A Courthouse fitness and massage center is relocating into a larger space not far from its old home.

Arctic Integrative Health and Wellness Center is moving into a vacant office space at 1401 N. Adams Street, near the neighborhood’s Residence Inn and Fire Works Pizza, according to signs posted at the location.

The company, which offers personal training and other coaching services, was previously based at 2055 N. 15th Street, near the Courthouse Metro station.

The new space represents a bit of an expansion compared to the old location, and Arctic made the switch final on Sunday (Feb. 3), according to the company’s website.

The location was previously home to My Thrive Pilates, which closed after the company shuttered all of its locations, including studios in Falls Church and Shirlington, last spring.


A new UPS Store looks to be on the way along Lee Highway.

Signs posted at a storefront at 4532 Lee Highway, in the Lee Heights shopping center, indicate that the shipping store is “coming soon.”

The space has sat vacant since Bradshaw’s Children’s Shoes closed back in November 2016. The store was a fixture of the shopping center for more than 20 years, but it shuttered when its owners decided to retire.

Lee Heights has seen a great deal of change recently, with some long-time tenants closing and other new businesses moving in. Old Dominion Pizza Company is among the newest additions to the area.

The new UPS Store will be the sixth in the county overall, according to the company’s website.


A DuPont Circle bar is planning an expansion into the old BrickHaus space along Columbia Pike.

Rebellion will soon open its second location in the D.C. area at 2900 Columbia Pike. Signs posted at the building say the new establishment is due to open in “early 2019.”

Staff at the current D.C. location said in a Facebook message that the bar’s current owners “have been longtime Pike residents and regulars, so they are extremely excited to get the place open and get it open quickly.” Brian Westlye, the founder and COO of the hospitality company managing Rebellion, told ARLnow that the new location should “hopefully” be open by March 1.

The new bar is described as “Rebellion on the Pike” on the restaurant’s website and social media pages.

Rebellion offers up Southern cuisine and a hefty beer selection at its Dupont location, at 1836 18th Street N.W.

BrickHaus offered a similar vision for the area before shuttering at the end of last year.

Owner Tony Wagner closed both his Twisted Vines wine shop and BrickHaus to consolidate his offerings at the nearby Josephine’s Italian Kitchen, and lamented at the time that BrickHaus “never took off the way we expected and hoped it would,” after battling through a series of permitting and construction delays.

Photo 3 via @rebellion_onthepike


APS on Two Hour Delay — Arlington Public Schools is a two hour delays this morning amid a light coating of snow. Fairfax County Public Schools, meanwhile, is closed after initially announcing a two hour delay last night. [Twitter]

County Still Seeking Aquatics Center Sponsor — “Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz has not given up on his goal of finding sponsors to help offset the cost of the Long Bridge Park aquatics center. ‘I remain optimistic that we will be successful” in finding partners,’ Schwartz told County Board members Jan. 29, though he offered no specifics.” [InsideNova]

ACPD: Get a Designated Driver for the Big Game — “Super Bowl LIII is slated for kick-off this Sunday, February 3, and, for many, this celebratory evening includes alcohol. Enjoy the game and festivities, but don’t drop the ball on safety. Make it your game plan to take a sober ride home – whether it’s by using a ride sharing service, taxi, public transportation, or designated sober driver.” [Arlington County]

Ballston BID to Launch ‘Club’ — “The Ballston Business Improvement District is launching a club for area residents… which appears to be a first-of-its-kind program in the region. When the club kicks off by the end of summer, members will enjoy exclusive benefits like discounts for restaurants and retail, in addition to events like yoga in the park and outdoor movies.” [Washington Business Journal]

Wardian Does It Again — “Michael Wardian, 44, of Arlington, Va. has won the first of seven marathons in the World Marathon Challenge in Antarctica.” [Canadian Running, Twitter]

Arlington Firm Makes Big Acquisition — “CACI International Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire LGS Innovations LLC for $750 million in a deal that extends Arlington-based CACI’s reach into the signals intelligence and cybersecurity markets.” [Washington Business Journal]

Flickr pool photo by Starbuck77


The co-owner of popular Clarendon nightlife spot Spider Kelly’s is planning a new restaurant for the base of a Crystal City office building.

Restaurateur Nick Freshman is launching “The Freshman” at 2011 Crystal Drive, he announced today (Tuesday). He hopes to have it open by sometime in 2020.

Freshman hopes to offer “high-quality coffee, teas, and craft cocktails” at the restaurant, in addition to “breakfast, lunch and dinner options made in-house with fresh local ingredients.”

The Freshman will set up shop in a 3,400-square-foot space that was once home to a Noodles & Company location, which shut down last fall. The restaurant will have room for 120 diners and a 50-seat outdoor patio.

“I’ve seen firsthand how much the neighborhood has changed over the years and I knew I wanted to be a part of the growth,” Freshman, who lives in the area, said in a release. “When Amazon announced that they were coming to town, I knew that the opportunity to be part of this story was just too good to pass up, especially considering this is my backyard.”

Like most of the other office buildings across Crystal City, developer JBG Smith owns the property, and is trumpeting The Freshman as the first retailer to sign a lease in the area since Amazon tabbed the neighborhood for its massive new headquarters.

The company is planning an expansive new redevelopment of other retail offerings nearby, and it’s envisioning The Freshman’s arrival as one in a series of big changes on the way for the newly dubbed “National Landing” neighborhood in the coming years.

“The Freshman is a perfect fit for National Landing given Nick’s longstanding ties to the neighborhood and his concept’s natural appeal to the neighborhood’s residents, office workers and daily visitors,” Amy Rice, senior vice president at JBG Smith, said in a statement.

Freshman is launching the eatery in tandem with Mothersauce Partners, a restaurant advisory and investment firm he launched in 2016. The company has helped found The Eleanor and Takoma Beverage Company in D.C., with similar offerings as Freshman’s plans for the new Crystal City establishment.


The chef behind a popular D.C. food truck serving up half smokes and other BBQ is opening a new restaurant in an empty space along Lee Highway.

Co-owner Joe Neuman told ARLnow he’ll be opening a brick-and-mortar location of “Sloppy Mama’s” at 5731 Lee Highway, most recently the home of the short-lived Misomen Ramen restaurant. The small space sits directly across from the original District Taco location, and Eater D.C. first reported Neuman’s plans.

The move means that Joe and Mandy Neuman will soon boast two locations in Arlington — Sloppy Mama’s is also set to join the new “food hall” at the Ballston Quarter development when it opens next month.

He points out that the company got its start as a catering operation in D.C., before eventually revving up the food truck. As that gained steam, Neuman was able to open a stall at Union Market, and even start partnering up with some bars and restaurants around the city.

But he was after a space to spread out a bit more, especially when it comes to finding room for smoking meat, so he sought out the new Lee Highway locations.

Neuman says the menu at the new space won’t differ much from Sloppy Mama’s current offerings. He’s expecting to cook up “authentic smoked meats” including brisket, pork. chicken, ribs, sausages and turkey, in addition to “traditional southern sides.”

As for an opening date, he’s currently targeting “mid-to-late April.”

The space Sloppy Mama’s will move into has seen plenty of turnover in the past few years. Before Misomen, the location was home to the Asian Kitchen restaurant; before that, it was a Pizza Hut.

Photo 1 via @sloppymamas


A Subway location in Clarendon now looks to be toast.

The chain’s shop at 3000 10th Street N. closed for good on Tuesday (Jan. 22), according to signs posted on its doors.

The store last made the news back in 2016, when its owner pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges.

The Clarendon Subway is the second one to close in the area in recent months. Another location near Courthouse shuttered in late November.

However, anyone in the mood for one the chain’s sandwiches won’t have to go too far. The company’s website shows nine other locations still open around Arlington.


An Arlington-based smoothie chain is now offering giveaways over the next month for federal employees feeling a squeeze from the seemingly interminable government shutdown.

South Block will now hand out free regular smoothies every Friday between now and March 1. All you have to do to claim one is show a valid federal government ID.

The smoothie and juice shop has been blending up drinks at its original Clarendon location (3011 11th Street N.) for years now, and also operates stores in East Falls Church, Alexandria, Vienna and some neighborhoods in D.C. South Block will also be opening locations in Rosslyn and at the Ballston Quarter development in the coming months.

The company has even recently partnered with a Georgetown-based coffee roaster, Grace Street Coffee, to offer some caffeinated beverage options alongside its normal drink selection at the chain’s Clarendon location.

South Block is far from the only local business offering deals for government employees across the region.

The salad chain Sweetgreen has also been offering giveaways, and even recently announced it would be handing out free signature bowls to federal employees this Saturday (Jan. 26) from 6-8 p.m.

County officials have also offered a variety of resources for feds missing out on paychecks, as has Arlington’s main food bank.

File photo


SoulCycle is officially opening a new studio in Clarendon, meaning that Arlington will soon be the home of the popular company’s first expansion into Virginia.

The company recently posted signs saying a new location is on the way for a space 2700 Clarendon Blvd, in “The Loop” section of the Market Common Clarendon development. The studio will sit next to the Apple store and the “Origins” cosmetics store.

Permit applications last month initially indicated that SoulCycle was mulling an expansion to Clarendon, but the company previously declined to discuss its plans for the area.

Now that things have firmed up a bit, however, a SoulCycle spokesperson told ARLnow that the company is “aiming for late May, early June” to open the new studio. County permit records show that the studio will occupy both the first and second floors of the building.

The owner of the Market Common property, Regency Centers, previously used the storefront set to welcome SoulCycle to display information about the impending redevelopment of its other properties across Clarendon Blvd. Construction work on that effort kicked off last week.

Regency announced that a “luxury fitness” company would become the first tenant in that space, and a source familiar with the matter told ARLnow that the building will soon become home to an Equinox gym.

That confirms a Washington Business Journal report from July 2017 that the health club was coming to the Market Common development, though it was initially unclear where it would be located. Equinox owns a majority stake in SoulCycle, and the companies often open locations near one another.

SoulCycle currently operates four locations in D.C., according to its website.


A new Vietnamese restaurant is now open in Rosslyn.

Saigon Noodles and Grill, located at 1800 Wilson Blvd, has posted banners proclaiming the eatery’s “grand opening.”

The restaurant first put up signs at the space last month. The eatery replaces Bistro 360, a wine shop and eatery that closed last May after about four years in Business.

According to its website, Saigon Noodles and Grill will be open all seven days a week, from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Its menu includes pho, banh mi and a whole host of other Vietnamese dishes.

https://twitter.com/RosslynVA/status/1085613922290487296


A D.C.-based rowing fitness studio is expanding to Ballston sometime later this year.

DC Row plans to set up shop in the base of the 672 Flats apartment building at 672 N. Glebe Road, according to Jordan Newsome, one of the studio’s executives. The new, mixed-use building is located just across Glebe Road from the Ballston Quarter development.

The studio opened its first location at The Wharf in Southwest D.C. last May, and Newsome dubs it the region’s “first and only boutique strictly rowing studio.”

“What that means is that all of our workouts focus on rowing as the main component, with 10 minutes of floor exercise and ‘getting to know your rower’ worked in the mix,” Newsome wrote in an email.

Newsome added that the studio also offers “free classes to seniors, military and first responders once a month,” and plans to launch a “youth program with partners such as the local Boys & Girls Club to introduce rowing to at-risk youth” later this spring.

As for an opening date, Newsome says DC Row is targeting “mid-2019” to start welcoming fitness enthusiasts.

“We look forward to being a new addition to the community,” Newsome said.

The six-story 672 Flats development opened this past summer, and also managed to attract a new doughnut shop to its ground floor this fall.


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