By Shilpa Gogna

Business owners and residents near Crystal City’s Restaurant Row are gearing up and adapting in anticipation of Amazon’s planned HQ2 nearby.

Freddie Lutz has owned Freddie’s Beach Bar for 18 years and shepherded it through changes in the gay and straight communities. This week Lutz shared that more and more small-business owners are expressing interest in opening up shop or expanding on Crystal City’s 23rd Street S. now that Amazon inked its move-in deal.

“Restaurant Row continues to thrive, with a steady increasing flow of consumers” Lutz shared with me, adding “this trend fueled my recent decision to open up Frederico.”

Lutz also serves on the Crystal City Business Improvement District board and is the president of the neighborhood’s business development group. He said other surrounding small-businesses anticipate an increase in customer traffic in the near future, which should help business.

It’s a bonus many restaurants have looked forward to after years of lean time after BRAC and other federal government moves emptied out Crystal City office buildings and resulted in the loss of thousands of potential customers.

Fiona’s Irish Pub owner Martin White previously told ARLnow that he had chosen the former Tortoise and Hare Bar and Grill location before Amazon selected Crystal City for its second headquarters, but it was a “happy coincidence” his new restaurant would have the customers.

Now, Lutz says he’s thinking of expanding weekday business hours at Freddie’s to accommodate the growing lunch crowd.

“I imagine customer traffic will increase well with future development coming to Crystal City, and after losing some customer traffic following the Department of Defense relocations almost a decade ago, which impacted business sustainability, small-business owners here are excited about the future,” Lutz noted.

Many buildings in and around Restaurant Row are part of a trust owned by Stratis Voutsas and Georgia Papadopoulos, who seek to improve neighborhood infrastructure so that Restaurant Row can continue to flourish.

The pair told the Washington Business Journal they plan to build a park and plaza in the neighborhood, with subsidized artist housing nearby.

Restaurant Row’s unique community boasts a charming and eclectic conglomeration of small businesses, ranging from shops selling some sweet fashionable finds, like vintage dresses and post-war era accessories, shops selling prized collectables like NFL Lombardi trophies, and quaint long-time restaurants serving up food from all over the world.

The charm is also about the people behind the counters.

As I walked with Lutz, who introduced me to the owners at a few other nearby establishments, it warmed me up to see how sociable he, other shop owners, and passing patrons were.

The co-owner at neighboring Royal Pawn of Arlington, Nicholas Rizer, shared a story that exemplified just that.

“Recently, we saw a nearby shop owner having difficulty moving a bulky piece of equipment off a truck into his establishment,” said Rizer. “Within a few minutes, staff from nearby shops were outside lending a helping hand, and the job was done in a few minutes.”

Rizer noted that such behavior was common on Restaurant Row, which makes him proud to be part of the community. And the community feel is one of the reasons why Los Tios chose the spot.

Los Tios’ owner German Mejia thanked the community for spreading the word after the restaurant opened its Crystal City doors last month.

“In just our first week of opening, without much advertising, we were seeing high volumes of customers,” said Mejia.

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Crystal City to Grow With Amazon — “‘Amazon, and its 25,000 employees, coming to Crystal City will change everything,’ [Vornado Realty Trust Chairman and CEO Steven] Roth wrote in the letter. ‘Crystal City will become a teeming metropolis of apartments, shops and offices.'” [Washington Business Journal]

Local Couple Talks About Deadly Accident — “An Arlington couple is making a personal plea for a recall of the Fisher-Price Rock ‘N Play sleeper after their son died while laying in the product. Arlington parents Evan and Keenan Overton’s baby son Ezra died in the Rock ‘N Play sleeper right before Christmas in 2017.” [WJLA]

FLIR Moves to Pentagon Row — Infrared camera manufacturer FLIR Systems is moving its D.C. area headquarters to Pentagon Row, in the former LA Fitness space. The company recently announced an investment in a drone company and a large new DoD contract. [FLIR, BusinessWire, BusinessWire]

Confusing Signs Corrected on the Pike — A pair of seemingly contradictory direction signs on Columbia Pike, at the Washington Blvd interchange, have been corrected, county officials say. [Twitter]

Arlington Holds #MeToo Event — “On Wednesday, several Arlington County groups and Arlington’s ‘Project PEACE,’ held an event named ‘#MeToo: Being Men – Raising Men’ at the Arlington County Central Library. Lisa Tingle, the senior assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County and Falls Church, said it is important to teach men about sexual harassment at an early age.” [WUSA 9]

Flickr pool photo by Brian Irwin


First Debate in Prosecutor Race — “In a contentious series of exchanges that marked their first debate, candidates for Arlington commonwealth’s attorney left no doubt they have decidedly different views on the role of prosecutor – and aren’t particularly fond of one another, either.” [InsideNova]

Road Closures Tonight in Crystal City — “The Crystal City 5K Fridays races will take place each Friday evening in April (5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th). The Arlington County Police Department will close the following roadways each race day from approximately 6:15 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. to accommodate these events…” [Arlington County]

Pentagon City Ritz Hosting Easter Event — “Based on the huge success we had in 2018 holiday season with Breakfast with Santa, we have decided to celebrate Easter with the Easter Bunny for our little ones.” [Ritz-Carlton]

School Board Challenger Announces Candidacy — “He aims to knock off incumbent School Board Chairman Reid Goldstein, but in a kickoff April 3, David Priddy avoided mentioning the incumbent by name and only tangentially touched on reasons he thinks Goldstein should be ousted.” [InsideNova]

County Starts Census Push — “In a packed room at Arlington Mill Community Center, County Manager Mark Schwartz launched Arlington’s Complete Count Committee — a group of 39 community members who will serve as Census ambassadors to ensure that every person in Arlington County is counted in the 2020 Census on April 1, 2020.” [Arlington County]

Arlington Tech Firm Acquired — “Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) announced today that it has acquired eGlobalTech, a high-end information technology (IT) solutions, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and management consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia.” [BusinessWire]

Police Warn of Numerous Scams — Arlington County Police are warning members of the community about a number of scams that have recently been reported, among them the “Imminent Account” fraud, the “I am in Trouble” scam and the “Jury Duty” or “IRS” scam. [Arlington County]


A Look at Bryce Harper’s Rosslyn Apartment — “For much of the time that Harper was in a Nationals’ uniform, he rented a two-bedroom, 2,000 square-foot loft condo at the Wooster and Mercer Lofts, a luxury residential development from Abdo Development in Arlington.” [UrbanTurf]

Crash Takes Out Traffic Signal Near Fairlington — Per Alexandria Police yesterday: “Use caution in the 3600 block of King St, the Bradlee shopping center. A vehicle crash caused a traffic light outage. Treat uncontrolled intersections as 4-way stops. Be patient & take turns.” [Twitter]

Car Careens Over Wall in Arlington Mill — A car somehow rolled over a low wall and onto a sidewalk across from the Arlington Mill Community Center yesterday. The circumstances surrounding the crash are unclear. [Twitter]

Big Hole in Road Near Shirlington — A main road between the Shirlington and Fairlington neighborhoods was blocked for a period of time yesterday due to large hole in the road. The closure happened on 31st Street S., where a new sound wall is being constructed, during yesterday’s nightmarish evening commute. [Facebook]

Ballston Startup Gets Funding — MotoRefi, an auto refinance startup we profiled earlier this week, has “announced a $4.7 million seed raise led by Accomplice with participation from QED Investor sand Motley Fool Ventures. Ryan Moore, co-founder of Accomplice, will join MotoRefi’s board of directors.” [MotoRefi]

Service Cut to Metrobus Line — Metro is reducing service to Metrobus Route 2A (Dunn Loring-Ballston), after a ridership drop. Metro increased service to the line a few years ago and that net increase is now being eliminated. [Twitter]

Nearby: Companies Worried About HQ2 — “‘Recently a company was looking to put 600 jobs in this area, and they decided not to come here because they were concerned about getting the workers they need,’ [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Chair Cathy] Lange said, not identifying the company. ‘Many of the companies are worried that their workers in Fairfax County are going to be hired by Amazon. And they are not going to be able to have their growth plans.'” [Washington Business Journal]


‘I Voted’ Sticker Design Competition — “The Arlington Electoral Board is teaming up with the Arlington Artists Alliance and the county library system on its first-ever ‘I Voted’ decal competition. Modeled on a similar effort in New York City, the contest encourages Arlington residents to submit designs for the decal that will be distributed to voters on Election Day and used in a variety of outreach campaigns.” [InsideNova]

Crystal City Startup Implodes — “One of Trustify’s investors is asking Delaware’s Chancery Court to appoint a receiver to oversee the company, claiming in court documents that founder and CEO Danny Boice ‘misappropriated Trustify corporate funds for personal use’ and effectively abandoned the business.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington No. 1 for Working Moms — Arlington is the No. 1 best “city” for working moms, according to a new study. “Women in Arlington earn a median salary of $76,438, and the pay gap is narrower than the U.S. average,” the study notes. [Haven Life]

Local Gov’t Contractor Makes Acquisition — Clarendon-based By Light Professional IT Services LLC yesterday “announced the acquisition of [Tysons-based] Phacil, Inc., a diversified software, cybersecurity, systems engineering and managed services provider to the US Government. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.” [PR Newswire]


Slowly, but surely, restaurants in Ballston Quarter’s food court are opening to diners.

When the development opened up its “Quarter Market” to customers earlier this month, just one restaurant (Mi & Yu Noodle Bar) was open for business. In the days since then, two more have joined the club.

The first was Copa Kitchen and Bar, a Spanish restaurant serving up small plates, flatbreads and sangria from its “sangria garden.”

Copa opened for business last week, according to Ballston Quarter’s social media accounts, and the restaurant space is now adorned with all manner of soccer-themed apparel. Eventually, Copa also plans to offer outdoor seating in the development’s plaza.

Next up was Hot Lola’s, a fast-casual restaurant offering spicy, fried chicken sandwiches. The eatery opened last weekend.

Chef Kevin Tien, who also backed the Petworth restaurant Himitsu, plans to use Sichuan spices to flavor the sandwiches, which should pack plenty of punch. Diners will also be able to order chicken tenders, but those aren’t available on the restaurant’s menu just yet.

Ice Cream Jubilee, a local chain offering exotic ice cream flavors of all kinds, could well be the next shop to open. The stand is mostly set up, and an employee there said the eatery could be ready to serve up scoops as early as next week.

Workers also seem to have made plenty of progress on Turu’s, a restaurant from the creator’s of D.C.’s Timber Pizza Company, though no employees were at the stand Wednesday afternoon.

Nearby, another restaurant backed by Timber Pizza’s owners, the Ballston Service Station, also seems to be nearing an opening.

Details are still scarce about what, exactly, the location will serve up, but a quick glance behind some construction screens revealed what appeared to be a line of beer taps. State records show that the restaurant is asking for a permit to serve both beer and wine at the location.

It’s been a series of false starts for Quarter Market, and the development as a whole, though shops at Ballston Quarter did start opening slowly this fall. A project to build a new pedestrian bridge linking the development to the area’s Metro station via the Ballston Exchange building has also faced some hold-ups.


More on Seven Corners Death Investigation — “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau are investigating after a body was found… in the 6100 block of Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. Officers found a 49-year-old Hispanic man lying unresponsive in an alley near the intersection of Arlington Boulevard and Patrick Henry Drive.” [Fairfax County Police]

D.C. Area Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected — “The Washington region added 35,300 jobs in 2018 based on data released yesterday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 16,800 fewer jobs than indicated by the preliminary releases.” [George Mason University]

Home Sales Continue Trend — “Year-over-year home sales across the Washington region have now tumbled each of the first two months of 2019, but the median sales price rose for the 29th consecutive month, according to new data, while inventory levels tightened slightly as the winter market segued into spring.” [InsideNova]

Dudley’s Opening at Last — Nearly four years after it was first announced that a new sports bar called Dudley’s Sport and Ale was coming to the former Bungalow space in Shirlington, the long-delayed sports bar is finally planning to open to the public on Friday. [Facebook]


A new Ballston barber business is opening next week.

Dubbed the “Bearded Goat Barber,” the shop is owned by serial entrepreneur Scott Parker, who says the business will welcome customers starting next Monday. The Bearded Goat is located at the Ballston Exchange development on Wilson Blvd.

Previously, Parker told ARLnow that he’d be opening shop with barbers Eric Renfro and Jon Dodson who were striking out on their own after working at the Clarendon’s Hendricks Barbershop, which opened in 2016.

“They’re awesome guys with a combined 20-plus years barbering,” Parker told ARLnow. “It was a no brainer.”

In addition to “awesome cuts,” Parker said patrons can expect “hot towel service and cold brew on tap.”

The barber’s location at the Ballston Exchange development was formerly occupied by the National Science Foundation. These days the development is adding eateries like Shake Shack and Philz Coffee, among others, which Parker said last year that he and his team were “really excited to be among.”

Parker launched several restaurants in Arlington — Ballston’s A-Town, Clarendon’s G.O.A.T. and Don Tito, and Rosslyn’s Barley Mac — before venturing into other businesses.

He’s also backing a new boxing studio in Rosslyn called Bash Boxing, which recently opened, and he has plans to expand the gym into Ballston as well. It will be located in the Ballston Quarter development, across from the Ballston Exchange.

It’s scheduled to open its doors in early 2019 and is now “coming soon,” according to its website.


Doug Fruehling has had a two-decade career with the Washington Business Journal, assuming the top newsroom job of the Rosslyn-based publication in 2009.

As editor-in-chief, Fruehling has been overseeing WBJ’s coverage of Amazon’s forthcoming HQ2 in Arlington. On the latest 26 Square Miles podcast, Fruehling discussed the ramifications of Amazon coming to “National Landing” and how the subscription-based Business Journal has managed to expand its coverage in the face of news industry struggles.

Also discussed: WBJ’s hiring of current ARLnow editor Alex Koma.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunesGoogle PlayStitcher or TuneIn. We used some new recording equipment this go-round, so please forgive the resulting audio glitches — we’ll try to get them ironed out prior to the next episode.

Photo via Washington Business Journal


Amazon is sending a pop-up store into Crystal City today with the hopes Arlingtonians will stop by.

The store-on-wheels is dubbed the “Treasure Truck” and travels the country offering “new, trending, local, or delicious items” per a company spokesman. Today the truck will be parked at 2011 Crystal Drive until 1 p.m.

Amazon app users can sign up for notifications that alert them when the truck opens and whatever the truck is offering that day. Users can then purchase the items they want online and pick-up in person at the truck.

In the past, the truck has served up an array of items from brownies to gold Bohemian Rhapsody movie backpacks to lightbulbs, according to Twitter posts.

The truck’s inventory was not available to this reporter online as of 10:45 a.m. this morning.

Amazon’s treasure truck heralds the company’s impending move to the area scheduled for 2021, when it will begin construction for its second headquarters in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area that some local officials have attempted to rebrand as “National Landing.”

The trillion-dollar company’s promise to occupy long vacant real estate and add 25,000 jobs comes in exchange for $23 million in county grant money, $750 million in state incentives, and a head’s up on any Freedom of Information Act Requests, according to documents released this week. It’s a deal that’s drawn criticism from unions and affordable housing advocates as ARLnow previously reported.

Arlington County has also been criticized for directly pitching tax incentives Amazon would be eligible to receive, but which few other businesses have taken advantage of, as ARLnow reported this week.

Photo via @Dr_Pete


Two of the three restaurants moving into the space formerly occupied by La Tasca in Clarendon now expect to open their doors later this month.

The TTT Mexican Diner and Buena Vida, set to occupy the first and second floors of the building at 2900 Wilson Blvd, are now set to open on March 18.

Street Guys Hospitality, the restaurant group backing Clarendon’s Ambar and Baba, laid out menu details and released concept photos of the new restaurants in a release yesterday (Thursday). The group had previously targeted a February opening for the space.

Owner Ivan Iricanin has been hard at work on the new eateries since last April, shortly after La Tasca closed its doors following a 14-year run in the neighborhood. He’s also planning a rooftop bar on the building’s third level, though he’s not expecting that to open for a while yet.

On the first floor, Street Guys says that the TTT Mexican Diner — initially dubbed “Tacos, Tortas and Tequila” — will feature 86 dining rooms seats across a 3,500-square-foot space. It will also include a bar area and a 30-seat outdoor patio.

The restaurant will serve brunch, lunch and dinner, and the restaurant group says the “tacos and tortas will be the main attraction,” with both tortillas and tortas made fresh in-house.

TTT will also boast a full bar with “agave cocktails as well as classic margaritas,” the release said.

As for Buena Vida, the second-floor restaurant will showcase “traditional, indigenous fare that incorporates recipes that have been handed down through generations.” The 3,700-square-foot space will include seating for 101 people, including a bar and private dining room.

The menu will include a raw bar, plenty of soups and seafood, in addition to an “approachable list of wines from Mexico.”

Iricanin previously opened a similar pairing of TTT and Buena Vida in Silver Spring last year.  He’s also planning to bring a new Ambar location to Northwest D.C. sometime this year, which will be his second in the city.


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