ice cream

Van Leeuwen opens in Clarendon this Friday with discount ice cream scoops

By Katie Taranto

Van Leeuwen’s new Clarendon shop will celebrate a grand opening this week with discounted scoops and a tote bag giveaway.

The New York City-based chain is set to open its doors at 2831 Clarendon Blvd this Friday, Oct. 17. The incoming business replaces the longtime ice cream parlor Nicecream, which closed in August after 11 years at the address.

“We’re excited to bring Van Leeuwen to Clarendon and share our love of good ice cream with this community,” co-founder Ben Van Leeuwen said in a release. “We can’t wait to welcome guests in for the Clarendon Pumpkin Cheesecake Sundae, our fall flavors lineup, specialty toppings, milkshakes, floats, and more.”

Discounted scoops are available on Friday

  • Van Leeuwen will offer $1 scoops from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday to celebrate its first day in business, and the first 100 guests will receive a limited-edition Van Leeuwen tote bag.
  • The new shop will serve 30 of the chain’s signature flavors, including peanut butter brownie honeycomb and vegan banana bread pudding with fudge swirls.
  • A new signature sundae includes seasonal pumpkin cheesecake ice cream, caramel sauce, honey almonds and whipped cream.

Van Leeuwen is expanding in the D.C. area

  • This is the second Van Leeuwen in Arlington. A Crystal City location opened last year.
  • Another scoop shop is currently underway in Old Town Alexandria, and the company also appears to be eyeing a Ballston storefront, according to permit records this year.
  • Van Leeuwen will be open in Clarendon from 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday.

New ice cream shop could move into Lyon Village Shopping Center this spring

By Jo DeVoe
The standalone building that used to house a bank and a barber shop in the Lyon Village Shopping Center in Spout Run (via Google Maps)

A Cold Stone Creamery location is moving into a vacant standalone building at the Lyon Village Shopping Center, permit records show.

It will take over the half of 3141 Langston Blvd — near Spout Run Parkway — that used to be home to a bank. The other half of the building was once home to a barber shop. This building is a few paces from the main strip, which is home to the Italian Store, Big Wheel Bikes and BGR Burgers Grilled Right, as well as a CVS, a Giant and a Starbucks.

Mohammed Haque, the owner of the forthcoming ice cream shop location, says he is looking to open sometime after May, taking into account six to eight weeks for getting permits squared away and three months to ready the space.

Haque, who used to live in Arlington, said he knows the area very well. After exhausting his options closer to Ballston, where he could not find sufficient space at an affordable rent, he settled on the old bank location in the shopping center.

While he awaits permits, the building already is seeing some signs of interior demolition. This will include taking down partitions, doors and finishes — including the columns outside — as well as some minor mechanical and electrical work, according to permit records.

Hat tip Chris Slatt 

Van Leeuwen ice cream shop and Tatte café among six new businesses looking to open in Crystal City

By James Jarvis
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Six new businesses, including the popular chains Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Van Leeuwen, are setting up shop in Crystal City.

Promotional signs for the new shops are visible in the ground-floor windows of one of the two 300-foot residential towers at 1900 Crystal City Drive. Approved in 2020 and under construction by 2021, the towers — set to open early next year — will house 811 residential units and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail space.

The complete lineup includes a trio of D.C.-based businesses — Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois, Cuban café and bar Colada Shop and a nail salon called nailsaloon — plus New York City-based botox spa Peachy, which recently opened its second location in D.C.

Tatte, Van Leeuwen and Colada Shop have filed permits to operate along the pedestrian walkway behind the north tower — known as The Grace — at 269 19th Court S., according to county permit records.

JBG Smith, the predominant property owner in Crystal City and Pentagon City, declined to comment.

Boston-based bakery Tatte, known for its coffee, sandwiches and pastries, operates 11 locations in the D.C. area, including one at Clarendon Crossing, which opened in 2021.

Van Leeuwen, an ice cream chain headquartered in New York, currently operates three outlets in D.C. and plans to launch a fourth at Union Station. The Arlington outpost would be the brand’s first in Virginia.

Colada Shop operates six locations in the D.C. area and, as part of its Arlington expansion, plans to open a new location in Clarendon.

Hat tip to Matt Miller

Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream now scooping at Amazon HQ2

By Matt Blitz
Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is now open in Pentagon City (photo via Toby’s/Instagram)

Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream has started serving scoops at its new Amazon HQ2 location.

The local ice cream shop held a “soft opening” this past weekend at its newest spot at 510 14th Street S. in Pentagon City. On both Saturday and Sunday, Toby’s served up scoops to hungry and hot locals from noon until 3 p.m. at the storefront facing Met Park.

There’s no word yet on when or if there’s an official grand opening being planned.

A number of the new businesses at Amazon HQ2 have opened or are planning to open in the coming weeks. District Dogs and Conte’s Bike Shop started rolling earlier this summer followed by Good Company Doughnuts in July. Peruvian Brothers is aiming for a soft opening later this month. Mae’s Market and Taqueria Xochi have yet to announce their plans.

An outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington will also be opening its doors at Amazon HQ2. That opening may be delayed until the fall, a source told ARLnow.

It was back in April when Toby’s Ice Cream announced it was expanding to a third location. The original opened in Westover in 2008, while a second location started serving over a year ago in Vienna.

Ice cream shop coming to Crystal City, but flavor unknown

By Matt Blitz
Ground floor retail construction at 1900 Crystal Drive (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Update at 2:10 p.m.) A new ice cream shop is coming to Crystal City, and it might be trendy New York-based chain Van Leeuwen.

A ice cream shop is going into 1900 Crystal Drive, according to a permit applied for earlier this month. It’s expected to be on the ground floor in one of the two residential buildings going up at the site.

The address is 269 19th Court S., per the permit, so it may be located in some sort of alleyway.

After this article initially published, a tipster reached out to note that in a June presentation to the Crystal City Civic Association about the forthcoming construction, a logo for Van Leeuwen was on one of the slides. The company recently opened several D.C. locations, including in Georgetown.

It is not immediately clear which ice cream shop will be going in there, if not Van Leeuwen. ARLnow reached out to developer JBG Smith, which owns the buildings, but the developer declined to comment, per a spokesperson.

Arlington has a number of ice cream shops, several of which are in the midst of or recently have opened new locations. That includes Jeni’s in Shirlington, Mimi’s in Pentagon City, and Toby’s in Westover.

Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream is opening its second location in the Mosaic District in August or September, and has leases signed for locations in Annandale, Falls Church, Chevy Chase, and Rockville. Owner Rollin Amore tells ARLnow that the forthcoming Crystal City shop is not his.

Toby’s, meanwhile, is set to open a shop in nearby Pentagon City, likely taking them out of the running.

Construction on the residential towers where the new ice cream shop will likely be located began in March 2021. Work could be completed as soon as next year.

Hat tip to Chris Slatt

Jeni’s in Shirlington to kick off summer with free ice cream tonight

By Anya Wareck
Jeni's Shirlington
New Jeni’s shop at the Village at Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Salute the summer with free ice cream this evening at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Shirlington.

The ice cream shop at 4150 Campbell Ave in the Village at Shirlington will offer free scoops, a limited number of “swag bags” and a sneak peek at new flavors tonight (Monday) from 7-11 p.m.

“This event is our way of saying, ‘Hey it’s summertime, bring your friends and family, come out for a date night’ — we want to celebrate the warm summer months,” said a spokeswoman for the company.

It also celebrates the kickoff of the first summer season for the Shirlington outpost, which opened earlier this year.

To scoop up this deal, one must be a Jeni’s Splendid Rewards member.

“Rewards members really have so many things in store for them — they get a heads up with news, special deals and rewards,” the spokeswoman said.

People do not have to be members to vye for merch, including tote bags with notebooks, sprinkles, koozies and other freebies. Instead, they need to be one of the first 25 spots in line.

Arlington is a unique place but it is not immune to the charms of free treats from national chains. The free donuts for “National Donut Day” this past Friday drew larger lines than usual to local Dunkin locations, ARLnow observed.

This Thursday, ice cream lovers can commemorate wedding season with the return of Jeni’s “Wedding Cake” flavor — made with vanilla cake, lemon, blackberries and buttercream icing. The seasonal treat will only be available for in-store scoops through June and may retire after just two weeks, the company says.

The new Shirlington Jeni’s Ice Cream is giving away free ice cream next week

By Matt Blitz
The new Jeni’s ice cream shop in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Jeni’s Ice Cream in Shirlington is giving away free ice cream next week.

While the new shop at 4150 Campbell Ave has already been open for a couple of weeks, there will be a “grand opening” event on Wednesday, March 8.

At the event, employees will be scooping free ice cream starting at 7 p.m. until closing at 11 p.m, the company announced in a press release.

“All ice cream, up to and including a signature (three flavors), will be free,” a Jeni’s spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.

Plus, the first 50 people in line at 7 p.m. will get “swag bags” with Jeni’s merchandise.

After nearly a year since the initial announcement, Jeni’s Ice Cream finally opened in Shirlington earlier this month. With the closings of Yogiberry and I-CE-NY over the last several years, there were no dedicated frozen dessert shops in the shopping center until the Columbus, Ohio-based ice cream shop made its debut.

The scoop shop is open every day from noon to 11 p.m., providing night owls a chance to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Jeni’s is not the only highly-anticipated opening in Shirlington. A block away, Astro Beer Hall (and its donut-making robot) plan to start serving in May.

Jeni’s Ice Cream set to open tomorrow in Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
The new Jeni’s ice cream shop in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The scoop in Shirlington is that Jeni’s Ice Creams is finally opening this week.

A reader tipped off ARLnow that they spotted the ice cream shop at 4150 Campbell Avenue holding a “friends and family night” earlier this week.

The shop is planning a public “soft opening” starting Thursday, Feb. 16, a spokesperson confirmed. A grand opening event is likely set for “early to mid March,” they said.

It’s been close to a year since we reported that the Columbus, Ohio-based premium ice cream chain was setting up shop in Shirlington. Besides window stickers, there were only a sprinkling of updates throughout 2022. Then, last month, the company confirmed they were looking to open early this year.

While the middle of February is usually not the ideal time for a cold treat, this Thursday’s weather looks to be unusually mild with temperatures expected to be in the mid-60s.

Jeni’s is filling a notable gap in Shirlington. With the recent closings of Yogiberry and I-CE-NY in late 2021, there were no dedicated frozen treat shops in the Village of Shirlington shopping center.

That has now been rectified.

“After a long wait we are looking forward to an ice cream store in the neighborhood!” our tipster said.

Elsewhere in Shirlington, Our Mom Eugenia still has yet to open though the plan was to start serving this month. The two-level beer-and-coffee venue Astro Beer Hall is also expected to open soon, with new banners around the building proclaiming a May 2023 date.

If you can’t wait until Thursday, there are also Jeni’s in D.C., Old Town Alexandria, and Tysons.

Hat tip to Thomas G.

Jeni’s Ice Cream aiming to open soon-ish in Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
Jeni’s is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The spring warm-up may herald the arrival of some cold treats in Shirlington.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is aiming to open its first Arlington location by early spring, a spokesperson tells ARLnow.

“As of right now, we are aiming to open in Q1 of this year,” the spokesperson said via email. “We’ll hone in on the grand opening date in the next few weeks.”

The Ohio-based ice cream shop is set to move into 4150 Campbell Avenue, the former home of rolled ice cream purveyor I-CE-NY. While this will be Jeni’s first location in Arlington, there are nearby scoop shops in Alexandria, Tysons, and D.C.

Signs announcing Jeni’s arrival first went up at the Village of Shirlington early last year, but until now there was only a sprinkling of details about an opening date. The location is still not listed on the company’s website.

Due to recent closings, Shirlington currently lacks a dedicated frozen treat shop. Yogi Castle shuttered last year while I-CE-NY closed in late 2021.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is not the only notable business set to open in Shirlington in the coming months. The well-regarded Greek restaurant Our Mom Eugenia should be opening soon as well as Astro Beer Hall, in the former Capitol City Brewing space.

Yogi Castle shutters and Jeni’s Ice Cream waits to open at Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
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Shirlington frozen dessert fans are getting the cold shoulder.

Frozen yogurt spot Yogi Castle at 4014 Campbell Ave appears to have closed a couple of months ago, with the interior now cleaned out and the awning removed. What’s left is an outline of a sign that once read “Yogiberry,” which was the business name prior to Yogi Castle.

ARLnow hasn’t been able to reach the business owners to confirm exactly when and why it closed. Property owner Federal Realty Investment Trust also was not able to provide details about the shop’s departure from the Village of Shirlington.

Yogiberry first opened in 2010, replacing Maggie Moo’s ice cream.

For a moment, it appeared that Shirlington was not going to have to wait long for a new frozen dessert spot.

Back in April, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream announced that it was moving into a space just down the street from Yogi Castle at 4150 Campbell Avenue. It’s replacing a Thai rolled ice cream spot, which closed late last year.

While Jeni’s stickers plaster the storefront’s windows, it remains unclear when the scoop shop might open.

There is no estimated date or timeline for the Shirlington store’s opening, a Jeni’s spokesperson tells ARLnow in an email. The location is not listed yet on the company’s main site, and interior construction appeared to still be in the early stages a couple of weeks ago.

The Ohio-based ice cream company currently has shops in Bethesda, D.C., Alexandria, and Tysons, which opened in the spring of last year.

Eight tasty cold treats to beat the heat in Arlington

By Pia Kramer
Ice Cream Cookiewich from Bakeshop (staff photo by Pia Kramer)

Arlington’s summer days have always consisted of a sweltering combination of high humidity and temperatures. This month has been no exception.

Yet summer is also the season to venture out, try new things, and explore new places.

In the interest of remaining active while cooling down, here are eight tasty, cold goodies in Arlington you can try before summer ends.

1. Nutella ice cream from Nicecream

Nicecream in Clarendon (2831 Clarendon Blvd) uses the process of freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Its selection of ice cream flavors rotates weekly and has flavors spanning from white chocolate peanut butter to grapefruit creamsicle. However, Nutella is a must-try.

2. Nutella açaí bowl from South Block

Similarly, did you know you can get some of that addictive chocolate hazelnut spread in your South Block açaí bowl? We did, so we figured you would want to try that to cool off. Topping off South Block’s Nutella açaí bowl are mixed granola, banana, strawberry, coconut and Nutella.

3. Peanut butter icebox pie from Bakeshop

Bakeshop in Clarendon (1025 N. Fillmore Street) is no ordinary bakery. Offering a slew of flavors of cupcakes, bread, cakes, cookies, pies and macarons, Bakeshop also offers vegan and gluten-free options. Its Peanut Butter Icebox Pie is the perfect pick-me-up for peanut butter lovers.

4. Ice cream cookiewich from Bakeshop

One of the most popular summer treats at Bakeshop that is a must-try is its ice cream Cookiewich. This Cookiewich consists of two mouth-watering chocolate chunk cookies enveloping vanilla ice cream. Bakeshop’s Cookiewich is, in the opinion of this reviewer, beyond any ice cream sandwich you have ever tried.

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