local business

BrickHaus Still Not Open As Locals Grumble About Prolonged Inspection Process

By ARLnow.com

New Columbia Pike beer garden BrickHaus is still awaiting its grand opening, despite having wrapped up most construction in May.

On Friday, BrickHaus — located at 2900 Columbia Pike and owned by Tony Wagner, who also owns Twisted Vines across the street — announced that it had received “one more final approval” and was on to what may be the last regulatory hurdle before opening.

On its Facebook page, locals who have been waiting for a new outdoor drinking and dining venue on the Pike all summer long have been grumbling about the Arlington County inspection process that has kept BrickHaus closed. The process has been notoriously long and difficult to navigate for many other local businesses, as well.

“You should publish a log of the permitting and inspections delays and issues you faced,” one person said. “We know they’re bad, but we don’t know what they are.”

“That’s an interesting idea, but since the issues keep coming at us daily, that would be a full time job in itself,” the BrickHaus Facebook page replied. “Basically, we continue to work through the process. Each day getting closer, but too gun shy with the constant curve balls to share a date yet.”

“Arlington is so slow when it comes to permits!” said another Facebook poster.

“See if you can find someone in the Economic Development office to help you!” suggested another, likely referring to the county’s business ombudsman. “Their mission used to be to get business to stay and grow in the County. Allegedly they have people that can facilitate getting things through the process.”

In a previous post, BrickHaus said that once it gets all of its final approvals, it would take about two weeks to train staff and open its doors.

From Its Crystal City HQ, Bloomberg BNA Keeps Growing

By Katherine Berko
1/16

Across the street from the Crystal City Metro station, in a nondescript office building, stands the headquarters of Bloomberg BNA, one of Arlington County’s largest private employers.

Each day, more than 1,000 employees push through its revolving glass doors or take the elevator up from the underground garage.

Bloomberg BNA is an information and research company which provides “legal, tax, compliance, government affairs and government contracting professionals with critical information, practical guidance and workflow solutions.” Established in 1929 as the Bureau of National Affairs, the company was employee-owned from 1947 until 2011, when it became a subsidiary of financial news and information giant Bloomberg.

Paul Albergo, the bureau chief, has worked at Bloomberg BNA for over 30 years. Around 200 people work under Albergo at Bloomberg BNA’s Crystal City news division.

“We are one of the largest news-gathering organizations in Washington,” Albergo said. “We have the largest number of reporters that are credentialed on Capitol Hill.”

Bloomberg BNA was in D.C.’s West End from the 1920s until 2007, when it came to Arlington, lured by tax incentives, which were extended earlier this year. Previously, the company was scattered amongst several different buildings. In Crystal City, employees are an elevator ride away from each other.

In the new space, people from various departments can rub shoulders in the “pantry” — a pristine, sunlit eating area boasting an exotic fish tank and a peanut butter grinder.

“You tend to run into people that you’re thinking about but you don’t have a formal meeting with and suddenly you can have communication,” Albergo said.

One of the many perks of the company’s new building is an easy commute: the West End location was not close to a Metro station and could be difficult to reach by car.

“To go from a neighborhood that was kind of tucked away in a corner of the city to a location that was well-served by Metro, [Virginia Railway Express], just a couple blocks off the highway and other major commuter routes [made] everyone’s commute a lot easier,” Albergo said.

Albergo himself lives in the District but his commute is about 20 minutes quicker than before. Ironically, although the company is no longer in D.C., it now takes reporters less time to get to their important events on Capitol Hill, among other places.

“In many ways it becomes really easy to recruit people that come to work here because commuting is so easy,” Albergo said.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Advanced Towing Lobbied Hard for Bill — Advanced Towing spent $10,000 on lobbyists and made a $1,500 donation to state Sen. Barbara Favola while successfully pushing for a state bill to override Arlington’s second-signature towing requirement. Supporters of the bill say it passed and McAuliffe ultimately signed it because it had the support of the business community. Advanced is one of the largest towing companies in Northern Virginia and has drawn the ire of many local residents for its ruthless efficiency at trespass towing from private lots. [NBC Washington]

Russian Military Jet Flies Over Arlington — Yesterday an unarmed Russian military jet flew over the Pentagon, CIA headquarters, and the U.S. Capitol “as part of a longstanding treaty that allows the militaries of the United States and Russia to observe the other from the air.” [CNN, Axios]

Arlington Still Hiring Teachers — Arlington Public Schools is still hiring teachers for the upcoming school year. “A total of 280 full- and part-time contract positions were unfilled as of Aug. 1… as the school system continues to process applicants,” the Sun Gazette reported. [InsideNova]

Uber, Lyft Make Mark on Local Restaurant Biz — Although readers were skeptical in a poll late last year, the Washington City Paper reports that Uber and Lyft are having a significant impact on the local restaurant industry, drawing customers from a wider area geographically than would have visited before the ride hailing services existed. It’s also bringing more customers to hot non-Metro-accessible restaurants. And it’s not just hipster-y D.C. restaurants drawing customers from around the region: Lyft said Clarendon’s Don Tito was its most visited bar in the D.C. area in 2016. [Washington City Paper]

New Cafe in Arlington Forest Features ‘Laptop-Free’ Coffee Bar

By Chris Teale
1/7

A new coffee shop is open in Arlington Forest in a low-slung shopping center just off Arlington Blvd.

Sense of Place (4807 1st Street N.) replaced a Subway sandwich shop in the Arlington Forest Center. It opened yesterday (Monday), next door to Brick’s Pizza, the DaVita dialysis center and the Mathnasium of Arlington education center.

Sense of Place features a coffee bar that serves specialty pour-over coffee, which uses a filter and a dripper to extract more flavors. At the bar, a certified barista will serve the coffee, while a sign nearby expressly bans the use of laptops to encourage customers to enjoy their drinks without distraction.

“At the bar, customers take the time to see, smell, and taste subtly different notes of flavors and textures with every sip that they may not have noticed before,” the cafe’s website reads.

The new cafe serves its own house-brand coffee, called Enzymo Coffee. The coffee beans undergo a natural fermentation process before being roasted, which staff said keeps the coffee fresh, the acid content low and prevents any post-caffeine crashes an hour or two after drinking.

Also on offer: various other hot and cold drinks as well as homemade pastries, paninis and sandwiches.

Early Tuesday morning, the store was already doing brisk business, despite having been open for just one day. Multiple customers told ARLnow how excited they were to have an independently-owned coffee shop in the plaza, which is also home to Outback Steakhouse and used to house the now-shuttered Filipino grocery store Fiesta Oriental.

Sense of Place is open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.

Hat-tip to Mike Marketti.

Commonwealth Joe Offers ‘Crystal City Passport’ to Explore Neighborhood Businesses

By Katherine Berko

(Updated at 7:20 p.m.) Local coffee shop Commonwealth Joe is encouraging Arlingtonians to explore businesses in Crystal City and Pentagon City with special “passports.”

The program will run for a week, from today (August 7) until Sunday, August 13. People can stop by Commonwealth Joe (520 12th Street S.) and pick up their own passport, or they can get a team passport for up to three people.

Once passports are claimed, the goal is to visit all of the participating businesses to get the passports stamped.

Participating businesses include: Sweetgreen (Crystal City), Orangethoery Fitness, Pure Barre, CrossFit South Arlington, Earth Treks, WeWork Crystal City, TechShop and the Crystal City Wine Shop.

Once the passports have all of the necessary stamps, participants turn their passports into Commonwealth Joe, where each team that completes the challenge within the week will get a free drink.

In addition, there will be prizes for the first three teams to get all of the stamps. These grand prizes include day passes from Earth Treks, free Sweetgreen salads, WeWork merchandise and more.

A spokeswoman for Commonwealth Joe said they started this event to help build relationships with other local businesses and to help people explore the neighborhood.

Filipino Restaurant Bistro 1521 Now Open in Ballston

By Chris Teale
1/12

Just months after national chain Applebee’s closed in Ballston, its replacement, Filipino restaurant Bistro 1521, has opened its doors.

Located at 900 N. Glebe Road on the first floor of the the Virginia Tech Research Center and next door to the recently-opened Stageplate Bistro, the new spot occupies a large restaurant space, with seating capacity for 220 inside and 60 on the outside patio. It opened July 31.

The restaurant has a slew of Filipino staples, including soups, salads, rice and dishes with noodles and various meats. Bistro 1521 also has various grill and house specialty dishes including jumbo squid stuffed with tomatoes and onions; Cebu crab cakes and a “1521 Burger” with ground beef, longaniza (a Spanish sausage), atchara (pickle) and sweet potato fries.

Those behind the restaurant include Manny Tagle, bartender Jo-Jo Valenzuela and wife Christina Valenzuela, and general manager Solita Wakefield. Wakefield was previously a co-owner of Bistro 7107, a Filipino restaurant on 23rd Street S. in Crystal City, which recently closed. Jo-Jo Valenzuela said the dishes will be recognizable to those who love Filipino food.

“We want to be careful about calling our food authentic, because everyone’s mother cooks meals differently,” he said. “But we’re definitely traditional Filipino comfort food.”

The restaurant’s name refers to the year Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines, and the artwork on the wall includes references to the country’s flag and other part of its history.

Dinner service begins at 4 p.m. each day, with lunch and brunch services set to launch in the near future.

District Taco to Donate Portion of Burrito Sales Today to Charity

By Katherine Berko

District Taco will donate $1 today (Monday) from every regular burrito and breakfast burrito it sells to a nonprofit that serves underprivileged children.

The event, called Back to School Burritos, will take place all day at each of District Taco’s 10 locations across the area. The money will be donated to the National Center for Children and Families, which will help purchase school supplies for underprivileged children and families in the region.

District Taco CEO and co-founder Osiris Hoil said he came from a disadvantaged upbringing and so tries to give back to the community whenever he can.

“When I was a child my parents were very poor, and it was very hard for them to buy school supplies for me and my brothers,” Hoil said in a statement. “Helping other kids makes my heart feel full and makes me extremely happy.”

Hoil started District Taco as a food cart in Arlington, before opening his first brick and mortar location on Lee Highway. It has since added restaurants in D.C. and Northern Virginia, with its first locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania both set to open this fall in College Park and King of Prussia, respectively.

Casual Adventure to Stay Open At Least Through Christmas Season

By Chris Teale

Casual Adventure will be open until at least Christmas, after it signed a new short-term lease on its Virginia Square building.

Owner Eric Stern said he and his staff requested the extension from property owner 1404 Hancock Street Investment LLC, a company registered to local custom home builder BCN Homes.

The pair then agreed on the extension, in part, Stern said, because new development in the area is taking a “little bit longer than originally anticipated.”

“We’ve had a great business relationship, and we were able to extend at least for the time being,” he said. “Then we’ll figure things out from there.”

The long-time outdoor retailer had been set to close its 3451 Washington Blvd location this spring after 61 years in business. It first announced its closure in April and subsequently held an “End of an Era Sale” with large discounts.

Stern said the influx of customers and outpouring of sadness at the store’s closing showed there is still “an obvious need or want for us in this space.”

“The general support from the public has been overwhelming in a positive way,” he said. “I certainly appreciate everybody who’s come in and shared their stories of the trips they’ve taken over the years, the products they’ve bought from us over the years and the photos they’ve had from their trips.”

Casual Adventure is currently holding a summer clearance sale with merchandise marked down as much as 70 percent. Stern said fall items will start arriving shortly.

Hat tip to Buzz McClain

When Deals and Specials Don’t Drive Sales

1/3

The D.C. area is home to four of the top ten richest counties in the country.

For businesses that cater to these local customers, the concentration of wealth provides an excellent opportunity for driving revenue but also presents unique challenges for improving customer engagement.

One way to enhance engagement, especially with customers with high disposable incomes, is by incorporating personalization through the use of digital kiosks.

When deals and specials don’t drive sales

More wealth means more disposable income. While discounts and price drops remain attractive even to the wealthy, it simply is not a sustainable way for long term engagement with customers. Customers, especially the wealthy in the region, aren’t as motivated to make a purchase simply based on deals, coupons, and discounts as other consumers. Rather, businesses have to go beyond price-driven relationships and think about how to engage customers with personalized, sophisticated experiences.

In the age of technology, where people spend the majority of their waking hours interacting with a screen, digital channels provide the easiest and most direct route to engage customers. Digital signage kiosks in particular provide a familiar and engaging platform that allows businesses to provide immersive experiences that are highly targeted.

Selling sophistication

When used correctly, digital kiosks signal to customers that a business is forward-thinking and tech-savvy. This sells sophistication, and customers will bite.

Let’s take a look at a few applications of digital kiosks and how they elevate the customer experience:

  • Doctor’s offices and clinics with check-in kiosks will have faster check-in times and reduced back-and-forth between the patient and receptionist. Displaying trivia and wait times on the screens will reduce perceived wait times, a big pain point for the healthcare industry.
  • Spas can display welcome messages for bridal parties, birthday parties, etc., to further personalize the visit. Displaying staff bios and social media posts on the digital screens familiarizes customers with the business and encourages engagement even after the customer has left the property.
  • Rather than displaying news, banks can display mortgage rates and stock tickers in the branches, and add check-in kiosks for customers to complete any necessary forms while they wait for their number in the queue.
  • Realtors can replace static signs with digital window displays showing local listings, points of interests such as schools, shopping, churches, etc., available showings, and even realtor profiles. Making virtual tours available on digital kiosks in the office gives potential home owners an opportunity for discovery and exploration, and the realtor a chance to wow them.
  • In retail locations digital kiosks present an endless aisle where customers can search for and order items not in the store. Stores such as Bloomingdale’s and ZARA have installed kiosks in their changing rooms where customers can ask for alternate colors and sizes. Kiosks can even recommend items that would complement the original.
  • Restaurants are also using digital kiosks. McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Panera are just a few that have introduced kiosks for shorter lines, improved accuracy, and personalization – customers can save their order modifications as favourites or order from their history.

The use cases are virtually endless. Digital kiosks can display weather, traffic, event listings, emergency alerts, wayfinding and building directories, corporate communication, etc.

Impressive ROI

In addition to improving the customer experience, digital kiosks also improve efficiency and reduce overall operating costs.

They eliminate the cost of printing static signs, allow brands to instantly update their messages for real-time interaction with their customers, and add visual appeal to a venue or building. Also, when the kiosks display important customer-facing information, employees will spend less time answering questions and more time on pressing tasks, thus improving their productivity.

The D.C. area is home to a unique demographic that is primed to make purchases using a wealth of information. They also expect more from their actual shopping experience. For this group and in instances when discounts don’t drive sales, kiosks are providing the perfect complementary service within brick-and-mortar environments.

Jacqueline Hoffmann is a Solutions Consultant at Mvix, a leading provider of content-rich digital signage solutions. She leads the Washington, D.C. team, working with designers and engineers to build digital signage networks that connect brands with people. To learn more about Mvix, please visit www.mvixdigitalsignage.com or call 703.584.4304.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ACPD Says It Follows the Constitution — In a public statement of values, the Arlington County Police Department said yesterday that it “has always adhered to the Constitution and is committed to safeguarding the rights of all individuals.” The department continued: “We faithfully, and without bias, honor our obligations to the community and will continue to provide professional law enforcement services in accordance with our core values.” [Facebook]

Bistro 1521 Now Open — Filipino restaurant Bistro 1521 reportedly opened last night. The 7,000 square foot eatery is located in the former Applebee’s space at 900 N. Glebe Road in Ballston. [Washington City Paper]

District Taco Opening in Pa. — District Taco, which started as a tiny food cart in Arlington, is continuing to expand. DT is planning to open a location in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, its first restaurant outside of D.C., Maryland and Virginia. [Twitter]

Fmr. Arlington Resident Sexually Enslaved Housekeeper — A former American diplomat, who reportedly used to live in Arlington, “has for the second time been found liable for enslaving and sexually trafficking a housekeeper while posted at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.” [Washington Post]

ACFCU Branch Closed After Fire — The N. Glebe Road branch of Arlington Community Federal Credit Union is closed after a fire yesterday evening. “Thx for understanding as we work 2 make sure bldg is safe,” the credit union said via social media. [Twitter]

ACFD Battles Fire in Bailey’s Crossroads — The Arlington County Fire Department has had a busy couple of days. The department battled at least three fires yesterday afternoon and also, on Saturday, assisted on a blaze in an empty apartment at a three-story complex on Oakview Gardens Drive in Bailey’s Crossroads. Five people were displaced and $20,000 in damage was caused, but no injuries were reported. [Falls Church News-Press]

Photo courtesy Curtis Prathers 

Governor: Trustify Planning to Add 184 Jobs in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

A Crystal City-based startup is planning to add 184 jobs here as part of an expansion, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Monday.

Trustify, which moved into new offices overlooking Long Bridge Park earlier this year, is planning to spend just over $1 million on building and equipment costs associated with the expansion. The 184 jobs are expected to be added over a period of three years, according to Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

A VEDP spokeswoman said Trustify will be eligible for nearly $120,000 in state reimbursement for job recruitment and training.

Trustify is a sort of “Uber-for-PIs,” using the internet to connect businesses and consumers with trained private investigators. It makes money by taking a cut of the hourly fee charged to customers.

In a press release, McAuliffe and other officials, including Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette and state Sen. Adam Ebbin, heaped praise on Trustify for its rapid expansion.

“Trustify’s impressive growth in a short amount of time is a strong example of what high-tech, entrepreneurial companies can accomplish in the Commonwealth,” said the governor. “Arlington County and the Northern Virginia region are home to a dynamic IT industry… We are proud to have this innovative business in the Commonwealth contributing to the new Virginia economy, and look forward to Trustify’s continued success.”

Trustify President Jennifer Mellon, in turn, lauded Arlington County as a place to do business.

“We decided on Arlington, Virginia for many reasons,” Mellon said. “The community here in Arlington is a fantastic place in which to work and commute. Arlington provides employers and employees many benefits and advantages that are not available in other areas and communities. We believe the DC Metro area, in general, is a beacon of inclusive innovation with some of the best percentages of women and diversity in tech compared to the rest of the country. We have transportation, office, and community options and benefits that made this area the clear choice for Trustify.”

Trustify says it raised $6.6 million in new funding this year, according to the Washington Business Journal. With that funding the company hopes to grow and capture more of the U.S. private investigations market. Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that Trustify is after at least a $1.5 billion dollar market; there are some 28,500 private investigators nationwide making an average annual wage of around $53,500 a year, according to the BLS.

By the numbers, the company is one of the hottest tech startups in Arlington, but it is not without its critics. It has a very vocal, persistent critic in Glen Hellman, a local tech scene commentator and strategist who also goes by the nickname “Mr. Cranky.”

Hellman ripped what he characterized as an uncritical Washington Business Journal article on the governor’s Trustify announcement, despite being mentioned in that very article.

“It’s a good thing Washington Business Journal doesn’t have a sports page because they’d be writing headlines about every kid who ever received a participation trophy for being the bench warmer on the worst team in the lowest league of some minor 3rd grade soccer team,” Hellman said in an incendiary blog post this morning. “I believe the reason Trustify puts out these press releases is to counter any bad press they receive, to push down the SEO of negative stories and obfuscate… the truth in order to raise money from poor unsuspecting widows and orphans.”

The full press release from the governor’s office, after the jump.

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