local business

Clarendon Restaurant Buena Vida Folded Into Downstairs Taco Joint

By Vernon Miles

Once upon a time, there was an Arlington restaurant called Buena Vida. It sat on the second floor of 2900 Wilson Blvd, but like many meals once served there, it has been devoured.

Buena Vida has been subsumed into TTT — an abbreviation of Tacos, Tortas and Tequila — the restaurant that inhabits the first floor of the building.

Both dining options have the same ownership and opened together last year. Buena Vida had focused on “traditional, indigenous fare that incorporates recipes that have been handed down through generations,” while TTT on the first floor was fast-casual, serving quick Mexican fare like tacos and and enchiladas. The third floor of the complex is a rooftop bar that was dubbed Buena Vida Social Club.

Now, both the Silver Spring and Arlington locations of Buena Vida are being rebranded to just TTT as part of a focus on the fast-casual option, Bethesda Magazine first reported.

Locally, staff said there was another reason.

“It’s a little misunderstanding with the guests,” an employee at TTT in Clarendon said. “We had three floors and people kept getting confused about that. They’re rebranding to change the whole thing to TTT.”

Local Dry Cleaner Hopes To Rise From Pandemic Hit

By Joseph Ramos

The red letters spelling “We Are Open” on a banner above Eagle Cleaners is easily visible to cars on nearby Williamsburg Blvd.

At the storefront, a door stopper holds the front entrance open throughout the day. Owner Mat Srebrow’s pet parrot, Emma, sits in her perch next to the window, ready to be held by children who enter the store.

These welcome signs to customers come as Eagle Cleaners, which along with other local dry cleaners are trying to recover from a sharp decrease in business induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Srebrow, whose father opened the store at its 6402 Williamsburg Blvd location in 1996, said he started seeing revenue slip in March and it is yet to stop falling.

The suits, shirts, pants, dresses and sweaters that used to come in a steady flow disappeared as office work turned virtual and formal events were cancelled.

According to Srebrow, business has been down as much as 85% and could continue falling in the current month.

“August is the worst month for dry cleaning year after year, so we’re probably in the worst of it now,” Srebrow said.

When Srebrow took over the store last year, after his father died, he inherited a strong base of regular customers. Some have been going to Eagle Cleaners since it first opened.

Prior to the pandemic, the store employed eight full-time workers, and was open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.

All employees now work part-time with only one to three coming in per day. Store hours have been reduced to 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

“I feel terrible for the employees,” Srebrow said. “They can’t get work. I have to go home with that every night. I’m extremely tired by the time I get home.”

Eagle Cleaners rents their building, and Srebrow said he’s grateful that the landlord has been working with them on rent, which has helped. The cleaner also received a loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program that helped with payroll as well as rent and utility payments.

As summer days start to wane and fall approaches, full of uncertainty, Srebrow dreams of a future when things go back to normal — when business returns “to what it was pre-pandemic, with all eight employees working… [and] we were busy Monday through Saturday, seven to seven.”

Staff photo by Joseph Ramos

Lebanese Taverna Spearheads Fundraising Drive to Support Relief Efforts in Beirut

By Vernon Miles

On Tuesday, Grace Abi-Najm Shea — a co-owner of Lebanese Taverna — was one of those watching in horror as an explosion tore through Beirut. She said they took the day to cry and grieve at the loss that happened in the country her family left years ago. The next morning, they got to work.

The regional Lebanese restaurant chain that started in Arlington in 1979 has since raised nearly $30,000 for the Lebanese Red Cross on GoFundMe.

This weekend, the company is planning to start a deal where $1 from every hummus order at Lebanese Taverna and LebTav locations will be going to the World Central Kitchen. Dany Abi-Najm, Grace’s brother and another co-owner, will be traveling to Beirut with D.C. celebrity chef Jose Andres as part of the World Central Kitchen team to deliver supplies and offer food to those who have been displaced by the explosion.

“It feels good to be doing something,” Shea said. “We mobilized pretty quickly on Wednesday morning. We just needed to do something. It was heartbreaking. My father lives there, he moved back 12 years ago, and the scenes on TV were just too much. I know so many people wanted to help.”

Shea said Lebanon has a history of corruption leading to mistrust of organizations and the government, so she said Lebanese Taverna wanted to be sure the money got to the right places.

“There was the immediate need with the Red Cross and [we’re] addressing the ongoing need starting this weekend with World Central Kitchen,” Shea said.

Shea said while there’s global empathy for Lebanon as it goes through this crisis, many people locally have felt connected to it indirectly via the restaurant that has served Arlington for 41 years.

“We all grew up here and have so much support from so many people,” Shea said. “For them to want to do something for the country we left is very touching.”

Shea said she and her family have concerns about their brother traveling internationally during the pandemic, but that it’s a risk they have to take.

“There’s a thing called COVID going on,” Shea said. “You can’t help other people without taking a risk, really in anything that you do. I think it’s something much bigger than us. There are 300 people displaced from their homes in a minute. One of them being my cousin, but thankfully he has a support system. His home was completely demolished.”

For many Lebanese, Shea said growing up during the civil war left them prepared for the risks.

For those who have donated, Shea had one message to share.

“Thank you,” Shea said. “The number of people who donated and the number of shares is incredible.”

File photo 

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dozens March for Racial Justice — “A group of about 100 people marched more than three miles on a hot August afternoon through Arlington demanding justice for victims of police brutality and calling on the county’s elected officials to bring police reform to the county.” [Patch]

Police Investigating More KKK Stickers — “Stickers that appear to promote the Ku Klux Klan have been found on traffic signs and utility boxes in Arlington over the past month, Arlington police said… They were found between July 2 and 28 in four locations, mostly in the Yorktown neighborhood, on the back of traffic signs and on a utility box.” [Washington Post]

Big Power Outage on Saturday — “A power outage in South Arlington has about 3,000 customers without power, according to Dominion Energy. The outage is affecting several neighborhoods between Columbia Pike and Interstate 395, including Arlington Mill, Columbia Forest, Douglas Park, and Nauck.” [WJLA]

Parents Rally Against School Plan — “All 12 school jurisdictions in the D.C. area have announced their intentions to start the 2020-2021 school year virtually, and not all parents are pleased with that decision. Vienna, Va. resident Jill Gartin rallied with other parents and students today at Arlington district headquarters to make their voices heard… ‘It’s been awful because I have five kids running on one wifi. It’s draining and the kids are miserable.'” [WJLA]

Ribbon Cutting for Vida — The Arlington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week for Vida Fitness’ new Ballston location, its first outside of D.C. It’s only the second ribbon cutting pictured on the Chamber’s Instagram account (the first was Bowlero in Crystal City) since the pandemic started. [Instagram]

Meridian Pint Fighting for Survival — “As you all may have heard, there is a possibility we may have to permanently close our doors. With the effects of Covid-19 the restaurant industry is feeling an enormous impact, Meridian Pint is no exception. We did get a Payroll Protection Loan but those funds have since been fully depleted. We are asking for your help.” [Facebook]

Nearby: MoCo May Reinstate Restrictions — “COVID-19 cases have been increasing across the state while Montgomery County’s have plateaued to about 70 to 80 new cases a day. But now officials are considering whether to reinstate some restrictions to try to decrease the virus’s spread and reduce cases.” [Bethesda Magazine]

Yes, But Where’s *This* Story? — Wondering why something that happened over the weekend was not included in Morning notes? We may be planning to cover it later today. Or, if it’s something that we might not know about, you can tell us about it for potential future coverage.

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Local Veteran Organizes Fundraiser For Dry Cleaner Impacted By Pandemic

By Madeline Taylor

When Air Force veteran Michael Emery went to pick up his dry cleaning from First Virginia Cleaners for the first time since the outset of the pandemic, he knew the economic fallout of the shutdown hit close to home.

The store at 2929 S. Glebe Road was dark, the air conditioning was off and owner Chantra Chet had tears in her eyes as she explained to him how poorly business was going. That’s when Emery, the longtime customer of Chet’s, knew he had to act.

Emery, an Arlington resident, created a GoFundMe campaign to support the store, which is located in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center. Revenue at the dry cleaning business has plummeted as much at 80%, according to Chet, as office workers stay at home and formal wear stays in closets.

“It’s really helped me a lot,” Chet said of the fundraiser. I don’t know how I can thank him for what he did for me.”

The GoFundMe’s goal is currently $20,000, but Emery said that number was ambitious. He feels that even raising enough to pay for a month of her rent would be a success.

So far, Emery has posted to different community Facebook groups around the neighborhood to garner support. His fundraiser has reached a wide audience, and he’s even received donations from other states. Since the fundraiser was launched on July 9 it has collected more than $3,000, with contributions still growing.

This is not the first time Chet has faced adversity. She moved to the United States from Cambodia as a refugee from the Khmer Rouge in 1982, despite not speaking a word of English, and has been working in the community for more than 35 years. She was able to buy her dry cleaning business after working there for 14 years and has been running it ever since.

Right before the pandemic, Chet had spent her entire life savings on purchasing a second location to house all the dry cleaning equipment, according to Emery, adding that when the coronavirus pandemic hit, her business was “decimated.” He noted that because business was struggling, Chet could no longer afford air conditioning or electricity. To make matters worse, her landlord increased her rent to $9,000 per month.

Dry cleaners around the country are suffering a similar fate. What had been considered a safe, steady business is not among the industries hardest hit by the pandemic.

“There were no proms this year. No bridesmaids. No men in tuxedos. All that, gone,” one owner told CBS News. “We’ve been through every economic downturn. But this?”

A software provider to the industry said that dry cleaning revenue is still down about 50% on average, and was down even more earlier in the pandemic, according to the article.

Emery described Chet as very warm and friendly, especially to her customers.

“Once you peel back the layers you see that she is incredibly hardworking and patriotic, and just very caring,” he said. “She is the embodiment of the American Dream.”

Emery hopes Chet can gain support either through donations or more business.

“At a time when people are so politically divided… I feel like she represented everything that is good about this country,” said Emery. “This felt like something very small that I could do.”

Photo via GoFundMe

Ballston Businesses Talk Cutting Hair and Curating Clothing Amid Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

In March, things were going pretty well for Bearded Goat Barber Shop at (4201 Wilson Blvd). Just across the street, Scout and Molly’s Boutique in Ballston Quarter was having some trouble, but it was nothing compared to what was coming for both of them.

The owners of both businesses joined Ballston BID CEO Tina Leone for a candid conversation on the BID’s podcast about the sudden coronavirus-caused collapse in revenue and how both are working to recover.

Jane Abraham, co-owner of Scout & Molly’s Boutique, said that before the pandemic the store had some trouble getting customers to the upper floors of the mall. It’s a problem the store is still struggling with, but looking back it pales in comparison to trying to run an indoor shop inside a larger indoor space at a time when many customers are staying at home and other local businesses are trying to go outdoors.

“It took all of us by surprise,” Abraham said. “For those of us in small business to go from a vibrant business one day to being shut down for a good three months, if not a little bit more, it’s a hard thing to take.”

While businesses shut down, Abraham said that her bills didn’t. The company struggled to adapt and find new ways to stay active. Customers didn’t respond well to early attempts at reopening, Abraham said, so they doubled down on online sales.

“We did not get much traction with personal appointments,” Abraham said. “We expanded our online presence and people were appreciative — it was a way to stay connected — but as people were unsure about their own futures it wasn’t a time when people wanted to spend an awful lot of money.”

Abraham said support from the community, from customers to local business boosters, has been helpful but hasn’t erased the sting of the company’s losses.

“It’s been pretty tough,” Abraham said. “As a retailer inside a mall-like facility, we really couldn’t have anybody come in for a long time.”

Now, Abraham said her store is focused on trying to get the right kind of clothes for people transitioning back to the office but who aren’t quite ready to go formal again yet.

“The one thing that’s really different right now is so many people have been working from home, so they’re not that ready to have dresses and fancy things,” Abraham said. “Everybody still is in this transition phase. You’ll find a lot of really great things if you want to be cozy still at home or transitioning into the office.”

Eric Renfro, co-owner and operator of Bearded Goat, said the shop was starting to build a strong community presence as it was coming up on its one year anniversary.

“We were just hitting our stride, so it was tough having to shut down and being uncertain,” Renfro said. “No one had answers, no one’s gone through this. We were wondering how we were going to pay rent and utilities, and all our employees are on commission.”

Renfro said they set up an online store selling gift cards, and eventually merchandise, with the proceeds going to the employees who were unable to work.

“During the shutdown as a business, there was no income coming in,” Renfro said. “We were implementing things to stay connected, like FaceTime Fridays. We’d coach people through at-home haircuts with their spouse or roommate. We coached them through the process to make sure they didn’t get too awry.”

Now, the barbershop is back open — with social distancing, masks and frequent cleanings — and the boutique is starting to get more customers, but both business owners said they aren’t sure when — or if — things will ever get back to normal.

“People aren’t yet flocking to stores,” Abraham said. “We certainly are not.”

Courtesy photo

Longtime Lee Highway Shoe Repair Shop Closing Soon

By Vernon Miles

It would be easy to blame closing down shop on COVID-19, but Jojo Tchalekian doesn’t. When Sam Torrey Shoe Service at 5267 Lee Highway closes on July 31 after 75 years in business, Tchalekian says it will be a long time coming.

Tchalekian is closing down the brick and mortar location that he and his father took over in 1986 from the original owners — who founded the store in 1945 — but he said he will continue to work on garment repairs remotely.

“I’ll still be resuming business, but not in the storefront,” Tchalekian said. “Everything is going to be online.”

Tchalekian is planning to move to the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. The closure had been in the works for a while, but Tchalekian admitted that coronavirus sped things along.

“We haven’t had much business in five months, which gave me the opportunity to clean up the backlog and I was able to do this now. It made more sense.”

Customers can keep in contact and send things in for work by contacting [email protected], though Tchalekian said that’s a holdover until he can get a new website and email up and running.

The Lee Highway community around the store is still the same one Tchalekian has known and loved since he took things over, but he said the nature of shoes have changed.

“Nothing’s really changed except for the industries; they’re making shoes different,” Tchalekian said. “They used to be a lot more leather, now it’s synthetics. That’s hurt our business a bit.”

Shoes were the “sole” of the business, with lots of gluing soles and heels and such back together, but the store has also provided a wide array of repairs to things like purses, belts, luggage and briefcases — fixing busted zippers and the like.

The impending closure has led to an outpouring on social media, as long-time customers lament the loss of a trusted local business.

“Everybody’s been sad and I totally get it,” Tchalekian said. “It was a tough decision but it was one that had to be done and now was the time to do it.”

Photo via Google Maps

Sweet Science Coffee Hopes to Open Java Shack Replacement in September

By Vernon Miles

Despite everything, Sandra Wolter is hoping to have a coffee shop up and running in the former Java Shack space by Labor Day (Sept. 7).

It’s been a long few months for Sweet Science Coffee, which Wolter co-owns. The local coffee brand launched its own location in D.C. after years in shared spaces just months before the pandemic hit the region. The hopes were to get the location up and running by March, but even the hoped-for September opening is tentative.

“It’s hard to say with everything going on,” Wolter said. “Ideally shooting for Labor Day weekend, roughly two months from now. The groundwork is laid so I carefully say COVID-willing, if nothing happens, we should be able to make that timeline.”

The permitting has taken about 4.5 months, Wolter said, though she’s unsure how much of that is due to COVID-19 and how much of that is the process.

“We’ve applied for permits to upgrade the space,” Wolter said. “We just got those permits last week, so we can move forward with plumbing and electrical work. It’s an old building, so there’s a lot to be done.”

Sweet Science Coffee has also applied for a license to serve wine. The location, at 2507 Franklin Road near Courthouse, has an outdoor area that Wolter is hopeful can be turned into an outdoor patio. The cafe could also potentially focus more on home delivery of items and pre-orders for popular pastries, if in-person business is light.

Wolter said she is lucky that the former Java Shack space won’t have to undergo too many adjustments, with takeout coffee already planned before the pandemic.

“Coffee is a grab-and-go thing early in the mornings, so that works in everyone’s favor,” Wolter said.

What will be put on the back burner, Wolter said, are plans to offer classes for home coffee brewing and other coffee-related events. Those sorts of classes often require close contact and sharing of objects that just don’t work amid a pandemic.

“It’s a weird mixture between excitement and fear,” Wolter said of the opening. “With everything that’s happened… we’re excited to be moving forward. A lot of people in Arlington really like the space and would like it to be a coffee shop again. We’re happy to be able to get back to that and do something. But as a business owner you always crunch the numbers — like what we’re able to do.”

Photo via Sweet Science Coffee/Facebook

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Seattle Tax Could Advantage Arlington — “It wouldn’t shock us if Amazon started encouraging more of its executives to up and move their teams to HQ2, or a neighboring city in Washington state, now that the Seattle City Council has passed a progressive tax targeting the wealthiest companies in the city.” [Washington Business Journal]

Analysis of County Board Special Election — From @A_Hendel on Twitter: “Takis Karantonis received most of his share of the vote from South Arlington… In fact, almost no precincts north of I-66 cast 50% or more of their votes for Takis.” [Twitter]

Organizations Getting Big PPP Loans in Arlington — The American Diabetes Association, tech company ByteCubed, American Service Center, Bishop O’Connell High School and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington are among the Arlington-based organizations to reportedly receive $2+ million federal Paycheck Protection Act loans. [Patch]

Another Local Tech Firm Gets PPP Help — “Amazon.com Inc. may have posted record sales during the pandemic, but many third-party sellers on the platform foundered… Some of those sellers — like the Arlington-based Amify Inc. and Etailz Inc., based in Spokane, Washington — received millions of dollars worth of help from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.” [Washington Business Journal]

Water Main Repairs Today in Bluemont — “Thursday Emergency Water Main Repairs: Crews will replace 3 valves in separate locations tomorrow in Bluemont area. Some 100 customers have been notified of potential service interruptions 8 a.m.-5 p.m.” [Twitter]

Letter: W-L Renaming Happened at a Good Time — “The Arlington School Board’s renaming of Washington-Lee High School was autocratic, manipulative, adversarial and punitive. In retrospect, though, they unwittingly did the W-L community a favor.” [InsideNova]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rep. Beyer: Stay Home This Weekend — “In the nation’s capital we finally managed to slow the spread of COVID-19. The people in our region sacrificed to make these gains, and we should do all we can to hold on to this progress. Staying home on July Fourth and avoiding large gatherings is the best way to do this. Those who go out should absolutely wear a mask, and social distance without fail.” [Press Release]

Local Unemployment Rate Improves — “The local employment picture in May crawled back slightly from the abyss of April, according to new state data, with most parts of Northern Virginia seeing modest improvements in unemployment rates. In Arlington, May’s jobless rate of 6.1 percent was a comeback from 7 percent in April, although it remains far above norms of the past decade.” [InsideNova]

Wardian Running Through Delaware — “With most major races wiped off the calendar, professional ultramarathon runner Michael Wardian was asked to run 96 miles — the length of Delaware — over the course of a month as part of a virtual charity event. ‘I was like, ‘It’s 96 miles, I’ll just do it in one day,” Wardian said.” Wardian said in an Instagram post that his route will actually take him 135 miles over the course of about 24 hours. [Delaware Online, Instagram]

Ballston Company Makes Big Donation — “Today The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) stepped up to provide immediate relief to hundreds of families who are struggling to put food on their tables as a result of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A $25,000 contribution… will allow [Arlington nonprofits APAH and AHC] to provide $100 grocery gift cards to a combined total of 250 low-income households in their apartment buildings. This grant is the first tranche of a $75,000 total commitment from AES to the Arlington Community Foundation.” [Press Release]

Good News on ARLnow’s Instagram — Arlington Community Federal Credit Union is sponsoring a month-long series of “good news” stories posted to ARLnow’s Instagram account. The innovative partnership will further ARLnow’s journalistic mission and give our Instagram followers something to feel good about near the end of each day. [Twitter]

Reminder: Road Closures Tomorrow — “Road closures are planned from 4-11 p.m. Saturday around the Air Force Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and Long Bridge Park. Street parking will also be restricted in the area.” [ARLnow]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

VIDA Fitness in Ballston Opens Despite Pandemic

By Vernon Miles
1/3

This past Saturday was a heck of a time to open a new gym.

Despite a globe-spanning pandemic keeping Arlingtonians at home, despite delays in the construction, VIDA Fitness has opened at 4040 Wilson Blvd in Ballston.

General Manager Richie Poe didn’t shy away from saying COVID-19 and other factors made opening the location — the first non-D.C. location for the high-end local fitness chain — a challenge. But he said the gym’s budding community has been supportive.

“The opening was originally challenging,” Poe said. “This is the third VIDA location I’ve opened, but this is much different. Opening the gym was challenging. We have a lot of construction delays and COVID-19. But once we were able to finally get the doors open, the members have been happy and positive.”

Part of that opening process has been regular health inspections to ensure that the gym’s equipment is properly spaced and mechanisms are in place for frequent cleaning.

“We had to have a health inspection specifically for what we’re doing in response to COVID-19,” Poe said. “We were prepared for that and had everything in place. We’re following the mask policy for indoor use, social distancing orders by putting equipment out of service. Every day we switch the out of service equipment to make sure people are 10 feet apart and we have hand sanitizer stations around the club.”

Poe said the gym follows protocols above and beyond the state requirements, like using a machine that creates a sort of disinfectant fog that cleans the dumbbells between uses. So far, Poe said that’s paid off with support from gym members.

“A member just emailed me and said she felt safe and comfortable,” Poe said. “It was really nice to hear. She commented on all the protocols in place and that she felt comfortable. Members I’ve talked to feel safe and comfortable here.”

Poe noted that VIDA Fitness offers a delay in membership to people who don’t feel coming to gyms yet but don’t want to cancel their services.

“It does affect our revenue, but because this club is brand new, we were able to modify the budget to accommodate those things,” Poe said. “We’re not making money, but hoping to continue to build the trust in the community. We want to make sure people are safe.”

Another challenge Poe said he’s facing is signage, noting with a laugh that it seemed to be one of those specific regulations Arlington County seemed very intent on enforcing. There’s very little signage outside the building directing patrons around the side to where the gym entrance is, but Poe said he’s looking into putting up sandwich boards or some other form of wayfinding reminders.

Further east, a new VIDA Rosslyn at the Highlands development is still in the works. Poe said the plan was to launch the gym later this year, but with everything that’s going on, it would not be a surprise if the Rosslyn opening date gets pushed back to 2021.

Photo via VIDA Fitness/Facebook

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