The convenience store’s interior appears to be mostly completed, though shelves have yet to be stocked. A stylized “7-Eleven” sign, in keeping with the building’s architecture, was recently mounted above the entrance.
Asked if they knew when the store would be opening, a pair of construction workers working on the entrance replied, “mañana.” Thus far, 7-Eleven has not responded to a request for comment.
“We’re excited to be a part of the neighborhood,” co-owner Jeff Smith said. “[My twin brother] Craig and I have always loved Courthouse, but never found the right site for our store until now. [The building] has great amenities and convenient parking for our customers to load purchases large and small.”
“We’re working on construction and getting our permits and hope to open late summer this year,” Smith added, in response to an inquiry from ARLnow.com.
All 30,000 square feet of retail space in 2001 Clarendon Blvd is now leased, according to a press release. Another of the newer businesses to lease a space there, fitness studio Xtend Barre, has set a June 10 opening date.
A TJ Maxx store is coming to Pentagon Row, according to a building permit.
The store appears to be under construction in the former Hudson Trail Outfitters space on S. Joyce Street.
The outdoor retailer closed the store last year as the company shut down after nearly five decades in business.
Discount fashion store TJ Maxx will be one of the largest retailers by square footage at Pentagon Row, along with the existing discount shoe store DSW, which is located in a similar retail space on the same block. The nearest existing TJ Maxx stores are in Falls Church, D.C. and in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard shopping center.
Whole Foods sign outside The Bartlett in Pentagon City
The Bartlett in Pentagon City, future home to Commonwealth Joe and Whole Foods
The new Whole Foods grocery store in Pentagon City will be opening on Wednesday, June 29, the company announced today.
The nearly 37,000-square-foot store is located on the ground floor of the Bartlett, a new 22-story apartment building at the corner of 12th Street S. and S. Eads Street.
The new store will feature:
An expansive organic salad bar
Prepared foods hot bars
Several unique food venues
Made-in-house and artisan charcuterie
An extensive selection of beer, wine and cheese
A scratch bakery
A coffee/juice bar
A pub
A dog-friendly patio
Whole Foods is now hiring for the store, as detailed in the press release below.
Whole Foods Market, America’s healthiest grocery store™, will open its ninth Northern Virginia location on Wednesday, June 29, in Pentagon City. The 36,800 square-foot store is located at the corner of 12th Street South and South Eads Street.
“Our newest Whole Foods Market will reflect the energy and vitality of this growing Arlington community,” said Mike Ameg, the store’s team leader. “This store will offer Northern Virginia families the highest quality natural and organic products, including seasonal, locally-sourced produce, sustainable seafood and high-quality meat and poultry – all free of artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives and hydrogenated oils. We’re also excited to bring an extensive offering of fast-casual dining options to the many residents who live and work in the heart of Pentagon City.”
Along with the expansive organic salad bar and prepared foods hot bars pioneered by Whole Foods Market chefs, this store will feature several unique food venues, made-in-house and artisan charcuterie, an extensive selection of beer, wine and cheese, and a scratch bakery. The store’s many seating areas – which include a coffee/juice bar, pub, and dog-friendly patio – are also sure to become popular meeting places.
Whole Foods Market team members will be organizing and attending events in and around the community over the coming weeks and there are also openings for new part-time and full-time team member positions across a variety of departments. Interested applicants can apply at www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers.
Follow news about this store’s opening and about all of the Northern Virginia Whole Foods Market happenings through social media: Twitter @WholeFoodsNoVa; Instagram: @WholeFoodsNoVa, and on Facebook: Whole Foods Market NoVa.
(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) The new Garrett Popcorn Shop opened today at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City — and customers are lining up faster than they can pop the kernels. Some even brought homemade signs to mark the occasion.
Located in the former Johnny Rockets space, near the Metro entrance on the food court level, it’s the Chicago-based company’s 50th location and its first in the D.C. area.
To celebrate today’s opening, Garrett is offering $1 treat bags, $19.49 gallon tins of mixed popcorn and free D.C. tote bags to the first 200 customers (excluding those just buying the $1 treat bag.)
Those specials, and the allure of cheesy, buttery or crispy sweet popcorn from the Windy City, apparently was enough to convince customers to wait in an enormous line that stretched halfway through the food court.
A group at the front of the line insisted that they had been waiting for two hours. Was that worth it?
“Oh yeah, their popcorn is the bomb,” one of the women said.
(Updated at 11:33 a.m.) A new hardware store is coming to Courthouse.
Fairfax-based Twins Ace Hardware will open an Arlington location on the ground floor of the 2001 Clarendon apartment building late this summer, according to a company announcement
The store will sell a “wide variety” of products and span 5,560 square feet, the announcement reads.
A building permit application for the new business was filed on Monday.
The sign on the front door says it all: new pie store Livin’ the Pie Life expects to open “April-ish.”
Located at 2166 N. Glebe Road, near the intersection with Lee Highway, the store is the bricks-and-mortar manifestation of what has up until now been a business that sold its wares primarily at local farmers markets.
Owners Heather Sheire and Wendy MacCallum, two Arlington moms who founded the company in 2011, says they don’t have an opening date set yet — but they’re close.
The store just added a new espresso machine and will be serving Virginia-based Red Rooster Coffee. That’s of course in addition to cookies, cakes, pies (savory and sweet) and other pastries.
The pies will be served in regular and individual sizes, plus by the slice. There are also plans to serve ice cream later this year, once a suitable vendor is selected.
The store is awaiting a couple of county permits before opening. It includes a sizable kitchen, a counter service area and a seating area for customers.
Sheire and MacCallum will still be selling pies at the Westover Farmers Market, and on Saturday will begin serving the Courthouse Farmers Market for the first time. The company only offers whole pies at farmers markets.
A Rock ‘n’ Joe coffee shop is coming to Ballston, across from Ballston Common Mall.
With existing stores in Pittsburgh and New Jersey, Rock ‘n’ Joe describes itself as “a new third-wave coffee bar design, with artisan drinks focused on quality and craft with music brewing in the décor and air.”
“At Rock ‘n’ Joe the guest will be treated to an environment that is committed to the craft of making the perfect beverage, from our drip coffee of the day, to a special single origin coffee made in a pour-over method,” the company’s website says. “Our beverage artists are committed to making the perfectly balanced delicious espresso beverages; from a shot of espresso to a vanilla latte and our signature beverages and everything in between, our goal is to ROCK you with every cup of Rock ‘n’ Joe.”
The store is located at 4401 Wilson Blvd, next to Big Buns and across from Grand Cru.
So far there’s no word as to when Rock ‘n’ Joe expects to open. A company representative has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Rock ‘n’ Joe will benefit, at least temporarily, from the impending renovations at Ballston Common Mall. The mall’s Starbucks store has closed ahead of the two-year renovation process, although there are others nearby, including two blocks away at 801 N. Glebe Road.
The store, at 3449 Wilson Blvd, is awaiting some additional window signage and product inventory before holding its grand opening.
Located between two other well-established bike shops along the Orange Line corridor — Freshbikes in Ballston and Revolution Cycles in Clarendon — Conte’s hopes to compete on selection, price and service.
Conte’s is primarily a dealer of bicycles from Giant, the world’s largest bike manufacturer. The store also offers Liv bikes, Giant’s brand aimed at female cyclists, and BMC bikes.
Revolution, by contrast, is primarily a Trek and Felt dealer, while Freshbikes offers brands like Cannondale, Specialized, Cervelo, Santa Cruz and others. It’s not dissimilar to there being a number of car dealerships offering different makes of cars along a given corridor.
It’s a return to Arlington for Conte’s, which previously lent its name to what its now Freshbikes. About five years ago Conte’s decided to stop franchising and the store at 3924 Wilson Blvd was renamed in 2011. Co-owner and store manager Charles Conte called Freshbikes and Revolution “great” stores, but said he’s looking forward to serving Arlington again.
“We create a level of professionalism in the marketplace that will give customers another choice,” he told ARLnow.com Friday. “There are too many people who cycle in this community without having enough choices.”
Conte’s, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, has seven other stores throughout Virginia, including one that opened at 7121 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church a few months ago. Conte said “several” new stores are in the works, but declined to provide additional details.
The Bartlett in Pentagon City, future home to Commonwealth Joe and Whole Foods
The Bartlett in Pentagon City, future home to Commonwealth Joe and Whole Foods
Arlington-based coffee startup Commonwealth Joe says its planned coffee shop in Pentagon City will be the company’s flagship location — and will offer something beyond just a morning pick-me-up.
“Arlington deserves great coffee,” Commonwealth Joe co-founder and CEO Robert Peck said Monday. “We aim to deliver powerful experiences built around that cup of coffee, and also to provide an environment that makes you feel at home and gives you a sense of place — somewhere where you want to bring your friends and family and can also have chance encounters with others in the community.”
The new Commonwealth Joe store will be located on the ground floor of The Bartlett, a new 22-story luxury apartment building that’s currently wrapping up construction at the corner of S. Eads and 12th Streets, two blocks from the Metro station.
An experience and a sense of community is a key goal for the building and developer Vornado. Thus the reason the coffee shop is planning to make “experience” a cornerstone of its offerings and is working with a top-shelf local design firm for its build-out.
From a press release: “Although they are not revealing details just yet, they say that the new space will be the first of its kind in the entire D.C. metro area, and will offer some exciting amenities for Bartlett residents and customers, including coffee cuppings and brewing classes.”
The shop’s coffee offerings include single-origin coffees, pour-overs and nitro cold brew coffee.
Commonwealth Joe is planning to open on an unspecified date “this summer,” as is the next-door Whole Foods Market. Some residents have been told that the Whole Foods is eyeing a late June opening.
NOVA Armory, the controversial planned gun store in Lyon Park, says it will hold a grand opening at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 26.
The store, at 2300 N. Pershing Drive, says it has all applicable permits needed to open. The grand opening will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony with “several VIPs,” the store’s website says.
The Lyon Park Citizens Association, however, is still discussing the store and has planned a membership vote on whether the association should take an official stance on NOVA Armory. It’s unclear what stance the association would take, though many residents have expressed concerns about the store and its proximity to a nearby preschool.
John Goldener, president of the civic association, confirmed the vote was to take place at some point this week. It comes after NOVA Armory, in a press release issued Friday, threatened to sue opponents and “local crazies.”
“The Association will not… respond favorably to any threats to our residents or to free speech in our meetings, our online forums, or on individual members’ social media pages, as appeared in NOVA Armory’s own March 4 press release to this and other media outlets,” Goldener said Monday. “We assume that the business owner is a proud and responsible gun owner, as are many residents of Lyon Park and members of the LPCA. He should understand better than most that the Constitution is not a buffet, and your cannot infringe upon individuals’ First Amendment rights in order to defend those in the Second.”
“We remain wholly committed to productive and constructive dialogue on this any any other issue of interest or concern to our residents,” Goldener added.
On Friday NOVA Armory said on its website — in a post that has since been removed — that is cancelled a planned private meeting with the citizens association and would only meet with residents at the store. Since then, the stance of NOVA Armory’s owner appears to have softened a bit.
“Dennis Pratte and I have been in touch today, and we are working together to find a new time for him to meet with the Association,” Goldener told ARLnow.com Tuesday.
Pratte, meanwhile says his business is legal and wants Lyon Park residents to stop by the store to clear up “misinformation floating around the internet” before voting.
“NOVA Armory’s application for zoning was approved and all the inspections were passed by the county,” Pratte wrote. “The business received an occupancy permit. And, every inspector, and every law enforcement official that has visited the shop has left confident knowing that they have met all the requirements to operate this business, and to operate it safely from this location. So, before the committee votes, I would hope they take this information into account, or at least stop by the business before casting their vote so they can make an informed decision.”
