local business

SoulCycle Officially Picks Clarendon for New Location, Eyes Early Summer Opening

By Alex Koma

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.

New Vietnamese Restaurant in Rosslyn Opens Its Doors

By Alex Koma
1/2

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.

Rowing-Focused Fitness Studio Plans Expansion to Ballston

By Alex Koma
1/3

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.

Toy Store, Massage Therapist Set to Return to Ballston Quarter

By Alex Koma
1/2

A pair of stores that once called the old Ballston Common mall home will soon re-open in the development’s new reincarnation, Ballston Quarter.

Curious Kids Toys and Refresh Therapeutic Massage have both posted signs announcing plans to return to storefronts on the development’s ground floor.

Both stores were forced to close when Ballston Common, located at 4238 Wilson Blvd, shut down in 2016. Developer Forest City has since been hard at work refreshing the mall, luring a host of new restaurants and businesses to the development.

But some shops from the old mall are gradually returning to the location — Chick-fil-A just opened in a brand new space a few weeks back, after the restaurant was long one of the most popular dining options in Ballston Common.

Curious Kids offers a selection of “board games, dolls, trucks, electronic games and more,” according to Ballston Quarter’s website. The store also operates a location in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall.

Refresh will “help you de-stress, unwind, or work out a tight spot,” the development’s website says. The new location appears to be the only one in Arlington.

A variety of shops in Ballston Quarter have begun opening to customers over the last few months, though much of the development remains a work in progress. A newly revamped food court still seems set to open sometime next month, according to signs posted around the mall.

Jerry’s Subs and Pizza in Courthouse Appears to Have Closed

By Alex Koma
1/2

Jerry’s Subs and Pizza in Courthouse appears to have shut down.

The restaurant, located at 2041 15th Street N., was not open during normal business hours yesterday (Monday).

Workers also seem to have broken down the shop’s counter, and construction materials are strewn about the restaurant. The phone number listed for the location has been disconnected.

The lone Jerry’s location in Arlington, which sits directly across from the county courthouse and jail, previously closed for remodeling in September 2017. It reopened a few months later under new management, according to a series of Yelp reviewers.

Anyone looking to get a hold of the chain’s pizza or sandwiches won’t have to go too far, however.

Jerry’s also operates a pair of restaurants in Alexandria, and one in Reston as well, though that location recently closed due to a small fire.

New Men’s Barbershop Bound for Ballston Quarter

By Alex Koma

A high-end barbershop for men will soon join the new Ballston Quarter development.

The Grooming Store is “coming soon” to the revamped Ballston Common mall (4238 Wilson Blvd), according to the company’s website and Ballston Quarter’s online directory.

The shop applied for a building permit at a 1,300-square-foot space in the development back in November, county records show, though it’s unclear where in the mall it will be located.

The barbershop offers hair cuts and beard trims with online reservations available, according to its website. It also sells a whole host of skincare and haircare products.

The Ballston location will become the company’s second overall: the other is located in Ashburn.

The Grooming Store becomes the latest retailer to join Ballston Quarter, with stores in the development slowly opening to customers over the course of the last two months.

The mall’s new upscale food court is set to open sometime next month, and developer Forest City hopes to have the bulk of stores in the development open by this spring.

Vegetable-Heavy Eatery The Little Beet Could Soon Expand to Pentagon City Mall

By Alex Koma

The vegetable-focused fast casual eatery The Little Beet could soon open a new location in the Pentagon City mall.

The restaurant applied for a permit to bring a new eatery to the first floor of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in late December, according to county records.

Andy Duddleston, the chain’s founder and chief brand officer, confirmed that he is indeed “considering a location” at the mall.

“Stay tuned,” Duddleston told ARLnow.

A spokeswoman for the mall’s management company said they’re “unable to share information on businesses rumored to be joining the center.”

The Little Beet opened its first Arlington location in Rosslyn in the fall of 2017 in the Central Place development. The restaurant also operates a D.C. eatery, with a variety of other locations in New York City, where the company got its start.

Its menu is largely dominated by salads and bowls, with a whole host of vegetarian and vegan options for diners.

H/t Chris Slatt

New Soup-Focused Restaurant On the Way in Ballston

By Alex Koma
1/3

A new soup and salad-focused restaurant is on the way in Ballston.

Signs posted at the base of an office building at 4401 Fairfax drive advises all “soupies and foodies” that “Zoup! Eatery” plans to open in the space soon.

The restaurant could open its doors as soon as spring 2019, according to Zoup’s website.

The chain, which offers dozens of different soup, salad and sandwich options, operates locations across the country.

Yet the Ballston space would be its first in Arlington, and second in the Northern Virginia area — there’s another Zoup! out in Sterling.

The building set to welcome the restaurant was once home to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of a variety of federal agencies to leave Arlington over the last few years.

Jumping Joeys Children’s Gym Looks Bound for Market Common Clarendon

By Alex Koma

The Jumping Joeys children’s gym looks set to re-open in Market Common Clarendon, after closing in Virginia Square in 2017.

Jumping Joeys applied for a building permit at 2800 Clarendon Blvd late last year, according to Arlington Economic Development records.

It’s not immediately clear where the new gym would be located. But there’s currently only one vacant space on the second floor of the building at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, not far from the Pottery Barn store.

Representatives for the gym, which offers all manner of bounce-house-style activities for kids, didn’t respond to a request for comment on their plans.

Jumping Joeys currently operates another location at 402 W. Broad Street in Falls Church, and once had a space in an office park across from (the newly renamed) Washington-Liberty High School as well.

But that location shut down in November 2017, as the county eyes new uses for its much-discussed “Buck property,” where the gym was located. School officials are still studying the prospect of someday building a new school on the site, or perhaps new office space for staff. Deliberations on the matter very much remain ongoing.

As for Market Common itself, the development has seen a whole host of changes recently, and will eventually be part of a wider redevelopment of the block.

Newly Renovated Wendy’s Now Open on Columbia Pike, With Plans for Big Giveaway

By Alex Koma
1/7

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A new and improved Wendy’s is now open on Columbia Pike, and the fast food chain is holding a major giveaway to celebrating the restaurant’s grand opening next weekend.

The Wendy’s at 3431 Columbia Pike shut down for extensive renovations a few months ago, and re-opened for business today (Thursday).

The new location includes an all-new dining area, complete with TVs, music, free Wi-Fi and a faux fireplace. The fireplace in particular seemed to surprise some customers today; at least one person in line pointed at it and said she did not expect a Wendy’s to look so “fancy.”

A company spokesman says the restaurant will hold a “grand re-opening event” next Saturday (Jan. 19).

Wendy’s plans to offer the first 100 customers in line for the event by 10 a.m. free food for a year.

The chain operates three restaurants around the county in total.

New Hot Pot Restaurant Coming to Clarendon

By Alex Koma
1/3

A new Chinese hot pot restaurant looks to be on the way for Clarendon.

Signs posted at a space at 1028 N. Garfield Street say that “Riverside Hotpot Bar” will soon set up shop there, and is currently hiring employees.

The restaurant will take the place of Bowl’d, a fast-casual eatery that shuttered back in 2017, just a few blocks away from Clarendon’s main drag.

Riverside also operates a location in Gaithersburg, though another Riverside restaurant in Fairfax appears to have closed recently.

The eatery offers all-you-can-eat hot pot dining, according to its website, with a full array of vegetable, meat and seafood options to cook table-side.

The county has yet to issue any permits for the new restaurant, but records show that Riverside did apply for a building permit for the space in August.

View More Stories