Old Dominion Pizza serves up one of its first slices (via @verycleverproducts)
Old Dominion Pizza Company on Lee Highway (via Facebook)
The back of Old Dominion Pizza Company on Lee Highway (via Facebook)
Lee Highway officially has a new pizzeria.
The Old Dominion Pizza Company opened its doors in the Lee Heights shopping center last Thursday (Jan. 3), owner John Rodas told ARLnow. The restaurant replaces Upper Crust Pizzeria, which shuttered in the space at 4514 Lee Highway back in July.
Rodas says he’s envisioning this initial period as a “soft opening” for the restaurant, after he first started working to get Old Dominion open this fall.
But Rodas, who also helps run The Spirits of ’76 bar in Clarendon, says that the eatery is fully ready for customers, and even recently earned a state license to sell and deliver beer and wine.
Old Dominion now offers both traditional, “New York-style” pizzas and square, “Grandma-style” pieces, according to its menu.
The restaurant also serves up pizzas with cauliflower crust for anyone hoping for a gluten-free option, in addition to a small selection of sandwiches.
Photo 1 via Instagram, photos 2 and 3 via Facebook.
Nolas Salon in Market Common Clarendon, which has closed.
Georgetown Valet cleaners in Market Common Clarendon, which has closed.
Signs posted at Georgetown Valet cleaners in Market Common Clarendon, which has closed.
A pair of businesses in the Market Common Clarendon development have shut down in recent weeks.
Signs posted at Nolas Salon and the Georgetown Valet dry cleaners, located in the same building at 2700 Clarendon Blvd, inform would-be patrons that the shops have now closed permanently.
A sign posted on the salon’s window says that “while we are sad to be closing this store location, our employees will continue to serve your needs at other salons in the area.”
Some will be moving to Salon by JC in Ballston at 3865 Wilson Blvd, while others will head to Salon Lofts Clarendon at 3001 Washington Blvd.
Meanwhile, the sign posted at the cleaners says the shop shut down on Dec. 15.
According to its website, Georgetown Valet operates six locations in D.C., but no other shops in Arlington. The chain once operated a location in Virginia Square, but that shut down back in 2011.
The entire Market Common development has seen severalnew businesses move in over the course of the last few months, and will eventually be part of a major redevelopment of that section of Clarendon.
Harry’s Smokehouse, now closed in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
Harry’s Smokehouse, now closed in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
Harry’s Smokehouse, now closed in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
Harry’s Smokehouse, a burgers and BBQ restaurant, has now shut its doors in the Pentagon City mall.
Signs posted at the eatery, located near the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City’s Metro entrance, indicate that it’s now permanently closed.
“Thank you for many years of patronage,” the signs read.
Readers told ARLnow that the restaurant has been closed since at least Thursday (Jan. 3).
The restaurant has long been a fixture of the mall’s lower level, starting out as a Harry’s Tap Room before rebranding to a more BBQ-centric menu back in 2011.
There’s no indication yet of what might replace Harry’s in the space.
Instructor Carey Galst Cavalcante leads a class at her Praxi Pilates studio in Ballston (courtesy of Praxi Pilates)
A class works out at Praxi Pilates in Ballston (courtesy of Praxi Pilates)
A class works out at Praxi Pilates in Ballston (courtesy of Praxi Pilates)
A class works out at Praxi Pilates in Ballston (courtesy of Praxi Pilates)
A new pilates studio has just opened its doors in Ballston, led by an instructor who formerly taught classes at a now-shuttered studio in Shirlington.
Praxi Pilates started offering classes over the last few weeks after moving into a space at 4141 N. Henderson Road late last year, owner and lead instructor Carey Galst Cavalcante told ARLnow. The studio is located in a mixed-use building off of N. Glebe Road, near the neighborhood’s Harris Teeter store.
Cavalcante says she’s been teaching pilates since moving to the D.C. area from California back in 2012, with the bulk of her classes located at the “My Thrive Pilates” studio in Shirlington.
But when the pilates chain shuttered last spring, closing locations in Courthouse and Falls Church as well, Cavalcante said she started “looking for places to continue teaching” and increasingly became convinced that she should simply strike out on her own.
“The majority of my clientele had lived in Arlington, North Alexandria, those kinds of areas, so Arlington made sense,” Cavalcante said. “And this new space is a little bit hidden, but it’s really ideal.”
Cavalcante concedes that the 3,400-square-foot studio lacks “street presence,” considering that it faces a courtyard off the street, but that makes it ideal for participants looking to center themselves during classes.
She’s already offering both group and private classes in the space, with reformer, mat and circuit pilates on offer.
“We’ve got a good group together from the other studio already, simply because many of these folks have known each other for many years and come to class together,” Cavalcante said. “Now, we’re just trying to build from there and get clients in the door.”
To that end, Cavalcante plans to hold an “open house” for curious potential clients. The event will run from 1-4 p.m. on Jan. 27.
The owners of the recently shuttered A-Town Bar and Grill in Ballston now say they’re transforming the restaurant into a German food hall.
The space at 4100 Fairfax Drive will soon become “Bronson,” offering up craft beer and traditional German fare, co-owner and chef Mike Cordero announced in a news release today (Wednesday).
Cordero and his partners opted to shut down A-Town late last year, after opening its doors back in 2012. Co-owner Scott Parker chalked the change up to the fact that the bar’s lease was set to expire when 2019 rolled around and the building’s landlord was interested in giving the location a bit of a refresh.
The swap will involve the full renovation of the space, including the addition of “large communal tables” and expansion of its seating capacity to hold about 250 people in all.
“We’ve had seven great years at A-Town Bar and Grill but it’s time for a change,” Cordero said in a statement. “We look forward to the new year with introducing the new Bronson business model, innovative design and fun atmosphere and serving the Arlington community.”
Bronson “will offer German-American casual cuisine, specialty cocktails and craft draft beer, which can be served at the restaurant or for sale as a take away in traditional German growlers,” the release said. The bar will also include “popular taproom games, including foosball, cornhole, darts, bocce and shuffleboard.”
Cordero said that construction on the new eatery is kicking off right away, and he hopes to have it open by “early April.”
Parker and Cordero are partners on a whole host of other popular Arlington night life spots, from The GOAT and Don Tito in Clarendon to Barley Mac in Rosslyn.
Christmas Tree Pickup Underway — For residents eligible for Arlington County’s trash collection service, the special curbside Christmas tree service is currently underway. Trees will be hauled away on the regular trash collection day through Jan. 11 and turned into mulch. [Arlington County]
Shutdown Could Hurt Local Businesses — “In Greater Washington, that could mean about 40 percent of approximately 362,000 federal workers — about 145,000 — would not receive roughly $15 million per day in pay, according to rough estimates… The shutdown is likely to hit industries that depend heavily on the discretionary spending of federal workers and contractors.” [Washington Business Journal]
Would-Be Local Amazon Locations — Among the places Amazon could have gone to in Northern Virginia, if it did not pick the Pentagon City and Crystal City area for its new office campus, were Alexandria near the Eisenhower Metro station and Rosslyn, with a prominent skyline view along the Potomac. [Washington Business Journal]
Ads on Virginia School Buses? — “Advertising on the back end of school buses? It could be coming to the Old Dominion. The state legislature again this session will consider a proposal by Del. Israel O’Quinn (R-Bristol) allowing school districts to place commercial advertising between the rear wheels and the rear of the bus.” [InsideNova]
Metro Touts Fewer Fires — “Metro will end 2018 with the lowest number of insulator-related smoke/fire incidents in years – 66 percent fewer compared to 2016 – despite record rainfall this year. Water infiltration in Metro’s tunnels has historically been the leading cause of such incidents.” [WMATA]
Pre-Boarding Snafu at DCA — “A couple says their holiday trip to Virginia was ruined by a traumatic incident on their flight home. A disabled husband was forced to pre-board alone, while his sick wife had to stay behind at the gate” for a Southwest Airlines flight at Reagan National Airport. [Fox 5]
Wagner owns both businesses (which sit just steps away from each other at 2803 Columbia Pike and 2900 Columbia Pike, respectively), and the closures will leave him with just the newly opened Josephine’s Italian Kitchen in the Penrose Square shopping center still operating in the area.
Wagner says he made the “difficult” decision to shutter BrickHaus after concluding that it “never took off the way we expected and hoped it would,” a development made all the more painful by the months of permitting and construction woes he endured to open the bar.
He said Twisted Vines remains quite popular on the Pike, however, but he started to feel its current space didn’t have enough room for it to grow. And with its lease up at year’s end, and a new restaurant just down the road, he saw an ideal opportunity to regroup.
“We have a great new venue in Josephine’s and figured it was a great opportunity to take Twisted down there until we can find it a new home,” Wagner said. “Twisted has been part of the Pike community for a long time and it should be back.”
Wagner dubbed his new Italian eatery, which first opened in late October, as a “home away from home” for Twisted Vines during the transition. He plans to move much of the wine shop’s offerings to the restaurant, and will keep hosting the bar’s wine club and regular wine dinners at Josephine’s.
“Josephine’s is Twisted with value added, basically,” Wagner said. “It’s a better space, with a lot more room for us.”
He’s hoping to find a new location for Twisted Vines sometime in the coming months. But, in the meantime, all the shop’s whiskey will be half off over the next few days, then all wine be marked down by 50 percent this weekend. The location will also play host to one final dinner on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the restaurant.
Wagner will also hold a “New Year’s Eve blowout” at BrickHaus, with 50 percent off all checks. He said he wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to bringing back a similar beer garden to the Pike going forward, but given the challenges he faced at BrickHaus, he’s not optimistic about the prospect.
“We’re always interested in new opportunities,” Wagner said. “We listen to people and find out what people want and give it a try. If that doesn’t work, then we keep trying. The ultimate goal is to find a concept that resonates with the community.”
Rolls by U sushi in Rosslyn, which seems to have closed.
A sign posted at Rolls by U sushi in Rosslyn.
Rolls by U sushi in Rosslyn, which seems to have closed.
A create-your-own sushi restaurant in Rosslyn has now shut its doors.
Sign posted at Rolls By U, located at 1713 Wilson Blvd in the Colonial Village Shopping Center, indicate that the eatery is now closed.
Yelp reviewers and ARLnow readers reported that the location seems to have shut down in early December.
Rolls by U opened in 2015, serving up bowls, rolls and even sushi burritos. Its owners also backed a Courthouse restaurant, the Guarapo Lounge, but that also shuttered in 2016.
The restaurant also has a location in D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood, which seems to still be open.
Construction is now underway on a new “Anytime Fitness” location at 1919 N. Lynn Street, in the base of an office building near the road’s intersection with I-66 and Lee Highway.
Club owner Russ Sharafeyev told ARLnow that he managed to start work on the new gym about two weeks ago, and is currently “looking at opening closer to [the] end of Q1 2019.”
The gym will offer 24/7 access for its members, and is set to become the first Anytime Fitness location in Arlington — the chain currently has two other gyms in Alexandria.
Sharafeyev hopes to start offering pre-sale deals starting on Jan. 2, and is planning a host of events in the coming months.
“We are looking to do some cool things like giveaways of electric scooters and raising money for good causes with community help,” Sharafeyev wrote in an email.
The building the gym will be located in was once home to Caffe Aficionado, which shuttered after its owners were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud.
The store is located at 5747 Lee Highway in the Leeway-Overlee neighborhood, and now has signs posted in its windows looking for new employees.
The 7-Eleven replaces the longtime Lee-Lex Service Center, a fixture in the neighborhood dating back to 1978. The auto shop closed for good back in 2016.
The shop is now one of six 7-Eleven locations along Lee Highway alone, according to the chain’s website.
Arlington Employee Inspires New Child Care Policy — Lanette Johnson, an employee at the Pentagon City Best Buy store, is “the inspiration behind Best Buy’s new backup child-care benefit for all full-time and part-time employees. Workers at nearly 1,000 U.S. stores, distribution centers and corporate headquarters have access to 10 days of subsidized care each year through a Best Buy partnership with Care.com.” [Washington Post]
Weekend Rain Drenched Arlington — Arlington was among the parts of the region to see the most rainfall over the weekend. [Twitter]
Small Business Lender Active in Arlington Courts — “On Deck Capital Inc., a publicly traded online small business lender based in New York… which also has Arlington office space… accounted for 7 percent of all [small business] debt collection cases brought to that Arlington County courthouse through September.” [Washington Business Journal]
New Leadership for Arlington NAACP — “The Arlington branch of the NAACP will enter 2019 with a new leadership structure and a commitment to building on recent growth. ‘I’m all about community activism – we will go out and do good things,’ said Julius Spain Sr., who on Dec. 17 was sworn in to serve as president of the 78-year-old local civil-rights organization.” [InsideNova]
Arlington GOP Chief Steps Down — “The Arlington County Republican Committee will enter 2019 on a hunt for prospective candidates – and a hunt for a new chairman, too. Jim Presswood, who has chaired the GOP for nearly three years, announced recently he would be stepping down halfway through his second two-year term due to commitments at work.” [InsideNova, Facebook]
