new restaurant

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rhodeside Grill Owners Eying Restaurant on the Pike — The owners of Rhodeside Grill and Ragtime are close to signing a deal to open a restaurant on the ground floor of the Sienna Park apartment building, across from Bob and Edith’s Diner, reports the new Pike Wire blog. [Pike Wire]

Most Board Member Assessments Stay the Same — All Arlington County board members are homeowners. But most bucked the upward trend in residential assessments this year. Of the five county board members, one saw his assessment fall, three saw their assessment stay the same, and one saw her assessment rise dramatically. [Sun Gazette]

Developer to Discuss Va. Square Apartment Project — A representative from the Dittmar Company will discuss its recently-announced Virginia Square Towers project at tonight’s Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association meeting. Representatives from the county’s finance office will also be on hand to discuss the upcoming county budget process. [BVSCA]

Circa at Clarendon to Open on Monday

By ARLnow.com

Circa at Clarendon (3010 Clarendon Blvd) will be opening its doors on Monday at 5:00 p.m., according to an announcement on its Facebook page.

The upscale American-style restaurant, best known for its four-year old Dupont Circle location, has been under construction on the ground floor of the Clarendon Center development’s south building (left) since this fall.

“The wait is over,” Circa’s management wrote on the restaurant’s official blog. “The pantry is stocked and the kegs have been tapped… There is only one thing that we need to make Circa at Clarendon something special: We need you.”

Samuel Beckett’s Opens in Shirlington

By ARLnow.com

Shirlington’s new Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub opened to a capacity crowd Saturday afternoon.

Photos on Shirlington Village blog show people lining up along Campbell Avenue for a chance to check out the the long-anticipated pub, which not only imported building materials from Ireland but also imported actual Irishmen to work there.

The Samuel Beckett’s web site is now live, although much like any restaurant opening there are still some kinks to work out. For one, the title of the home page reads “Samue Becketts.”

The web site also includes a link to a video showing the interior of the new pub.

Flickr pool photo by Amber Wilkie

Club 31-11 Opens on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Nightlife on Columbia Pike has just gotten a bit more vibrant with the addition of Club 31-11, a nightclub, hookah bar, lounge and pool hall all rolled into one.

Club 31-11 (3111 Columbia Pike) is housed in a two-story building that was formerly home to an Ethiopian restaurant. It features Latin fusion cuisine and multiple DJ stations in an eclectically-decorated, two floor building. It opened for the first night of publicly-announced music and dancing last night, as first reported by a new blog called Pike Town Center.

Manager Moe Aniba says the club will host parties and events on weekends. He said more details will be released once the establishment’s web site launches.

Aniba said he’s still in the process of putting the finishing touches on the club’s interior and sounds systems.

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Samuel Beckett’s Aiming for Saturday Opening

By ARLnow.com

After enduring several months of delays and setbacks, Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub in Shirlington (2800 S. Randolph Street) is preparing to open its doors on Saturday.

“The day has arrived!!! We will open at 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 8th,” owner Mark Kirwan announced on the pub’s Facebook page. “We will only have a restricted food menu. Please be patient with us as we smooth out the bumps for the first week. We look forward to providing you with a memorable experience.”

The elaborately-designed, Irish-themed establishment will be open seven days a week, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., according to Kirwan. For the first week in operation, it will not be open for lunch or brunch.

Kirwan has been a vocal critic of Arlington’s inspection and permitting process. He vented more frustration Tuesday night:

We had an inspection today, but the angry monster that is Arlington County still has a few “issues” … Thank you so much to everybody for hanging in there and being supportive.

New county board chairman Chris Zimmerman has pledged to improve the permitting process this year.

Photos via Facebook. Hat tip to Shirlington Village Blog.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Westover Beer Garden Saga Continues — Several months into the battle between the county zoning office and the Westover Market beer garden, a final resolution still has not been reached. Tens of thousands of dollars have been allocated to building new code-compliant restrooms, but more must now be spent constructing a restaurant separate from the grocery section. County regulators “are doing their best to make me a Republican,” market manager Devin Hicks told the Falls Church News-Press.

Fun and Games at the Library — The Westover Library will host a game-playing get-together for all ages this afternoon. From 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., players will face off in board games, card games and Nintendo Wii. More from the Arlington Public Library blog.

Brgr:Shack Wants to Open This Month — A new “better burger” joint is hoping to open soon in Ballston. The efficiently-named Brgr:Shack, located across from the Ballston Metro, was originally slated to open in the fall. They’re now eying a January opening, according to TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Team Rank

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Artisphere Gets Latin Flavor — Arlington’s Guajillo restaurant and the District’s Casa Oaxaca restaurant have been chosen to jointly run a full-service restaurant and bar in Artisphere, the county’s new cultural center. The county board is expected to formally approve a lease at its Jan. 22 meeting. More from TBD.

Le Village Marche Merging with Verbena — Two Shirlington Village stores are becoming one. Le Village Marche, a French housewares store, is moving into the larger retail space of Verbena, a stationary store under the same ownership. The mew store, which will inherit the Le Village Marche name, will continue to offer many of the same products and services as Verbena. More from Shirlington Village Blog.

Bowen McCauley Dance Gets Creative With Funding — Bowen McCauley Dance, an Arlington non-profit, was profiled on the PBS Nightly Business Report last night. Faced with a major financial shortfall after Virginia pulled a third of its funding, the dance company doubled down, increasing the scope of its programs by drawing on cash reserves. More from PBS. (Scroll down to the final few paragraphs.)

Readers Help Raise Money for Charity — Thank you to everybody who bought raffle tickets to support Doorways for Women and Families over the past 36 hours. The raffle is now over, and thanks to ticket purchases from the readers of this and three other local web sites, our friends at What’s the Deal raised a total of $2,615 for four very worthy causes. (Update at 11:35 a.m. — The total raised for Doorways is $487.50. We’ll pitch in the additional bucks needed to bring it to a nice, even $500.00.)

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

Construction Underway at Pete’s New Haven Apizza

By ARLnow.com

Interior construction has gotten underway at the future 4,000 square foot home of Pete’s New Haven Apizza in Clarendon.

The restaurant, on the ground floor of the Clarendon Center development, will be the first Virginia location for the District-based pizza eatery. The company released a few photos of the construction over the weekend.

We believe the new Pete’s will open at some point this spring.

Although Pete’s will be competing with a long list of Clarendon and Courthouse area pizza joints, one potential competitor is now out of the picture. American Flatbread closed its Clarendon store on Dec. 24.

Mad Rose Tavern Sets “Mid-January” Opening

By ARLnow.com

Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd ) is hoping for a mid-January opening, according to the establishment’s Facebook page.

Mad Rose is now describing itself as a “Gastro Pub… with about 150 indoor seats, two bars, great food, and great times.” It also promises to have “one of the largest patios in all of Arlington.”

Mad Rose is located in the same plaza as SoBe Bar & Bistro and the future Bronx Pizza and Subs (coming soon, we hear).

For Sale at Bayou Bakery: Cajun Stocking Stuffers

By ARLnow.com

Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) has just the thing for the Creole on your Christmas list. The new Courthouse eatery has a number of “bite-sized gifts and stocking stuffers” on sale through Dec. 24.

Among them:

  • PorKorn (a salty caramel popcorn mixed with pieces of bacon) — $5
  • Pralines — $9
  • Heavenly Hash — $5
  • Chocolate Peppermint Bark — $7
  • Spiced Pecans — $7
  • The book DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style by Bayou Bakery owner and chef David Guas — $25
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