Lee-Harrison

Peter Chang Restaurant to Open in Lee-Harrison Center Saturday

By Ethan Rothstein
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A Chinese restaurateur with a cult following will open his first restaurant in Arlington in two days.

Oriental Gourmet in the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center just closed this month, but chef Peter Chang‘s team is full steam ahead in trying to transform the space into Peter Chang Arlington, set for a soft opening at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Chang got his start in the U.S. cooking at the Chinese Embassy before serving his speciality, Szechuan cuisine, at little-known China Star on Main Street in the city of Fairfax. He moved around Northern Virginia to a restaurant in Alexandria and back to Fairfax, before moving to Georgia, picking up devoted followings in each area.

Chang’s followers are so devoted, and his nomadic tendencies so consistent, that a lengthy New Yorker magazine profile was devoted to them — despite Chang having never opened a restaurant north of the Mason Dixon line.

Recently, he’s started opening up Peter Chang restaurants in areas of Virginia farther south, starting with Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg and Fredericksburg. Chang’s daughter, Lydia, said “Everyone is excited” for her father’s return to his Northern Virginia roots.

“We’re here to provide amazing, authentic Chinese cuisine,” Lydia Chang told ARLnow.com in the under-renovation restaurant space this morning. “Peter loves Northern Virginia and he knows there are a lot of people who appreciate authentic Chinese cuisine. He’s just here to do it right.”

Doing it right means a sit-down Chinese restaurant serving more than 100 menu items, including many of the dishes that have grown Chang’s following: dry-fried eggplant, duck in stone pot and pan-fried steamed pork belly. Lydia Chang said, if he wanted, her father “can create hundreds of different menu items.”

Restaurant openings, especially in Arlington, are notoriously fraught with long delays, often being pushed back months, even years. Some may be taken aback at how quickly Chang plans to open — just a week or two after the closing of Oriental Gourmet —  but blazing his own path is nothing new for the mercurial chef.

“It’s not anybody else who wants to do this, it’s Peter’s decision,” Lydia Chang said. Pushing back the opening “is not our style. We’ve been talking about Northern Virginia for years. He’s always wanted to come back.”

The soft opening and early weeks will determine Peter Chang Arlington’s hours, Chang said. The restaurant is planning a grand opening Wednesday, March 18.

Barber Shop in Lee-Harrison Shopping Center Closes

By Morgan Fecto

Harrison Barber Shop closes in the Lee-Harrison Shopping CenterHarrison Barber Shop at 2505 N. Harrison Street, home of neighborhood fixture “Barber Dan,” has closed suddenly, disappointing long-time customers.

“It was literally there one day and gone the next,” Mary Barrett, who works next door as a marketing representative for MBH Settlement Group, told ARLnow.com.

Customers on the barber shop’s Facebook and Yelp pages lamented the loss of the business. Some Yelp reviewers wrote that free bottles of water, race car chairs, lollipops and balloon animals kept them and their children coming back.

Yelp reviewer Eric G. posted on June 10: “I’ve taken my two boys to Dan for years and we just walked up to the shop to find it closed with no forwarding address. Very sad, as despite the fact that he had fallen on hard times he was always very friendly and did his best to deliver quality service at a good price. We’ll miss Dan and I just hope he’s alright.”

Dan Woodley, the leasing agent for the space, told ARLnow.com that “Barber Dan” made a “personal decision not be a barber anymore.” Dan cut hair for more than 20 years, according to Woodley, and was a barber at Harrison Barber Shop for at least five. Woodley said he did not know exactly why the shop closed.

While many customers gave the shop rave reviews, others were put off by the wait. As the shop’s only barber, “Barber Dan” was not always able to meet demands.

Harrison Barber Shop closes in the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center“A good haircut but a truly painful wait,” wrote Yelp reviewer Jim M. last November.  “Dan appears to have no appreciation of fact that people don’t like to wait while he shuffles around to adjust blinds, get the hit towel, fetch water for customers as they come in. I give up. There are now too many other options in the area with similar prices for boys and men’s haircuts.”

Barrett said that she first noticed the shop was closed two or three weeks ago, but that it remained busy until its final open days. “I was shocked when I pulled up one day and it was for lease,” said Barrett. Dan seemed to her a “friendly man” who was “always waving” and served many families.

Harrison Barber Shop had not posted on its Facebook page since last December, but customers continued to post praise and pictures as recently as June 5.

“Since Dan was a bit of an Arlington institution, having grown up in town (he went to Woodlawn for high school, he said), I’m curious as to what happened,” said former customer Anthony Zurcher, in an email to ARLnow.com. “My kids loved him and were regulars, as were many in the Yorktown and surrounding neighborhoods.”

Zurcher continued:

“Dan could be slow at times — painfully slow. But that was part of his old-fashioned charm. He had a TV that would play movies for the kids — really just one move, Madagascar 2 (later, Madagascar 3) — which would be on a constant loop. I must’ve seen various parts of that movie dozens of times thanks to Dan, but my kids loved it.

At some point after I started going there, he learned how to make balloon animals — really just a sword or a poodle — for the kids. My boys always asked for one whenever they were there, and he always obliged.

I remember one time a patron showed up who was at least in his mid-90s. He had been coming to Dan to get his haircut for at least a decade. He inspired that sort of loyalty.”

Realtors A.J. Dwoskin & Associates have “over a dozen well-known Arlington businesses” interested in renting the space, according to Woodley. The firm will know more about the former barber shop’s future by late July.

Dogma Owner Stays the Course Despite Financial Stress

By Katie Pyzyk

Despite financial difficulties and rumors of it possibly closing in the Lee Harrison Shopping Center, Dogma Bakery (2445 N. Harrison Street) is plugging along. Owner Sheila Raebel wants customers to know she’s not giving up on the store yet.

While hesitant to admit the store may have to close after 12 years at that location, Raebel said it wouldn’t make financial sense to extend the lease, only to continue losing money. Dogma’s lease at that location expires in November of 2013, so Raebel said there’s still time to turn things around.

“It is true that we are not doing as well as I would like. Are we making money? No,” Raebel said. “As far as closing, I’m not going to close down a store just to close it down. I’m a little stubborn, I guess.”

Raebel wanted to be up front with her employees and with customers, so she recently sent a letter discussing the store’s financial trouble. She said many people came to the store after not having stopped by for a while, and said they took it for granted Dogma would always be there.

“I was honest with what we need, which is more people coming in the store,” Raebel said. “It was great that we had so much response and it helped us a great deal. It was really good that people responded the way they did.”

Although it may seem like the business would have taken a major hit when a competitor — Unleashed by Petco — moved in across the street, Raebel says the problem is largely the economic downturn. She said although there is some overlap between the two stores, they tend to serve different customers. She said Dogma staff continues to work to differentiate the store from others.

“When Unleashed came in, quite frankly, it was very scary for us. But they have their place in the community. I could not say that it is any reason for us not doing as well as I would like us to be doing,” said Raebel. “In a way it’s very much of a compliment that a business like that comes in. They recognized over the years that boutique businesses like ours is what the neighborhoods are really looking for. It’s a compliment that they changed their business model to have this new division.”

Raebel said many loyal customers were angered when the competitor moved in so close to Dogma. However, she continues to put the majority of the blame on the down economy.

“We’re not just a dog bakery, we’re a boutique that has gift items, toys and cat items. Some of those segments were hit hard, and that hit us in all those segments within the store. That’s the nature of retail,” said Raebel.  “Goods cost more, shipping costs a lot more, taxes are going up. All of those things come together and sales are going down.”

For now, Raebel is working with the landlord, whom she said is being very helpful in trying to hash out a deal. If she’s not able to find a way to keep the store at the current location, Raebel hopes to find a nearby site. That, however, would be a last ditch effort.

“There’s a lot of things in flux right now,” said Raebel. “We’re all going to try to work together and see what we can do so everyone comes out whole.”

In the meantime, Dogma will continue to operate until a decision needs to be made next year. Raebel said the staff is constantly trying to improve and give customers what they want.

“Our staff work really hard and try to be knowledgeable. I feel confident they are, and we will continue to learn,” Raebel said. “And eventually, we will be back where we need to be.”

Dogs Dress Up for a Trick or Treat Event

By Katie Pyzyk

Halloween fun is in store tonight at the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center. This time, it’s all for pups.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington encourages you to dress up your dog in a costume and attend a trick or treat event at Dogma Bakery (2445 N. Harrison St.) in the Lee-Harrison shopping center. With a $10 donation, you can fill your dog’s treat bag at various stores in the center. There will be treats for humans as well.

There will be games and prizes for best costumes–both pet and handler. The whole family is welcome at the event, which starts at 6:00 p.m.

Firefighters Battle House Fire in Lee-Harrison

By ARLnow.com

Update at 9:40 a.m. — A firefighter is receiving medical attention for what was reported as an injury from a fall. The fire has been extinguished.

Firefighters are battling a fire on the second floor of a home on the 5200 block of 26th Street N., in the Lee-Harrison neighborhood.

Initial reports suggest the home’s occupants made it out safely. Firefighters on the scene are reporting that they have the blaze under control.