new business

Eyelash and brow studio aiming for a summer opening in Clarendon

By Matt Blitz
DekaLash is looking to open this summer in Clarendon, replacing Cherry Blow Dry Bar (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new lash and brow studio is taking shape in Clarendon, set to open in a former salon space.

DekaLash is aiming for a July opening at 1041 N. Highland Street. That was the location of Cherry Blow Dry Bar for about six years until it closed last summer citing financial issues.

Services the studio provides include lash lifts, lash fanning, lash extensions, eyebrow sculpting, eyebrow threading, and eyebrow lamination.

“A hugely popular service these days since Hollywood stars started promoting it in recent years,” writes a company spokesperson to ARLnow.

This will be the fifth DekaLash location in Northern Virginia, adding to the other shops in Alexandria, Sterling, Manssass, and the Mosaic District in Fairfax County. In total, there are more than 110 DekaLash shops across the U.S. and Canada.

The Arlington DekaLash team will be all “certified, licensed, and experts in their field,” the spokesperson says. Additionally, there are other state requirements to work in the industry.

“In Virginia, lash artists must hold a Virginia esthetician or cosmetology license,” said the spokesperson. “Applicants must then successfully complete our six-week training program and ongoing monthly meetings and training.”

Clarendon has seen a series of new businesses — mostly restaurants — opening in recent months.

Brass Rabbit Public House first started serving last month, in the former Bracket Room location. Buena Vida Gastro Lounge reopened several weeks ago at 2900 Wilson Blvd after a rebranding. Chipotle just opened last week on Clarendon Blvd. The new diner-esque eatery UnCommon Luncheonette has also now started serving breakfast and lunch at the corner of N. Garfield Street and 11th Street N.

Tesla is cutting the ribbon on its first Arlington store today

By Matt Blitz
1/6

(Updated, 12:05 p.m.) Tesla is opening its first Arlington sales and service center today.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is being held this morning at the nearly 64,000 square foot space at 2710 S. Glebe Road, just east of Shirlington. Several local officials are expected to be in attendance, including state Senator Barbara Favola and County Board member Takis Karantonis.

This is Tesla’s fourth Virginia sales center. Prior to the Arlington location, the closest was in Tysons.

ARLnow reported in early March that the electric car company was charging up to open a store on S. Glebe Road near I-395. It’s the former location of a Maserati dealership and, before that, seafood seller M. Slavin & Sons.

Tesla had to first get approval from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to open this and two other stores in the Commonwealth.

Under state law, automobile manufacturers like Tesla are generally not able to sell their cars directly to customers. This law was originally passed, in part, to encourage competition. In fact, for a time, Tesla couldn’t sell cars at its Tysons mall showroom and employees were forbidden from even discussing purchases.

However, that changed last May when the state DMV commissioner approved the company’s request to open three sales centers in Virginia. The reasoning the commissioner gave is that there are no independent dealers in Arlington — or in Charlottesville and Norfolk, where the other stores are opening — that could operate a Tesla franchise “in a manner consistent with public interest,” according to the hearing decision provided to ARLnow.

The Arlington store will employ about 20 people initially with “plans to grow as needed to meet demand,” a company spokesperson said.

In addition to its sales and service location, there are more than 400 Tesla “supercharger” stations in Virginia, where drivers can get a quick recharge of their car’s batteries.

That number includes eight such stations in Arlington, according to a company map. Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, Pentagon City, Crystal City, and the new Tesla store on S. Glebe Road all have at least one publicly available charging station.

Work has begun on a new pedestrian plaza in Crystal City

By Matt Blitz
1/5

Work has begun to create a new Crystal City pedestrian plaza with office, retail, and restaurant space.

The Century Center office complex — at 2450 Crystal Drive and 2461 S. Clark Street in Crystal City — is undergoing major renovations. The project will result in a new pedestrian and retail plaza between Century Center’s two buildings.

The end result will include new offices, outdoor seating areas, more street-level retail and restaurant spaces, a walkable pedestrian plaza, and streetscape improvements.

When the project is completed, Arlingtonians can expect to find “a neighborhood within a neighborhood,” a spokesperson for the real estate developer MRP Realty said in a statement.

Residents and visitors to National Landing can find a neighborhood within a neighborhood at 2450 Crystal [Drive] and 2461 S. Clark Street. An office community that’s connected to the National Landing experience, yet completely self-sustainable on its own with a variety of shops, services, and dining options. Visitors and shoppers can expect an impressive new plaza with outdoor seating areas, street-level retail, dining, and lifestyle services, and a fresh biophilic design that brings the outdoor elements in. Office tenants will also find new club-quality fitness plus expansive bicycle storage, expansive and impressive lobby, renovated meeting rooms, and 200+ person conference center.

Partial demolition and renovation inside of the lobby at 2450 Crystal Drive began back in February and is set to continue for another year or so.

The work expected to be mostly complete by the end of the year, the spokesperson said, with “final interior finishes” planned to be done by early 2023.

Several tenants have already been confirmed, including a new Primrose Schools Early Education & Care location. The locally-based fast casual restaurant Mezeh, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Subway, which are all already in the building at 2450 Crystal Drive, are all set to remain in the new development.

There are more tenants on the way too, including a “food market” and “boutique fitness club” as well as “upscale restaurants,” the spokesperson tells ARLnow. Additionally, a new retail tenant and a rebranding of the complex are both set to be announced next month.

This plaza project was first proposed as a “refresh” of Century Center about a year ago. It’s a first step in what might eventually be a larger redevelopment of the site, involving a new segment of roadway and a new apartment tower.

Crystal City and the surrounding neighborhoods are undergoing significant change amid the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City, the second phase of which was approved by the Arlington County Board this past weekend. The HQ2 site is about a mile from the Century Center complex.

Afghan eatery Grill Kabob looking to open in Ballston this summer

By Matt Blitz
1/2

A new Afghan restaurant is looking to open in Ballston this summer.

Grill Kabob, a local chain of family-owned Afghan kabob eateries, is working on opening its 15th location at 708 N. Glebe Road in Ballston, co-owner Wais Shoja confirms to ARLnow. It will be only a few doors down from the new Silver Diner that’s also planning to open this summer in the neighborhood.

The aim is for Grill Kabob to start serving in June.

The chain currently has more than a dozen locations across the D.C. area, with the closest right now being at Tysons Corner Center in McLean. That number is likely to increase this summer, says Shoja, as the owners are planning to open several new locations, including the one in Ballston.

With lots of offices, new apartment buildings, and a Metro stop, the neighborhood makes for a great location for a new Grill Kabob, the co-owner says. Plans were originally in the works pre-pandemic to open a restaurant in Ballston, but Covid paused the owners’ expansion efforts.

The first Grill Kabob opened in the Springfield Mall in 1999, with subsequent restaurants also mostly in malls. Over the last seven years or so, explains Shoja, the family-owned operation has put more focus on opening locations near office and residential areas.

The new location will closely reflect Grill Kabob’s updated design and decor. As for the restaurant’s menu, it includes an assortment of meat and veggie kabobs, sandwiches, and salads.

The location’s menu will be very similar to the others, though there are certain items sell better at different locations. Shoja says they will take some time to see what’s popular in Ballston and perhaps “play around” with the menu to best reflect the wants of the neighborhood.

Ballston is likely to see a host of new restaurants opening up in the coming months. Besides Grill Kabob and Silver Diner, there’s also Pirouette Cafe, Hawkers, and Salt Pot Kitchen all aiming for spring or summer openings this year. Just this past month, The Union and Quincy Hall both opened their doors.

UnCommon Luncheonette in Clarendon preparing to open next week, sans dinner

By Matt Blitz
1/8

UnCommon Luncheonette in Clarendon is hoping to open next week, bringing a concept that owners say is missing from the neighborhood.

The new diner-esque eatery on the corner of N. Garfield Street and 11th Street N. is set to be exclusively a breakfast, brunch, and lunch spot, co-owner Joon Yang tells ARLnow, with a menu, decor, and hours to match.

The location, a block from the Metro and in the midst of apartment buildings, is a perfect fit for this concept, he says.

“We fashion ourselves as a typical New York-style diner,” Yang says, who owns the restaurant along with head chef Jon Mathieson. “We’re going to open at 7 in the morning and people walking by are going to see this bright light glowing from a corner.”

The focus on the day’s earlier meals is what makes the restaurant, well, uncommon in Clarendon, according to him.

Earlier this week, ARLnow got an exclusive peek at the restaurant’s food, menu, and interior.

The space is classic and cozy, with only about half a dozen tables plus bar seating for about 15. There will be an additional 40 or so seats outside, bringing the total to about 80 seats.

The bar is marble with blue-tinged lights overhead and bright blue stools. The checked floor tile matches the diner image. The walls are mostly bare, but Yang says that the intention is to add to the decor in the coming months.

Both the breakfast and lunch menus have some traditional items, like egg sandwiches, waffles, and fried chicken, but there’s some unexpected dishes inspired by Yang’s other meat-centric restaurants.

There are five different kinds of poutine, a Canadian favorite of french fries, cheese, and gravy, on the menu including a vegetarian option and a breakfast version topped with sausage gravy and fried eggs.

Also available is a smoked steak frites and a rib sandwich that Yang says was directly influenced by dishes at his Epic Smokehouse in Pentagon City.

For those looking for lighter fare, there’s a selection of handmade soups.

“One of my favorites is a good cream of mushroom soup,” Yang says. “I feel like people under-appreciated what a good soup is.”

UnCommon also has an ice cream machine with plans to incorporate milkshakes and other ice cream-centric choices into the menu as spring turns into summer.

The restaurant does have a liquor license, but that isn’t the main focus, particularly since the plan is set to close in the afternoon. That’s another thing that separates UnCommon from other establishments in the neighborhood.

“I know a lot of owners of bars and restaurants in the area and they question… ‘Are you going to do this without nightlife?’ That’s where they all make the money,” Yang says. “I understand that. But this is a different concept.”

ARLnow first reported in July 2021 that UnCommon Luncheonette was coming to the space formerly occupied by Riverside Hot Pot and Bowl’d. By December, construction was coming along with Yang telling ARLnow that the restaurant’s concept would be one that “no has done before in Clarendon or, even, Arlington.”

He admits there have been some challenges opening a restaurant in Clarendon at this time, including hiring full-time staff, the neighborhood’s saturation of restaurants, and the apprehension of some customers to return to in-person dining.

But he’s optimistic that UnCommon Luncheonette will work here and now.

“I’m old school. When people come in here, I want to shake everyone’s hand and say hello. I want to know everyone’s name,” Yang says. “I still think people want that.”

New Ethiopian restaurant coming to Columbia Pike

By Matt Blitz
1/2

A new Ethiopian restaurant and lounge is opening on Columbia Pike, potentially by the end of the month

Meda Restaurant and Lounge is looking to open by the end of April or early May at 5037 Columbia Pike, in the former home of a long-time bakery. Owner Yohannes Getachew tells ARLnow the restaurant is just waiting on the approval of its alcohol permit.

It’s set to fill the space that was formerly Cinthia’s Bakery II, which closed up shop in the summer of 2020 due to a decrease in business amid Pike road construction and the pandemic.

Meda will focus on “speciality foods” as well being a coffee shop and bakery.

Getachew is the former co-owner of another Ethiopian restaurant in Alexandria near the Van Dorn Metro. That restaurant was named Meda before recently being renamed ZeMeda Market and Restaurant.

The new restaurant on the Pike will be located just up the street from Arlington Mill Community Center and less than a half of a mile from the Fairfax County border. Getachew says he choose this spot because he lives in the area, as does a number of his customers.

Cinthia’s Bakery II was the second location of the Bailey’s Crossroads bakery that remains open, also along Columbia Pike, only a five minute drive away.

Area 2 Farms, an indoor vertical organic farm, is putting roots down in Green Valley

By Matt Blitz
1/8

(Updated, 1:50 p.m) A new indoor vertical organic farm has put down roots in Green Valley, looking to deliver Arlington-grown farm to table produce.

Inside of a nondescript warehouse on S. Oxford Street near the Shirlington Dog Park, Area 2 Farms is growing — both produce and as a company. Racks of green-leafed, brightly-lit veggies are stacked on top of each other. Water pipes twist between the planters. The smell of soil permeates the space.

Some of what is being grown is familiar to the average supermarket-goer, like carrots, arugula, and tomatoes. Others not so much.

Co-founder Tyler Baras hands over a green leaf with a warning. It’s fish mint, he says, and tastes exactly what it sounds like it would. He’s right.

There are also buzz buttons, the inside of a flower that tastes like a cucumber with honey, and foliage that’s reminiscent of Luxembourg cheese.

The aim of this community-supported indoor urban farm in Arlington isn’t just to deliver freshly-picked produce to customers within a ten mile radius — Arlington, Alexandria, parts of Fairfax County, and D.C. — on a weekly basis. It’s also about fostering a relationship between the community and the farmer.

“People want to know where they are getting their food from,” Baras tells ARLnow. “People can come get a tour of the farm, meet me, and have a relationship.”

Baras and his co-founders aren’t the only ones that think a local indoor vertical organic farm is a good idea. Today, Arlington County and the state announced a pair of $40,000 grants that will provide Area 2 Farms with for a total of $80,000 in public funding.

“It is always exciting when successful entrepreneurs like those behind Area 2 Farms bring their ideas and technologies to help grow Virginia’s largest and oldest industry, agriculture,” said Va’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry at the press conference this morning revealing the grant. “This project adds to the region’s growing cluster of innovative, indoor urban agricultural operations and shows us how the Commonwealth’s oldest industry will remain a vital and growing part of the Virginia economy going forward.”

Baras has spent his career being an indoor vertical farmer and has written a number of books about it. His methods are a combination of hydroponics and traditional farming, including using soil, worms, and compost.

It was about a year ago that he moved to Clarendon and realized that Arlington could be a perfect fit to set up an indoor urban farm.

“[Arlingtonians] love their food. So, everyone’s been so supportive,” he says. “I’ve seen vertical farms do really well when they act like traditional farms — when they do farm stands and build relationships with customers.”

The plan is to start slow and let the farm take root in the neighborhood. Area 2 Farms only moved into the warehouse on S. Oxford Street in October, so it’s still growing.

Next week is Area 2 Farms’ first big harvest. It will begin sending out boxes of their produce to the few dozen customers that have signed up so far later that week. At this point, that’s mostly friends and family, but new customers are welcome to sign up for boxes through the company’s website.

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Pizza and beer hall finally planning to start serving tomorrow in Ballston

By Matt Blitz
1/3

Expansive pizzeria-slash-beer hall Quincy Hall is finally set to start serving slices and pints tomorrow (Friday) in Ballston.

First announced nearly three years ago, the “American Pizza Beer Hall” at 4001 Fairfax Drive is planning a soft opening for this weekend. There will be a more formal grand opening, with specials and festivities, set for late next week, a restaurant spokesperson tells ARLnow.

Quincy Hall will feature pizza from “world pizza guru, Giulio Adriani” and “rare beers from local breweries.” The 8,000-square-foot space at the corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Quincy Street has a 245-person capacity indoors and an extra 80-person, dog-friendly patio outside. Wall art comes from D.C.-based artist Kelly Towles.

“We wanted to create the perfect gathering space in the Ballston neighborhood, a spot where fun meets delicious. The pizza’s are unmatched and we’ve selected unique local beers to pair perfectly,” co-owner Peter Bayne writes to ARLnow. “Three years later… we are excited to have this place open and be the neighborhood hangout.”

Quincy Hall comes from Tin Shop, the same ownership group that runs Highline RxR in Crystal City and is opening Astro Beer Hall in Shirlington. The Shirlington spot is set to open in the fall, a spokesperson tells to ARLnow.

Tin Shop also operates several well-known D.C. bars including Franklin Hall, Penn Social, and Church Hall in Georgetown, which just announced it was closing.

The pizza is the star of Quincy Hall’s show, according to the press release. Adriani is from Rome and was taught how to make pizza by his grandmother. He worked “under pizza-masters throughout Italy,” opened restaurants across the globe, and has won four world pizza championships, the release notes.

“Adriani’s passion is dough and constantly seeking illusive crust perfection,” it reads. “He created a challenging three-day fermented dough for Quincy Hall which Adriani insists is his ‘best ever!'”

Also on the menu, there will be smashburgers, wings, truffle fries, tenders, garlic bites, and caesar salad.

In what might be a sign of a popular emerging genre of restaurant, this is the second pizza and beer hall to open in Arlington over the last month. Nighthawk Pizza started serving in Pentagon City in March.

A new champagne bar set to start serving bubbly next month in Crystal City

By Matt Blitz
1/4

A new champagne bar, market, and restaurant is finally set to serve bubbly early next month in Crystal City.

Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique is aiming for a Thursday, May 5 opening at the corner of 23rd Street S. and Fern Street in Crystal City, owners Zena Polin and Meshelle Armstrong announced via a press release.

The concept is an all-in-one champagne and wine bar, market, and “light bites” restaurant.

The new shop is from two well-known local restaurateurs, Zena Polin and Meshelle Armstrong. The two are also behind Hummingbird Bar & Kitchen in Old Town Alexandria as well as being associated with Eat Good Food Group. That restaurant group owns a number of local restaurants including Pentagon City’s Mattie and Eddie’s and is helmed by Meshelle’s husband, chef Cathal Armstrong.

Additionally, Beauty is somewhat of a revival of Alexandria’s Society Fair, Polin told us back in February. That’s the shop she owned that closed in 2019. A Columbia Pike offshoot shuttered in 2014.

The small-ish, 800-square foot space at 576 23rd Street S. will be divided into three rooms.

The front will be the retail shop and market, selling locally sourced cakes, cookies, treats, and other items. To the right, will be the wine room with champagne and wine being sold to drink on or off the premises. To the left, will be the 12-seat restaurant that will serve flatbreads, dips, charcuteries, sandwiches, and desserts including a “Big Ass Chocolate Cake” and the shop’s signature cookie “The Guilty Pleasure.”

The cookie is a Polin creation, according to the release, and made with “housemade marshmallow fluff, dark chocolate chunks and potato chips.”

The origin of “Beauty” goes back nearly two years, with a decision driven by a unique opportunity. In 2020, the partners happened upon the small residential-looking building in Crystal City that was once the home of consignment boutique Agents in Style.

“We jumped on it before [the concept] was quite ready, but that happens,” Polin said earlier this year. “We’ve been working on it for about a year.”

The location is a relatively short distance from Amazon’s new headquarters, as the press release points out. The partners had hoped to open the boutique in March, but permitting and licensing delays pushed the opening back by about two months.

Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique will be open Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Union, a “casual fine dining” restaurant, is now open in Virginia Square

By Matt Blitz
1/3

McLean-based The Union restaurant has opened its second location in the Virginia Square neighborhood.

The “casual fine dining” eatery opened last Monday (April 4) at 3811 Fairfax Drive, chef and owner Giridhar Sastry confirms to ARLnow. Business, so far, has been “okay,” but Sastry says it may take some time for locals to know that the restaurant is there and open.

The menu, decor, and experience in Arlington are exactly the same as the original in McLean, he says.

ARLnow previously reported that the new restaurant was moving into the space formerly occupied by Burgerim, which closed in January 2021. It’s next to Thai Treasure, which moved into the vacant space left by Water & Wall when that acclaimed restaurant closed in 2017.

The menu at the Union is, as the chef and owner described it last month, is made up of a range of cuisines.

“The DMV is a melting pot of different cultures,” Sastry said in March. “So, we have a little bit of everything.”

That includes Mumbai paninis, shrimp po-boys, beyond burgers, sorbet adas (Lebanese lentil soup), and chicken milanese.

Sastry, originally from Calcutta, India, has worked as a chef throughout the region, including the Ritz-Carlton, Mayflower Hotel in D.C., and several other Northern Virginia restaurants. He chose the Virginia Square neighborhood as the spot for his second location, which is also within walking distance of Ballston, because of the demographics and increasing population of the neighborhood.

The first Union opened in McLean in February 2020, but shut down shortly thereafter due to the pandemic. However, Sastry said that 2021 was a good year overall for the restaurant and an Arlington location was always part of his plan.

Sastry says the Union on Fairfax Drive is still hiring, particularly servers and cooks, and interested people are asked to contact the restaurant.

British cuisine purveyor Salt Pot Kitchen planning to open in Ballston next month

By Matt Blitz
1/4

British-inspired Salt Pot Kitchen is planning to open in Ballston next month.

The Loudoun County-based “upscale British street food” eatery is moving into the Ballston Quarter Market stall formerly occupied by perogi stand Rogi, co-owner Wendy Salt tells ARLnow.

Salt Pot Kitchen is looking to start serving by May 1.

The restaurant comes from mother and son team Wendy and Charlie Salt — hence, the restaurant’s name — who are currently working out of a commercial kitchen in Leesburg. This is their first brick and mortar location after mostly selling their British delicacies like sausage rolls and cottage pies wholesale and at farmers markets.

Wendy Salt says they think Ballston is the perfect location for their business because of the neighborhood’s “international demographic” made up of many who are familiar with British food from their time traveling or studying abroad. Plus, the family previously lived in nearby Falls Church for 17 years.

“We are bringing British food to the people who perhaps don’t have time to cook good wholesome food for themselves and their family,” Salt says. “We think people in this area will appreciate that.”

The menu will consist of traditional English fare, like meat pies, sausage rolls, and soups. Salt says the two most popular items at markets are the beef and mushroom pies and Wiltshire plaits (pork, apple, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a flaky pastry).

There will also be a number of vegetarian and, even, vegan options, like a vegetarian curried pasty (curried vegetables wrapped in a vegan flaky crust) and roasted cauliflower and turmeric soup.

Salt says she’s hoping to expand the menu once they get settled into the space to include other traditional British bites like bangers and mash.

Rogi owner Ed Hardy closed down his Quarter Market stand, situated near the escalator to and from the mall above, in February. At the time, he had hoped to replace it with “a series of collaborations and pop-ups from other regional restaurateurs.”

Those exact plans never materialized, but Salt Pot Kitchen was one of the potential pop-ups that was initially proposed.

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