new restaurant

I-CE-NY Coming to Shirlington Village

By ARLnow.com
1/4

A unique ice cream chain that started in Thailand before expanding to New York City and then other U.S. cities is coming to Shirlington.

Signs are up in the windows of a storefront at 4150 Campbell Ave for I-CE-NY, which serves “smashed and rolled ice cream” with mix-ins like fruit, cookies and candy. That confirms our earlier report that the former Knits Etc. space would be filled by an ice cream shop.

I-CE-NY offers a number of signature pre-set ice cream and mix-in combos, including “Mango Sticky RI-CE” and “Strawberry Cheese-CE Cake,” per its website.

The business is currently hiring “ice cream crafters” for the new Shirlington location. So far there’s no word on an exact opening date.

Meridian Pint Aims to Open First Arlington Location in Dominion Hills by Spring 2019

By Alex Koma

Meridian Pint is getting closer to opening its first Arlington restaurant, with plans to open a new brewpub in Dominion Hills sometime next spring.

The D.C.-based, craft beer-focused chain announced plans to expand into the county late last year, targeting a spot at 6035 Wilson Blvd in the Dominion Hills Centre shopping plaza. Construction is set to get underway next week at the new space, and owner John Andrade told ARLnow that he’s “tentatively targeting the beginning of April to get it open.”

“It’ll just be another iteration of the expanding ‘Pint’ brand,” Andrade said. “And this is nestled into a great community.”

Andrade currently operates two “Pint” restaurants in D.C. — Meridian and Brookland Pint — as well as Rosario’s Tacos and Tequila and Smoke Barrel. But as an Arlington resident, living just a quarter mile away from the new location, he says he was anxious for the chance to expand into his home county.

“The idea that I can just walk to work, door-to-door in somewhere between 13 and 15 minutes is really great,” Andrade said. “It’s just a great opportunity… especially for those of us that live slightly more than walking distance from Ballston or Clarendon, or have multiple kids, and don’t really want to do the dance of finding a parking garage or hunting down a metered space to go explore out that way.”

Andrade is unsure of a name for the new establishment just yet — he originally planned to dub it “Dominion Pint,” but ran into some legal headaches — but he says it will generally mirror the food and beverage options at his D.C. locations.

“It’ll have an all-American menu and all-American craft beer, with a generous emphasis on wine and spirits as well,” Andrade said.

Andrade also foresees offering growler fills and six-packs for sale at the restaurant, something he’s barred from doing in D.C. but is anxious to try now that he’s operating in Virginia.

He hopes to “start swinging hammers” at the space Monday (Oct. 22) now that he’s won all the necessary permits, and expects it will take roughly six months to get things up and running.

“We’re really planning on being members of the community, so we hope it’ll be a great neighborhood establishment,” Andrade said.

Photo via Google Maps

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Mi and Yu Opening Update — According to its website, Mi and Yu Noodle Bar, which was originally expected to open in September in the revamped Ballston Quarter mall, is now slated for a February 2019 opening. The opening of the mall — and the numerous new restaurants that will call it home — was at last check delayed until late October. [Mi and Yu Noodle Bar]

Improvements for McKinley Road — “Arlington County Board members on Oct. 20 are expected to award a contract worth up to $426,700 for modify curbs and intersections and establish a median along McKinley Road from Wilson Boulevard north to 11th Street North. The project is designed to improved safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in the corridor, including students attending McKinley Elementary School.” [InsideNova]

Memorial Bridge Work, Woes — Rehab work is well underway on the Memorial Bridge, but long-term lane closures are continuing to cause — in the words of one commuter — “insane” traffic backups during rush hour. [Twitter, Twitter]

Yume Sushi Plans to Open in East Falls Church in Late October

By Alex Koma
1/4

East Falls Church is now set to welcome a new sushi restaurant before the month is out.

Yume Sushi, located at 2121 N. Westmoreland Street, plans to open “in the last few weeks of October,” according to a press release. The eatery originally hoped to open last fall, but ran into some delays securing building permits.

The restaurant is backed by executive chef and co-owner Saran Kannasute, who was previously the executive chef at Alexandria’s The Sushi Bar and has worked at Sushi Rock in Courthouse, and has room for about 100 people.

Kannasute plans to serve not only an “extensive” selection of sushi rolls for a traditional dining experience, but he’ll also offer limited reservations for “Omakase dining,” stemming from the Japanese phrase that roughly translates to “I shall leave it up to you.” The two-hour Omakase sessions will allow chefs to “exert complete creative freedom and technique in curating their dishes with the finest and freshest ingredients available,” while crafting meals in front of diners, according to the release.

The restaurant also expects to stock more than 90 different sakes, which Kannasute claims will be one of the largest selections in the D.C. region. Yume’s bar will also include sake cocktails, seasonal sake varieties, a sake on tap and even Japanese whiskeys.

Yume will be located in the same building as a South Block juice bar, just down the street from the East Falls Church Metro station.

New Restaurant Serving Up Indian, Nepalese Food Coming to Pentagon Row

By Alex Koma
1/3

(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) A new restaurant offering Indian and Nepalese cuisine is on the way for the Pentagon Row shopping center.

Namaste Everest plans to open its doors in spring 2019, according to a release from Pentagon Row owner Federal Realty Investment Trust.

Chef Nabin Paudel, a Nepal native, operates another restaurant under the name “Namaste” in Alexandria. The new eatery will be his first expansion into Arlington.

The menu will include an array of curries and tandoor cooking, as well as dumplings, biryani, kabobs and more. The restaurant also plans to offer a full bar, the release said.

“It has been a priority to continue to expand dining options at this location for the local community,” Kari Glinski, director of asset management for Federal Realty, wrote in a statement. “With the addition of Indian and Nepalese cuisine, diners certainly have several diverse choices to choose from.”

Other recent additions to Pentagon Row include a pop-up taco bar and a new location for local chain Basic Burger.

New Pizzeria Set to Replace Upper Crust on Lee Highway

By Alex Koma

Just a few months after Upper Crust Pizzeria shut down along Lee Highway, a new pizza shop is now set to take its place.

Old Dominion Pizza Company is now planning to open up in Upper Crust’s old space at 4514 Lee Highway in the Lee Heights shopping center, owner John Rodas told ARLnow.

Rodas, who also helps run The Spirits of ’76 bar in Clarendon, says he’s still sorting out the menu for the new restaurant, but hopes Old Dominion will become a “good, local, neighborhood pizza place.”

He says he’d long enjoyed getting pizza at Upper Crust, but thought the restaurant’s management was a bit lacking. He even considered what he might do differently with the space.

“I remember saying, ‘If this spot ever comes open, I would love to put a nice neighborhood pizza place here,” Rodas said.

Accordingly, when Rodas saw ARLnow’s story on the store’s closure this July, he jumped at the chance to lease the space.

“I’d always wanted to do something in the neighborhood, but it wasn’t something I already had plans in the works for,” Rodas said. “But when I saw that it was closed, I drove right over there.”

He says he signed a lease for the space a few months ago, working in tandem with his chef at Spirits of ’76, Charles Smith, who is helping to design Old Dominion’s menu and will have an ownership stake in the pizzeria.

Rodas adds that the restaurant will deliver, and he plans to offer wine and beer in the space, though he expects the lengthy permit application process means the restaurant might not have it available as soon as it opens. As for that opening date, he’s currently hoping to start welcoming customers sometime in December.

Rodas is well aware that it might seem a bit strange to open up a new pizzeria in the same space as one that just failed, but he’s hoping that he’ll be able to bring a bit of what has made his Clarendon bar a success over to this new venture.

“We’re lucky to have great employees there, who take pride in the place and we have great customer service there,” Rodas said. “You know the guys who own the place and who work there… and we want to bring that over to Old Dominion.”

Photo via @olddominionpizza

South Block Plans New Rosslyn Location in Old Cafe Asia Space

By Alex Koma

South Block will soon bring its array of juices, smoothies and acai bowls to Rosslyn.

The Arlington-based chain is planning its fourth location in the county for the former Cafe Asia space (1550 Wilson Blvd), next to the forthcoming Bash Boxing workout studio, according to founder and CEO Amir Mostafavi.

“Our Clarendon spot has turned into such a busy location, and we’re growing as a company, it just seemed like it was needed for us in that area,” he told ARLnow. “Regulars can attest that if you come in on a Saturday in Clarendon, it’s just packed. So now we can spread out a bit and help the serve community better.”

Mostafavi expects that the Rosslyn location will open in the late spring of 2019, just a few months after South Block opens its third Arlington store in the new Ballston Quarter development. He says both new locations will offer the same line-up as the rest of its shops, including the toast options he’s recently added to his menus.

In an unusual twist of fate, both the new locations will be located next to Bash Boxing’s gyms, with the fitness studio also planning a Ballston Quarter location.

Though Scott Parker, one of the studio’s co-founders, says the pairings were largely a “coincidence,” Mostafavi expects the businesses will easily compliment each other.

“We’re calling it a one-two punch,” Mostafavi said.

Mostafavi says his real estate broker first showed him the Cafe Asia space a few months back as he eyed an expansion. When he subsequently heard from Bash’s backers that they too were eyeing the space, he figured opening up a juice bar right next to fitness studio would make a good bit of sense.

“We’ve always had a really strong relationship with Arlington’s fitness community, so this is just a really good fit,” Mostafavi said.

By the time South Block opens its two new Arlington locations, Mostafavi says he’ll have 10 shops running across the region.

Photo courtesy of @IAmAru

Doughnut-Focused Cafe On the Way for Ballston Apartment Building

By Alex Koma

A new cafe will soon offer up handmade doughnuts, coffee and more in Ballston.

Good Company Doughnuts and Cafe plans to move into a space at 670 N. Glebe Road, just under the 672 Flats apartments, according to co-founder Charles Kachadoorian.

Kachadoorian told ARLnow that the restaurant is targeting an “early 2019” opening date, after signing a lease at the new building this summer.

While the Ballston location will be the first for Good Company, Kachadoorian says his family is no stranger to the doughnut business. His sister, Kate Murphy, spent decades whipping up her own doughnuts at a shop in New Hampshire before moving to Arlington to join Kachadoorian, and he says they “decided to partner up and open a new cafe that’s a little more innovative than the old one.”

He expects the cafe will offer a full range of soups, salads, sandwiches and other “light fare,” with some limited dinner options as well. Kachadoorian added that the cafe struck a deal with Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee for its brews, and will even someday offer craft beer, wine and cocktails for thirsty customers.

That being said, however, Kachadoorian says “there is no upstaging these doughnuts.”

“They’re made fresh every night in the shop, by hand, by experienced bakers,” Kachadoorian said. “My sister and her husband probably have about 60 years of making doughnuts between them.”

The cafe will offer up both cake donuts and yeast-raised donuts, with “traditional flavors and also a few of the more funky ones,” Kachadoorian said. He isn’t ready to set a firm opening date quite yet, but expects to start construction in the “near future.”

“We’re a family business, and we’re really excited about bringing the food we’re passionate about to the community,” said Kachadoorian.

Depending on when Good Company opens its doors, it could become the first retailer to set up shop in the new 672 Flats building, located just across from the Ballston Quarter development.

The apartments have space set aside for several other businesses on its ground floor, though Kachadoorian was unsure if others will join Good Company in the near future. A spokeswoman for the Chevy Chase Land Company, which purchased the development last week, said they have yet to announce any additional retailers at the site.

Federico Opens Its Doors As a Successor to Crystal City’s Cafe Italia

By Alex Koma
1/2

Federico Ristorante Italiano, the spiritual successor to Crystal City’s Cafe Italia, is now open for business.

Co-owner Freddie Lutz, who also runs the eponymous Freddie’s Beach Bar, told ARLnow that the revived restaurant held its grand opening Sunday (Sept. 30).

Lutz worked for decades as a waiter and maitre d’ at Cafe Italia, located at 519 23rd Street S., and worked with a pair of other former employees to bring the eatery back to life after it closed in April. He’d originally planned to dub it “Freddie’s Italian Cafe,” but decided to change the name a bit in deference to its former owners.

Lutz added that the restaurant held a soft opening last Monday, before officially cutting the ribbon on the place Sunday night. Lutz, a longtime South Arlington resident, held an “ice cream social” at his home nearby, then led attendees over to Federico for the big celebration.

“We had a line up the street, it was packed and very festive,” Lutz said.

Lutz said attendees included state lawmakers like state Sens. Adam Ebbin (D-30th District) and Barbara Favola (D-31st District) and Del. Mark Levine (D-45th District), as well as former County Board member Jay Fisette.

Lutz is hoping the new place can capture the spirit of the original restaurant, which was a fixture of the neighborhood since it opened in 1976. Though the eatery fell on some hard times in later years, Lutz expects the restaurant to be packed full of diners for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve got our sea legs and now we’re bracing ourselves for the busy times,” Lutz said.

Three Restaurants Replacing Clarendon’s La Tasca Now Set for Early 2019 Opening

By Alex Koma
1/2

Work is picking up steam on the trio of new restaurants moving into the space once occupied by La Tasca in Clarendon, with its owner targeting a partial opening a few months from now.

Street Guys Hospitality, the group backing Clarendon’s Ambar and Baba, is now hard at work on construction for the new eateries: Tacos, Tortas and Tequila on the first floor, Buena Vida on the second and a rooftop bar to cap things off. The group opened the former two Mexican eateries in Bethesda earlier this year.

Lindley Richardson, a spokeswoman for Street Guys, told ARLnow that owner Ivan Iricanin is targeting February 2019 for TTT and Buena Vida’s grand opening.

She added that the rooftop space will open “at a later date,” noting that it currently does not have a name — Iricanin previously told other media outlets that it would be dubbed “Up.”

Meanwhile, county permit records show that Iricanin’s company won county permission for some interior demolition work on all three floors of the building in August, with work continuing in the weeks since. Iricanin also plans to bring a new Ambar location to Northwest D.C. next year, his second in the city.

La Tasca closed back in March, after spending roughly 14 years serving Clarendon diners.

Dudley’s Inches Ever Closer to Opening, Begins Hiring

By Alex Koma
1/3

Dudley’s Sport and Ale in Shirlington is inching ever closer to opening, with plans to start hiring employees in the coming days.

Owner Reese Gardner told ARLnow that an “exact date” for opening of the long-awaited sports bar, located at 2766 S. Arlington Mills Drive, still remains unclear.

However, the restaurant did host a hiring fair this past Sunday (Sept. 23), and Gardner said the pub should be open soon. He’s been working since 2015 to bring the new bar to the space once occupied by The Bungalow Sports Grill, though he’s run into a series of delays over the years, some of which have been linked to the 3,000-square-foot rooftop space he’s building atop the 12,000-square-foot restaurant.

In a Facebook post earlier this month, the restaurant’s staff attributed some of the delays to more requirements from county planners, scuttling Gardner’s plans to open the bar in time for football season.

“Please understand we also want the venue to be open also but there have been continuous hurdles to overcome with this construction process,” staff wrote. “The latest is Arlington County would like us to add a dry sprinkler system to the outside rooftop area. The bottom floor is basically finished except for paint and small punch list stuff.”

Gardner added that the restaurant is now awaiting “final inspections” from the county, which will determine when exactly Dudley’s is able to open its doors.

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