A new seafood restaurant may be coming to Westlee.

A company called Dang Seafood LLC has filed a liquor license application for a proposed restaurant called “Heads or Tails.” According to the filing, the establishment will be located at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street and will feature a seating capacity between 101 and 150 seats.

It’s not clear which storefront at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street the new restaurant will occupy, but the among the candidates is the space once occupied by the now-closed Bear Rock Cafe.


Its neighbors include a Goodwill store, two check cashing businesses and a service station. Two recent occupants of its building were shuttered and still hold sizable tax debts to Arlington County. Yet Sauca restaurant opened last night at 4707 Columbia Pike with a distinct sense of optimism.

“The history of this place has not been good,” admitted owner Farhad Assari, a former international investment banker who left a lucrative gig in Dubai to move closer to his family and pursue his culinary dreams. Like many other food entrepreneurs these days, Assari started small — launching several food trucks that served hearty world cuisine — before trying to translate his street success into a four-walls-and-a-roof restaurant.

Despite the building’s ignominious past and off-the-beaten-path location near Four Mile Run, Assari said he couldn’t imagine opening the restaurant anywhere else.

“This is exactly what I wanted, it’s as if they planned it for me,” he said. “I love it… I think we’re going to get people from all over.”

To achieve his vision for the restaurant, Assari has had to put in time and money — lots of it. The building could charitably be called a dump before Sauca moved in. Now it’s freshly painted, restored, landscaped and furnished. The interior looks like a traditional diner, but with a pool table, public internet terminals, eclectic decorations and a few flat screen TVs showing international soccer matches. Outside, under the funky curved roof, is a surprisingly lush patio with wrought iron furniture, Tiki torches and, eventually, a V-shaped lounge area and outdoor bar.

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A new Italian restaurant is coming to 3111 Columbia Pike.

Padrino’s Fine Italian Cuisine hopes to first open its doors at some point near the end of June, according to owner Sami Khan, who said he’s excited to be opening a restaurant on the Pike.

“This is a beautiful place,” he said of the still-developing strip.

Khan says he expects to hold a formal grand opening during the first week of July. Also in July, Padrino’s will seek a live entertainment permit from the County Board, to allow live music, karaoke and other forms of indoor entertainment.

Padrino’s expects to have its first internet presence — a Facebook page — within two weeks.

Khan’s previous Arlington restaurant attempt, Cleopatra’s Mediterranean Bistro, closed earlier this year. Khan said the small shopping center off Glebe Road that housed Cleopatra’s was not conducive to his business.

The former occupant of 3111 Columbia Pike, the hookah lounge/pool hall/nightclub/restaurant Club 31-11, closed in March after just a couple of months in business. We reported at the time that the club had neglected to apply for a live entertainment permit when it opened, thus making it a target of several police inspections.


(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) A Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches store is coming to Ballston.

The restaurant will be opening next to a new Sandy Spring bank branch at 550 N. Quincy Street, adjacent to the still under-construction Founders Square office development.

No word yet on an exact opening date for Jimmy John’s, but it just posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist yesterday. The restaurant is seeking sandwich makers, delivery drivers and bike delivery riders.

This is Arlington’s second Jimmy John’s location. The first restaurant opened in Crystal City in November.

H/t to @andrewdobos. An earlier, erroneous reference to Super Pollo has been removed.


Cafe Pizzaiolo will be opening a location in Shirlington Village.

This will be the pizzeria’s third location. It also has restaurants in Crystal City (507 S. 23rd Street) and Fairlington (1623 Fern Street, Alexandria).

“Café Pizzaiolo will serve authentic Neapolitan and New York Style pizzas,” says the Village at Shirlington web site. “They combine natural, high quality local ingredients with imported Italian products to create our distinct style.”

No word yet on an opening date.


What’s coming to the ground floor of 1650 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn?

We know it’s a restaurant, and that Michael Landrum of Ray’s the Steaks fame is behind it — his name is on the ABC permit, after all — but at this point it’s hard to tell what kind of restaurant it will be.

Previously, we reported that the establishment’s name, per the ABC permit, was “The Lobster Pot.” That led to speculation that Landrum was building his long-talked-about “Ray’s the Catch” seafood restaurant. But now there’s a new name on the permit: “Ray’s Hell Burger III.”

So will the brown walls of the space at 1650 Wilson soon house an expanded Ray’s Hell Burger? And will the existing Ray’s Hell Burger location across the street turn into Ray’s the Catch? Or is 1650 Wilson actually going to be Ray’s the Catch? Or is the real answer none of the above?

Either way, we’re told that the restaurant — whatever it may be — will open in “a few weeks.”


Within a year the area around Bob & Edith’s Diner (2310 Columbia Pike) will become a late night hub, complete with a 7-Eleven, a 6,500 square foot bar/restaurant and a 24-hour fitness center.

The first of the three new businesses to open will be Xsport Fitness, a 12,000 square foot, 24  hour per day, 365 day per year gym on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartment complex (2301 Columbia Pike).

If you’ve driven by during the day, you’ve probably seen muscle-bound Xsport representatives promoting discounted pre-opening memberships. General manager Matt Minuth, who can apparently bench press 900 pounds, says the company is offering free enrollment and a lifetime monthly rate of $19.95 for customers who sign up in advance. (Normally there is a $99 enrollment fee.)

Minuth says he expects the gym to open mid-July. In addition to modern fitness equipment, the gym will offer personal training sessions, tanning booths, a juice bar, a club store and a child care area.

Next up is William Jeffrey’s Tavern, a new neighborhood bar/restaurant concept from the owners of Rhodeside Grill and Ragtime.

Also located on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartments, William Jeffrey’s will offer “quality eclectic-American cuisine at reasonable prices,” according to a press release. The restaurant will feature “a well-stocked bar with several beers on tap, a full wine list, space for private parties, weekend brunch, live acoustic music, and multiple HDTVs.”

Restaurant partner Wilson Whitney says he’s hoping to have William Jeffrey’s open by mid-November.

Finally, a new 7-Eleven store is reportedly opening across the street, in the old Saah furniture store at 2330 Columbia Pike. According to Pike Wire, the new 7-Eleven — located just four blocks from an existing 7-Eleven — is expected to open in the first quarter of 2012.


Buzz Bakery will open its new Ballston location on Monday.

That’s the word from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the company that runs Buzz and its next door neighbor on the 4000 block of Wilson Boulevard, Rustico. Buzz is expected to open its doors as early as 7:00 a.m. on Monday, with plenty of free samples of coffee and baked goods.

The 2,000 square foot shop will have many of the same features and menu items of the original Buzz location on Slaters Lane in Alexandria, but will add treats like breakfast pop tarts, made-to-order waffles, individual serving quiches, homemade ice cream, sorbets, popsicles and “take-and-bake” products.

See more information on Buzz’s Ballston location from the company’s press release, after the jump.

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Restaurant Group

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Big news for District Taco fans.

The restaurant, at 5723 Lee Highway, received its state alcoholic beverage permit today, according to owner Osiris Hoil. That means the eatery — which has thus far been limited to serving soda, juice, water and coffee — will be able to celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow (Thursday) with cold cervezas.

We also learned today that District Taco is planning on opening a second brick-and-mortar restaurant by the end of the year. The restaurant will open somewhere in D.C. proper, Hoil confirmed.

Hoil says they haven’t settled on a location, but hinted that he hopes President Obama will drop by one day. On its web site, District Taco says it also has plans to expand outside the Washington area.


First District Taco added a brick-and-mortar location on Lee Highway to supplement its popular food cart. Now Sauca is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Columbia Pike to supplement its four food trucks.

The restaurant will be located at 4707 Columbia Pike, formerly the home of Bob & Edith’s Diner II and a Roy Rogers. Workers are busy prepping the building for a possible late May/early summer opening.

Yesterday we reported that two of Sauca’s District-based food trucks were for sale in the building’s parking lot. Last night, owner Farhad Assari confirmed that the trucks were being sold so he could focus on the new restaurant.

I am opening a SAUCA restaurant at 4707 Columbia Pike. It will be opened by the end of May. The Meathead and LGM trucks, while wonderful, were taking my eye off the SAUCA ball, so I decided to sell the trucks and focus on SAUCA.

Today he added a few more details on Facebook.

The location… will service our SAUCAMOBILES as well as offer a quick serve dining space and patio for you to enjoy SAUCA’s global [fare]… We are very excited about this new journey and thank you for taking the ride with us.


We don’t know much about it at this point, but a restaurant called “Memphis Barbeque” is apparently replacing Mackey’s Pub in Crystal City, according to an ABC permit application posted in the window.

Mackey’s unexpectedly closed its 23rd Street S. location Easter weekend.

According to the permit, Memphis Barbeque will seat more than 150 people and will offer off-site catering.

Photo courtesy @bengle4


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