local business

Numerous Restaurants and Other Businesses Listed for Sale in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

The pandemic has brought tough times for many local business owners. In some cases, it’s driving them to try to sell their businesses.

The website BizBuySell aggregates many business sale listings. In nearly every case, the name of the business and its exact location is omitted.

Reasons for selling, when provided, typically do not mention economic hardship, but more often involve the owner retiring or not having time to actively manage the business.

Here are some that are currently listed in Arlington:

  1. Established Retail Consignment Store — “Womens, gift and home consignment store for sale. This is a terrific time to transition into being your own boss! This is a successful, fully functioning consignment business ready for it’s next owner. The location is on a VERY BUSY street in an affluent neighborhood & has been operating as a consignment store for over 50+ years. “
  2. Massage/Skincare Business — “Average well over $250k NET profit per year! Business is fully staffed along with a management team with three years tenure. Average staff tenure is 4-7 years.”
  3. Pizza Restaurant & Bar — “Restaurant in a prime location of Arlington VA established in 2012. Semi absentee owned working around 20 hours per week. This restaurant will fit any concept. Excellent location for Italian concept. This restaurant has 2 full service bars and a total of 104 seats.”
  4. Italian Customer Favorite — “This family-owned restaurant has been in business for over 40 years in the center of Arlington. Restaurant has been totally renovated and maintained. Dedicated chef and staff that will remain with new owner, if desired. Equipment has been maintained and is in excellent working order. Seating for approximately 60+, including bar area. Great location in Arlington, VA, with on-site dedicated parking in the back.”
  5. Dry Cleaners for Sale, 1 plant, 1 pick up store — “Prime locations. Well established profitable business. Each 1600sf stores. 1-plant, 1 pick up store. Loyal customers. Owned since 1997 ( 23 years) Reasonable rent. High growth potential in booming market. Pick up store location only using about 60% of space.( could sublease other 40% to tuxedo rental for example ) Right cross street brand new apartment complex going to deliver soon.”
  6. Nail, Hair Salon and Spa — “Well established Spa serving a well-to-do community for 20 years. Grocery anchored shopping center. 11 massage rooms (2 for couples), 9 has water. 3 toilets, 3 showers, 1 sauna, 1 dry spa. Large spa but rent is very reasonable. Membership program, gift card sale available. Most staff will stay.”
  7. Fast Casual Restaurant in Prime Location — “High quality Asian street food concept in a prime location of Arlington VA. Starting a restaurant from scratch can cost you a ton of money and time. This beautifully built out restaurant can be yours at a very low cost. Fully equipped with high end equipment, furniture and fixtures. The current owner is ABSENTEE but does not have the time to watch over the restaurant anymore. With current annual sales averaging around $860,000.”
  8. Dry Cleaning Pickup Store — “This is a dry cleaning / alterations and tailoring landmark location, in the heart of Amazon Territory. In operation for over 30 years, the clientele is loyal, the rent is right and the price even better. The owner is retiring, but will stay on to help if needed.”
  9. Nice Ice Cream business in a high income area — “Unique and Very well established Ice Cream business in a very nice area surrounded by businesses and residentials. VERY high-income area with limited dessert choice. Seller’s initial investment was more than $350K about 1.5 years ago. High End Establishment. Great Reputation. Seller is looking for a experienced and passionate buyer who can utilize this business and location to make a very profitable business.
    Currently, this is a franchise business, but a buyer can keep this or put his/her own concept.”
  10. Coffee Shop in North Arlington — “Established Franchise coffee shop with kitchen located under a hi-rise residence building across the street from a government building and next to well known university in north Arlington. There is an indoor and outdoor seating, High quality relaxing atmosphere to enjoy coffee, paninis and pastries etc.”
  11. Fast Food in Popular Mall Food Court — “Low rent fast food restaurant in Arlington VA. This restaurant is located in a food court of a popular mall. This small restaurant serves sandwiches, Italian dishes and desserts. All furniture, fixtures and equipment are included with the sale of the business. The current owner has decided to start selling off some of his restaurants and semi retire to spend more time with family.”
  12. Japanese Restaurant — “Fast casual Japanese restaurant for sale in Arlington VA. This restaurant currently serves Japanese food and sushi but can be converted to fit most menus/concepts. Located in a shopping center on a very busy road. The current owner is ready to retire.”
  13. Trendy Clothing Boutique — “Trendy and well known and loved women’s clothing boutique. Fully stocked and and clientele of 800+”
  14. Thai or Other Concept Restaurant — “Well-established business (16 years) in top-rated food , excellent location in northern Arlington. can change concept if you wish to. Excellent location on a high traffic road, with favorable lease. Strong base of repeat customers, and experienced staff. Everything is already established for web presence, advertising, social media, and local and business marketing.”
  15. Successful, Well-Established Turn-Key Hair Salon with Nail & Wax Spa — “No expense spared in the Contemporary build out – hair salon recently built out approx. 4 years ago, and the nail / wax spa was just built out last year. Very Modern Design with an excellent layout. The hair salon is built out with a Reception area, 4 stylists stations, Shampoo station, Kitchenette and Restroom. The Nail & Wax Spa on the upper level is built out with 4 Manicure stations, 2 Pedicure Stations, Manicure drying station, Wax / Massage Room, Restroom with shower. Prime North Arlington Location in the affluent, sought-after Cherrydale neighborhood.”
  16. Highly Profitable Used Car Dealership — “Highly Profitable and very prime location auto used car dealership in Arlington for sale. The only used car dealer located in about 5 miles radius. The revenue of this business is strong and steady over the last decades and has an exceptional reputation in the are. The business has been generating over $6 million in sales/revenue on average.”
  17. High income hotpot restaurant — “Hotpot restaurant is a very famous Asian food service, more and more people with different cultures starts to love in the food. The restaurant has more high tech factors to support the business, the customer use Ipad and robot to order the soup base and protein food on site, and other side dish and vegetables are delivered by a conveyer chain. The location is great for the customers who are working, living and traveling in Arlington metro area, so the owner never concerns about the vacant tables. It’s normal situation when customers come in the dinner time, they have to wait 2 hours for a seat.”
  18. High Volume Restaurant & Bar — “Situated in the heart of Arlington, this profitable bar/restaurant provides an incredible opportunity for a restaurant operator to acquire an excellent location complete with all the equipment and top of line furnishings needed for a turn key operation. This restaurant comes with high quality and custom-built furnishings as well as a long-term lease with excellent options for this highly sought after and growing area. This restaurant has a total of 425 seats and over 50 hd tvs.”
  19. Fitness Spin Cycle Center with Two Locations — “Established 7 years this Cycle Fitness Center has 2 locations in the most desirable cities in the US. One location in NYC NY & the second location in Washington DC. Absentee owned & Fully Staffed with management for all the day to day operations. Their certified instructors are all Independent 1099 contractors. Each location has approximately 50 cycles and offer 4-9 classes per day. This cycle fitness center is performance-based & results-driven with optimal speed & resistance combinations available.”
  20. RESTAURANT & BAR Full Kitchen — “Currently open as a Restaurant and Bar. Huge potential for motivated and experienced parties to take over and convert to a Sports bar, Vietnamese, Chinese,Japanese, Italian restaurant, Hookah bar, or Bakery. Located in very busy corner location with a lot of foot traffic.”

See more Arlington listings here.

List: Black-Owned Businesses In Arlington

By Kalina Newman

(Updated on 6/8/20) Peaceful demonstrations are popping up across Arlington County in memory of George Floyd.

Numerous readers have asked ARLnow, and asked on local social media groups and message boards, about black-owned businesses in Arlington.

By popular demand, below are some black-owned restaurants and brick-and-mortar businesses in Arlington you can support during this historic time. (Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all black-owned businesses in the county.)

  • For those looking for a way to shake up their morning Starbucks routine, there’s Ididos Coffee and Social House (1107 S. Walter Reed Drive). Now in the process of acquiring a temporary outdoor seating permit, the cafe offers a variety of coffee and espresso drinks, as well as breakfast pastries, sandwiches, and salads. According to its website, its namesake comes from “the Gedeo area of Yirgacheffee, Ethiopia, a region that is known for producing clean bright washed coffees dominated by citrus flavor.”
  • Not too far away, Dama Pastry & Restaurant (1505 Columbia Pike) is an Ethiopian bakery and restaurant offering everything from cappuccinos to plates of oxtail served with injera bread. Similar to Ididos Coffee, the restaurant is also looking to acquire temporary outdoor seating to get business back to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Just down the Pike, Ethio Cafe (3045 Columbia Pike) serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast dishes include scrambled eggs mixed with tomato, onion, and jalapeno pepper, while dinner includes a variety of vegetarian dishes, such as a combo with yellow split peas, red lentils, beets, collard greens, and more.
  • In Crystal City, Enjera Eritrean Restaurant & Bar (549 23rd Street S.) re-opened in Arlington in 2012 after a two-year closure. Pre-COVID-19, the restaurant featured live music every Friday and Saturday, but its dishes such as sambusa and tibsi are available for takeout on delivery apps such as Grubhub and Uber Eats.
  • And as the weather continues to heat up, those looking for a healthy dessert to cool down can get a scoop of gelato at Amore Congelato (1201 S. Joyce Street), which sweetens its gelato with agave syrup and incorporates fruits and vegetables into its flavors. Before opening the Pentagon Row brick and mortar, Navy veteran and owner Thereasa Black served her gelato at area farmers markets and wineries.
  • Moving away from food, a long-time, black-owned store in Crystal City was previously profiled by ARLnow: Puppet Heaven in the Shops at 1750 Crystal Drive. Owned by puppet master Lucien Alban Odoulamy, the business is the Washington area’s only puppet store and has been open for over two decades.
  • Another business, AA Locksmith Service Co. (3113 10th Street N.) in Clarendon, has been serving the area with professional locksmithing service for over 30 years. Its services range from lock installation and repairs to copying keys and helping locked out neighbors.
  • On Lee Highway, Magnum Opus Hair Salon (4751 Lee Hwy) has been open for three years, offering both men and women’s haircuts. “The Arlington community has been great,” owner Clinton Jones, who previously worked at a hair salon in south Arlington for 9 years before opening Magnum Opus, told ARLnow yesterday. “On Monday, after a crazy weekend of reopening, I had three people sit in my chair who were on their way to go protest after getting their hair cut. It really made me feel good that people were showing up to support our causes in my own neighborhood, causes they might not even be affected by in their lifetimes.”
  • Also on Lee Highway, the proudly “old school” Moore’s Barber Shop (4807 Lee Highway) has reopened and is offering haircuts by appointment only. Moore’s “is a family friendly shop that’s been in business for over 50 years.”
  • Wayne Cutz, a barbershop in the Green Valley neighborhood at 2112 Shirlington Road.

Some other black-owned businesses, as submitted to us by readers:

Know of any other black-owned restaurants and stores in Arlington that we should feature here? Email us. Want to give a shout out to a local service provider or any other type of black-owned business? Please do so in the comments.

Photo via Dama Restaurant/Facebook

College Students Launch Glass Recycling Service in Arlington

By Vernon Miles

While Arlington is celebrating a new high in drop-off glass recycling, after discontinuing the recycling of glass collected curbside, a pair of local brothers have set up their own business to fill a gap in the market.

In a local Facebook group, Joe Core said he and his brother — both college students — would pick up glass from people’s homes to take it to one of Arlington’s drop-off glass recycling bins for $7. The service is contact-free, reducing the risk of spreading disease through in-person contact.

“The idea came about as my brother and I began to recycle our own family’s glass at Quincy Park and realized it was easy for us to drive just down the street and do it,” Core said, “but for many people it may be something they wouldn’t want to go out of their way to do but rather pay someone else to do.”

Core and his brother are hoping to make some extra money during the pandemic while filling a community need.

“The transition from an idea to business occurred when my brother and I realized how boring quarantine could be and that we should use our time to make money rather than just sitting around,” Core said. “From then we put out advertisements and reached out to family friends to get our business going.”

The services can be booked online, by calling 703-517-9031 or through email at [email protected]

So far, Core said business has been decentm with a decent base of regular customers. There hasn’t been any feedback from the county so far about the business, he said.

“We haven’t gotten a response from the county yet but we have been active users of the glass recycling centers and are thankful for the centers which give us a place to recycle,” Core said.

The brothers typically do two or three pickups a day, according to Core, and it’s usually a plastic storage bin worth of glass, but sometimes it’s two or three containers per customer.

“At this point, we’ve kind of hit a plateau in terms of acquiring new customers, but are trying to figure out new ways to advertise our services,” Core said. “We are also looking into building relationships with apartment complexes to do larger community pickups.”

Image via Arlington County

Biz Talk: Saluting Arlington Business Associations

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This article was written by Sindy Yeh, Senior Business Ambassador for Arlington Economic Development.

In the unprecedented time of COVID-19, people are recognizing the sacrifices and dedication of frontline workers in the healthcare industry, public safety and emergency management.

These essential workers are embraced worldwide as true heroes in the public battle to withstand the dangers of this virus and have been venerated for their tireless effort and service to the community.

Arlington is unique in having many business and trade associations whose members are deemed essential and are on the frontlines of the pandemic. These members are located throughout the entire country and even overseas. The associations serve their members by providing advocacy, education, professional development, resources and member best practices. They advocate for members at the federal, state and local levels, and oftentimes their recommended policies have national implications. Arlington salutes these organizations and their members for their service.

The supermarket industry has been one of the most critically important sectors during the pandemic. With thousands of restaurants being forced to close, grocery stores have remained open to ensure food and essentials are available to homes around the country. Grocery workers labor long hours to make certain that store shelves are stocked and facilities are sanitized; and these days, their job includes enforcing social distancing rules.

Two national associations headquartered in Arlington represent the food distribution industry. Ballston-based National Grocers Association represents independent, privately-owned stores; and the Food Marketing Institute, headquartered in Crystal City, includes members from grocery stores to producers who supply the food. Their members are part of the nation’s critical infrastructure during the pandemic, and without a doubt, they have risen to the occasion.

Another organization whose members are on the front lines of the pandemic is the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Headquartered in Ballston, ATA is the largest national trade association representing the trucking industry with more than 37,000 members and affiliates in all 50 states. ATA members continue to haul billions of tons of freight across the country, helping drive the nation’s economy.

Pharmacists throughout the country also play a pivotal role in this crisis. They are adapting to social distancing guidelines while still making sure that every patient has the medication he or she needs. Courthouse-based National Association of Chain Drug Stores represents traditional drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies. Chains operate nearly 40,000 pharmacies across the country.

With the recent federal guidelines allowing pharmacists to order and administer tests for COVID-19, pharmacists are at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic.

One of the professions that most exemplifies dedication and sacrifice in the face of COVID-19 is the healthcare industry. People around the world applaud health care workers’ unparalleled bravery, compassion and commitment to their profession. In normal times, nurses provide medical advice and care for their patients.

Now, nurses have to suit up each day just to go to work, often times putting their own health in peril, in order to care for their patients. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners. AANP’s government affairs office operates out of Crystal City, advocating for policies and legislation that serve AANP’s 107,000 members nationwide.

We appreciate the work these and are many other associations are doing, and we are honored they chose Arlington to call home.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Business Concerns About Mask Mandate — “Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol says she’s heard concerns from businesses owners about enforcing the mask policy. ‘We’ve definitely heard from some grocers and some others that they don’t want to be in the business of enforcing and I think you’ve seen, nationally, examples of altercations between grocery employees and individuals who don’t want to wear masks and get belligerent about it,’ Cristol said.” [NBC 4]

More Local COVID Grants — “The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia has approved $280,000 in Round 4 grants from its COVID-19 Response Fund for Northern Virginia to five organizations, including ALIVE!, Arlington Thrive, CASA de Virginia, and Northern Virginia Family Service.” [InsideNova]

Interview with Gillian Burgess — “Why hasn’t Arlington closed some streets to cars, to make more room for pedestrians and cyclists? What can be done about overcrowded trails? Should the Arlington Way move mostly online? Those are a few of the things we discussed tonight with Gillian Burgess, a local civic leader and cycling advocate.” [Facebook, Apple Podcasts]

Photo courtesy James Mahony

Local Gentlemen’s Club Reopening Friday, Sans Dancers

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) On Friday, as Northern Virginia reopens, local gentlemen’s club Crystal City Restaurant will be just what its understated name suggests: a restaurant.

CCR, as the club is known, is planning to open a new, 17’x24′ outdoor seating area recently constructed in its front parking lot. There will be six tables, 24 chairs and no dancers.

The long-time establishment along 23rd Street S., just west of Route 1, reopened for carryout on Friday, May 22, and will now — during Phase 1 of the reopening — serve its reasonably-priced prime rib, as well as beer and wine, to outdoor diners.

Owner Billy Bayne tells ARLnow that he’s eager to “get back in the groove, get my people back, try to get back to work.” CCR, he said, will as always offer “good food, good service, clean facilities.”

Bayne describes the gentlemen’s club as “a neighborhood restaurant, with dancers.” The dancers, however, will have to wait until the Commonwealth moves to a new reopening phase that allows indoor restaurant seating. Still, reopening even in a small way will help alleviate some of the pain of the shutdown.

“Everybody needs to open their doors, or they’re done,” said Bayne.

As for the potential name change to “National Landing Strip,” in honor of the area’s new identity, Bayne said that will also have to wait.

“Right now, I’m worried about survival of my business, about getting my kids through college,” he said. “I’m not worried about a name change.”

In addition to a two month closure, Crystal City Restaurant — and other nearby eateries — will be dealing with the coronavirus fallout for months to come. Crystal City is usually chock full of office workers, hotel guests and conference-goers. Now the offices are largely empty, with employees working from home, and hotels that would usually be 90% full are 20% full. Conferences have been cancelled through the end of the year and Rolling Thunder, which would have rolled into Crystal City this past weekend, was instead held virtually.

Bayne maintains his prediction that some 30% of restaurants will ultimately go out of business due to the pandemic. He said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from customers, even though business is way down.

“Restaurants are in dire straits,” he said. “We appreciate everyone out there who has come out and ordered from the local restaurants and helped us.”

As co-owner of the nearby Crystal City Sports Pub, Bayne said he’s also grateful to two individuals in particular: Freddie’s Beach Bar owner Freddie Lutz and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

During the spring, the Sports Pub would normally have been packed with nearly 500 paying customers during the NCAA basketball tournament and other high-profile sporting events. Instead, it’s doing only 10-20% of its usual revenue through takeout.

Freddie, Bayne said, helped give the pub a boost when he received a large takeout order from Amazon, for distribution to local first responders and Virginia Hospital Center, and then distributed large chunks of the order to other restaurants along 23rd Street S.

Bezos is “a class act for trying to help Crystal City… and the little local small businesses,” Bayne said, adding the Lutz is likewise to be commended for his generosity toward fellow local businesses.

Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington Auctioning Off Furnishings, Equipment

By ARLnow.com

The future of Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington is in doubt, with most of its equipment and furnishings listed on a commercial auction website.

Everything from light fixtures to kitchen equipment to trash cans are on the auction block. The auction website says the restaurant, which is not named but is clearly Cafe Pizzaiolo in photos, “is closing and will make a liquidation.” The auction closes on Wednesday, June 3.

Still, it’s unclear whether this will mean a permanent or a temporary closure for the pizzeria at 2800 S. Randolph Street, which has a sister location nearby on Fern Street in Alexandria. The latter remains open for delivery and takeout.

“Is Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington closing for good or just moving/downsizing?” asked a tipster who sent a link to the Rasmus Auctions site.

Owner Larry Ponzi tells ARLnow that no decision has been reached quite yet.

“The pandemic has caused us to pivot and rethink all of our businesses,” he said. “We have not made any final decisions about [what] our business in Shirlington will look like/function as when the time is right. We are using the time to strip down, clean, and rethink what the future of the business may be.”

Ponzi and wife Christine own Cafe Pizzaiolo, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub, Market to Market, and the future replacement of Catch on the Ave — all in Alexandria.

Adagio Ballet on Lee Highway to Close

By Vernon Miles
1/2

After attempting to pivot to online classes during the pandemic, the Adagio Ballet School of Dance at 4720 Lee Highway is closing.

“With regret, Adagio Ballet, Inc. is closing after 16 years,” the school said in an email, which was forwarded to ARLnow. “This is an extremely sad time for us, because we consider our instructors, staff, students and students’ families to be our family and will greatly miss them.”

The school has two locations, one on Lee Highway and one in McLean. It first switched to online classes on March 16.

Adagio Ballet said restrictions on size of groups and the stay at home order made it impossible to continue holding classes in the studio and began to dramatically reduce the school’s income while expenses remained the same.

“Unfortunately, our Board of Directors has come to the decision that the laws currently in place and the uncertainty of what is to come, leave us no other option but to close,” the school said. “We have adopted a plan that is in accordance with state law for businesses that are closing. Under that plan, we will finish the current online classes through June 20, 2020.”

For classes that have not started, the school said they will try to offer full refunds, though those enrolled in the program could also donate the program fees to support the school teachers and staff.

“To make a donation, send us an email authorizing us to apply your class fees,” Adagio Ballet said. “All donations received will be used to pay Adagio Ballet, Inc.’s teachers and staff, and to continue health insurance for them… The realities of this novel virus, and the laws that have been imposed, leave us no choice but to close our doors.”

Photos via Google Maps, Adagio Ballet School of Dance/Facebook

Poke Restaurant in Rosslyn Has Closed, Perhaps Permanently

By ARLnow.com
1/4

It’s not a great time to own a restaurant, particularly one that depends on masses of office workers crowding into a small space.

Amid the pandemic, Poke Bar in Rosslyn appears to have closed for good. The two-year-old, assembly line-style eatery on N. Lynn Street was empty this morning, with the furnishings gone.

There was no sign announcing a closure, however, and the location is still listed — albeit without a phone number — on the Poke Bar website.

It’s the latest apparent restaurant casualty in Arlington, with more expected as coronavirus takes a big toll on the industry. Others include Boston Market on Columbia Pike and Champps in Pentagon City, both of which have permanently shuttered before an expected reopening of the region gets underway.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Ballston Macy’s Property for Sale — “The Macy’s department store in Ballston is being offered for sale and possible redevelopment as the national retailer moves forward with plans to close underperforming locations across the country. Cushman & Wakefield recently began marketing the store at 685-701 N. Glebe Road to buyers on the company’s behalf.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Firms in Fortune List — Five Arlington-based companies are in the latest Fortune 1000 list of the largest companies in the U.S., including: AES (#310), CACI International (#549), E*Trade Financial (#755), Graham Holdings (#795) and AvalonBay Communities (#912). Amazon, which is building its second headquarters in Arlington, is #2. [Fortune]

More Millions for Snag — “Snag Holdings Inc., the Arlington parent company of hourly jobs board Snag, has raised $8 million in new funding, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing… The company had raised about $10 million in debt funding in February 2019 and has raised a total of about $141 million over its lifetime.” [Washington Business Journal]

Synetic Pivots to Plague Play — “Synetic Theater’s final production of the 2019-20 season will feature a work that may be more than 650 years old, but has a certain resonance in the modern day… Written in Italy in response to The Black Plague of 1347-51, ‘The Decameron’ is structured as a collection of 100 tales told by a group of young people sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the pandemic.” [InsideNova]

Pentagon Officer Back Home After COVID Battle — “Patrick Bright is one of the most grateful people in the D.C. region tonight. He’s home from the hospital after a grueling six weeks fighting COVID-19… ​​​​​​​Friday’s homecoming was enough to inspire a hearty greeting from a convoy of Pentagon police officers who welcomed Bright — one of their own — home.” [Fox 5]

Emergency Power Proclamation Modified — “County Board members this week are expected to adopt an updated proclamation of a community emergency.” The new proclamation removes “a provision that potentially would have shunted aside the county government’s Long Range Planning Committee and various review committees that consider the implications of new development.” [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by Mrs. Gemstone

BizTalk: Arlington Companies Join Fight Against COVID-19

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This article was written by Sindy Yeh, Senior Business Ambassador for Arlington Economic Development.

May is Business Appreciation Month, and now more than ever, it seems appropriate to highlight and thank the many Arlington businesses that are making our community and the world a better place in the wake of COVID-19.

From diligently working to stop the spread of the virus to providing online tools to mitigate disruptions, Arlington companies are leveraging their knowledge and technology platforms to make a difference during this unprecedented time.

Stopping the Spread of the Virus

For decades, DARPA has been at the forefront of research and investment in innovation. Accordingly, DARPA is funding multiple projects to combat the virus. Currently, scientists are working to design a new COVID-19 blood-based test that could identify carriers before they become infectious, as well as an antibody treatment to combat the virus until a vaccine is ready.

As experts warn of a second coronavirus wave in the fall, DARPA is partnering with pharmaceutical companies and universities to develop treatments quickly.

Zansors, an Arlington-based health analytics startup, is normally marketing its wearable sensors. Recognizing the increased demand for face masks, Zansors redirected its efforts to focus on its washable face covering masks.

One of its masks, the Micro-Shield, has recently been authorized by the FDA for use by health care personnel and the general public as a source control to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection and illness. Baabi Das, co-founder of Zansors, states that the Micro-Shield face masks have gained traction and are now used by the U.S. Army and Air Force warfighters.

Blue Raster, Courthouse based web mapping company, has been assisting government agencies by providing COVID tracking dashboards over the past month. For the states of Virginia and Nevada, the company built a geospatially focused platform providing county level data on active COVID cases and fatalities, as well as number of beds in hospitals. This allows state officials to view and assess the current situation, guiding informed decision-making.

Providing Virtual Learning Tools

School administrators and educators have been grappling with the challenges associated with school closures and delivering a remote learning curriculum. Several of Arlington’s leading education technology companies have offered online tools to improve the at-home learning process.

Hobsons, based in Clarendon, focuses on connecting students to opportunities in education. Its college and career readiness software offers academic planning, career exploration and college prep tools for high schools, including Arlington Public Schools. Pivoting to serve students who are now at home, Hobsons has created instruction guides designed to help students navigate its education platforms on their own reducing support required by school staff.

Rosetta Stone, a pioneer in language learning, has recently provided all K-12 customers with an unlimited license to its literacy products in response to COVID. Schools that have purchased digital reading and literacy tools can now extend their software license to all students.

Brazen hosts a virtual career fair platform allowing universities to host job fairs online. In April, Brazen offered Marymount University the opportunity to use its platform free of charge to connect companies with Marymount students looking for internships.

More than 85 students registered to meet with 15 companies. As Ed Barrientos, CEO of Brazen, commented, “Brazen is in a lucky position of having technology that helps organizations bring their events online, so demand is high right now. We are pleased to donate the use of the platform to Marymount, our Arlington neighbor.”

(more…)

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