new restaurant

Clarendon Center Construction Coming Along

By ARLnow.com

Construction crews seem to be making fast progress at the Clarendon Center properties. What were just hollow stacks of floors earlier this year now have bricks, windows and architectural accents.

The two structures — the regal-looking south building and the art deco-y north building — are expected to take on retail tenants as soon as December, and that seems very much possible given the pace of construction.

The concave ground floor space with the large windows and the high-ceilings in the south building (left) will be the new home of Circa, which now has a dedicated web site for the Clarendon location.

The ground floor space in the center of the photo of the north building (right) will be the home of Pete’s New Haven Apizza, which will have a considerable amount frontage on Clarendon Boulevard.  Tangy Sweet and Red Velvet Cupcakery will be in the corner space on the far left side of the photo.

Still no word on what may be coming to the big 10,000+ square foot space on the other side of the south building (not pictured). The current wishful thinking is that it may one day house a grocery store.

Work Nearly Complete on Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill

By ARLnow.com

All that’s left on the checklist for the new Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill (2424 Wilson Blvd) is a few finishing touches, then inspections, permits and a date for the grand opening. Construction has just about wrapped up on the upscale Courthouse-Clarendon dining destination, but owner Yogi Dumera has yet to nail down an official date for the opening.

“I want to make sure everything will be done right,” he said in a brief phone conversation yesterday.

Prodded for an approximate time frame, Dumera would only say that he’s hoping to open by the end of September. That may not allow much time to enjoy the rooftop, but don’t fear, the restaurant’s high-ceilinged indoor dining room will be open year-round.

While management awaits county inspections, the restaurant has been staffing up in anticipation of the launch. A recent Craigslist posting said Rooftop was looking for servers, bartenders and host staff.

In addition to serving dinner, the restaurant will also have a full lunch menu, the posting revealed. That should make it a welcome sit-down destination for the area’s power lunch crowd.

Update on District Taco’s Brick-and-Mortar Restaurant

By ARLnow.com

We’re hearing that the planned opening for District Taco’s forthcoming brick-and-mortar restaurant has been pushed back a month, to October 1. (Update on 10/14: The opening is now said to be set for the first week in November.)

The storefront at 5723 Lee Highway is now being used to prepare ingredients for the District Taco cart, following some changes to the existing kitchen (once used by the former occupant, the now-defunct Restaurant Vero). Tables and chairs are ready to go, we’re told, but there are still additional interior details and regulatory hurdles to be taken care of.

The county granted approval for a change of restaurant ownership yesterday.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More on Bayou Bakery — On Tuesday we broke the news that David Guas finally picked out the perfect spot for his Bayou Bakery concept: the old Camille’s space in Courthouse. Now the venerable Tom Sietsema has scooped us and a half dozen other local reporters who had been waiting patiently for an interview about the Louisiana-inspired cafe. Guas tells Sietsema that the Bakery will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will feature, among other things “muffalettas, layer cakes, root beer floats, blue plate specials,” and a beer selection.

The End of Free Parking in Clarendon? — Starting August 31, the Department of Human Services parking garage in Clarendon will no longer be free to the public between 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. With DHS moved out of the building, a private parking lot operator will be taking over. Even though garage parking rates in Clarendon are reasonable, the loss of free parking could result in even more cars coming into the Lyon Village neighborhood looking for street parking at night. More from TBD.

More Trader Joe’s Rumors — That persistent rumor that Trader Joe’s will be coming to Clarendon? We’re now hearing it too. And for everyone’s convenience, we’ve picked out the perfect spot for a new Trader Joe’s. Check out the unoccupied 10,319 square foot retail space in the Clarendon Center project (space #9). It could be a great location for a grocery store, don’t you think? But a higher-up with the developer denied that Trader Joe’s has any plans to move in.

Flickr pool photo by MichaelTRuhl

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Pizza Autentica Adds Ballston Location — Crystal City isn’t the only Arlington neighborhood on the radar for fast-growing local chain Pizza Autentica. WBJ’s Missy Frederick reports that Pizza Autentica has signed a lease at 850 North Randolph Street in Ballston.

Arlington Food Blogger Profiled — The Fairfax Times takes a look at Arlington mom Colleen Levine and her natural food and cooking blog, Foodie Tots. A government affairs consultant by trade, Levine has amassed 2,500 Twitter followers by focusing her blog on kid-friendly, healthy cooking. The recipe for spaghetti caprese — part of Levine’s effort to promote “meatless Mondays” — looks especially appetizing.

Oil Spill Dogs Need an Adoptive Family — Arlington’s Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation is trying to find a home for the last three of 12 dogs brought up from Louisiana after the Gulf oil spill. The shihtzu family — Gizmo, Trixie and Rocky — were given away by their former owner after he lost his job as a fisherman as a result of the spill. The story and photos from Fox 5.

A Look Inside the New Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Update at 4:35 p.m. — Exclusive: here’s a sneak peak at Fire Works’ temporary menu.

Fire Works Pizza has opened for its second night in business in Courthouse.

As of 4:00 the bar was officially open — even though employees and contractors were still busy putting cash in the registers and arranging glasses. As of 5:00, dinner will be served.

The restaurant is operating under limited hours and with a limited menu while employees get up to speed and while some of the final touches are put into place. Management expects to get all the wrinkles ironed out in 3-4 weeks.

Also worth looking forward to: the open-air fireplace on the outside patio should be working soon.

Here are a few photos we took around the place this afternoon.

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Coming to Courthouse: Bayou Bakery

By ARLnow.com

Big news. The space in Courthouse once occupied by the late, lamented Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe has a new tenant.

Culinary consultant and cookbook creator David Guas is planning on bringing a Louisiana-inspired “community bakery cafe and coffee house” to the space at 1515 North Courthouse Road, and he has applied for a liquor license to boot.

We’re working on gathering the details about the forthcoming Bayou Bakery, but suffice to say the name alone sounds mouthwatering.

Bayou Bakery just applied for a license to serve wine and beer. The form describes the restaurant of having a seating capacity between 1 and 100, which doesn’t really narrow it down much.

More info when we get it.

Update at 9:45 a.m. — As a commenter points out, Bayou Bakery was originally supposed to be the concept behind Northside Social. But a partnership between Guas and the owners of Liberty Tavern eventually dissolved, leading the Liberty Tavern folks to develop their own concept. Guas has been looking for a new space ever since.

Update at 11:15 a.m. — A representative of Bayou Bakery points out that the logo used for this story is an old one and will likely not be used for the new location.

A big, big thanks to @jamesp326 for the tip.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fire Works Pizza Opens in Courthouse — The much-anticipated Fire Works Pizza has finally opened its doors and its large outdoor patio. A “healthy” crowd showed up for the first night, writes TBD’s Rebecca Cooper.

New APS Teachers and Staff Getting Ready For New School Year — This week, all new Arlington Public Schools employees are undergoing a comprehensive training program to prepare them for the fast-approaching school year. School starts on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Arlingtones Looking for a Few Good Men — The Arlingtones Barbershop Chorus is looking for new members. The a cappella group meets weekly at Gunston Middle School. More from the Ode Street Tribune.

Police Investigate Disturbance at Windsor Apartments in Shirlington — After a 2:00 a.m. call from a resident who had just returned home to find his neighbor’s apartment trashed, Arlington police responded to the Windsor apartment complex at 3000 South Randolph Street. In the trashed apartment, they found a chair that had been apparently thrown through a window, a handgun and a possible shell casing lying on the floor, and a very drunk middle-aged man on a couch. The man was taken to a local hospital. No word on whether the gun had been fired in the apartment, but curiously nobody had called to complain about noise in the area.

Flickr pool photo by Christopher Doorley.

Building Permit Up at the New Ballston Sweetgreen

By ARLnow.com

Salad-and-froyo joint Sweetgreen is coming to Ballston as soon as next month. And one of our spies has spotted the future restaurant’s building permit.

According to the permit, the new Sweetgreen will be located in 4075 Wilson Boulevard, a stone’s throw away from Ballston Common Mall and the same building in which Rustico will be opening soon.

We also learn from the permit that Sweetgreen has so far paid the county $10,187.84 in fees. Ouch — that’s a lot of $4 frozen yogurts.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see if north Arlington has enough of a froyo appetite to support Red Mango, TangySweet and Sweetgreen.

Update at 11:40 a.m. — Sweetgreen’s Phil Moldavski tells us that the store will open at some point this fall, after the company’s Reston store opens.

Why Ballston, we asked?

“We really love the Ballston neighborhood,” Moldavski wrote. “It has [lots] of young professionals and other like-minded people who are likely to appreciate what Sweetgreen is all about… we are excited to be coming there.”

Moldavski says the Ballston Sweetgreen will be similar in design to their current stores.

Thanks to “A Sweetgreen Cobb Salad Addict” for the tip.

More on Mad Rose Tavern

By ARLnow.com

We’re learning more about the mysterious Mad Rose Tavern, coming soon to 3100 Clarendon Boulevard.

Mad Rose will be “an American style restaurant and bar with about 150 indoor seats, two bars, great food, and great times,” according to a new Facebook page.

The owners hope to open the restaurant “sometime this fall.” They also hope to open an outdoor patio at some point this spring. It promises to be “one of the largest patios in all of Arlington,” according to the page.

Mad Rose is opening on the ground floor of a Clarendon office building that houses SoBe Bar & Bistro, Mister Days Sports Rock Cafe, Pacers Running Store and offices of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

An demolition permit for 4,000 square feet of interior space has been posted in the window of the future restaurant.

New Irish Pub in Shirlington Importing Irishmen

By ARLnow.com

Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub is looking for a few good Irishmen (and women).

To make sure there’s some brogue to be heard in Shirlington Village, the Tipperany-born owner of the under-construction pub has placed an ad for bartenders and servers on an Irish jobs web site.

“We will assist qualified candidates in obtaining a visa,” the job listing says. “If you are hard working, honest and have a sense of adventure, then we feel you would enjoy working on our team.”

And as if actual Irish employees weren’t authentic enough, the entire interior — light fixtures, mill work, artifacts, tile and all — is being manufactured in Ireland and shipped across the Atlantic as we speak.

“We will not be a ‘Disney Ireland’ as some Irish pubs choose to be,” owner Mark Kirwan said via email. “We are not trying to be an Irish-American pub, but rather I am trying to re-create what a true pub is like in Ireland.”

In addition to authentic, Samuel Beckett’s — named as the Nobel Prize-winning Irish writer — will also be huge. Kirwan anticipates indoor seating for 280, outdoor seating for up to 100, an upstairs mezzanine level, and three bars to make sure nobody is ever too far from a Guinness.

The pub will be located at 2800 South Randolph Street. Kirwan, who’s a partner in Daniel O’Connell’s restaurant in Alexandria but is striking out on his own with Samuel Beckett’s, expects to be able to open the doors by mid-October.

Logo via Shirlington Village Blogspot

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