Former LebTav storefront at 4000 Wilson Blvd, likely soon to be a Starbucks (staff photo)
Former LebTav storefront at 4000 Wilson Blvd, likely soon to be a Starbucks (staff photo)
Existing Starbucks stores in the area (via Google Maps)
The densest census tract in the D.C. area and in Virginia will soon get its own Starbucks (via U.S. Census)
It looks like a new Starbucks is coming to Ballston.
Construction was underway yesterday in the former LebTav space at 4000 Wilson Blvd, just a couple of weeks after the fast-casual restaurant shut down. Plans for the space, seen by ARLnow, bear the Seattle-based coffee chain’s logo and address, as well as the designation of Store No. 71315.
An inquiry to the Starbucks media relations office was not returned by publication time.
There are four existing, walkable Starbucks stores in the area, including next to the Virginia Square and Ballston Metro stations, and at the bottom of the Marymount University building and the Westin hotel in Ballston. But there exists a notable void between the two Metro-adjacent Starbucks stores, where the densest census tract in the D.C. area and all of Virginia is situated.
The apparent new Starbucks will sit within that tract, at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Quincy Street.
Reagan National Airport (Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)
Travelers can expect several new eateries and stores at Reagan National Airport later this year.
A travel supply store with “Just Walk Out” technology, a D.C.-based bookstore, a local burger restaurant, and Chinese food chain P.F. Chang’s are all planning to open at DCA at some point this year, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson Rob Yingling confirmed to ARLnow.
While a number of those businesses were announced last fall, many are now targeting a summer 2023 debut.
The Goods will be a traditional travel supply store located in Terminal 2 near the D gates, but what will make it unique is use of Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. Meaning, customers can exit the store without going through a checkout line because ceiling-mounted cameras and artificial intelligence track selections.
Locals might be familiar with this technology since it is also employed at the Crystal City Amazon Fresh.
Inside “The Goods” will be a “store-within-a-store,” D.C.-based Mahogany Books. The Black-owned independent bookstore has a popular location in Anacostia and the airport shop will be its first location outside of the District.
Mahogany Books will not employ the “Just Walk Out” tech but will have a more “traditional purchasing experience,” per Yingling.
Both The Goods and Mahogany Books inside are expected to start selling this summer.
Also moving into Terminal 2 and near the B gates will be Lucky Buns, a popular burger and chicken sandwich spot originally started in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. It’s run by celebrity chef Alex McCoy. The fast-casual spot, which now has several D.C. locations — as well as Baltimore and London outposts which have since closed — is expected to open this summer.
U.S.-based Chinese restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s, meanwhile, is moving into the new $400 million 14-gate concourse that opened in 2021, near the E gates. Despite a recent alcohol permit application, it remains unclear when that restaurant might open to the public.
“We are getting close to the opening of P.F. Chang’s at DCA but don’t have a date to announce yet,” Yingling said.
Over the last two years, DCA has welcomed a number of other popular and local eateries to the airport. Wolfgang Puck Bar + Bites, Peet’s Coffee, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, Timber Pizza Company, and Elevation Burger have all opened since 2021.
Astro Beer Hall set to open in Shirlington in May (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Astro Beer Hall and its “donut robot” are hoping to start serving by the late spring in Shirlington.
The long-planned Astro Beer Hall on Campbell Avenue is aiming to open its doors in May, co-owner Peter Bayne tells ARLnow. A banner is now wrapped around the side of the building announcing the May date.
It was back in December 2021 when ARLnow reported that the two-level bar and coffee shop was set to take over the vacant, 14,000 square feet space that was once home to Capitol City Brewing Co. That business closed almost exactly five years ago.
A few new details have emerged about the new Arlington venture from the owners of D.C.’s Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, as well as several other local bars and restaurants including CarPool, Highline RxR, and Quincy Hall in Ballston.
Astro Beer Hall will feature a “huge rectangular bar” with a movable glass wall that will open to a sidewalk patio, per Bayne. There will be a wide selection of draft beers, cocktails from an acclaimed New York City bartender, food from Astro’s long-time chef Chris Kujala, two pool tables, and a “large arcade section with the latest arcade games”.
As its name eludes, Shirlington’s Astro Beer Hall will be space-themed, with artwork and murals to match.
There will also be a donut robot.
Part of the 14,000 square-foot indoor space will be transformed into a take-out shop with coffee, sandwiches, and a robot making “fresh fried to-order donuts right in front of our customers,” Bayne told ARLnow.
No word yet if the robot will declare its love for customers in the process.
Astro Beer Hall was initially thought to be opening late last year since it was included in the restaurant group’s membership service that was announced in August 2022.
Besides Astro Beer Hall, several new businesses are expected to open in Shrlington soon. Our Mom Eugenia remains on the docket for later this month. Jeni’s Ice Cream has already started scooping but will be holding a grand opening celebration in March.
The new Jeni’s ice cream shop in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The scoop in Shirlington is that Jeni’s Ice Creams is finally opening this week.
A reader tipped off ARLnow that they spotted the ice cream shop at 4150 Campbell Avenue holding a “friends and family night” earlier this week.
The shop is planning a public “soft opening” starting Thursday, Feb. 16, a spokesperson confirmed. A grand opening event is likely set for “early to mid March,” they said.
It’s been close to a year since we reported that the Columbus, Ohio-based premium ice cream chain was setting up shop in Shirlington. Besides window stickers, there were only a sprinkling of updates throughout 2022. Then, last month, the company confirmed they were looking to open early this year.
While the middle of February is usually not the ideal time for a cold treat, this Thursday’s weather looks to be unusually mild with temperatures expected to be in the mid-60s.
Jeni’s is filling a notable gap in Shirlington. With the recent closings of Yogiberry and I-CE-NY in late 2021, there were no dedicated frozen treat shops in the Village of Shirlington shopping center.
That has now been rectified.
“After a long wait we are looking forward to an ice cream store in the neighborhood!” our tipster said.
Elsewhere in Shirlington, Our Mom Eugenia still has yet to open though the plan was to start serving this month. The two-level beer-and-coffee venue Astro Beer Hall is also expected to open soon, with new banners around the building proclaiming a May 2023 date.
Sabores is now open on Columbia Pike (courtesy of Alex López)
Sabores is now open on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Alex López)
Sabores is now open on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Alex López)
Sabores is now open on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Alex López)
A new Spanish tapas restaurant has opened on Columbia Pike, filling the void left by a well-liked Mexican restaurant.
Sabores started serving “Spanish tapas with a Latin flair” this past weekend at 2401 Columbia Pike, co-owner Alex López told ARLnow. It’s in the large storefront at the corner of S. Adams Street where Taqueria el Poblano was for about a decade before closing last year.
For the moment, Sabores is only serving dinner but will extend to lunch and “hopefully” breakfast soon as well.
This is López’s first restaurant, having opened the eatery with two long-time co-workers, Carlos Olarte and Ernesto Valenzuela. They all previously worked together at a Brazilian steakhouse in Fairfax as well as Jaleo in Crystal City, which was owned by José Andrés but closed in 2021.
“We loved the concept of sharing plates and gathering with family,” López said about how the famed chef inspired them to open their own restaurant. “We want to make sure people are having a good time.”
He and his partners made the decision to open their own restaurant last year and found this space in the Penrose neighborhood.
“We are excited about the neighborhood. South Arlington has a lot of potential and we want to invest in it,” López said.
He noted how much help and support they got from the Columbia Pike Partnership, which assisted the new owners in navigating the county permitting process. López also said that the space’s previous tenants also helped with the switch and were “great” to them.
López is Colombian with his partners from other South American countries. The menu at Sabores reflects that with “cuisine [from] the different regions of Spain and the diversity of dishes of all Latin American countries,” per the restaurant’s website.
He’s learned a lot as a first-time restaurant owner, but already feels supported by the neighborhood.
“Things don’t go your way all the time, but you got to keep pushing and trying,” López said. “Luckily, we are in this community and have gotten a lot of help.”
It appears that the new restaurant coming to the former Green Valley Pharmacy could finally be ready to open by this summer.
Over the last several months, the county has reviewed and approved a number of plans related to the proposed renovations at the historic building. Another sign of progress: recent meetings with the community that had in the past pushed back on some of those proposals.
Construction could begin within weeks on the property, which has sat mostly untouched for the better part of six years, we’re told.
The county, the building owner, the restaurant tenant, and the Green Valley Civic Association have all signaled to ARLnow that they are ready to move forward to redeveloping the local landmark into a kabob restaurant.
“We do still have concerns with parking, ingress, and egress,” Green Valley Civic Association president Portia Clark told ARLnow via email. “[But] the community is not holding up this project.”
The restaurant project was first reported in September 2021 and came with the blessing of Jessie Al-Amin, the daughter of former pharmacy owner Doc Muse.
Muse was a graduate of the Howard University School of Pharmacy and opened Green Valley Pharmacy in 1952 as Arlington’s only pharmacy and lunch counter to serve the county’s Black community during the Jim Crow era.
The business at 2415 Shirlington Road was designated by the county as a local historic landmark in 2013, with a historic marker placed there in 2014.
Al-Amin inherited the building from Muse when he died in 2017. The pharmacy at 2415 Shirlington Road closed shortly after his death.
In August 2019, Al-Amin made a deal with local business owner Nasir Ahmad for him to rent the building and open a new business. Ahmad owns restaurants in Sterling and Fredericksburg and told ARLnow he previously owned a fried chicken eatery in Green Valley close to twenty years ago, where John Robinson, Jr. Town Square is now.
Since it is protected as a local historic district, any proposed exterior alterations had to be approved by the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board’s (HALRB) design review process.
In October of last year, the HALRB approved proposed hardscaping and parking modifications. Last month, the board issued a Certificate of Appropriateness allowing for exterior alterations.
“For the time being, the HALRB process is complete, unless there are future changes needed to their approved certificates OR if additional exterior alterations are proposed (signage, outdoor seating, etc.),” Historic Preservation Program coordinator Cynthia Liccese-Torres told ARLnow.
Even if the HALRB needed to review external signage, Liccese-Torres said, the restaurant could still open without signage being finalized.
The only hang-up now, at least on the county side, is for the Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) to approve the building permit. A county spokesperson said that a review is currently taking place, though said that they could not provide a timeline for when it might be completed.
Ahmad told ARLnow he believes he’ll hear back from the county within the next few days, noting that even if plans needed to be altered that shouldn’t delay the project that much.
From there, construction would likely take three to four months. That could put an expected completion date sometime in the late spring or early summer.
As previously reported, the restaurant is set to serve chicken, rice, kabobs, burgers, and pizza. While “Halal Spot” was thought to be the restaurant’s name, Ahmad said they have yet to make a final decision on that.
Clark said that whatever the name might be, the community is ready for it to be redeveloped.
“They need to do something because the building is now just an eyesore,” she said. “The window coverings look awful.”
Trash and illegal parking have also become problems, locals tell ARLnow, which has added to the downtrodden look of the property.
But “slow and steady” progress seems to be happening and those involved are looking forward to finally opening a new community-serving business.
“I’ve always wanted to make sure [the redevelopment] represented my father’s legacy,” Al-Amin said. “It will be nice when it’s done.”
A crew putting up signage above the entrance of the new Taco Bell Cantina in Courthouse in December (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
It appears as if Courthouse’s newest date night spot won’t be open for Valentine’s Day.
The opening for the hotly anticipated Taco Bell Cantina at 2039 Wilson Blvd has been pushed back again. A company spokesperson told ARLnow that “we are hoping to be open within the next three to four weeks.”
Meaning, if that timeline is accurate, chalupas won’t likely be served until late February or early March.
As was the case in December when ARLnow last reported that the fast food eatery was delayed, it seems the electric system is to be blamed, with crews set to stop by this week to hopefully fix the issues.
And locals are getting hungry.
In an ARLnow poll conducted last month, Courthouse’s Taco Bell Cantina garnered the second-most votes for the new restaurant that readers are most looking forward to.
The biggest difference between a regular Taco Bell and a Taco Bell Cantina is the latter serves alcoholic beverages. The Courthouse location will also have a walk-up window, allowing for faster service.
The walk-up window and location in Courthouse — next to the post office and several doors down from the Ireland’s Four Courts where restoration work is underway — appears to be an effort to serve a late-night crowd coming from bars and nearby apartment buildings.
The space at 2039 Wilson Blvd was previously home to Guarapo Lounge, a popular Peruvian bar and after-work staple. It closed in 2016 and there has not been a tenant in that space since.
The Courthouse restaurant isn’t the only new Taco Bell Cantina opening in the region soon. Last week, it was announced that another Cantina location was opening in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood.
If a few weeks is too long to wait for a Gordita, there are also Taco Bell Cantinas on King Street in Old Town Alexandria and in Columbia Heights in D.C., as well as a regular standard-issue Taco Bell on Langston Blvd.
The Nashville-style hot chicken chain plans to open its newest location on Monday (Jan. 30) at 875 N. Randolph Street, a block away from Wilson Blvd and a couple of blocks from the Metro station.
The location is the former home of breakfast and lunch spot Laura Cooks, which closed in July.
ARLnow first reported that Hangry Joe’s was coming to Ballston late last year. It was initially scheduled to open in early December, but it was delayed by several weeks.
The menu mostly consists of spicy fried chicken in sandwich, tender, and nugget form. The website touts its secret chicken recipe as a reason for its success. The location is expected to serve beer and wine as well, having applied for a Virginia ABC license.
The first Hangry Joe’s was opened near Richmond in 2021 by the founder of frozen yogurt purveyor Sweet Frog.
The fast-casual franchise has since expanded rather quickly. While this is the first Arlington location, there are already eleven other locations across Northern Virginia including several in Alexandria and Fairfax County. They’ve all opened within the past year.
Currently, there are plans to open eateries in at least nine other states across the country plus one in Dubai.
With Hangry Joe’s opening, the battle for Ballston’s best hot chicken is heating up with Hot Lola’s in the Ballston Quarter food hall now facing some competition.
The Nespresso store at the Pentagon City mall is closing (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 2:00 p.m.) The Nespresso store is closing at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
The international coffee brand announced it will be closing its Pentagon City mall location early next month with its final day on Sunday, February 5. The reason, per a company spokesperson, is “shopping trends.”
“Nespresso evaluates the marketplace and shopping trends regularly to determine how we can deliver superior customer service and a high-quality coffee experience,” the spokesperson wrote ARLnow via email. “Following our latest evaluation, we have decided to close the Pentagon City boutique.”
The decision to close this location is part of “our long-term business strategy and reflects evolving consumer trends,” said the spokesperson.
They also noted that all employees affected by the closure and are “in good standing” will be given the option of taking another role at Nespresso or a severance package. The Nespresso stores at Tysons and in Bethesda will both remain open, so presumably, employees at the Pentagon City location could be moved to those locations.
“While we are confident this is the right step for our overall business operations, this is a decision that affects real people and their families, and we know it causes challenges and uncertainties for our employees,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a new Korean corn dog eatery is coming to the mall.
Kong Dog is expected to open within the next two months, per a company spokesperson, though it’s unclear exactly where and when. The mall’s website initially said February 15, but that specific date has since been removed from the site.
Kong Dog serves up Korean-style corn dogs with toppings like cheese, fried potato, and ramen. With U.S. locations mostly centered in Illinois and New Jersey, the Pentagon City eatery appears to be the first coming to this area, though a new Georgetown location is also “coming soon” per the company’s website.
The 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon where two new restaurants are opening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon where two new restaurants are opening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Two new Asian restaurants are coming to Clarendon later this year.
An “authentic” Chinese dim sum restaurant called Tiger Dumpling and a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant called Izakaya 68 are coming to the 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon, signage in the window suggests.
Both restaurants are owned by the Ivea Restaurant Group, which runs a number of Asian-inspired restaurants across the region. That includes Ballston’s Gyu San, which is expected to open this year.
A spokesperson for the group told ARLnow that the two restaurants — they declined to confirm the name of the izakaya-style eatery — are now aiming for a summer opening, a bit of a pushback from the hoped-for April launch date.
The location in Clarendon was chosen due to the neighborhood’s foot traffic and because it is on the ground floor of a relatively newly constructed building, the owners said. The restaurants will be filing spaces that were previously home to Utahime and La Finca, with the former closing in 2020 and the latter in 2021.
Those restaurant spaces have seen considerable turnover, owing at least in part to the placement at the edge of the Clarendon business district, though residential development on the former Red Top Cab lot may help them feel less on the periphery to diners.
Prior restaurants that have come and gone from the spaces include pan-European pub Park Lane Tavern, ‘Top Chef’ contestant Katsuji Tanabe’s Le Kon, and “cajun seafood and sushi lounge” Asiatique.
Tiger Dumpling and Izakaya 68 are not the only Asian restaurants coming to Clarendon. Wagamama is expected to reveal an opening date for its new location in the former Oz space “shortly,” according to a spokesperson. Wagamama was recently voted the sixth-most anticipated 2023 restaurant opening in Arlington by ARLnow readers.
The popular, family-owned and Great Falls-based Greek restaurant is looking to finally open its new 3,604 square-foot space at 4044 Campbell Avenue by mid-February, a restaurant manager told ARLnow. It’s moving into the former location of Aroma Indian Cuisine and next to RAMMY award-winning CHIKO, which opened in late 2021.
Our Mom Eugenia’s Shirlington opening has been delayed due to the familiar refrain of waiting on county permits. Initially, it was set to open in the fall of last year, then by the end of 2022, and, now, in February 2023.
ARLnow reported in May that the restaurant was expanding its local presence with a new Shirlington eatery.
This will be the restaurant’s third location, with the original in Great Falls and a second location in the Mosaic District that opened in 2020.
The restaurant is named after its co-owner Eugenia Hobson, a native of western Greece and a long-time local chef who cooked at several notable D.C. area Greek restaurants including Nostos in Tysons. She opened her own restaurant with her two sons in Great Falls in 2016.
The menu is full of traditional Greek dishes, including Greek salad, spanakopita, lamp chops, saganaki (fried cheese), pastitsio (Greek lasagna), dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), and grilled octopus.
Besides Our Mom Eugenia, Shirlington is expecting several other high-profile openings this year. Jeni’s Ice Cream is looking to start scooping by early spring while the two-level beer-and-coffee venue Astro Beer Hall has not yet revealed an expected opening timeframe.
