new business

Local ‘ghost kitchen’ MOLTN Cookies wants to satisfy your late-night cravings

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn. 

There is a new takeout- and delivery-only bakery in Arlington, and it is open until 2 a.m. on weekends — just when a cookie craving may strike.

The ghost kitchen, called MOLTN Cookies, celebrated its opening on Saturday with free cookies. It operates from within the Allspice Catering storefront (6017 Wilson Blvd) in the Dominion Hills neighborhood, near the county border with the City of Falls Church. Allspice and MOLTN have separate ownership and are otherwise unaffiliated, save the agreement to share a kitchen.

The company offers 10 cookie options — including s’mores, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and white chocolate macadamia nut — as well as several ice cream flavors for shakes and sundaes, all of which is made to order. Cookies are available in packs of six, 12 and 24. The ghost kitchen also offers corporate and event catering packages.

“Anyone in the area with a sweet tooth knows how difficult it can be to find a quality selection of desserts late at night,” co-owner Neal Miglani said in a statement. “As we watched the ghost kitchen concept take hold in the DMV, we realized we could use the model to fill this need, providing a variety of options when people need them the most.”

MOLTN Cookies promotional graphic (courtesy photo)

Miglani grew up helping out in his family’s restaurant, mopping floors and working in the kitchen, and eventually began consulting for restaurants and food tech startups in D.C.

Compared to places like New York City, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, Miglani says the Washington region was “definitely a little late to the party” when it came to the food-tech scene.

“Delivery just wasn’t as much a priority for restaurant owners before the pandemic here, but the market is responding quickly,” he tells ARLnow. “I think we are going to start seeing a lot of restaurants experimenting with virtual brands and delivery-focused menus.”

He says the food-tech scene has changed in the last two years primarily because the pandemic whetted people’s appetites for the convenience of pickup and delivery. That has in turn birthed a number of startups that specialize in building online ordering platforms for restaurants.

“We’ve also seen new food tech companies come into popularity recently such as LunchBox, BBot, and many more that have made the process much smoother,” he observed. “After witnessing this transformative shift in dining first-hand, we knew that when we started our own cookie business, we would utilize a takeout- and delivery-based business model.”

Miglani tested out his cookie concept in Gaithersburg, Maryland last year. The success of the location ultimately led him and his cofounders to open the Arlington location, he said.

He tells ARLnow that the location near the Arlington-Falls Church border is “perfect” because MOLTN can serve both areas.

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Boutique market Foxtrot expanding into Rosslyn

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Boutique market, cafe, and convenience store Foxtrot is expanding into Rosslyn, looking to open its first Arlington outpost this fall.

Foxtrot, which opened its first D.C.-area location in Georgetown only a year ago, is moving into a ground floor retail space in the Highlands development at 1771 N. Pierce Street, the company announced yesterday (Thursday). Foxtrot expects to be open by “early fall.”

Foxtrot is an upscale corner store, market, and cafe that also focuses on delivery, making much of its inventory available for delivery in under an hour. That means everything from Fruit Loop Snickerdoodle cookies to White Claw hard seltzers can arrive at your door.

The Rosslyn location is one of four new Foxtrots that the company announced yesterday, including two in D.C. and one in Maryland, all of which are projected to open by the end of the year. That will make eight Foxtrots locally, including an Alexandria outpost that just opened early last month.

The menu will be the same in Rosslyn as the others, a Foxtrot spokesperson tells ARLnow. Decor will vary from location to location and is dependent on the neighborhood, though there will be some similarities across stores.

“Whether it’s a renovation of an older building or a new build, the spaces are designed to blend into the neighborhood and have a sense of place,” the spokesperson says. “Foxtrot’s new DMV-area stores will continue this model, with each site uniquely designed while still supporting the brand’s day-to-night atmosphere and incorporating signature design elements like concrete floors, hospitality lighting, wood paneling, warm color palettes and local artwork.”

Foxtrot Market was founded in 2014 and is based in Chicago, but has since expanded to the D.C. area and Texas. It recently raised $160 million and plans to open 50 stores across the country in the next two years.

The Highlands development in Rosslyn, the ground floor of which Foxtrot is moving into, completed construction last year. It features three residential towers, a park, a new fire station, and 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Gym-café concept to take over Ray’s the Steaks location in Courthouse

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

A one-stop-shop for a workout and a post-workout meal is gearing up to open in the former Ray’s the Steaks location in Courthouse.

The forthcoming gym-café, FitDistrict, will have a little bit of everything: studios for hot yoga, cycling and interval training classes, and a diverse menu ranging from wheatgrass shots to healthified comfort classics, like shepherd’s pie.

“This has been a dream in the making for a long time,” says owner and founder Catherine Ford, who is also an Arlington resident.

Construction began about two weeks ago on the approximately 7,500-square foot space in the Navy League building at 2300 Wilson Blvd. It housed the iconic, no-frills steakhouse until that closed in 2019.

She expects to open the gym and restaurant at the same time in July.

“We’re all so busy and we are all are craving belonging and community — now more than ever — so it’s going to be fitness and food, but it’s about belonging and community,” she said. “Our tagline is ‘feel good here,’ because that’s what it’s about.”

After finishing a workout, gym members can head over to the café, which will have indoor and outdoor seating, or pick up a to-go order they placed before their workout. Ford designed the menu, which has vegan, vegetarian and paleo-friendly options.

“The whole idea came out of something I wanted in my own life and my personal struggles of fitting it all in,” she said.

The FitDistrict logo (courtesy photo)

As a financial planner, Ford had difficulty finding time for her two passions: attending group fitness classes and cooking healthy food. As someone who enjoyed a variety of workouts, she maintained multiple memberships to different boutique gyms.

The idea for one spot housing multiple studios and a restaurant came to her 10 years ago, when she was hungry after a barre class she had squeezed in before a meeting. She mulled the concept for years before deciding to act on it.

“I am grateful I found the courage a couple of years ago to go after it,” she said. “This has been a journey of a lifetime already.”

Ford incorporated FitDistrict in 2017 and found a bank to work with her in 2018. It took her a few years to find the right location, but she eventually signed a lease on the space a little more than a year ago. Now, she’s focused on construction and hiring for multiple positions.

She still works as a financial planner by day, but her hope is to go full time and, eventually, add locations.

Group gaming experience Electric Gamebox opens in Ballston Quarter

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

An “immersive group gaming” experience called Electric Gamebox is officially open in Ballston Quarter mall.

Electric Gamebox opened its Arlington outpost on Thursday, and we’re told the opening weekend went smoothly and business was steady. The entertainment facility is located in Suite 2233 of Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd), in a 2,217 square-foot space, the entrance to which is on the second floor of the outdoor portion of the mall.

“We chose Arlington because of its reputation as a young, vibrant, family friendly community,” said Will Dean, Co-founder and CEO of Electric Gamebox, in a statement. “Visitors to the Ballston Quarter location can enjoy a range of games, including our recently launched Shaun the Sheep game, and they can feel assured that they are doing so in a Covid-safe and family-friendly environment.”

The debut follows openings in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas, as well as Salt Lake City and Chicago — all part of the London-based company’s foray into the U.S. that began in December 2020.

Dean and his co-founder David Spindler founded the popular obstacle race Tough Mudder and Tough Mudder Bootcamp, respectively.

Inside Electric Gamebox, visitors will find a series of rooms called “gameboxes,” which can host two to six players for games that last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

Users don visors with motion tracking that allow them to use their entire body to play games that are projected onto the four walls of their “gamebox.”

New games, to be released monthly, “can only be successfully completed through collaboration,” according to a press release.

Electric Gamebox says its games are suitable for all ages. Ticket prices range from $20 to $35 and can be purchased both online and in-store.

The location is open 12-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 12-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

New urgent care option for pets to open in Clarendon this summer

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

Bond Vet, a New York City-based chain of primary and urgent care clinics for cats and dogs, is setting up shop in Clarendon.

Construction in the space at 2871 Clarendon Blvd, in the former Lilly Pulitzer storefront, is underway. Bond Vet aims to open its doors to local dogs and cats and their humans this summer.

The storefront, part of The Crossing Clarendon retail center, has been vacant since the purveyor of preppy pink clothing packed its portmanteau and left last May. Bond Vet signed a deal to take over the space late last year, Director of Real Estate and Development Lauren Heuser tells ARLnow.

“Things are moving forward,” Heuser said. “We’re actually ahead of pace from what we anticipated from a permitting standpoint, which never happens.”

The new location is part of Bond Vet’s first expansion outside of the New York area, where it has opened nearly a dozen locations since 2019. The full-service clinics offer urgent care and routine care, including wellness exams, vaccines and spay and neuter services, as well as surgeries, dental cleanings and international health certificates.

Outside of Clarendon, its foray into the Mid-Atlantic region includes Bethesda, D.C.’s 14th Street NW corridor and the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The company is also headed north into Boston, and will have 25 total locations by the end of 2022.

“[The expansion] was on the horizon ahead of the pandemic,” Heuser said. “During the pandemic, the development pace slowed down a bit, but we picked up again as soon as we felt like we could.”

Bond Vet leaders chose The Crossing Clarendon because they liked the new tenants Regency Centers has nabbed for the rebranded shopping center.

“We like to be part of a rich context with many different types of tenants, rather than going into an area where you’re only going to find soft goods or medical offices,” Heuser said. “We felt that this was a good opportunity for that.”

Recent tenant announcements for The Crossing Clarendon include New York-based seafood eatery Seamore’s, fitness center Life Time, and District Dogs, a daycare and overnight boarding facility for pooches.

“We’re certainly not a daycare but we like to create symbiotic relationships with pet care providers within the neighborhood,” Heuser noted.

Bond Vet is the third option for pet owners whose animal companion needs care sooner than what a primary veterinarian could provide but in a different setting than an emergency room, she says.

“We believe it provides enough availability for same day appointments across locations, and it keeps pets that don’t need to be in the emergency room out of the ER,” Heuser said.

(The pet-centric neighborhood will now have all three veterinary options covered, with Arlies award winners Clarendon Animal Care at 3000 10th Street N. and Caring Hands Animal Hospital at 2601-A Wilson Blvd, in addition to the new doggy daycare and a locally-based dog food brand.)

Bond Vet’s expansion comes as veterinary jobs and services have been in high demand over the last two years, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. The association says urgent care clinics appear to be taking on a substantial portion of that demand.

“From a competitive landscape, what we’re seeing all over the country is a high demand for veterinary care,” Heuser said. “So many people got new pets through the pandemic, and that trend has not slowed down.”

A new lunch bowl eatery set to serve in Crystal City

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Grab a fork because a new lunch bowl eatery is coming to Crystal City.

Crystal Bowl is opening on the ground floor of 2800 Crystal Drive, signs announce on the eatery’s exterior. It’s set to serve lunch bowls, sandwiches, breakfast, coffee, smoothies, and bubble tea, according to signs on the window.

It remains unclear when it is expected to open, though. The website just notes “coming soon” and a call to the posted phone number went unanswered. Looking inside, however, it appears that interior construction is mostly complete.

2800 Crystal Drive is a ten-story office building, home to several businesses including a dental practice and a government contractor.

McLean-based The Union restaurant is coming to Va. Square

By Matt Blitz
The Union is coming to 3811 Fairfax Dr. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Union, a McLean-based “casual fine dining” restaurant, is opening a second location in Arlington.

The hope is to start serving at 3811 Fairfax Drive, in the Virginia Square area, by the end of the month, chef and owner Giridhar Sastry tells ARLnow.

The Union is coming to the former location of Burgerim, which closed early last year. The menu, decor, and experience at the Arlington location will be “exactly the same” as it is in McLean.

Sastry describes The Union’s menu as a showcase for a diverse range of cuisine.

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

That includes shrimp po-boys, Asian salad, Thai coconut shrimp soup, Mumbai paninis, and churros. The beer menu will keep things closer to home — everything on tap will be local.

Sastry is originally from Calcutta, India and came to America for culinary school about two decades ago. He’s worked as a chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Mayflower Hotel in D.C., and other Northern Virginia restaurants.

He opened The Union in McLean in February 2020, having “one good month” before needing to shut down due to the pandemic. But 2021 was a solid overall, he says, and opening a second location was always part of the plan.

Sastry says he chose the neighborhood, within easy walking distance of Ballston, because of the demographics.

“The menu is geared towards the fast paced, younger crowd who’s hungry,” he says.

Construction is nearly done, Sastry said, and the restaurant is now waiting on licenses and final inspections.

Sushi restaurant Kusshi rolling into Pentagon City this spring

By Matt Blitz
Sushi restaurant Kusshi at Westpost (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Kusshi, known for its sushi and sake, is aiming for an early April opening at Westpost.

The Bethesda-based, high-end Japanese restaurant first announced it was coming to the Pentagon City retail center in June 2021, filling the space once occupied by Nepalese eatery Namaste Everest. That restaurant closed about two years after opening.

Now, Kusshi is hoping to open its doors in less than two months at 1201 S. Joyce Street.

Kusshi was initially supposed to start serving by the end of last year, but delays typical these days (supply chain, permitting, materials) forced the opening back by several months.

Kusshi co-owner Tony Chow tells ARLnow that they decided to make the move to Westpost because the development is owned by the same developer Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) as Bethesda’s Pike & Rose, where the restaurant opened its first location in 2018.

Chow also notes Amazon’s growing presence in the neighborhood as another major reason for choosing Pentagon City for its next location.

There will be indoor and outdoor seating and the menu will be “similar” as the Bethesda location, Chow says. That includes sushi, sashimi, ramen, katsu, sake, and other Japanese fare. The restaurant also offers omakase, a formal meal left to the chef’s choice.

Westpost has changed drastically over the last two years. That even includes the center’s name, changing from Pentagon Row to Westpost in late 2020.

A number of buzzy restaurants opened last year, including Cathal Armstrong’s Mattie and Eddie’s, Lucky Danger, and Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream.

There are still several more looking to start serving in 2022, including Nighthawk Pizza and Banditos Bar & Kitchen. Target is also planning to open a 34,000 square-foot store in the former Bed, Bath, & Beyond space.

Korean fast casual restaurant SeoulSpice opening in Rosslyn next week with free food

By Matt Blitz
1/5

Korean fast casual eatery SeoulSpice is opening a new location in Rosslyn next week and offering free food for its first customers.

The spot at 1735 N. Lynn Street, on the ground floor of the International Place building, will be SeoulSpice’s sixth location and first in Virginia. It is set to open its doors on Wednesday, Feb. 23, and will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

On opening day, each in-store customer can get a “complimentary entrée bowl” while supplies last. Customers must physically be in the restaurant to get the bowl.

The growing restaurant chain, which serves Korean comfort food including rice bowls and japchae noodle bowls, was founded by a world-class percussionist.

“Like all musicians, I’m a foodie,” owner Eric Shin tells ARLnow.

Shin became the principal percussionist with the National Symphony Orchestra about a decade ago. So, when friends came to visit, he would often play “tour guide” taking them to all the popular Korean restaurants in the area.

He soon realized there was a need in the D.C. area for fresh Korean flavors in a more simple, fast-casual format.

So, taking what he learned from his mom who opened a restaurant in Atlanta, he opened his own restaurant in 2016. SeoulSpice’s first location was in D.C. and has since expanded to Maryland.

Over the years, Shin says he’s learned a lot, particularly about how his careers intersect. He’s also a faculty member at the music school at the University of Maryland.

“Food, like music, is this pursuit of perfection,” he says. “There’s so many parallels in music and food, both being incredible ways to learn about culture.”

Food runs in Shin’s family. Many of the recipes come from family members, passed down over generations, with nearly all ingredients prepped and made in-house. The menu includes Korean-style burritos, bibimbap, japchae, bulgogi, kimchi, and sauces, which are all made from scratch.

In fact, Shin ran the entire menu by his grandmother, who approved it save for one item.

“[We] offer cilantro-lime ranch, which is one of my favorite sauces… I’m a ranch addict. But my grandma was so pissed off when we showed her this on the menu,” Shin laughs. “But the flavors really work. It took a lot of convincing… to win [her] over.”

SeoulSpice also ended up being gluten-free, not because Shin intended it to be but because he preferred the complexity of tamari as a soy sauce alternative, which is naturally free of gluten.

The lease was signed for the Rosslyn location prior to the pandemic, Shin says, so it has taken a while to open. Plus, it’s a bit of a challenging space, having operated as a dry cleaning business prior and being under a thousand square feet.

Shin is excited for the opening, though, since Arlington was the most requested location for a new restaurant.

“Practically every week, we got emails from someone in Northern Virginia saying, ‘please come out here!'” he says.

Shin believes that his work as a percussionist is in some ways his “secret sauce” for his success as a restaurateur.

“When you’re practicing in music,” Shin says. “You’re always finding interesting ways to do new things.”

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls in Shirlington hoping to open by early fall

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated, 11:20 am) It’s still likely going to be at least six more months before diners can get some fresh catch in Shirlington.

Annapolis-based Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is readying itself for a potential late summer or early fall opening at 4017 Campbell Avenue in the Village at Shirlington, a company spokesperson told ARLnow.

Mason’s is moving into the 1,334-square-foot space formerly occupied by Nirvana Reflexology Spa, which closed late last year.

With construction plans all but finalized, the spokesperson said, the restaurant is now applying for county permits. Records show the restaurant started applying for permits in November.

Mason’s first announced its Arlington arrival in December, its first such location in the county and third in Virginia. The other Northern Virginia location is at Reston Town Center, which opened in 2018. There are also three locations in D.C., in Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Foggy Bottom.

The company has scouted Arlington for a long time, the spokesperson said, particularly Shirlington due to its “town center atmosphere” and abundance of foot traffic. Shirlington has continued to be a hot spot for new businesses with a number of openings announced in recent months, including Astro Beer Hall and CHIKO. Also nearby, The Cookery announced it was closing after the owner choose not to renew the store’s lease.

Opening its Arlington restaurant is part of the lobster roll eatery’s continued expansion, with a number of locations opening recently across the country. With Reston and, soon, Arlington, though, there are no current plans to open more locations in Northern Virginia, we’re told

The menu at Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls consists of, yes, lobster rolls, but also a number of variations of the red crustacean, including lobster bisque, lobster grilled cheese, lobster mac and cheese and lobster salad. There’s also shrimp salad, clam chowder and hot dogs (for the kids).

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema now aiming for fall opening in Crystal City

By Matt Blitz
Rendering of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Crystal City (Photo courtesy of Cojeaux Cinemas)

The new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Crystal City is now aiming for a fall opening, delayed from the spring.

The Texas-based theater chain first announced that it was going to open a nine-screen, 50,000-square-foot complex at 1660 Crystal Drive in the summer. The theater will be operated by franchisee Cojeaux Cinemas, which operates other Alamo Drafthouses in Virginia and D.C.

The original intent was to open the Arlington theaters in May or June, but that’s been pushed back by at least a few months, as Variety first reported and the franchisee owner confirmed to ARLnow.

“We are more than likely looking at a late Q3 opening in Crystal City due to a variety of factors related to the supply chain and construction feasibility as the area continues to rapidly grow and evolve,” Joseph Edwards, co-owner of Cojeaux Cinemas, tells ARLnow. “Construction is progressing nicely at this time and we look forward to delivering the best possible finished product and Alamo Drafthouse experience as soon as possible.”

Details about the theater complex remain a little out of focus. Like most other Alamo Drafthouses, there will be laser projectors, large recliners with individual tables, and call buttons to request service. There will also be a themed bar, but the exact concept is not yet known.

Edwards said the company had been looking to bring an Alamo Drafthouse to Arlington for a nearly decade before finally signing a deal with property owner JBG Smith in 2017. The theater is opening in a revamped retail plaza known as Central District, which also includes a CVS, Solidcore, and — most likely — an Amazon Fresh.

This will be the third Alamo Drafthouse in Northern Virginia. It is only about six miles from a D.C. location, which opened in December.

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