new restaurant

New family-owned Afghan kabob eatery opens in Ballston

By Matt Blitz
Grill Kabob is now open in Ballston on N. Glebe Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new Afghan kabob restaurant in Ballston has officially started serving.

Grill Kabob at 708 N. Glebe Road opened this past weekend, a restaurant employee confirmed.

This is the 13th area location of the local chain of family-owned eateries. The design, decor, and menu are all similar to its other locations with the menu focusing on Afghan-styled kabobs along with salads and sandwiches.

Ownership did tell ARLnow last spring that the menu might change over time depending on the popularity of certain items at the Ballston location.

ARLnow first reported that Grill Kabob was opening a new location in Ballston back in April 2022. The initial plan was to open in the summer. ARLnow has reached out to ownership about the delay but has to hear back as of publication.

Co-owner Wais Shoja said the reason that they chose this site was because of all the new apartment buildings and the abundance of  office space, as well as the Metro accessibility and the neighborhood’s continued development. While the first Grill Kabob opened in the Springfield Mall more than two decades ago, Shoja said the focus since has been to open locations near residential and office areas.

Ballston has seen an influx of development over the past few years, along with a number of other restaurant either opening recently or planning to.

Across the street from Grill Kabob, Gyu San Japanese BBQ is set to start sizzling likely later this year. Coffee shop Slipstream is aiming to open around the corner from there within the next few months as well, a spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow recently.

A few doors down from Grill Kabob, the new Ballston Silver Diner opened last month.

There’s also the impending redevelopment of the Macy’s site, also located just across the street from where Grill Kabob just opened.

Morning Poll: Which of these 21 new restaurants are you most looking forward to?

By ARLnow.com
A crew putting up signage above the entrance of the new Taco Bell Cantina in Courthouse in December (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

After the pandemic disrupted the restaurant business, there was something of a lull in new restaurant openings in Arlington.

But 2023 looks to be a eventful year for restaurant openings in Arlington, as Amazon opens its HQ2 and a number of long-anticipated establishments open their doors. We’re currently tracking about 25 eateries that are hoping to open this year.

So which are you, personally, most looking forward to? For the purposes of this poll, we’ll exclude two that are mostly dessert spots — Crumbl Cookies (Langston Blvd) and Jeni’s Ice Cream (Shirlington) — as well as a couple whose progress towards opening is questionable.

Here are links to more info on each of the above:

  1. Taco Bell Cantina (Courthouse)
  2. Astro Beer Hall (Shirlington)
  3. Carbonara (Virginia Square)
  4. Our Mom Eugenia (Shirlington)
  5. Westover Taco (Westover)
  6. Gyu San Japanese BBQ (Ballston)
  7. All About Burger (Langston Blvd)
  8. Chicken + Whiskey (Clarendon)
  9. Tawle (Clarendon)
  10. Hangry Joe’s (Ballston)
  11. Wagamama (Clarendon)
  12. Grill Kabob (Ballston)
  13. Haute Dogs (Williamsburg)
  14. bb.q Chicken (Virginia Square)
  15. Sabores (Columbia Pike)
  16. Peruvian Brothers (Pentagon City/HQ2)
  17. Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe (Pentagon City/HQ2)
  18. Chase the Submarine (Pentagon City)
  19. Stella Restaurant and Lounge (Columbia Pike)
  20. Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante (Columbia Pike)
  21. Slipstream (Ballston)

Matt Blitz contributed to this post

Jeni’s Ice Cream aiming to open soon-ish in Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
Jeni’s is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The spring warm-up may herald the arrival of some cold treats in Shirlington.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is aiming to open its first Arlington location by early spring, a spokesperson tells ARLnow.

“As of right now, we are aiming to open in Q1 of this year,” the spokesperson said via email. “We’ll hone in on the grand opening date in the next few weeks.”

The Ohio-based ice cream shop is set to move into 4150 Campbell Avenue, the former home of rolled ice cream purveyor I-CE-NY. While this will be Jeni’s first location in Arlington, there are nearby scoop shops in Alexandria, Tysons, and D.C.

Signs announcing Jeni’s arrival first went up at the Village of Shirlington early last year, but until now there was only a sprinkling of details about an opening date. The location is still not listed on the company’s website.

Due to recent closings, Shirlington currently lacks a dedicated frozen treat shop. Yogi Castle shuttered last year while I-CE-NY closed in late 2021.

Jeni’s Ice Cream is not the only notable business set to open in Shirlington in the coming months. The well-regarded Greek restaurant Our Mom Eugenia should be opening soon as well as Astro Beer Hall, in the former Capitol City Brewing space.

A Korean fried chicken restaurant is coming to Virginia Square

By Matt Blitz
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There’s a Korean fried chicken restaurant coming to Virginia Square.

A new location of bb.q Chicken is planning to open in April at 3503 Fairfax Drive, franchise co-owner Lydia Om confirmed to ARLnow.

It’s opening along Fairfax Drive at the corner of N. Lincoln Street. That’s the former location of Cosi restaurant, which closed about three years ago.

It’s also about half of a block from the Virginia Square Metro station and just down the street from the Arlington campus of George Mason University.

There are more than 130 locations of Korea-based bb.q Chicken in the United States, specializing in Korean-styled fried chicken. Among them: five locations in Northern Virginia, including in Chantilly and Falls Church.

However, those are run by different franchisees than that which is opening in Virginia Square.

The location in Virginia Square, Arlington’s first, is set to be run by Om and her husband Harrison Om. This will be their first restaurant after running a grocery store in D.C. for years. They’ve decided to open their restaurant in Arlington because they “love” to come to eat here and know there is a crowd hungry for Korean fried chicken.

Om and bb.q Chicken have applied for a Virginia ABC license and are set to serve alcohol.

Nearby, the Arlington campus of George Mason University is currently undergoing a $250 million expansion.

SCOOP: Chef Tim Ma is bringing back a popular sandwich shop to Pentagon City’s “cube”

By Matt Blitz
Chef Tim Ma is opening two new concepts inside of the cube at Westpost in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local chef Tim Ma is reviving a popular sandwich shop and bringing it to the former Bread and Water “cube” in Pentagon City.

Ma’s well-regarded Chase the Submarine, which closed in Vienna about five years ago, is making a comeback at Westpost on S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City, the chef confirmed to ARLnow. It’s a joint venture with Scott Chung, who co-owns Bun’d Up, also located in Westpost.

The sandwich shop is moving into the relatively small “cube” space in the development’s plaza which was home to Bread and Water until this fall.

This will be Ma’s second Westpost restaurant. Chinese-American take-out eatery Lucky Danger opened on the other side of the development in July 2021.

Construction is essentially done, Ma said, and he’s just waiting on permits. The hope is to start serving within a few weeks, meaning likely later this month.

Along with that, Ma is also planning another concept in the cube.

At night, sandwiches will transform into cocktails with a new wine and cocktail bar called No Chaser. That isn’t expected to open quite yet, with Chase the Submarine opening first and No Chaser coming later this year.

Window stickers are already on plastered on the building, advertising both the new eatery and the cocktail bar.

Ma, who grew up in Centreville and previously owned Water & Wall in Virginia Square, said that all of this came together very quickly.

When Bread and Water closed in October, Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) suggested the space to him. FRIT owns the mixed-use development, as well as the Village of Shirlington.

Lucky Danger has been doing quite well at Westpost since it opened about 18 months ago, Ma said, and FRIT has continued to be a “fantastic partner.”

“I’ve been very happy with my return to Arlington and, generally, very hopeful about the [dining] future of the area,” he said.

So, they decided to take the space and, then, just had to figure out what to put there. They turned to an old favorite.

“My team and I always talked about bringing [Chase the Submarine] back,” Ma said. “It was truly one of my favorites.”

Ma said, at least for the time being, this version of Chase the Submarine will be a more “consolidated” version than the previous one in Vienna. There will be fewer hot sandwiches and some different cold sandwiches.

The exact menu and website have not been released publicly quite yet, but that’s expected to be out in the coming days. He said he’s excited to be partnering with Chung, with whom he worked on a night market this past fall.

As part of the agreement to open the two new concepts, Ma extended Lucky Danger’s lease to keep it in Westpost for the foreseeable future. That future includes the opening of Amazon’s HQ2 this year, a few blocks away in Pentagon City, as well as expected development across the street on the Riverhouse property.

“I’m here to stay for a long time,” Ma said.

Soul Wingz taking flight at the Pentagon City mall

By Matt Blitz
Soul Wingz at Pentagon City mall (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new locally-owned soul food restaurant is now open at the Pentagon City mall.

Soul Wingz appears to have opened last week, per its Instagram account, after several days of practice runs the week prior. It’s located next to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, near the entrance to the Metro.

The new restaurant serves up chicken wings, pork chops, fried fish, shrimp and grits, hush puppies, and other items.

ARLnow first reported that Soul Wingz was coming to Pentagon City back in July. The restaurant started as a pop-up in 2008 and opened a food truck in 2016. Then, a brick-and-mortar location near D.C.’s Howard University opened last year.

It took “6 years of negotiations and meetings with several potentials investors” to get the Arlington location off the ground, reads an Instagram post from late last month.

The mall has seen some turnover over the past couple of months months, as 2022 transitioned into 2023. Noodle eatery Yong Kang Street closed in November while Rosa Mexicano opened in early December.

Maizal, a Latin American street food stand, and corn dog eatery Kong Dog are both expected to open soon at the mall.

Wagamama in Clarendon does not look like it will be opening this year

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated at 10:20 p.m.) It does not appear that the Asian-inspired restaurant Wagamama will be opening in Clarendon this year.

Back in March, the London-based chain with more than 200 locations in 27 countries announced it was set to move into Oz’s former home at 2950 Clarendon Blvd by the summer. It was a move that elicited excitement from many, considering Wagamama’s popularity overseas.

Eight months later, though, brown paper remains on the windows of the 5,100-square-foot space and the Oz signage is still up above the doors, as it has been for years.

County records show a number of permit applications submitted by Wagamama for improvements to the space were rejected in June, following the approval of interior demolition permits earlier in the year. No other permit applications have been filed since June.

ARLnow reached out to several contacts for an update on the new Wagamama location but was unable to reach anyone who was able to comment prior to publication. A spokesperson told us later Wednesday evening that “the restaurant will be opening in early 2023.”

Within the last several weeks, a number of jobs were posted for the restaurant. While that likely means the project is still on, it could still be months before staff is hired and trained.

Meanwhile, a prominent space in the middle of Clarendon will continue to remain vacant. Oz closed back in the summer of 2019, meaning no restaurant has operated there for more than three years.

Prior to that, the Italian restaurant La Tagliatella occupied the building. Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema once wrote a scathing review about it saying La Tagliatella “makes a strong case for hazard pay for restaurant critics.”

Wagamama is known for its noodle dishes, ramen, and dishes inspired by Japanese, Chinese, and Korean foods.

This isn’t the first time that Wagamama has attempted to enter the D.C. area market.

Back in 2009, the chain announced it was moving into a large space in D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood. Three years later, Wagamama canceled its plans for that location and still has yet to open a restaurant in the region.

UPDATED: Rosa Mexicano planning to open next week in Pentagon City

By Matt Blitz
Rosa Mexicano in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) Rosa Mexicano at Pentagon City is now planning to open next week.

The new upscale New York-based Mexican eatery was planning to open its doors sometime this week, according to its website. But that has since changed, we’re told.

Rosa Mexicano’s debut was initially set for Sept. 1, then pushed to later in the fall, and now, according to a PR rep, has been pushed to next week.

The restaurant is moving into a 4,200-square-foot dining space at 1100 S. Hayes Street which was once home to Sugar Factory. That restaurant closed last year.

The new Rosa Mexicano will feature a bar, seating for 200 guests, a private dining room for events, and an outdoor patio. The menu appears will hue close to its other locations, including guacamole that is made tableside. There will also be other well-known Mexican dishes like enchiladas, ceviche, and tacos.

This will be the area’s second currently operating location for the East Coast chain. Locals might remember the location across the street from Capital One Arena in D.C., prior to its closing in July 2021 after 16 years.

There are eight other Rosa Mexicano locations spread out across New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut, with the chain’s geographic footprint set to expand with upcoming openings in Orlando and Las Vegas.

Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante looking to open soon in the former home of Nono’s Taqueria

By Matt Blitz
The former spot of Nono’s Taqueria on Columbia Pike is set to become Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante next month (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new taco spot is moving into the former Columbia Pike home of another recently-shuttered taco spot.

Last week, ARLnow reported that the Instagram-popular Nono’s Taqueria was closed and planning to open elsewhere. Now, only days later, the space between Panda Bowl and Family Kabob House is getting a new tenant.

“Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante” has taken over the lease for the restaurant and will be filling the space at 3207-A Columbia Pike, owners of both businesses confirmed to ARLnow.

The new restaurant, which will also serve birria tacos as well as other dishes, plans to open next month, co-owner Elizabeth Marquez says.

Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante comes from local Nevi Paredes, who owns the taco truck Taqueria La Ceibita that is often parked at the BP gas station on Columbia Pike near S. Buchanan Street. Marquez, who is Paredes’ daughter, will help run it with her family.

“We’ve become a bit popular with the locals. [The truck] is run by my mom, me and my two older sisters,” Marquez said. “My mom’s grandkids love to come help out too. It’s been a dream of my mom’s to have a restaurant so we started with a truck and are super excited to open ‘Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante’ and expand our family business.”

Paredes has lived in Arlington for 35 years. Her daughters are Yorktown High School graduates.

The menu at the new restaurant will be the same as the truck’s, though the restaurant will serve shrimp and fish as well. There will also be breakfast and pupusas because “everyone loves my mom’s pupusas,” said Marquez. Eli’s Taqueria y Restaurante willo continue to provide halal meat, like the truck.

The opening of this new eatery continues to strengthen Columbia Pike’s case as Arlington’s taco corridor.

Nono’s Taqueria gained quite a following before it closed so that the owner can take a “mini-vacation.” The plan is to reopen next spring, perhaps again on the Pike.

The La Tingeria food truck was also quite popular, serving birria tacos on weekends on S. Courthouse Road right off the Pike. It moved to a permanent space in Falls Church earlier this year.

Just last month, Tortas y Tacos at 2911 Columbia Pike announced that it would be extending its hours to 24/7.

A new Thai restaurant has opened in the former Ghin Na Ree Thai space

By Matt Blitz
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A new Thai restaurant has opened in the space formerly occupied by Ghin Na Ree Thai at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center.

Khun Yai Thai opened last week at 2509 N. Harrison Street, next to Duck Donuts. It’s taking the place of Ghin Na Ree Thai, which announced last month it was closing after more than two decades and being sold to another family.

“Arlington is a special place with a great community, we knew we wanted to be part of,” a Khun Yai Thai rep wrote ARLnow in an email. “After meeting the family of Ghin Na Ree, they were very open and accommodating. It felt right, as they wanted to transition into retirement.”

The changeover from one restaurant to the next took less than a month.

The owners of Khun Yai Thai are local veterans in the restaurant business, having previously owned eateries in Tysons, Rehoboth Beach, and Falls Church.

Khun Yai Thai means “Thai grandma,” per the owners. The restaurant is owned by three sisters, including at least two who are grandmothers.

“[The name] signifies the journey of the family that immigrated to the US over 40 years ago, achieved the American dream of opening a business, and now continuing to pursue the American dream generations later,” the restaurant rep wrote. “Thai grandma is someone who wants to share their story and heart through their recipes. At Khun Yai Thai, we want to achieve a sense of comfort, like dining with family.”

The menu is traditional Thai, with dishes like panang curry, kao pad, pad gra pow, tom kha gai soup, and pad thai. All are family recipes, we’re told.

The new restaurant owners have some big shoes to fill given that Ghin Na Ree Thai was generally well reviewed during its more than two decades in business.

Nashville hot chicken spot Hangry Joe’s coming to Ballston

By ARLnow.com
Laura Cooks in Ballston earlier this year, before its closing (staff photo by Brandi Bottalico)

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) An eatery serving Nashville-style hot chicken appears to be coming to Ballston.

Hangry Joe’s, a growing chicken sandwich restaurant chain, has applied for a license to serve beer, wine and mixed beverages at 875 N. Randolph Street, in the former Laura Cooks space.

No active construction permits could be found for the address on the county website, but the company says that it’s hoping to open next month.

“The expected opening date is early December,” a Hangry Joe’s rep tells ARLnow via email.

While in the midst of large office and apartment buildings, the restaurant space is a bit off the beaten path in Ballston, a block away from Wilson Blvd and 2+ blocks from the Metro station.

On its website, Hangry Joe’s touts its “secret chicken recipe” as a key to its success.

Derek Cha, who had founded the Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt in 2009 and other various concepts, with the [collaboration] with his partner, Mike Kim, comes up with the best chicken sandwich in town by bringing forth the Nashville style chicken sandwich.

After visiting many successful [Nashville] style chicken restaurant in LA, Nashville, and San [Francisco], we could successfully develop our secret chicken recipe to have the most juicy and crispy sandwich.

The expanding fast-casual franchise has existing locations in Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Loudoun County. It also lists locations currently open in or coming to Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, California, Dubai, South Korea and the UK.

Hangry Joe’s will compete with Hot Lola’s, an existing “Sichuan X Nashville” spicy chicken stall that opened in the Ballston Quarter mall food hall in 2019.

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