The old Sichuan Wok in Ballston under construction in July 2021
Sichuan Wok in Ballston in 2018, the year it closed
A commercial building that looks like a house, but was once a restaurant, is under construction in Ballston.
Owner Arash Hosseinzadeh tells ARLnow the former Sichuan Wok building at 901 N. Quincy Street, which is nestled among large apartment and office towers, will “be converted to a day spa with many great services to offer.”
After the restaurant closed in 2018, the building at 901 N. Quincy Street went on the market in the fall of 2019 for an asking price of $3.2 million. By October 2020, the building was sold for $3 million.
As for a construction timeline, Hosseinzadeh said it all depends on whether back-ordered construction materials, weather and county approval processes cause delays.
“Hopefully, we can have our grand opening for December, [but] this is very approximate,” he said.
Permits suggest that the construction will involve building some sort of an addition.
AWLA Captures Escaped Parakeet — “Officer K. Davis of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington successfully captured this errant budgie tonight… She used her phone to play budgie calls in hope of enticing the stray bird. Twice the budgie alluded the net but three times proved the charm as Officer Davis’s patience and speed completed the apprehension.” [Facebook]
Massage Studio Opening Next Week — “Elements Massage opens at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) on Monday, July 19… The 2,100-square-foot studio will be located at 1101 S. Joyce Street, Suite B10.” [Press Release]
Arlington Tech Students Earn Nat’l Medal — “Lina Barclay and Ellie Nix, two Arlington Tech seniors at the Arlington Career Center, won the second-place silver medal in the 2021 SkillsUSA National Competition for Television Video Production. This is the highest placement for APS students since placing fourth in 2018 and 2019.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Marymount Conducting Heat Study — “Marymount University is joining 11 other higher education institutions within the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) in setting out across the state to understand where residents are most at risk during extreme heat waves. Marymount faculty, staff, students and community volunteers will use specially designed thermal sensors to record air temperatures and humidity throughout the Northern Virginia area over three specific times this Thursday: 6 am, 3 pm and 7 pm.” [Press Release]
Local Woman’s Journey from Vietnam — “It was April 30, 1975 – as North Vietnamese troops converged on Saigon in the last hours of the Vietnam War – that Sonia Johnston (then known by her Vietnamese name To Nga) boarded an American helicopter atop the U.S. embassy and, with no family at her side, was whisked away to a refugee camp in preparation for a new life… ‘I had nothing, and here I am. You can’t do it by yourself,’ Johnston said during a July 7 presentation.” [Sun Gazette]
Co-owners Danny Lee and Scott Drewno (Photo courtesy of CHIKO).
Mock Up of Chiko in Shirlington, set to open this fall (Photo courtesy of CHIKO)
Double-fried wings at Chiko (Co-owners Danny Lee and Scott Drewno (Photo courtesy of CHIKO)
Co-owners Danny Lee and Scott Drewno cooking (Photo courtesy of CHIKO).
Dessert at Chiko (Photo courtesy of CHIKO)
A popular D.C.-based Chinese and Korean restaurant is coming to Shirlington later this year.
Chiko is set to open in the fall at 4040 Campbell Avenue, in the heart of Shirlington Village. It’s moving into the former location of DAK Chicken, which closed last summer.
This will be Chiko’s fourth location and first one in Virginia.
“We are excited to bring CHIKO to this amazing community,” wrote co-owner and chef Scott Drewno in the press release. “Danny and I felt Shirlington was a perfect spot as our first foray into Virginia. We are looking forward to cooking for you all in Fall of 2021.”
The restaurant is known for its dim sum, double-fried chicken wings, and fried rice. The menu will also include dishes found at the other locations including Cumin Lamb Stir Fry, Soy Glazed Brisket, and Orange-ish Chicken
“Guests will delight in the cleverly crafted menu by Chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno composed of a new, exclusive fried rice to this location,” notes the press release. “We will also introduce a new dessert and a few surprises for Virginia.”
The restaurant will be about 1500 square feet and be able to accommodate 30 seated guests while offering “fast-paced carry-out.” The location was designed by D.C.-based Natalie Park Design Studio.
“Federal Realty is excited to add a second CHIKO location to our DC-metro portfolio. The Bethesda location has seen incredible success during a very challenging time, and we look forward to the same in The Village at Shirlington,” writes Stuart Biel of Federal Realty, which owns the shopping center. “CHIKO’s incredible reputation and loyal following means yet another quality food option in the Village.”
So far there’s no word on an exact opening date.
Chiko is not the only new business set to open in Shirlington come the fall. Bearded Goat Barber is also planning an autumn debut.
Playful Pack, a dog daycare center, is coming to Rosslyn in the former site of LavaBarre (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Playful Pack, a dog daycare center, is coming to Rosslyn in the former site of LavaBarre (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Dogs pose for the camera at Playful Pack (courtesy of Playful Pack)
By the end of the year, dog owners will have a new place to drop off their dogs for the day or for vacation.
Playful Pack, a Northern Virginia-based dog daycare and board center, aims to open a new location in Rosslyn this winter. The business will replace the boutique gym LavaBarre at 1528 Clarendon Blvd, which closed last year.
Brothers Scott and Tyler Parker and Tyler’s wife Alyssa opened their first location in Fairfax Station in 2019. The forthcoming Rosslyn location is part of a plan to add four locations by the end of 2021, Tyler said.
The Parkers opened their second location in May in the Chesterbrook Shopping Center along Old Dominion Drive in McLean, and the other two sites in Leesburg and Alexandria are in the works.
Scott — who’s known locally for his nightlife, restaurant, grooming and fitness ventures — said they chose Rosslyn because there were not enough similar services in the neighborhood.
“We really wanted to put a boarding service on the [Metro’s] Orange Line,” said Scott. “There are many in Arlington that are over capacity, so we thought this area was underserved.”
The new 3,600-square-foot, cage-free daycare will have different activities daily to keep the dogs mentally and physically stimulated, said Scott.
“There’s bubble day, photo day — that kind of stuff,” he said. “Fun ideas we’ve tried over time [that] the dogs have enjoyed.”
Staff will evaluate the dogs’ temperaments and group them by size and energy levels. Dog owners can observe how their furry friends are faring via webcams streaming onto the Playful Pack website.
“We just try to be the safest and best place for dogs to have fun while their owners are away,” said Scott.
Scott said prices will be similar to those at existing locations, where daycare for one pooch starts at $30 a day and overnight boarding at $65 a night.
Playful Pack will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., seven days a week.
Removery, a new tattoo removal service, is coming to Ballston
Examples of tattoo removals done by Removery (courtesy of Removery)
Examples of tattoo removals done by Removery (courtesy of Removery)
Removery, a tattoo removal company based out of Austin, Texas, is planning to open a location at Ballston Quarter in early August.
The studio at 4238 Wilson Blvd, in the open-air portion of the shopping center, will offer services related to removing or changing tattoos. It will remove tattoos of all sizes and colors and change or cover up old ink jobs with the help of local tattoo artists, according to the company’s website.
“Relationship status changes, changes in their lifestyle, because someone thought it was cool in college and now they have a family,” Removery’s Director of Marketing Trent Lootens said. “People are transitioning in their lives and we play a large role in that.”
The expansion into Arlington this summer is part of the company’s plan to open over 200 new locations across North America and Australia in large, metropolitan areas over the next five years, said Caitlin Wolf, Removery’s Public Relations Director.
The company was formed in 2019 through the merger of the nation’s four biggest tattoo removal companies. Removery’s founders, originally from Australia, saw an opportunity to establish sites in the U.S. that exclusively offer tattoo removal services, Lootens said.
“A lot of plastic surgeons and dermatologists do this but no one specializes in this and makes it the focal point like we do,” he said.
A small tattoo costs about $990 to remove while a larger tattoo costs around $3,990. Price depends on the quantity of ink the customer wants removed. A medium-sized tattoo takes about ten treatments to fully remove spaced out over sessions six to eight weeks apart. Each session takes about 15 minutes.
The company last year made national headlines because of its INK-nitiative, a program that offers free tattoo removals to formerly or currently incarcerated people, gang members, survivors of human trafficking or people who have hateful tattoos. For every paying customer the company will provide a removal for someone in any of those categories.
The new Arlington shop will make the program accessible to D.C. area residents who meet the qualifications and wish to have such tattoos removed. So far, around 90 people have had tattoos removed through INK-nitative, said Lootens.
RASA’s Crystal City exterior and patio (Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez/Rasa)
Rasa’s signature dishes (Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez/Rasa)
Rasa’s National Landing interior with artwork (Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez/Rasa)
Rasa’s signature dishes, soft serve, and drinks (Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez/Rasa)
Rasa, a fast-casual Indian restaurant, is opening in Crystal City later this week.
The D.C.-based eatery will open its third location — its first in Virginia — at 2200 Crystal Drive on Friday, July 2. Rasa initially announced its expansion into Arlington nearly two years ago.
In April, the restaurant applied for a permit to sell beer, wine, and mixed drinks which dropped the hint that they were on the verge of opening.
“We’ve had our eyes on opening a RASA in Virginia for years, and National Landing feels like the perfect launching pad,” said Rasa co-founder Sahil Rahman. “It is one of the most exciting neighborhoods in the country, and we look forward to feeding the community soon.”
Rahman and co-founder Rahul Vinod opened the first Rasa in December 2017 in D.C.’s Navy Yard, near Nationals Park. The second location opened in August 2020 in the District’s Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.
The new restaurant is 1,550 square feet with seating for up to 32 diners. The design and menu “mirrors” the other two locations, notes a press release.
The menu is bowl-based, Indian fare with eye-winking names like “Aloo Need Is Love” (vegan with sweet potatoes, eggplant, beets, lentils, and tamarind ginger chutney) and “Tikka Chance On Me” (chicken tikka with spinach, radishes, toasted cumin yogurt with mint cilantro chutney).
There will also be a rotation of vegan soft serve dessert, like at the Mount Vernon location, including mango lassi and masala chai flavors.
The restaurant is exploring collaborating with “notable local Virginia-based brands, vineyards, breweries, distilleries, farmers, and other celebrated artisans” for future menu items.
Local artist Nandita Madan, who is Rahman’s aunt, designed custom artwork for the new space, including a large canvas painting paying homage to the restaurant’s name.
Crystal City’s Rasa was initially set to open last year, but the pandemic influenced the timing.
“From safety concerns to supply chain, building out this restaurant during COVID was an absolute rollercoaster, filled with many ups and downs”, said Rasa co-founder Rahul Vinod. “We are incredibly grateful to our team at Rasa, the National Landing BID, JBG Smith, and the community for all of the support as we navigated the pandemic, and we can’t wait to finally welcome folks into our new home soon.”
Rasa’s opening comes as developer JBG Smith’s post-HQ2 vision for Crystal City and the rest of National Landing begins to take shape, charting a more modern, mixed-use and pedestrian-oriented course for what had been seen as an aging collection of concrete-constructed offices and parking garages.
JBG recently released a video detailing more of its plans. In May, plans for two mixed-use towers from JBG Smith were approved by the County Board. Earlier this month plans for a new park began to crystalize, Alamo Drafthouse announced its Crystal City opening date, and a popular New York bakery opened.
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) A Canadian boxing gym franchise designed to help women develop strength and self-defense skills is opening its first Virginia location in Ballston.
The new outpost of 30 Minute Hit on the ground floor of Randolph Towers (4001 9th Street N.) plans to open in late August, franchise owner Carola McGiffert said.
“It was the right market at the right time,” she tells ARLnow.
30 Minute Hit aims to help women and girls ages 13 and older feel empowered and safe with 30-minute circuits that combine cardio and strengthening. The gym will cater to its female clientele by offering places for children to play, keeping sessions short and not on a class schedule and hosting community events, she said.
“A lot of women we talk to love boxing and martial arts but are intimidated in boxing gyms because it’s a male-dominated environment,” the franchise owner said. “[At 30 Minute Hit] you’re not competing. You’re in a safe space with other women.”
The facility is also in touch with the needs of busy moms and working women, she said.
“There will be a child play area, a place where you can park your kid with a book or a game,” she said.
Unlike other gyms, 30 Minute Hit will not have set classes. Instead, boxers of all experience levels can come anytime within open hours to complete a half-hour circuit, which consists of multiple two-minute rounds of boxing, kickboxing, general self-defense and core training across 13 stations.
McGiffert said the 30 Minute Hit location will not just help women get stronger — it will also build community, drawing on mix of young professionals and families in the area.
“We do community events and happy hours. One popular day is the day you can bring a non-female person to the gym like a son or husband to workout for a day,” McGiffert said. “We do a lot of things that go beyond the circuit.”
Those who are interested can sign up for a free trial for one circuit with coaching from an instructor. To access unlimited circuits, clients can pay $109 a month for a two-year membership, $119 a month for a one-year membership, or $129 month-to-month.
The gym is open Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon and 4-8 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 4-8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
Rendering of Tend, a luxury dental office in Ballston (Photo courtesy of Tend)
Construction is underway on Tend in Ballston (staff photo)
A rendering of a Tend dentistry suite (Photo courtesy of Tend)
A rendering of Tend’s interior in Ballston (Photo courtesy of Tend)
(Updated 4:30 p.m.)Tend, a company that says it treats going to the dentist as a spa-like experience, will be opening in Ballston later this year.
Located at 4201 Wilson Blvd, in the Ballston Exchange complex across the street from Ballston Quarter mall, the new location is targeting a fall 2021 opening, a company representative tells ARLnow.
Tend is a New York-based luxury dentistry practice start-up that’s quickly expanding. It claims to be the first dentist that people actually look forward to. Appointments are booked through an app, offices are Instagramable, and patients can watch Netflix with noise-canceling headphones while getting their teeth cleaned.
The company recently raised $125 million for their further expansion in New York as well as the opening of several locations in Boston and the D.C. area.
Four D.C. locations are listed on Tend’s website as coming soon, but the Ballston office is not listed as of yet, nor is any other location in Virginia.
“We’re excited to kick off our ARL expansion in Ballston and are in active negotiation for additional locations throughout NoVA,” writes co-founder Andy Grover in an email to ARLnow.
Grover says that the reason Tend is expanding to the D.C. area is because there are similarities to the New York market, where the company already has found success.
“We know how successful our offering has been in NYC and we see a lot of parallels to D.C. — an urban, educated and sophisticated population that isn’t being served by an ecosystem of patient-centered dental care,” writes Grover. “Because of the commuting patterns of D.C. residents and the way the D.C. population has grown, we knew the [Rosslyn-Ballston] Corridor was a natural fit. Ballston Exchange has attracted top-tier restaurants and services to serve nearby residents and workers and we’re proud to be a part of it!”
The company is currently hiring for on-site jobs at the Ballston location, including dental care staff (dentists, hygienists, and assistants), studio managers, and associates for the “Welcome Bar.”
Ballston has seen a plethora of buzzy business announcements and openings in recent weeks. WHINO, an “experiential” restaurant and art gallery combination, is opening on Friday, June 18. Grilled chicken restaurant Farmbird starting serving customers this week, Salt Line is aiming a summer opening, and plant shop REWILD is looking at a July opening, among others.
Rendering of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Crystal City (Photo courtesy of Cojeaux Cinemas)
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is planning to open its Crystal City location about a year from now.
Set to be located at 1660 Crystal Drive, the nine-screen, 50,000-square-foot Alamo Drafthouse National Landing will be near a new CVS, Solidcore, and likely linked to a specialty grocery store (perhaps Amazon Fresh).
Just last week, the Texas-based movie theater chain announced it was emerging from bankruptcy and poised to open a number of new theaters, including two in the D.C-area. The Crystal City location is currently expected to open in May or June 2022, theater representatives confirm to ARLnow.
The other new theater will be in Northeast D.C.’s Edgewood neighborhood. That one is planning a November 2021 opening.
Founded in 1997, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has nearly 40 locations while marketing itself as a movie-lover’s oasis, complete with craft beers and locally-sourced snacks.
The theater in Crystal City will be operated by a franchisee, Cojeaux Cinemas. The company operates three other Alamo Drafthouse franchises in Virginia as well as the new D.C. location.
Cojeaux Cinemas has had an eye on the Arlington market for the better part of a decade, but jumped at a deal a few years ago amid an opportunity presented itself.
“We signed this deal in 2017 when JBG Smith gained control of Crystal City,” Joseph Edwards, co-owner Cojeaux Cinemas, tells ARLnow. “We had confidence in their vision and their people to transition the market by bringing tenants like us in to rebalance the overall mix of office, residential, retail and entertainment, creating a more modernized urban area that will draw from all the surrounding areas.”
Just last week, JBG Smith released an investor relations video detailing its ambitious plans for National Landing.
JBG Smith has nearly finished its portion of the work on the building that will house the movie theater, and Cojeaux Cinemas will start the interior build-out within the next couple of months, Edwards said. The theaters will all have laser projectors, large recliners with individual tables, and call buttons to request service (“quietly and seamlessly during the show”).
There will also be a themed bar with the exact concept still in development.
As the operator of other Virginia theaters, the last year has been an immense challenge, Cojeaux co-owner Anthony Coco concedes. But they are confident that folks are ready to go back to the movies.
“Having seen some fantastic box office numbers, like we saw last weekend, it is clear that movie goers are ready to get back in cinemas,” writes Coco. “And enjoy the craveable, one of a kind experience that Alamo Drafthouse provides its guests.”
Scissors & Scotch under construction along Fairfax Drive
Scissors & Scotch under construction along Fairfax Drive
(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) A new boozy barbershop is under construction in Ballston, setting up a coming battle between a growing national chain and a homegrown, expanding local shop.
Scissors & Scotch is currently under construction on the 4000 block of Fairfax Drive, about halfway between the Ballston and Virginia Square Metro stations.
The shop, on the ground floor of the recently-constructed J Sol apartment tower, will offer customers haircuts, straight razor shaves, and hair removal services, in addition to alcoholic drinks, as the name suggests. The Kansas City-founded chain has an existing location in D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood, and another planned at Union Market.
Scissors & Scotch is not the only upscale barbershop in the area, however.
Bearded Goat Barber opened in 2019 at 4201 Wilson Blvd, several blocks away, and will soon offer customers a complimentary beer or cold brew coffee with their haircut. The barbershop is in the process of applying for a new type of Virginia ABC permit that allows licensees to serve limited quantities of free alcohol.
“We are applying so that we can get a market license which would allow for a complimentary beer for each customer upon every visit,” Bearded Goat partner Scott Parker tells ARLnow.
The Venture X coworking space in Courthouse (Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers)
The Venture X coworking space in Courthouse (Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers)
The Venture X co-working space in Courthouse (courtesy of Jeffrey Sauers)
The Venture X coworking space in Courthouse (Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers)
A new coworking space has come to the Courthouse area, amid the pandemic-era boom in working from home.
Venture X Arlington-Courthouse Metro opened this month and is hosting an open house from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at its 25,000 square-foot space at 2300 Wilson Blvd, also known as the Navy League Building
“This flexible office space is designed to meet the needs of government contractors, associations, lawyers, financial services and many other small to medium enterprises,” the company said in a news release.
Coworking offers individuals or businesses the ability to rent office space on a monthly basis, without a long-term lease. Such offices typically have communal spaces and work environments, often with private, enclosed office space as well.
“The flexible office space model is the beginning of a new era in the commercial real estate world,” Julie Felgar, owner of the coworking space, said in a news release.
The space features dedicated and shared desks, conference room spaces, a conference facility, Zoom and podcast rooms and a staffed café. It’s one of numerous options available to people in Arlington and around the region.
It comes as many workers have adjusted to telecommuting following pandemic lockdowns in 2020. According to one survey, businesses reported the percent of full-time employees working from home at least one day per week will increase from less than 10% to 27% by the end of the pandemic.
That actually might be good news for coworking spaces, which can provide smaller but well-outfitted office locations closer to where employees live.
“With the pandemic still ongoing, Venture X offers businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to make the hybrid office life a permanent reality,” Felgar said.
