new restaurant

Spider Kelly’s Co-Owner Launching New Restaurant ‘The Freshman’ in Crystal City

By Alex Koma
1/2

The co-owner of popular Clarendon nightlife spot Spider Kelly’s is planning a new restaurant for the base of a Crystal City office building.

Restaurateur Nick Freshman is launching “The Freshman” at 2011 Crystal Drive, he announced today (Tuesday). He hopes to have it open by sometime in 2020.

Freshman hopes to offer “high-quality coffee, teas, and craft cocktails” at the restaurant, in addition to “breakfast, lunch and dinner options made in-house with fresh local ingredients.”

The Freshman will set up shop in a 3,400-square-foot space that was once home to a Noodles & Company location, which shut down last fall. The restaurant will have room for 120 diners and a 50-seat outdoor patio.

“I’ve seen firsthand how much the neighborhood has changed over the years and I knew I wanted to be a part of the growth,” Freshman, who lives in the area, said in a release. “When Amazon announced that they were coming to town, I knew that the opportunity to be part of this story was just too good to pass up, especially considering this is my backyard.”

Like most of the other office buildings across Crystal City, developer JBG Smith owns the property, and is trumpeting The Freshman as the first retailer to sign a lease in the area since Amazon tabbed the neighborhood for its massive new headquarters.

The company is planning an expansive new redevelopment of other retail offerings nearby, and it’s envisioning The Freshman’s arrival as one in a series of big changes on the way for the newly dubbed “National Landing” neighborhood in the coming years.

“The Freshman is a perfect fit for National Landing given Nick’s longstanding ties to the neighborhood and his concept’s natural appeal to the neighborhood’s residents, office workers and daily visitors,” Amy Rice, senior vice president at JBG Smith, said in a statement.

Freshman is launching the eatery in tandem with Mothersauce Partners, a restaurant advisory and investment firm he launched in 2016. The company has helped found The Eleanor and Takoma Beverage Company in D.C., with similar offerings as Freshman’s plans for the new Crystal City establishment.

Sloppy Mama’s BBQ to Open Second Arlington Location Along Lee Highway This Spring

By Alex Koma
1/3

The chef behind a popular D.C. food truck serving up half smokes and other BBQ is opening a new restaurant in an empty space along Lee Highway.

Co-owner Joe Neuman told ARLnow he’ll be opening a brick-and-mortar location of “Sloppy Mama’s” at 5731 Lee Highway, most recently the home of the short-lived Misomen Ramen restaurant. The small space sits directly across from the original District Taco location, and Eater D.C. first reported Neuman’s plans.

The move means that Joe and Mandy Neuman will soon boast two locations in Arlington — Sloppy Mama’s is also set to join the new “food hall” at the Ballston Quarter development when it opens next month.

He points out that the company got its start as a catering operation in D.C., before eventually revving up the food truck. As that gained steam, Neuman was able to open a stall at Union Market, and even start partnering up with some bars and restaurants around the city.

But he was after a space to spread out a bit more, especially when it comes to finding room for smoking meat, so he sought out the new Lee Highway locations.

Neuman says the menu at the new space won’t differ much from Sloppy Mama’s current offerings. He’s expecting to cook up “authentic smoked meats” including brisket, pork. chicken, ribs, sausages and turkey, in addition to “traditional southern sides.”

As for an opening date, he’s currently targeting “mid-to-late April.”

The space Sloppy Mama’s will move into has seen plenty of turnover in the past few years. Before Misomen, the location was home to the Asian Kitchen restaurant; before that, it was a Pizza Hut.

Photo 1 via @sloppymamas

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Memorial Bridge Potholes — Large potholes made for dangerous driving on the under-construction Memorial Bridge over the weekend, but crews started repairing the bridge’s pockmarked surface Tuesday. [Twitter, Twitter]

Poke Restaurant Coming to Ballston — Local restaurant Poke It Up is expanding with a second location. The restaurant, which first opened in the Pentagon City mall food court, is now planning to open this summer at 4401 N. Fairfax Drive in Ballston, next to a new soup shop, Zoup. [Eater]

Shutdown Costing Local Economy Big Bucks — “About $119.2 million per day is removed from the gross regional product each day the shutdown drags on, according to local economist Stephen Fuller, thanks to lost pay of federal workers, contractors and suppliers and the multiplied economic effects of their lost spending. That daily hit… drops to $46.4 million per day once federal workers are ultimately repaid their lost wages.” [Washington Business Journal]

Overturned Vehicle in Crystal City — A driver managed to flip his or her vehicle in a crash last night on 18th Street S., near the Crystal City Metro station. [Twitter]

Board Set to Endorse VRE Funding — “Arlington County Board members on Jan. 26 are expected to endorse a request by Virginia Railway Express (VRE) for state funding to support construction of a new Crystal City station. The transit agency will seek grant funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which if approved could cover up to 70 percent of the cost of construction. VRE will fund the rest.” [InsideNova]

Changes to State Inspection Stickers — “The stickers are smaller, in response to complaints that the new sticker placement on the bottom left of the windshield, which started in 2018, resulted in reduced visibility for drivers.” [Tysons Reporter]

Nearby: Alexandria Warns About Opioids — “The City of Alexandria has responded to four suspected opioid overdoses in the last 72 hours, including two fatalities. While recreational use of opioids is always dangerous and illegal, City officials are urging residents to be aware of the medical safety of the drugs, including heroin, that could be extremely concentrated or mixed with something unusual that is resulting in life-threatening situations.” [City of Alexandria]

Flickr pool photo by Eschweik

New Vietnamese Restaurant in Rosslyn Opens Its Doors

By Alex Koma
1/2

A new Vietnamese restaurant is now open in Rosslyn.

Saigon Noodles and Grill, located at 1800 Wilson Blvd, has posted banners proclaiming the eatery’s “grand opening.”

The restaurant first put up signs at the space last month. The eatery replaces Bistro 360, a wine shop and eatery that closed last May after about four years in Business.

According to its website, Saigon Noodles and Grill will be open all seven days a week, from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Its menu includes pho, banh mi and a whole host of other Vietnamese dishes.

https://twitter.com/RosslynVA/status/1085613922290487296

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Spike Mendelsohn Planning New Restaurants in Crystal City — “Already in National Landing with Good Stuff Eatery and We, The Pizza, Mendelsohn has a letter of interest out for two new spaces. One will bring his Mexican taco shop already on Capitol Hill, Santa Rosa, to Virginia. Another is a new concept: fried chicken.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Shutdown May Fry Local Economy — “Come February — perhaps by the beginning of the month, probably the middle and definitely by the end — the financial, occupational and psychological impact of this now-record government shutdown will go from the theoretical to the very, very real.” [Washington Business Journal]

Trump Signs Shutdown Backpay Bill — President Trump has signed a bill championed by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) that will provide backpay to federal employees affected by the government shutdown. Now Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are working to provide a similar guarantee for low-wage federal contractors. [Federal News Network]

JBG’s ‘Brutally Honest’ Amazon Pitch — A quote attributed to JBG Smith Chief Development Officer Kai Reynolds, talking about his pitch to Amazon’s HQ2 team: “So we literally sat down at 8 in the morning, and I started the presentation by saying ‘I’ve lived [in this region] a number of years, I had never been [to Crystal City]. While it’s better than I thought, it’s kind of a shithole.'” [Bisnow]

Snow May Disrupt Evening Commute — “The main band of snow is likely to come through during the evening and overnight hours. As the onset of snow may coincide with the evening commute, especially in our western areas, build in extra time to get home or consider leaving a little early to beat the rush. Some slick spots could develop, especially on untreated roads.” [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]

Nearby: Attempted Kidnapping in Georgetown — “As she neared her front door about 5 p.m. Tuesday, a woman grabbed the child from behind and tried to abduct her, D.C. police said. The girl fought back and broke free. The nanny in the car screamed, and the woman ran.” [Washington Post]

Vegetable-Heavy Eatery The Little Beet Could Soon Expand to Pentagon City Mall

By Alex Koma

The vegetable-focused fast casual eatery The Little Beet could soon open a new location in the Pentagon City mall.

The restaurant applied for a permit to bring a new eatery to the first floor of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in late December, according to county records.

Andy Duddleston, the chain’s founder and chief brand officer, confirmed that he is indeed “considering a location” at the mall.

“Stay tuned,” Duddleston told ARLnow.

A spokeswoman for the mall’s management company said they’re “unable to share information on businesses rumored to be joining the center.”

The Little Beet opened its first Arlington location in Rosslyn in the fall of 2017 in the Central Place development. The restaurant also operates a D.C. eatery, with a variety of other locations in New York City, where the company got its start.

Its menu is largely dominated by salads and bowls, with a whole host of vegetarian and vegan options for diners.

H/t Chris Slatt

New Soup-Focused Restaurant On the Way in Ballston

By Alex Koma
1/3

A new soup and salad-focused restaurant is on the way in Ballston.

Signs posted at the base of an office building at 4401 Fairfax drive advises all “soupies and foodies” that “Zoup! Eatery” plans to open in the space soon.

The restaurant could open its doors as soon as spring 2019, according to Zoup’s website.

The chain, which offers dozens of different soup, salad and sandwich options, operates locations across the country.

Yet the Ballston space would be its first in Arlington, and second in the Northern Virginia area — there’s another Zoup! out in Sterling.

The building set to welcome the restaurant was once home to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of a variety of federal agencies to leave Arlington over the last few years.

Newly Renovated Wendy’s Now Open on Columbia Pike, With Plans for Big Giveaway

By Alex Koma
1/7

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A new and improved Wendy’s is now open on Columbia Pike, and the fast food chain is holding a major giveaway to celebrating the restaurant’s grand opening next weekend.

The Wendy’s at 3431 Columbia Pike shut down for extensive renovations a few months ago, and re-opened for business today (Thursday).

The new location includes an all-new dining area, complete with TVs, music, free Wi-Fi and a faux fireplace. The fireplace in particular seemed to surprise some customers today; at least one person in line pointed at it and said she did not expect a Wendy’s to look so “fancy.”

A company spokesman says the restaurant will hold a “grand re-opening event” next Saturday (Jan. 19).

Wendy’s plans to offer the first 100 customers in line for the event by 10 a.m. free food for a year.

The chain operates three restaurants around the county in total.

New Hot Pot Restaurant Coming to Clarendon

By Alex Koma
1/3

A new Chinese hot pot restaurant looks to be on the way for Clarendon.

Signs posted at a space at 1028 N. Garfield Street say that “Riverside Hotpot Bar” will soon set up shop there, and is currently hiring employees.

The restaurant will take the place of Bowl’d, a fast-casual eatery that shuttered back in 2017, just a few blocks away from Clarendon’s main drag.

Riverside also operates a location in Gaithersburg, though another Riverside restaurant in Fairfax appears to have closed recently.

The eatery offers all-you-can-eat hot pot dining, according to its website, with a full array of vegetable, meat and seafood options to cook table-side.

The county has yet to issue any permits for the new restaurant, but records show that Riverside did apply for a building permit for the space in August.

Old Dominion Pizza Company Opens Along Lee Highway

By Alex Koma
1/3

Lee Highway officially has a new pizzeria.

The Old Dominion Pizza Company opened its doors in the Lee Heights shopping center last Thursday (Jan. 3), owner John Rodas told ARLnow. The restaurant replaces Upper Crust Pizzeria, which shuttered in the space at 4514 Lee Highway back in July.

Rodas says he’s envisioning this initial period as a “soft opening” for the restaurant, after he first started working to get Old Dominion open this fall.

But Rodas, who also helps run The Spirits of ’76 bar in Clarendon, says that the eatery is fully ready for customers, and even recently earned a state license to sell and deliver beer and wine.

Old Dominion now offers both traditional, “New York-style” pizzas and square, “Grandma-style” pieces, according to its menu.

The restaurant also serves up pizzas with cauliflower crust for anyone hoping for a gluten-free option, in addition to a small selection of sandwiches.

Photo 1 via Instagram, photos 2 and 3 via Facebook.

The Salt Line Plans Expansion to Ballston Office Building Next Year

By Alex Koma
1/2

The Salt Line seafood restaurant is planning an expansion to Ballston next year.

The eatery is now set to open at the base of an office building at 4040 Wilson Blvd, part of the Liberty Center development, according to a news release. Chef Kyle Bailey is aiming to have the new location open by spring 2020.

Bailey opened up his first Salt Line location, specializing in oysters and other creative fish offerings, in D.C.’s Navy Yard in 2017, and it’s since earned a slew of accolades from diners and critics.

Bailey and his partners at Long Shot Hospitality are aiming for the Ballston restaurant to be about the same size as the original, with room for 100 patrons inside and another 100 diners in an outdoor patio space during warmer months.

“We’re especially excited to activate the great outdoor space here in downtown Ballston, replicating the open-air plaza that’s been so popular at the D.C. location,” Long Shot Hospitality’s Gavin Coleman wrote in a statement. “It’s going be a real neighborhood gathering place.”

The Shooshan Company is still hard at work constructing the building at 4040 Wilson, with plans to eventually open the entire 20-story structure for residential, retail and office tenants sometime next year.

The company also owns several other mixed-use buildings in the area as part of the six-block Liberty Center development.

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