Those who work at HQ2 have a new ABC store from which to procure their booze.

The new Virginia ABC store at 1301 S. Joyce Street is set to open next Tuesday, April 6, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority announced today. The space previously housed a Mike Bloomberg for President campaign office.

The CEO of Virginia ABC said the store, at the Westpost (previously Pentagon Row) shopping center, is opening in response to local demand. The 4,200 square foot retail location in Pentagon City will offer more than 2,700 items, including over 400 types of bourbon.

“Store hours are noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday,” noted a press release, adding that “the new Pentagon Row store will provide curbside service.”

The full press release is below.

Arlington County residents in the Pentagon City area will have a new retail outlet for purchasing distilled spirits, mixers and Virginia wine. On April 6, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) will open a new store at 1301 S. Joyce St., Suite D12, in the Pentagon Row shopping center.

“Today, approximately 93% of Virginians live within a 20-minute drive of an ABC store. But even with this reach, we heard there was a need to provide a higher level of convenience to the 190,000 people 21 or older who live in Arlington County,” said Virginia ABC Chief Executive Officer Travis Hill. “This new store is proof that we’re listening.”

This will be the ninth ABC store in Arlington County. The new store measures more than 4,200 square feet. The store’s product selection spans over 2,700 items, including 434 bourbons, 381 vodkas, 244 rums, 240 cordials and 217 tequilas.

“Arlington County has more than 250 businesses licensed to serve mixed beverages,” said Hill. “These businesses are also our customers. We are committed to providing them with excellent service.”

The store employs five sales associates, two lead sales associates, one assistant store manager and one store manager who are eager to help customers find what they are looking for and discover new products. Store hours are noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Like most of ABC’s stores across the commonwealth, the new Pentagon Row store will provide curbside service. After placing an online order at www.abc.virginia.gov, customers can opt for contactless pickup of spirits, Virginia wines and mixers the same day the order is placed, as long as the selected products are available in the store.

Throughout the pandemic, Virginia ABC has implemented safety measures in all of its 393 stores using retailer guidance provided by the Virginia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include:

  • Face mask requirement for customers and store employees. ABC will make every attempt to provide a face mask to customers who arrive without one.
  • Plexiglas shields at registers
  • Floor markers to ensure customers stand at least six feet apart from one another
  • Daily cleaning and sanitizing with particular attention to most frequented areas including checkout counters and high-touch surfaces such as door handles and knobs
  • Hand sanitizer at registers for customer and employee use

Customers are encouraged to visit Virginia ABC’s website at www.abc.virginia.gov to search for stores, determine the availability of products at any retail location and order spirits online for in-store or curbside pickup, or home delivery in select areas.

Per Virginia law, ABC’s profits from in-store and online retail sales are remitted each year to the commonwealth for designated state programs and services. For fiscal year 2020, ABC contributed a total of $545.3 million ($212.1 million from retail sales) to the commonwealth.


The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has a trio of new stores, four more on the way, and an imminent visit from the Easter bunny.

Once a virtual ghost town during the pandemic, the mall has been getting busier and vacant storefronts are being filled. Three opened recently:

More are set to open in the near future, including hip tire store Roll by Goodyear, large stuffed animal shop Squishable, fashion retailer Telos LA, and World Gem and Jewelry.

But perhaps the biggest upcoming arrival is none other than the Easter bunny.

The floppy-eared mascot of the spring holiday will hop in on Thursday, March 18 for socially distanced visits and photos with kids, seven days a week.

“The Bunny Photo Experience hours are Monday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday,” mall operator Simon noted in a press release.

Photo sessions will be available through April 3, the day before Easter Sunday, and reservations are “strongly encouraged.”

Just avoid getting too close to ol’ Peter Cottontail, as there’s still a pandemic going on.

“For everyone’s safety, visiting the Bunny will be a socially distanced experience,” the mall said, adding that the bespectacled bunny “will be wearing a concealed mask.”


Framebridge is coming to Clarendon.

The D.C.-based custom framing company, owned by Rosslyn-based Graham Holdings, is opening a brick and mortar location at 2839 Clarendon Blvd.

It will be a part of the newly-renamed The Crossing Clarendon (formerly Market Common Clarendon) and takes the place of Lou Lou Boutiques, which closed the past summer.

The store is planning to open “this spring,” a Framebridge spokesperson tells ARLnow, but did not provide more details.

The company is already looking to hire for the location.

This is currently the company’s third physical store in the region, along with stores in D.C. and Bethesda. Another location will soon open near Union Market in D.C., according to the Washington Business Journal.

Framebridge started as a venture capital-funded ecommerce and online-only company, but has since expanded to brick and mortar storefronts. Besides the locations in the D.C. area, it also opened stores last year in New York and Atlanta.

Clarendon has seen a number of comings and goings in recent months.

Heritage Brewing Company closed in November, but it will be replaced by another restaurant later this year. The G.O.A.T. sports bar closed in January as well as the Bracket Room, another sports bar, just this past week.


The season of giving is upon us, and with that, so too is the season of shopping.

The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is offering new shopping opportunities as a few new stores dot the interior of the mall.

Patrons can now sample spicy items at Pepper Palace or take on a new look at All Star Sports, and will soon be able to buy elevated business casual at Bonobos.

Pepper Palace opened last week on the first floor of the mall. Billing itself as “The Planet’s #1 Hot Shop,” the Pepper Palace is a chain store that offers “small batch, handcrafted, natural, and award winning products,” according to its website.

The store offers a variety of items that include hot sauces you can taste test, plus salsa, jerky, barbeque sauce and seasonings. The specialty retail outlet already has a D.C. area location at National Harbor.

All Star Sports opened at the end of October. The retail chain store offers sportswear as well as licensed apparel for men, women and kids. Items include a variety of items from high school jerseys of NFL and NBA players, to movie apparel, to hats, shorts, hoodies, jerseys and more.

The company has one other local location at Tysons Corner Center.

Finally, Bonobos is slated to open Dec. 20, according to the Fashion Centre’s website. The New York City-based men’s fashion store — noted for its khakis — stakes its claim as a “painless” shopping experience to help men find clothing that “should actually fit.”

Bonobos already has five other “Guideshops” in the region, including two in D.C. — in Georgetown and Columbia Heights — as well as two in Bethesda and one in Tysons.


The new CVS Pharmacy in Shirlington is opening over Labor Day weekend.

The store at 4060 Campbell Avenue, in the Village at Shirlington, is set to open this Sunday, Sept. 6.

The space was previously occupied by the now-closed Ping by Charlie Chiang’s and by Cheesetique, which relocated to a larger storefront in Shirlington.

The 10,906-square-foot CVS has been in the works for about a year. Its outdoor signage features a big red heart facing the corner of Campbell Avenue and S. Randolph Street.

The store will be open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m.-9 p.m., according to the company’s website.

 


Those who mourned the closing of Finders Keepers in Westover (5906 Washington Blvd) should be happy to know a new consignment shop is coming to the same space, but with some significant new changes.

True to the consignment store spirit, Amber Scivolette is taking a second-hand retail space and breathing new life into it — Finders Keepers is becoming Blossom and Buds Consignment.

The store will serve both kids and adults. Offerings will include clothing, shoes and accessories, as well as toys, books, games, and other items.

“We’re going to have kids’ consignment as well as women’s consignment,” Scivolette said. “It’s basically two storefronts, with one whole side for kids and a kids’ play area.”

Inside, Scivolette said she has renovated the space.

“We pulled everything apart,” Scivolette said. “We just completed that, now we’re setting things into place.”

The exterior, which currently is mostly covered in plastic, is also getting spruced up. Scivolette said a new sign and a power wash are coming soon.

The new store is scheduled to open in September, possibly with a soft opening around Thursday, Sept. 10, or Friday, Sept. 11.

Though the exact details haven’t been nailed down yet, Scivolette said Blossom and Buds will implement COVID-19 safety measures. Early on, that will mean a big emphasis on selling items via Instagram, Facebook and other social media outlets. Scivolette said the store will offer contactless pickup if someone wants to buy something they spotted online.

While many locals opening new stores have had challenges, Scivolette says she’s found a silver lining.

“Opening now… it’s not ideal, but I feel like I’m not rushed,” Scivolette. “I can take the time to do what I want to do. The timing works out okay for us.”

Photo courtesy Amber Scivolette


Ballston’s MyEyeDr. is moving to a new building roughly two blocks away from its current one.

A branch of the national optometry company, MyEyeDr. is leaving its 901 N. Stuart Street location for Arlington Community Federal Credit Union’s old storefront at 4121 Wilson Blvd, across from Ballston Quarter mall.

Signs on the new store’s front door say it is opening in November 2020.

The Ballston branch is one of three MyEyeDr. locations in Arlington. Others are in Clarendon and Pentagon City.

The credit union closed its Ballston branch in December 2019, but still has locations at 2130 N. Glebe Road and 5666 Columbia Pike. It also operates three local ATM machines.


Local juice, smoothie and acai bowl chain South Block is opening a new cafe amid the coronavirus pandemic — for a good cause.

The company says it will be opening its first “Fruitful Planet Market & Cafe” in Clarendon tomorrow, on Earth Day. The cafe will be “completely not-for-profit” and will support South Block’s Fruitful Planet initiative.

Fruitful Planet has so far donated over 15,000 pounds of fruits and veggies to local schools, food banks, hospitals, and directly to those in need, according to a spokeswoman.

Located at next to South Block’s original location (3019 11th Street N.) the cafe will offer “South Block’s fresh pressed juices, coffee, superfood lattes, fresh fruits, super snacks, Commonwealth Joe whole bean coffee and cold brew, South Block’s stay-at-home warrior kits, and more.”

“100% of all proceeds made at Fruitful Planet Market & Cafe will go directly towards South Block’s nonprofit, Fruitful Planet, which works with local farmers, schools, and other nonprofits to donate fresh fruits and vegetables to those in need within our community,” the spokeswoman said.

Arlington Public Schools and the Arlington Food Assistance Center have been among the beneficiaries, we’re told, along with Bayou Bakery Chef David Guas’ meal distribution effort.

“One of South Block’s greatest missions is to give back to the community we serve,” Amir Mostafavi, founder and CEO of the Arlington born and bred company, told ARLnow. “The opening of Fruitful Planet Market & Cafe is the next step in our ongoing duty to give back to the communities that have already given us so much.”

South Block opened two new Arlington locations — in Rosslyn and Ballston — last year. It is currently offering free, contactless delivery on orders over $45, in addition to delivery via apps like Uber Eats.


Mike Bloomberg’s former Arlington campaign office at Pentagon Row might soon become a liquor store.

A notice posted in the window says Virginia ABC is “considering establishing a retail store at this location,” on the 1300 block of S. Joyce Street. The sign first went up last month, before Bloomberg dropped out of the Democratic presidential race.

“As is customary when a new store location is under consideration, we post a sign for two weeks indicating a potential new store to gather local input before moving forward to secure a lease,” said Dawn Eischen, Public Relations Manager for Virginia ABC.

“Virginia ABC strategically chooses store locations to meet market demands and to better serve its customers,” she added.

There are currently eight state-run liquor stores in Arlington, according to the Virginia ABC website. The closest to the proposed Pentagon Row location are at the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center (2955A S. Glebe Road) and in Crystal City (320 23rd Street S.)

Eischen told ARLnow this morning that Virginia ABC “is currently going through the leasing process” at Pentagon Row, though an opening date is uncertain given the coronavirus outbreak.

“We are still planning to place a store at that location,” she said. “Due to adjustments ABC and others are making to business processes as a result of the coronavirus, we’re uncertain when the leasing process will be completed or when the store will be open to the public.”

Photo courtesy anonymous


An Ohio-based company that offers boozy, candy-covered gifts is planning to open at Pentagon City mall, according to a permit filing.

Bliss in a Bottle, which previously opened a kiosk at Tysons Corner Center, sells beer and wine bottles covered in chocolate, sprinkles and other candies.

“In the perfect pairing, flavors from different families collide, creating a taste explosion that sends a wake-up call from your mouth to your brain. It’s not just delicious. It’s a truly novel experience,” says the company’s Facebook page. “Our fine Belgian chocolate, hand-painted on to a wine bottle covered with a removable food grade sleeve, is a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.”

The company, which also has a location at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, has been expanding via franchising. So far there’s no word on an opening date for the Pentagon City location.

A video, below, shows how customers can peel the chocolate off the bottle before opening.


A new premium cigar store is open in the Ballston neighborhood.

Cigar Unlimited (4215 Fairfax Drive) sells a wide range of premium cigars, which are handmade and rolled in dried tobacco leaves. The cigars are manufactured in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and the U.S., some of which are made specifically for the shop, Mo Fakhro, the owner, told ARLnow.

The store is the only cigar shop that has a personal relationship with their manufacturers in the D.C. area, Fakhro claimed.

“You’re not going to find [these cigars] anywhere else, except to come visit us in the store,” Fakhro said.

Fakhro also owned Cigar Connection, a shop previously located nearby, at the corner of N. Randolph and Fairfax streets in Ballston. The shop opened in 2004 but was forced to close in 2014 after the lease expired, Fakhro said.

The new store will include house blend cigars, which were not sold at the old store.

Cigar Unlimited is not fully stocked yet, Fakhro said, adding that the store plans to hold its grand opening sometime next month.


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