The westbound lanes of Lee Highway (Old Dominion Drive) have been shut down near North Vermont Street due to an outside gas leak.
The fire department is on the scene of the leak. No word on when the lanes will reopen.
Langston Blvd
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State Senator’s Husband Pens Alarming Column — Tom Whipple, husband of state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D), has penned a column entitled “The Peak Oil Crisis: Civil Unrest” for the Falls Church News-Press. He writes: “By failure to guide the country to real solutions to real problems, our leaders are risking increasing violence as the frustrations of an unknowing people continue to grow.” [Not Larry Sabato]
Grocery Store and Development Proposed for Bergmann’s Site — A developer wants to bring a grocery store to the site of the Bergmann’s Cleaners on Lee Highway, provided the county also approves a 12-story apartment building next door. The apartment site is currently zoned only for single family homes. [TBD]
Manee Thai Condemned — Manee Thai restaurant on Columbia Pike has been declared “unfit for habitation” by county building inspectors, according to a sign near the entrance. Other businesses in the strip of stores adjacent to Manee Thai have remained open. [Pike Spotter]
O’Connell Athletic Field Request May Be Pushed Back — Consideration of Bishop O’Connell High School’s request to renovate its athletic field and add NCAA-compliant lighting will likely be pushed back to March. The board is slated to take up the request at its Jan. 22 meeting, but the school is requesting a deferral. [Sun Gazette]
Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99
District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest starting at 6:00 tonight.
Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos, without vomiting, in 15 minutes. They will have to consume four different varieties of tacos, in the following rotating order: breakfast taco, pollo asado, carnitas, carne asada.
According to District Taco’s contest web page, the winner of the contest will receive a number of prizes and honors, including free tacos and apparel.
Their picture will be taken and placed on the Wall of Fame with much fanfare and celebration. The champion and runner-ups will also receive District Taco awards such as t-shirts, hats, stickers and best of all–free tacos.
History will shine upon the grand taco-eating champions of District Taco!
Editor’s Note: If any photographers are going to be in attendance, we would love to use a couple of your photos tomorrow (with credit, of course). Send them to arlingtonnews [at] gmail.com as soon as possible.
Ruffino’s Spaghetti House (4763 Lee Highway) closed for renovations in September. Four months later, work is still well underway.
For now, it appears that the deep blue doors and windows won’t be back, nor will the big neon sign. We did not get a good look at the interior.
No word yet on when the beloved neighborhood restaurant may open back up. A call to Ruffino’s main number is answered by an brief automated message that provides precious little information.
“We are remodeling and we will reopen as soon as we can,” the message says.
Pre-renovation photo (right) courtesy Kevin Borland
A “for sale or lease” sign on the side of Colony House Furniture at 1700 Lee Highway has prompted a number of people to email us and ask what’s going on with the iconic, 54-year-old store. Today, owner J.R. Diffee provided an answer.
The business plans to cash in on its prime real estate and relocate.
“This is not a going out of business,” Diffee said emphatically. “The property is for sale, the business is not.”
Diffee says he anticipates a developer buying the property, then leasing it back to the store until building permits are approved. In the meantime, Diffee says he will be looking for a new location.
Will he move the store to another address in Arlington?
“I’d love to,” said Diffee, an Arlington Chamber of Commerce board member. “I have three kids in Arlington Public Schools… I buy into the Arlington Way.”
Diffee said that while the furniture business was hurt by the recession, sales at the store were up 7.5 percent last year. Still, he said that the property the store has occupied since 1957 — adjacent to I-66 and within a long walk of Rosslyn and Courthouse — is now worth more to a developer than it is to a furniture store.
District Taco Announces Taco Eating Contest — This sounds like a recipe for some fun, or vomit, or both. District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos (without throwing up — seriously, it’s a rule) in 15 minutes. If you think you’ve got what it takes, fill out an entry form and submit it by Thursday. See more information on the District Taco web site.
Blame Technology for Rising Rents — Has your rent gone up recently? If so, a software program may be to blame. A number of large landlords are now using “sophisticated computerized models” to figure out how to price rentals. Arlington-based AvalonBay Communities, which owns rental communities in Ballston and near Shirlington, recently started widespread use of a software package called “Rainmaker” to squeeze every last dollar out of its properties. More from the Wall Street Journal.
Rustico Does Brunch — Rustico’s new Ballston location has launched a Sunday brunch service. Go for the ricotta doughnuts, stay for the oatmeal and coffee-infused beer. More from We Love DC.
Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA
Police are out at Yorktown Bistro (5171 Lee Highway) after county code enforcement reported that a back door to the restaurant was open and no one was inside.
Apparently the same thing happened during business hours yesterday, leading at least one officer to believe that the restaurant may be abandoned.
Yelp reveals some unflattering customer reviews. A web site for the restaurant is no longer in operation.
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After a number of delays, the big day is finally here. The guys behind the the District Taco cart are holding the grand opening for their first brick-and-mortar restaurant (shown here, still under construction), at 5723 Lee Highway.
The restaurant’s menu consists of basic, fresh Mexican cuisine, served over a counter. There will also be weekly specials, where owner Osiris Hoil will get to show off a bit more of his culinary prowess. See an early preview of the menu here.
In announcing the grand opening on Twitter this morning, Hoil spoke of the journey that has brought him from laid off construction worker to restaurant owner.
“Two years ago I lost my job. 6 months later [District Taco] was born. 1 1/2 year later i am Dreaming the American Dream! Yes, you can make it too!!,” he said.
Update at 10:00 a.m. — Just in case you needed another excuse to go, District Taco is offering a “buy one burrito, get one taco free” deal.
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(Updated at 3:00 p.m.) Driving rain and high winds knocked out power, flooded roads and led to numerous accidents in Arlington this morning.
Parts of Ballston and the area around Lee Highway and North Glebe Road lost power during the storm. A storm-related electrical fire in the parking garage of the National Science Foundation building caused dozens of workers to be evacuated. As of 2:50 p.m., the Arlington Central Library was still without power.
During the storm, several accidents were reported on I-66 and elsewhere.
On Washington Boulevard near Utah Street, north of Ballston, standing water in one of the far lanes caused a big splash as cars drove through it. Further up the street, at the intersection with Glebe Road, a backup formed as traffic lights flashed yellow.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning until 4:15 this afternoon, and a tornado watch until 9:00 tonight.
Update at 3:05 p.m. — Central Library has closed until further notice due to the lack of power and phone service.
Update at 3:55 p.m. — The tornado watch has been canceled.
Update on 10/28 — More about the Ballston power outages here.
Interior work on the new District Taco restaurant on Lee Highway is well underway.
What was once Restaurant Vero is now morphing into a brick-and-mortar version of the popular taco cart. Some walls have been painted yellow, and a long metal counter has been installed. The black and white checkered floor and the pressed metal ceiling has remained the same.
Owner Osiris Hoil is hoping to open at some point next week, but the date is still in flux.
Meanwhile, the store is hiring cooks, servers and managers, according to a sign in the window. Anyone interested in a position should email jobs [at] districttaco.com.
After the jump, a first look at DT’s menu.
Fans of the District Taco cart (Optimus Prime, for instance) will have to wait a bit longer for the crew’s new brick-and-mortar restaurant on Lee Highway to open to the public
Owner Osiris Hoil says that interior construction is wrapping up, and he has most of his county permits in hand, but he’s still waiting on a tortilla-making machine.
He believes the tortilla machine will arrive in time to open the restaurant during the first week in November.