.
The Falls in Falls Church (courtesy of Proxima Communications)
Falls Church is gearing up for its first-ever restaurant week later this month.
Starting on Friday, Jan. 19 and concluding on Sunday, Jan. 28, over 40 Falls Church eateries, including The Falls — sister restaurant to Clarendon’s Liberty Tavern — along with Thompson Italian and Borek-G, plan to offer discounted dishes and three-course meal deals.
“Its goal is to promote and increase visitors to restaurants and businesses within the City of Falls Church and increase awareness and consideration of Virginia’s culinary experiences,” according to a press release.
Below is the current list of participating restaurants.
While The Little City is planning its first restaurant week, neighboring Arlington has, of course, had one for awhile — most recently held this past October.
Falls Church carjacking suspect (courtesy City of Falls Church)
The case involving the man who allegedly went on a carjacking and assault spree through Falls Church and Arlington is moving forward.
Last week — eight months after his arrest — he was identified as Garrett Reeves, of Lorton, according to Susan Finarelli, a public information officer for the City of Falls Church Police Department.
He has been charged with carjacking, malicious wounding, destruction of property with intent and felonious charges of failure to stop at an accident and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, per court records. He has hearings for these charges on Jan. 4 and 10, 2024.
Falls Church police arrested Reeves in March. According to police and a surveillance video aired by NBC 4, Reeves struck a pedestrian near the Beyer Volvo dealership and crashed into several cars, while driving a carjacked Jeep.
He fled and allegedly ran to a nearby shopping center, where he attacked a man and stole his car. He drove into Arlington and was reported to have rear-ended a woman driving on Langston Blvd. This stolen car was later found in Fairfax County, police said at the time. Two days later, he allegedly carjacked another car in Falls Church.
Between his arrest and now, however, he has spent most of his time in a state psychiatric facility because he was not deemed fit to stand trial. Statewide, this is an increasingly common finding that has strained state hospitals, the Virginia Mercury reports.
Falls Church police conducted two investigations before obtaining warrants for Reeves’ arrest, Finarelli said. He was arrested on multiple charges, including carjacking, and taken to the Arlington County Detention Facility — where Falls Church arrestees are jailed — though he was uncooperative and did not reveal his name.
“During his first arraignment, the Courts deemed him not mentally competent hence his transfer to the Western State mental hospital,” Finarelli said.
Last Tuesday, the Falls Church police department learned that the man was identified and transferred back to the Arlington County jail. There, Finarelli says, he was served with additional warrants and held in jail without bond.
The Arlington County Police Department is not seeking charges for the hit-and-run in the county — considered a misdemeanor — because Reeves faces felony charges for the hit-and-run and carjacking in Falls Church, ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.
Charlie Clark holds his book, ‘Hidden History of Arlington’ (via Charlie Clark/Facebook)
Charlie Clark, a dogged chronicler of local life in Arlington, has died at the age of 70.
He was known locally as the author of “Our Man in Arlington,” a weekly column in the Falls Church News-Press, and as the author of several books on local history.
His quickly declining health came as a surprise. Last month, Clark published his most recent book, the “Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press,” documenting the paper’s role in reporting on development clashes, school quality fights, political races and scandals.
He also interviewed philanthropist David Rubenstein at the Arlington Historical Society banquet about his donations to local historical exhibits, including Arlington House, the domicile of a descendent of George Washington as well as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Shortly after, the local writer was hospitalized and diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He passed away at home while receiving hospice care; a memorial for him will be announced at a later date, according to his obituary.
Clark had a 50-year journalism career that began at Yorktown High School’s newspaper, The Sentry. After landing a job with Time-Life Books in Alexandria, he went on to work as a reporter or editor for The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly and National Journal, among other outlets. He retired as a senior correspondent at Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group in 2019.
The retired journalist was a prolific local historian and a board member and volunteer for the Arlington Historical Society.
Clark, a native of Arlington who grew up in the Rivercrest and Cherrydale neighborhoods, had a long memory of how the county once looked. His columns often included vignettes describing its changes, from renamed schools, to larger homes, to local landmarks that have come and gone.
In one recent column, Clark took a pensive turn, reflecting on the youthful injuries he and his schoolmates suffered, after watching his grandkids accumulate scrapes, bruises and broken bones.
His conclusion makes a fitting farewell to his survivors: his wife, Ellen, daughters Elizabeth McKenzie and Susannah Matt, his grandchildren, Caroline and James McKenzie, and his siblings, Thomas Clark and Martha Franks.
“So what is the deep and wise message I bequeath to my grandchildren?” he wrote. “As you struggle through the pain, the uncertainty, the anxious stints in the waiting room — and the vital rallying of family — please know that you are undergoing an experience that, in later life, you likely will remember.”
Arlington Public Library joins in remembering Charlie Clark. 💔
Read a tribute from Director Diane Kresh to "Our Man in Arlington," a friend to @ArlingtonVA and our libraries as well as a cherished local historian and journalist.
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A bank drive-thru has been heavily damaged in the City of Falls Church after a driver smashed through a brick wall.
The incident happened shortly after noon at the M&T Bank branch at 133 S. Washington Street. Arlington County firefighters responded to the scene to evaluate injuries and, if need be, rescue anyone inside the vehicle.
(ACFD provides firefighting services to the city under contract.)
The driver, who appeared to be an elderly man, was reportedly able to get out of his Subaru on his own power and did not suffer any serious injuries. The drive-thru, however, was not so lucky — the brick wall that was demolished was holding up the roof, which came down on the front of the hatchback.
The outside of Rick’s Tattoo on Langston Blvd (via Rick’s Tattoo/Facebook)
The inside of Rick’s Tattoo on Langston Blvd (via Rick’s Tattoo/Facebook)
The outside of Rick’s Tattoo on Langston Blvd (via Google Maps)
The future home of Rick’s Tattoo (via Google Maps)
Rick’s Tattoo on Langston Blvd is moving at the end of the month.
The long-time Arlington tattoo parlor, self-described as the oldest in Virginia, was established in 1980 at 4818 Langston Blvd.
Manager Amy Barrow, who is overseeing the move after 16 years at the tattoo shop, says leaving Arlington — the shop is moving just over the county line to Bailey’s Crossroads — is bittersweet but there were more options, for less money, outside the county.
“Finding a place that meets our needs for as big as we need was difficult,” she said. “There was not much available.”
Rent was expensive and, anticipating plans to redevelop in a few years, some property owners are only offering shorter leases. Barrow instead wanted to find a new location for years to come.
She settled on a storefront in a shopping center in Bailey’s Crossroads at 5916 Leesburg Pike, up the road from a large shopping center where Leesburg Pike and Columbia Pike intersect. The new digs are on the ground floor and have ample parking — both steps up from the current second-floor studio with limited parking spots shared with other businesses.
“We’re just raising the bar, getting to code, and getting ready to ride out another 15 years in a new location,” she said.
Everything entailed with moving — finding contractors, getting permits and dealing with supply chain issues — has prolonged the move. Barrow began looking for a new place in April 2022.
“It’s been challenging,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot [about] how to build a business from the ground floor.”
As for Rick Cherry, the owner of the eponymous shop, he lives in Florida now, traveling the country to tattoo expos and demonstrating his handmade tattooing implements, according to the website for the business.
Over the years, his establishment has racked up recognitions, which hang on available wall space, greeting customers. That reception is a far cry from the cool treatment Cherry got from Arlington when he opened, however.
For the first five years, the county would not let him have a sign outside the door, says Barrow.
“Arlington County did not want him in town,” she said. “He kept them in court for five years. Finally he was able to put a sign on the door. And here we are.”
Falls Church carjacking suspect (photo courtesy City of Falls Church)
A man accused of going on a days-long assault, vehicle theft and property destruction spree that extended into Arlington is in custody.
City of Falls Church Police said the man, who is uncooperative and has not revealed his name, was arrested Sunday after leaving a multi-jurisdictional trail of injury and destruction in his wake.
The incidents started around lunchtime Friday, when the suspect made a U-turn on the 1200 block of W. Broad Street, near the Beyer Volvo dealership. Driving a Jeep that had earlier been carjacked in Fairfax County, the suspect struck a pedestrian and crashed into several cars, according to police and a surveillance video aired by NBC 4.
The suspect then allegedly ran to a nearby shopping center, where he attacked a man and stole his car.
“Witnesses say the suspect ran into a parking lot, hit an older man over the head and stole his vehicle,” NBC 4 reported.
The suspect subsequently drove into Arlington, according to police, and rear-ended another driver along Langston Blvd.
“At approximately 1:19 p.m. on March 17, police were dispatched to Langston Boulevard at Spout Run Parkway for the report of a hit and run,” Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was traveling eastbound on Langston Boulevard and slowed to make a turn when she was struck from behind by the suspect vehicle. The driver of the suspect vehicle failed to stop and fled the scene following the crash. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.”
Falls Church police say the stolen car was later found in Fairfax County. Two days later, the suspect went looking for another car to steal, just blocks from the first crash, police said.
“On Sunday, March 19, at about 3:45 p.m., police responded to the 1000 block of W. Broad St. for report of an assault and attempted carjacking,” Falls Church police said. “One victim was transported to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.”
Scanner traffic at the time suggested a “severe” assault.
A witness told NBC 4 that the suspect walked up to a man loading his car, slammed him to the ground and tried to take his keys, but good Samaritans intervened and helped lead police to the suspect, who was taken into custody.
“Exact charges are pending, and the man’s name and photo will be released once available,” Falls Church police said.
The full police press release is below.
City of Falls Church Police announced that the individual arrested on Sunday is the same person wanted for a stolen vehicle, carjacking, and hit and run on Friday. Exact charges are pending, and the man’s name and photo will be released once available.
“I want to thank our officers and dispatch who persevered through the numerous incidents,” said Police Chief Mary Gavin. “And a big thank you to the community members who stopped to help the victims and called in tips. The ‘See Something, Say Something’ mantra helped us immensely with this arrest.”
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stabbing at Eden Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) Falls Church police and Arlington medics responded to a stabbing at the Eden Center just before noon today.
One person was stabbed in the back in the rear of the shopping center, according to initial reports, and the suspect is currently at large. The circumstances leading to the stabbing, where exactly it took place in the complex, and the condition of the victim are unclear.
The Eden Center is located on the 6700 block of Wilson Blvd, near the border with Arlington County.
Falls Church Police released the following statement about the stabbing Thursday afternoon.
At about 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, January 5, 2023, City of Falls Church Police responded to 6795 Wilson Blvd. for a report of a stabbing at the Eden Center.
One victim was stabbed and taken to a local hospital. Victim is stable.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Gandionko at 703-248-5284 (TTY 711) or [email protected].
The Falls Church fire department SantaMobile (courtesy photo)
Just before Christmas, Santa Claus and his helpers are coming to town, on a fire engine instead of an eight reindeer-powered sleigh.
From Dec. 20-23, Saint Nick and his elves will visit Arlingtonians who live near the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department station, located near Fairfax Drive and Langston Blvd at 6950 Little Falls Road. He will be riding a decked-out reserve fire engine, dubbed the “Santamobile” and decorated by the department.
“During each night’s approximately three-hour run, Santa’s helpers will be handing out candy canes — and, to canine friends, dog biscuits, but only if they’ve been ‘good,'” says Santamobile coordinator Jenny Quinn. “Anyone who wishes to receive these treats are encouraged to greet Santa’s helpers at the curb. This provides the safest conditions for Santa’s helpers and ensures they have an opportunity to visit the largest number of our friends and neighbors.”
The ride through Arlington will follow a five-day run through the City of Falls Church from Dec. 15-19.
Quinn notes that routes occasionally change because of road conditions, including parking, traffic, construction and to ensure Santa’s safety. Exact routes can be found on the department’s Facebook page, where people can also follow along via Gylmpse to know where the truck is each evening, Quinn said.
If inclement weather is in the forecast, the Santamobile would be canceled for that evening “for the safety of Santa, his elves and all of residents who come out to see Santa,” she said.
The fire department will make “every effort” to update the Facebook page with any revisions to Santa’s schedule, Quinn said. She asks that people email [email protected] for more information and the latest routes rather than calling the station.
The tradition of escorting Santa Claus through the streets of Falls Church and Arlington dates back to the 1960s, she says. The bedecked fire engine would make appearances for on or two nights, after dark, at random — also known as “wildcatting.”
“As more people began asking for ‘Santa and the fire engine,’ the [FCVFD Board of Trustees] decided in 1981 to formalize the program and standardize neighborhood routes,” Quinn said. “We have been driving some of the Arlington neighborhoods closest to the station in Falls Church from the beginning.”
Today, the FCVFD volunteers don’t fight fires but they do provide ambulance support for the professional Arlington County firefighters who battle blazes in the little city. The volunteer-run station maintains a reserve fire engine, primarily to serve as the Santamobile.
Quinn says the reactions of kids and adults alike remind volunteers why they keep up the yearly tradition.
“I can’t tell you how many elderly people came out of their homes, stood at the door, and seemed like a five year old kid,” said Quinn, who dressed as an elf last year. “It brings a lot of joy to people… A lot of times the adults seem as excited as the kids.”
