local business

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Small Biz Grant Application Now Open — “The Arlington Small Business Emergency GRANT (Giving Resiliency Assets Near Term) Program, designed to provide immediate financial assistance to Arlington’s small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now open for applications.” [Arlington County]

Why Your Pizza Is Not Going Ham — The national meat shortage has led Domino’s Pizza to cut down on the availability of some toppings, including in Arlington. “Due to the current uncertainty in the market for meats, we are limiting the amount of ham we are delivering to our stores,” the company told one local resident. [@craigcolgan/Twitter]

Kids Don Costumes in Support of Masks — “Kids roaming my neighborhood dressed as a hotdog and a bun, with a placard: ‘DON’T BE A WEENIE, WEAR A MASK.’ Lots of people in the D.C. area I’ve observed this week going in and out of stores, playing basketball and mingling on the National Mall are not masking up.” [@meekwire/Twitter]

Police Investigate Robbery in Rosslyn — “Two suspects entered a business and began selecting merchandise. An employee of the business recognized one of the suspects and confronted him as he attempted to exit the business in possession of merchandise that had not been paid for. The suspect shoved the victim, causing her to fall, and both suspects fled in a vehicle driven by a third subject prior to police arrival.” [Arlington County]

Teachers Endorse Diaz-Torres — “The Arlington Education Association Political Action Committee (AEA-PAC) recently announced its endorsement of Cristina Diaz-Torres, a teacher and education policy specialist, in the Arlington Public School Board Democratic Caucus.” [Press Release]

Police Looking for W&OD Trail Creeper — “City of Falls Church Police received a report about a man following a woman in a suspicious manner on Monday, May 4, at about 3:10 p.m. He followed the woman on the W&OD trail then continued to follow her into a neighborhood. The woman was not harmed.” [City of Falls Church]

Lee Highway Pharmacy Homebrewing Hand Sanitizer and Buying Kabobs for the Hospital

By Vernon Miles
1/3

An Arlington pharmacy and a neighboring kabob restaurant have partnered to help feed hospital workers.

Preston’s Pharmacy (5101 Lee Highway) sits directly across the street from Arlington Kabob (5046 Lee Highway). While business during the pandemic has been active at Preston’s, an essential business, pharmacy owner Frank Odeh said he could tell it’s been hard on Arlington Kabob.

“They’re a small business struggling during COVID-19,” Odeh said. “We decided to work with them. They would supply the food, we’re trying to give them some business and exposure. The owner, Susan, is an entrepreneur and a hard worker. We’re working with them and working with [Virginia Hospital Center] every week, picking a different department. Last week it was the ICU, next week it’s the emergency department.”

Odeh said that while the pharmacy is paying for the food to help keep Arlington Kabob in business, the kabob restaurant has been giving them a significant discount.

Preston’s Pharmacy has remained open, but Odeh admitted that business is still slower than it normally is.

“Business is down, although we’re fortunate not having to lay off or furlough any employees,” Odeh said. “It’s down, but because we’re a pharmacy, people still need chronic medication. People like those who are HIV positive, or diabetics, still need their medicine.”

Odeh said the decline has been in acute business, like treatment for smaller issues that Odeh said are likely overlooked during the pandemic, with many doctor’s offices closed down, social distancing cutting down on colds and flu, and hospitals focused on COVID-19.

Hand sanitizer, on the other hand, has been flying off the shelves so quickly that Preston’s Pharmacy has started making their own.

“We have a lab in the pharmacy and we’re able to produce hand sanitizer,” Odeh said. “We’re selling that and donating a portion of that [to local senior centers].”

Odeh said the mixture is 70% alcohol, which they buy in bulk from different vendors and can be hard to come by, mixed with methocel to give it a thickness.

“It’s relatively new for us,” Odeh said. “In the past, we haven’t needed to because it’s been available from manufacturers like Purell, but because of COVID-19 it has become in very short supply. We’ve ordered bottles and labels. It looks like a professionally made product.”

Odeh said the state board, CDC and FDA have all given them the green light to compound in bulk, a process that’s been fast-tracked due to COVID-19.

The other big seller, Odeh said, has been vitamins.

“[We] sold out on things like Vitamin C and elderberry,” Odeh said. “Vitamin sales have gone through the room. Vitamin D, C and elderberry have immune-boosting properties. People are following trends. There was a study recently about using Pepcid and ulcer medication [to fight coronavirus] and we sold out of that.”

To keep customers and employees safe, Odeh said everyone in the store wears masks and there are plexiglass shields at the registers. Customers are routed through the pharmacy along arrows on the floor and asked to stay six feet apart.

Photos courtesy Preston’s Pharmacy

Coronavirus Closes Saffron Dance Studio Near Clarendon

By Vernon Miles

The show has ended Saffron Dance, a belly dance studio at 3260 Wilson Blvd in the Clarendon area, at least for now.

Founder and owner Saphira the studio said in an email that it would be going “on a hiatus” at the end of its current semester. After the last classes on June 7, Saphira said the studio’s leadership will take the summer months to consider their future.

In April, Saffron Dance closed the dance studio it operated from since 2007.

https://www.facebook.com/saffrondance/posts/10157460439686731

“When you become your own ally and your own best resource, it’s really hard for life to beat you down,” Saphira said. “I am so incredibly proud of the fight we’ve put up against COVID-19. Our staff, faculty, and students have barely skipped a beat during this major disruption to our lives.”

Saphira said she and the others running Saffron Dance did everything they could to to keep going, but it wasn’t enough.

Here are just some of the things we’ve done in the past few weeks to defend our community:

  • We applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance. Like so many businesses, we’ve heard nothing in reply.
  • As independent contractors, our staff has applied for relief under the Paycheck Protection Program. Again, they’ve heard nothing in reply.
  • We’re waiting for applications for the Arlington Small Business Emergency GRANT Program to go live, so we can pursue that avenue as well.
  • In sum, we’ve done everything we can and have been frustrated at every turn.

Several members of the core staff are planning to move on to different careers, according to the email, from farming to interior design. Several said that the last few weeks of managing dance classes remotely were some of the most stressful times of their life.

“That weekend was one of the most difficult 48 hours of my life,” said Jenna Shear, artistic director of the program. “It was the start of a new semester. I had new staff to onboard, and I had no idea how I was going to pull the whole thing off.”

Shear said it was the support and encouragement of her students in the program who helped get her through the stress of the pandemic, but afterward, she’s ready to step down as artistic director and step away from teaching.

“Since COVID-19 reared its ugly head, I have had lots of time to think about what Saffron means to me,” said Linda, the Saffron Dance studio manager. “Obviously, it has brought me the joy of dance. It has exposed me to a group of women that I couldn’t imagine my life without. It has taught me a lot about who I am and what I am capable of in a professional capacity. Most of all, when I think about what Saffron has done for me, I keep coming back to the idea that Saffron has allowed me to be me.”

Photo via Saffron Dance/Facebook

Governor: Easing of Business Closures May Be in Sight

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) You might be able to get a haircut in Virginia by mid-month.

Gov. Ralph Northam held a press conference this afternoon in which he announced that “Phase 1” of the Commonwealth’s easing of restrictions is likely to start on Friday, May 15 — in about a week and a half. In the meantime, Northam extended the closure of non-essential businesses through May 14, and said his stay-at-home order will become a “safer at home” recommendation.

Coronavirus cases in the state continue to rise, but Northam said that the worst has been averted.

“Everyone in Virginia made sacrifices, but everything you have done has truly made a difference,” he said. Virginia has “flattened the curve, hospitals have not been overwhelmed… [and] now we can start to move into a new phase of our response.”

Phase 1 of the state’s reopening would see businesses open with additional cleaning, safety precautions and social distancing. Virginia will be publishing guidelines for industries like restaurants, retail, fitness, personal care and grooming, and entertainment, Northam said.

“You’ll be able to get your hair cut, but you’ll need an appointment and will see new safety measures,” said the governor. “Restaurants will spread people out, employees will wear face coverings and do more cleanings.”

The gradual reopening — there will be three phases, each expected to last around three weeks — does not mean that the coast is clear, Northam said.

“This virus is still here, it has not gone away and it will not go away until we have a vaccination, and that may be hopefully at the end of this year, or another year or two,” he said. “All of our efforts have slowed the spread, but it has not cured the disease.”

“Even when we ease some restrictions, we must continue to behave more cautiously than before. We must not relax our vigilance or think that the risk has passed,” Northam continued, encouraging continued social distancing and the use of face coverings while out and about.

“You’ll still be safer at home,” Northam added. “Large gatherings are a bad idea.”

The May 15 date is not set in stone, the governor said, and could get pushed back if the state data does not show a sustained improvement in data points like the test positivity rate and hospitalizations.

Northam said the continuation of his executive order “gives us an additional two weeks to watch the data and determine if we are meeting the metrics we need to see to enter Phase 1.”

More from the governor’s office:

Governor Ralph Northam outlined a three-phase plan to ease restrictions on businesses and gatherings, when health data supports doing so.

Governor Northam said he will extend key provisions of Executive Order 53, which places restrictions on businesses and gatherings of more than 10 people, at least through next Thursday, May 14, at midnight. The Northam administration will continue to monitor health data to ensure that trends of positive cases are going downward, that hospital capacity remains steady, that testing is increased, and that hospitals and medical facilities have necessary supplies of PPE. For more information on key metrics, please see here.

Phase I of easing restrictions would continue social distancing, teleworking, recommendations that people wear face coverings in public, and the ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people. It would ease some limits on business and faith communities, and would transition the stay at home directive to a “safer at home” guideline, especially for those in vulnerable populations.

It is expected that Phase I would last two to four weeks, as would the two subsequent phases, depending on health metrics.

More specific guidance on each phase will be available in the coming days. Slides from the Governor’s briefing are available here.

Scoop: Nicecream to Reopen in Clarendon Tomorrow

By Vernon Miles

For Sandra Tran, preparing for tomorrow’s reopening of Nicecream in Clarendon feels like a jump back in time to seven years ago.

Nicecream, a handcrafted ice cream shop with four locations across Northern Virginia and D.C., is reopening its Clarendon (2831 Clarendon Blvd) and Shaw locations on Friday with ice cream scoops and pints to go. Featured flavors are planned to include honey lavender, salted caramel, Nutella, cold brew coffee, bananas and cream, and wild blueberry.

Tran and husband Gil Welsford say they plan to open with a “closed-door” style of service. A menu will be mounted outside the restaurant and customers can order and pay from their phones while workers inside make the ice cream. The items will then be placed out on a pick-up table, with no customers or delivery drivers allowed inside.

“It’s pretty enlivening,” Tran said. “I don’t know how other business owners feel, but it feels like we’re building it over again.”

Tran said this was the way it was seven years ago when she and Welsford started Nicecream. They were running around getting signs, figuring out how to put them up on the walls, handling small deliveries and tackling other tasks of that nature.

“We were meeting delivery drivers at the store because there was no one there to meet them,” Tran said. “It reminds me of the beginning again.”

With that, Tran said there’s a resourcefulness that comes with being a new business that gets lost over time as systems become routine.

“You develop new experiences as you become more seasoned, but you lose some of that scrappiness,” Tran said. “You create systems and operations to make everything more efficient. But when you’re starting like this, it’s like ‘who is the cheapest guy I can get to print this?’ It’s running around to figure out who is even open. It’s remembering how to be scrappy.”

That isn’t to say it hasn’t been tough for Welsford and Tran. Over the last few months, they had to lay off their entire staff, starting with eliminating their own pay, then to seasonal workers and full-time staff. Tran said they’ve worked to get proper resources for unemployment to their staff, but some of the seasonal workers are stuck without the full-year of employment history to help file for aid.

(more…)

Westover Store Adapting to Social Distancing While Supporting International Artisans

By Vernon Miles

For Lisa Ostroff, owner of Trade Roots, asking for help is a delicate thing.

While there are countless other residents and businesses in Arlington that need assistance, Ostroff is in the uncomfortable position of asking locals to consider helping tradespeople and artisans at far-flung parts of the world who lack the support of America’s admittedly porous safety net.

Ostroff’s store, Trade Roots, brings all sorts of fair trade international goods to Westover at 5852 Washington Blvd. Items range from stationery to jewelry to wine.

“It’s hard because right now people are thinking ‘I don’t need to support Peruvians, I need to support people in Manhattan,'” Ostroff said. “But when this is said and done, we need to think about the people in other countries, too.”

Ostroff said some larger companies canceled orders to foreign countries after the products had already been made, leaving goods and supplies normally welcome in the United States to pile up, disused, and the workers that crafted them left without any pay.

“That’s what companies do,” Ostroff said. “That’s not what happens with fair trade. In the whole supply chain, everybody looks out for the next guy. People I placed some orders with in January called and said ‘don’t worry, [the products] are being held here, but the artists are being paid.’ You take care of people because they take care of us.”

But Ostroff said she hasn’t been able to put in new orders

“I can’t really afford to be placing orders right now,” Ostroff said. “We’re busy selling what we have in stock. And some people I have ordered from, like those in Nepal, nothing is coming in or out because it’s landlocked.”

The store closed early in the pandemic, on March 8, but has since reopened for phone orders and Facetime shopping from 1-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Ostroff said she was lucky that the store had a decent online presence before the pandemic; the website has since been expanded with options like ordering beer and wine online.

“Fortunately had the bones of a website in place,” Ostroff said. “We’ve been very busy adding, adding, adding to the website. A lot of people are using it. They’ve relaxed some of the rules so I’ve been selling wine to go, which I couldn’t do before.”

In the meantime, Ostroff said her store is getting through the pandemic partially by remembering what life is like for the workers they’re trying to buy from and support.

“There is a little bit of a safety net here, but in these other countries, there is no safety net at all,” Ostroff said. “They’re already living hand to mouth with no savings. It’s a lot harder. I put in a newsletter a video from Peru where they have to shelter in place and there’s a worker sheltering at their workshop with no water and no electricity to keep working.

“Our economy is in shambles but we will get back in a year or two,” she added. Workers in the developing world, however, “live like this all the time.”

Photo via Trade Roots/Facebook

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Board Defends COVID-19 Response — “Arlington leaders continue to push back against accusations they could be doing more to address the COVID-19 crisis within the county’s 26 square miles. A number of civic-activists used the public-comment period of the County Board’s April 25 meeting (held ‘virtually’ after the government received state authority to do so) to rap officials for not imposing more aggressive regulation of daily life.” [InsideNova]

More Contributions for Small Biz Grant Fund — “The Arlington County Industrial Development Authority has joined Arlington Economic Development’s (AED) efforts to help small businesses… [The authority] approved a contribution of $326,000 of its own funding. Together with the $674,000 of funding from the County, and the recently announced contributions of $100,000 each by the Crystal City and Rosslyn Business Improvement Districts, total GRANT program funding has reached $1.2 million.” [Arlington County, Rosslyn BID]

Ballston Hotel Donates Rooms to Healthcare Workers — “The Ballston BID is collaborating with local organizations to coordinate free accommodations at the Holiday Inn Arlington at Ballston for essential healthcare workers in the community. Chesapeake Hospitality, which manages the Ballston-based Holiday Inn on North Fairfax, is donating a complimentary block of 50 rooms per day… to frontline medical staff, their families, and those most vulnerable within the community.” [Press Release]

Arlington Gets Okay Social Distancing Marks — “Falls Church has a C+, Fairfax County has a C and Arlington gets a B- in social distancing grades from @Unacast. Virginia’s grade is D- and the U.S. as a whole gets a D+.” [Falls Church News-Press, Twitter]

New Deputy Chief for ACPD — “Arlington County Police Chief M. Jay Farr is pleased to announce the appointment of Captain Adrienne Quigley to the position of Deputy Chief of Police, effective Sunday, May 10, 2020. Deputy Chief Quigley will assume command of the Systems Management Division at a later date.” [Arlington County]

Historic Home and Huge Lot Not for Sale, Yet — “Long coveted by developers and planners for schools and parks, the home built just after the Civil War has stirred interest since the death in 2017 of owner Randy Rouse, the homebuilder and equestrian. But his widow still lives in the home. And this week, it appears that some speculation on marketing the house was premature, the chances that the county could purchase it almost nil.” [Falls Church News-Press]

COVID Case Shuts Down Credit Union Branch — “The Arlington Community Federal Credit Union is closing one of their branches after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the credit union announced Monday morning.” [Patch]

Bankruptcy for Hair Cuttery, Bubbles — “Ratner Cos., the Vienna-based parent company of hair salon chains including the Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Cielo, has filed for bankruptcy protection after closing more than 80 locations across the country in March. The company and related entities, including Creative Hairdressers Inc., filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.” [Washington Business Journal]

Flickr pool photo by Lisa Novak

JUST IN: Two Charged With Smoke Shop Break-in That Led to Shooting

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police have charged two juvenile suspects in connection with an alleged burglary in Green Valley that drew national media attention.

Police say the two juveniles broke into the store —  the Arlington Smoke Shop at 2428 Shirlington Road — early on a Sunday morning in late March and were in the process of stealing items when an employee emerged from a backroom with a gun and opened fire.

One of the suspects was shot “point blank in the back,” and the shooting was caught on video surveillance, prosecutors said. The employee, 33-year-old Hamzeh Abushariah, is now facing serious charges including Malicious Wounding. Gun rights advocates have taken up his cause, which has received national attention on Fox News and other, mostly conservative-leaning media outlets.

While Abushariah’s case is pending, police today announced that two of the alleged burglars are also now facing a slew of charges.

“Charges have been sought against two juvenile suspects related to the breaking and entering which occurred on March 29,” ACPD said. “The suspects have been charged with Burglary, Attempted Grand Larceny, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny and Destruction of Property. In accordance with Virginia law, their identities are not releasable.”

An investigation into the role of a third suspect — who has not yet been charged — “is ongoing,” police said.

The individual who was shot was one of the two suspects facing charges, Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. That suspect “remains in a medical facility,” she said.

Photo via Google

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Blind Triplets Have Coronavirus — “The blind Virginia triplets who defied the odds and made history when they became Eagle Scouts in 2017 are facing another challenge. All three young men have now been diagnosed with COVID-19 and their father is praying they continue to beat the odds.” [WUSA 9]

Wakefield Seniors to Get Yard Signs, Too — “Through donations from teachers, alumni, and community members, every senior gets a yard sign!” [Twitter]

New Food Drop-off Boxes in Ballston — “FLARE, an electric shuttle service, has partnered with the Ballston Business Improvement District to collect and deliver food donations for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) every Friday beginning on April 24.” [Press Release]

CPRO Hosting Biz Listening Session This AM — “Our speakers will discuss the challenges local small businesses are facing as well as the opportunities that have arisen and the resources available to assist our business community, including financial assistance.” [Zoom]

Civ Fed Backs Crystal City Growth Plan — “Delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation on April 21 agreed to support efforts by three civic associations adjacent to Amazon’s new HQ2 in providing a road map for handling growth in the corridor. The resolution, which garnered support from more than 80 percent of voting delegates during an online meeting, puts the Civic Federation behind the ‘Livability 22202’ action plan.” [InsideNova]

Beyer Wants Help for State, Local Gov’ts — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), during House Floor debate on the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, urged his colleagues to send urgently-needed federal aid to state and local governments on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Press Release, Twitter]

Clarendon Cafe Delivers Coffee to First Responders — “A Turkish small business owner is giving free coffee to health care workers and first responders fighting the coronavirus in the US state of Virginia. East West Coffee Wine, which has been opened in Arlington County since 2017, says it is now time to give back to those ‘who are tirelessly working to protect us.'” [Anadolu Agency]

Video: Talking Small Biz with Scott Parker — “ARLnow talked with Scott Parker — of Don Tito, BASH Boxing, Bearded Goat Barber and other local businesses — about the state of local business in Arlington during the coronavirus pandemic.” [Facebook]

Local Restaurant Group to Deliver ‘Happy Endings’

By ARLnow.com
1/3

The group behind Chasin’ Tails in East Falls Church and Happy Endings Eatery, a new Asian food hall in Rosslyn, has launched a new delivery service.

The company, Happy Endings Hospitality (HEH), says it launched “a virtual eatery featuring Vietnamese and Cajun comfort food,” calling the new service “Operation Deliver Happiness.”

“The new integrated menu features the most popular dishes from all eight [HEH] concepts since 2012,” the company said in a press release, noting that “they have greatly expanded their delivery areas to cover the majority of the metropolitan area.”

HEH says it was forced to lay off 208 employees and close all six of its restaurants in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak. The new initiative allows them to re-hire some of the staff back, while helping those that were laid off.

“Sensing that food delivery and take out would soon become the norm, the team quickly mobilized and constructed a new menu with the help of volunteers from their staff,” said the press release. “They devised a plan which they named Operation Deliver Happiness whose mission is to safely deliver delicious food to guests while saving staff jobs and providing financial and food relief for their staff and the DMV community… Profits from Operation Deliver Happiness are used to support their recently laid off staff and those facing food insecurity in the DMV community.”

David Dang, a member of the family that owns the burgeoning restaurant group, said in an email to ARLnow they’ve been giving free meals to laid off staff members and donating to local food banks, all while launching the new “virtual eatery,” expanding its delivery area and trying to stay afloat.

The menu features “Boil in a Bag: Snow Crab Legs and the Sriracha Honey Jumbo Shrimp from Chasin’ Tails, 18-Hour Pho and Eggs Rated Banh Mi from Roll Play and Pistachio Milk Tea from Teas’n You and Classic Shoyu Tuna Poke Nachos from Lei’d,” among other popular items, along with a new Caramelized Pork Belly Mac & Cheese.

Orders for pickup and delivery can be placed online. Locally, the deliveries — free for orders over $50 — will originate from HEH’s locations in Rosslyn and Tysons.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Country Club Files Layoff Notice — Arlington’s Washington Golf and Country Club has filed a WARN Act notice of potential layoffs. The club said it may lay off up to 188 employees due to the coronavirus pandemic. [InsideNova]

Local Eye Doctor Sees Big Decline in Business — “Dr. Nicole Renaud, an Arlington, Virginia, ophthalmologist, said she had a full schedule of patients and worked long hours before the pandemic. Now, she sees a few patients a week, mostly through telemedicine… As a result, her practice’s income has fallen by a stunning 90%.” [WTOP]

SUVs Stolen from Koons Toyota Dealership — “At approximately 1:44 p.m. on April 21, police were dispatched to the report of several stolen vehicles. Upon arrival, it was determined that during an inventory of vehicles, four 2020 silver Toyota Highlanders were determined to have been stolen between April 7 and April 21.” [Arlington County]

Civ Fed Zooms into Virtual Future — “For 104 years, the Arlington County Civic Federation held its monthly meetings in a group setting. But on April 21, to address the COVID-19 public-health situation, the organization conducted its proceedings in a ‘virtual’ setting. ‘We are experimenting,’ Civic Federation president Allan Gajadhar said at the opening of the meeting, held on the online platform Zoom.” [InsideNova]

View More Stories