opening

Name Chosen for New Artisphere Cafe

By ARLnow.com

The contest to name Artisphere’s cafe is over, the votes are in, and the winner has been revealed.

Borrowing the last four letters of Artisphere, HERE is the new name of the cultural center’s cafe. HERE will feature a “seasonal menu of comfort food with Latin flavors made from locally-sourced and fresh ingredients.”

In addition to being a restaurant, HERE will be a full bar, a nightclub and a catering service. It’s owned by Barroso, Inc., the same group that runs Guajillo on Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn and Casa Oaxaca in Northwest D.C.

The contest to name the cafe was organized by the Washington Post Express. More than 530 entries were submitted. HERE, which was submitted by Bonnie Imlay of Silver Spring, Md., beat out two other finalists in the final public voting: “Artesano” and “Tamién.”

To celebrate the new name, Artisphere and HERE will be holding two events at the end of the month.

First, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, Artisphere will be hosting a “neighborhood tasting and open house” with “samplings of the restaurant’s cuisine, live music by Brazilian jazz combo Origem and hourly drawings for lunches for two and tickets to Artisphere events.”

Then, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1, HERE is holding a launch party with more food samplings, door prizes and music by Thunderball and DJ Rex Riddem. The free event is open to the first 300 people who register for it.

Mad Rose Tavern Opening Tomorrow in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:10 p.m. at 2/16/11 — Despite management giving ARLnow.com every assurance that the restaurant would open on Wednesday, TBD is reporting that Mad Rose Tavern has delayed its opening until Thursday.

Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd) has acquired all the necessary county permits and will open to the public Wednesday afternoon, management said Tuesday.

The restaurant, shown here still under construction, will open its doors at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon after some last-minute cleaning. For the rest of the the week, Mad Rose will be open for evenings only. Starting on Monday, it will also be open for lunch.

General Manager Seamus Phillips described Mad Rose as “warm and inviting, modern meets old world, affordable yet high quality.” The restaurant has been eight months in the making and is rumored to have cost owners upwards of $1 million so far. It will include a menu full of hearty dishes and an extensive beer, scotch and wine selection.

If you see people inside tonight, don’t get too excited — it’s a private event. And if you stop by this weekend, be prepared for a wait.

“I have a feeling with it being Clarendon it’s going to be a pretty busy weekend for us,” Phillips said.

The Tavern’s occupancy permit allows just over 120 people inside. In the next few weeks, it will roll out patio seating for another 50 customers. A grand opening celebration is being planned for some point in March.

Circa at Clarendon to Open on Monday

By ARLnow.com

Circa at Clarendon (3010 Clarendon Blvd) will be opening its doors on Monday at 5:00 p.m., according to an announcement on its Facebook page.

The upscale American-style restaurant, best known for its four-year old Dupont Circle location, has been under construction on the ground floor of the Clarendon Center development’s south building (left) since this fall.

“The wait is over,” Circa’s management wrote on the restaurant’s official blog. “The pantry is stocked and the kegs have been tapped… There is only one thing that we need to make Circa at Clarendon something special: We need you.”

Buffalo Wild Wings Opens Today

By ARLnow.com

The Buffalo Wild Wings in Crystal City is officially opening to the public today.

The beer-wings-and-sports joint, with its large expanse of flat screen TVs, is sure to attract a nights and weekends crowd. Today we’ll get our first taste of what the buttoned-up Crystal City workday set thinks of it as a lunch destination. The restaurant will open at 10:00 a.m.

While today is the official opening, some lucky customers were able to sneak in for a free meal this week. The restaurant quietly opened its doors for two hours at a time for employee training. Anyone who happened to wander by got their food for free.

Buffalo Wild Wings Opening Pushed Back

By ARLnow.com

The new Buffalo Wild Wings in Crystal City (at 23rd Street and Crystal Drive) held an employee orientation session for a couple dozen new hires last night.

During the orientation, the glow from the galaxy of overhead flat screen TVs illuminated a relatively wide open, comfortable-looking space. The decor looked a bit more sleek than your standard, suburban Buffalo Wild Wings location. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street also helped to add a more urban feel.

An employee coming out of the orientation revealed that the restaurant’s opening date has been pushed back. Instead of opening on Monday, as originally planned, the restaurant is now expected to open to the public on Thursday, Dec. 16, he said.

Bozzelli’s Italian Deli Opens in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Yet another restaurant has opened in Crystal City.

Bozzelli’s Italian Deli served its first customers around 11:00 this morning. It will be open tonight until 8:00 tonight, an employee told us over the phone.

The new Bozzelli’s (the original is located in Springfield, Va.) is serving its “famous subs” and fresh-made salads today. Hand-tossed pizzas, soups and pasta will make it onto the menu within a couple of days, we’re told. An employee said they’re still working out the kinks.

“The ink on the Certificate of Occupancy is not even dry yet,” he said.

The deli is located at 2600 Crystal Drive, on the ground floor of the Concord apartments. Its phone number is 571-970-4570.

Bozzelli’s will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. According to the deli’s web site, it may eventually serve breakfast.

The opening of Bozzelli’s follows two other recent restaurant openings in Crystal City: Chick-fil-A and Jimmy John’s. The opening of another, much larger restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, is expected in about two weeks.

Update at 1:05 p.m. — Owner Mike Bozzelli, who was on hand for today’s soft opening, tells friend-of-the-blog Doug Wendt that he’s planning a formal grand opening event “in the near future.” Despite the cold and the rain, Wendt says some customers chose to eat outside on the tables that Bozzelli’s is sharing with the Starbucks next door.

Photo via Facebook

Buffalo Wild Wings Sets December Opening Date

By ARLnow.com

It now appears that Buffalo Wild Wings will be opening its Crystal City location in December, after all.

An insider tells us that the wings, beer and sports joint is planning to open on Monday, Dec. 13 (Update: Thursday, Dec. 16). Last month we told you that the restaurant’s opening would either be in December or February, depending on the pace of progress.

The restaurant is located in a large, glass-paneled retail space at the corner of Crystal Drive and 23rd Street, across from Jaleo. Crews were hard at work preparing the interior when we peeked inside yesterday afternoon.

This will be the sixth Buffalo Wild Wings location in the area. It will be one of two that are near a Metro station (in addition to the Rockville location) and the closest to D.C. proper.

Jimmy John’s Opens in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

The new Jimmy’s John’s sandwich shop in Crystal City quietly opened its doors to customers for the first time today.

In fact, the opening was so quiet that the Jimmy John’s web site doesn’t even list Arlington as one of the chain’s locations yet (a listing should be added tomorrow, we’re told). Nonetheless, a steady stream of excited customers streamed into the store around lunchtime today.

The restaurant, located at 2450 Crystal Drive, is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. seven days a week (except major holidays). It offers corporate catering and delivery service to the Crystal City/Pentagon City area via phone at 571-257-7261.

Jimmy John’s has a short and simple menu but a large and loyal following, much like Chick-Fil-A, which just opened down the street.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Bayou Bakery Opens, Officially — “Come and get it,” the press release says — Bayou Bakery is “officially” open today, albeit with (unspecified) limited hours and a limited menu. The cafe/restaurant/bakery, in the old Camille’s space at 1515 North Courthouse Road, was unofficially open on Friday and Saturday.

Tejada Expresses Frustration Over Secure Communities Doublespeak — County board member Walter Tejada, who led the charge to opt out of the federal Secure Communities immigration initiative, is not happy about the mixed signals coming out of the Department of Homeland Security. At first the department signaled that localities could opt out of the program, only to later clarify that it was next to impossible to do so. “If that had been the case why didn’t they tell us in May?” Tejada asked. More from the Washington Post.

Lyon Park Has Extra Tulip Bulbs — The Lyon Park Citizens Association is trying to give away extra tulip bulbs to its neighbors. The community received the bulbs from the National Park Service’s Tulip Library and planted most of them earlier this month. The excess bulbs are now up for grabs. Tara-Leeway Heights is among the neighborhoods considering vying for a tulip donation.

Arlington Schools Get More iPads — Arlington Public Schools have received a $70,000 grant that will go toward the purchase of 120 new Apple iPads. The $499 devices will be shared by students at Barrett, Carlin Springs and Randolph elementary schools. The donation will supplement a state education grant of 70 iPads received by Arlington in September.

Flickr pool photo by Reid Kasprowicz

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Public Forum on Proposed Pike Streetcar — A public meeting will be held tonight to discussed the proposed Columbia Pike/Crystal City streetcar. The meeting will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street South). We’ve heard from a few streetcar critics who plan on attending the meeting. They might be surprised to learn that their sentiments aren’t shared by Gov. Bob McDonnell, who told WTOP that Arlington is doing “a good job” with the streetcar project.

Capitol City Brewing Co. Expanding in Shirlington — After losing the lease on its Capitol Hill location, Capitol City Brewing is planning on moving its brewing operations to Shirlington. The company is taking over an adjacent property to enable the expansion, which will make it one of the 10 largest brewpubs in the County. More from Shirlington Village Blog.

Comic Art Show Debuts Tomorrow — Are comic books art? That question will be answered tomorrow, when the Arlington Arts Center debuts its latest show. Party Crashers will feature “fine artists who mimic the appearance of comic art.” More from Clarendon Nights.

George Mason Drive Reopens — George Mason Drive has reopened near Virginia Hospital Center. It was closed for most of the day yesterday, following a powerful storm that knocked over trees and snapped power lines.

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Opening Date Set for Crystal City Chick-Fil-A

By ARLnow.com

The new Chick-Fil-A in Crystal City will open its doors on Thursday, Nov. 18, a PR rep for the Georgia-based company told ARLnow.com this afternoon.

The eagerly-anticipated restaurant will be located between the Corner Bakery Cafe and the Neramitra Thai restaurant on the 2200 block of Crystal Drive.

A groundbreaking ceremony featuring a company executive and the famous Chick-Fil-A cow was held in July.

The 3,683 square-foot restaurant will seat up to 81 people. It’s owned by a franchisee and mother of four, Natalie Yang, who is moving from Georgia to run the restaurant.

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