Pentagon City mall

New Restaurants Opening Soon in Pentagon City Mall

By Adrian Cruz

Pentagon City mallWith the new expansion of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City nearly finished, a number of new restaurants are preparing to open.

According to the mall’s website, D.C.-based Matchbox is set to open its first Arlington location in August and candy-shop-slash-restaurant Sugar Factory is slated for an October opening of what will be its first D.C. area location.

A mall spokesman confirmed that the openings are nearing, but couldn’t confirm any dates.

“Matchbox is slated to open later this summer and Sugar Shack is said to open in October, however the exact date is not yet confirmed,” said the spokesman.

Also opening as part of the expansion is Philadelphia-based stir-fry chain Honeygrow, which will be launching its first D.C. area location.

“Slated to open in early August, honeygrow will contribute to the mall’s extensive dining selection by providing shoppers with a variety of fully customizable stir-fry and salad options,” said a recent press release. “Located in the new Hayes Street expansion, the eatery will feature locally and seasonally sourced ingredients, noodles freshly prepared by ramen chefs, house-made dressings and sauces and proteins sourced from providers including Creekstone Farms and Freebird.”

The first tenant to open its doors in the new expansion was Shake Shack, which opened in May to large crowds.

Pentagon City Mall to Hold Active Shooter Exercise This Weekend

By Adrian Cruz

Long line for Garrett Popcorn Shop in Pentagon City MallIn the wake of the tragic events in Orlando, police are holding an active shooter training exercise in one of the most consistently crowded places in Arlington.

The training exercise will be held at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City on Sunday from 7 p.m. to midnight.

“The purpose of the exercise is to test the response of Arlington County’s public safety agencies and mall staff in a simulated emergency situation,” ACPD said in a press release.

Training activities will be confined to the interior of the mall and there will be a large number of public safety vehicles in the area surrounding it. They will not use lights or sirens during the exercise.

As a result of the training, pedestrian access to the mall will be restricted after 6 p.m. and parking at the mall will be limited

Pentagon City Mall Shooting Suspects Sentenced

By ARLnow.com

Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall parking garage, scene of a shooting in December 2015Two men arrested for a shooting outside the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall have been sentenced after entering plea agreements.

Reginald Dana is slated to serve three years in prison after entering an Alford plea for attempted malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Calvin Pelzer will serve a year in jail after pleading guilty to felony eluding and accessory after the fact, according to prosecutors.

The December 2015 shooting was described as a road rage incident at the exit of the mall’s parking garage. Police say Dana fired a gunshot in the air out of frustration with a driver who was having problems using a credit card at one of the gates. Pelzer, the driver, then sped away and tried to elude police who gave chase on I-395. The chase ended near 3rd and F Street NW in D.C., after the two suspects bailed out and started running.

Both men were both 21 years old and D.C. residents at the time of their arrest.

Pentagon City Mall Starts Valet Parking Service

By Adrian Cruz

Expansion of the Pentagon City mall

Starting Friday, visitors to the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City will be able to use the mall’s new valet parking service.

“A valet service has been something we’ve wanted to implement for many years now,” said Todd Jerscheid, the mall’a director of marketing and business development. “As we prepare for the renovation completion later this summer, we couldn’t think of a better time to launch the program. We know this will be a huge hit for our shoppers, especially around the busy holiday season and as they begin to really experience all of our new features and services!”

The service will cost five dollars on top of the garage’s usual parking rate and it will be available from 10 a.m.-midnight from Friday to Saturday and from 11 a.m.-9 p.m on Sunday.

The Fashion Centre, which is starting to wrap up an expansion project, will hold a launch event on Friday. The first 50 customers to use the service will receive complimentary “swag bags” and two randomly selected shoppers will also win a $150 Simon gift card. Valet shoppers will also receive special promotions throughout the month of June.

ACPD Officer’s Act of Kindness Spreads on Social Media

By Adrian Cruz

ACPD officer buying a man a hat at Pentagon City mallA woman who witnessed an act of kindness by an Arlington County Police officer has helped to share it via social media.

While visiting the Pentagon City mall on Saturday with her son, Beth Schweinefuss says that she saw a man walking around the food court and standing by himself with a plastic bag on his head.

“We were sitting on the third floor of the mall resting and doing some people watching,” Schweinefuss told ARLnow.com. “We both noticed the gentleman in the food court standing by himself and wearing a plastic bag on his head. His mannerisms suggested to me he was possible talking to himself and was just looking around and listening to something on a portable tape recorder. That caught our attention.”

Soon after, a couple of police officers went down to the food court to speak to the man and Schweinefuss noted that instead of kicking him out of the mall, they spent a few minutes talking to him, taking care to speak to him with respect.

“They were smiling and chatting and doing their best to make this gentleman feel valued,” she said.

Eventually, all but one of the officers left. The officer who stayed took the man to a hat kiosk, helping him to pick one out and paying for it with his own money.

“It was moving to us because clearly this gentleman was in from the rain and rather than just escorting him out of the mall, the officers obviously took that time to find out what was going on with him and to provide some relief,” she said. “They clearly didn’t HAVE to do this, but they saw a person in need and helped. It was an opportunity for us to talk about people in need and how to help, but also to talk about how we so often see the negative encounters people have with police and it was very uplifting to see a positive encounter.”

Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage said Schweinefuss contacted the department via its Facebook page, to share the story. After doing some digging, Savage was able to confirm that the officer had not only bought the man a hat, but had bought him dinner as well.

“We take protecting and serving beyond just our enforcement of the law. We like citizens to help each other and so the fact that we were able to do that and this woman and her son were able to see it and share a little bit of a life lesson — that’s more than we could really ask for in these types of situations,” said Savage.

New Popcorn Shop Opens to Enormous Line in Pentagon City Mall

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(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.

At the very least, posts on the company’s Facebook page seem to confirm that the line is indeed as long as it looks.

Wrote one devoted popcorn fan: “The line isn’t moving. I’m like the 300th person in line. Did you guys run out of kernels?”

Crime Report: Cell Phone Request Leads to Fight

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police carTwo teens were punched in the face after refusing to lend a cell phone to another group of teens, police say.

The incident happened last night around 6:30, at or near the Pentagon City mall.

Police say the group of teens that asked for the phone chased the other group, which took off running after declining the request. The assault then ensued.

The crime is being described as an attempted robbery — no belongings were stolen. The four teen suspects were all described as slender, 6’0″ tall black males.

From the Arlington County Police Department crime report:

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, 160504044, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 6:35 p.m. on May 4, a group of juveniles approached a separate group of juveniles and asked to borrow a cellphone. The juveniles declined and took off running. The initial group of juveniles who asked to use the cellphone chased after them and struck two juvenile victims in the face. The suspects fled the scene after the assault without any of the victim’s belongings.

Shake Shack to Open Tomorrow in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com
1/8

Construction on the Pentagon City mall’s expansion is still happening all around it, but Shake Shack is nonetheless planning to open its doors Wednesday.

The trendy burger-and-shake restaurant is serving patrons today as part of an invite-only “friends and family” event, allowing staff to work out the kinks before opening to the general public. Tomorrow, at 11 a.m., it’s expected to open to an inevitable crush of local workers, residents, tourists and mall shoppers.

Shake Shack’s wedge-like storefront in the mall’s expanded wing along S. Hayes Street, near the Pentagon City Metro entrance, includes a small-ish order counter but a more open, airy indoor seating area. There’s also what looks like a future outdoor seating area in front.

Shake Shack’s menu includes burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, fries, shakes, custard-based “concretes,” soda, coffee and beer. There are even a couple of options specifically for dogs.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Walkway (Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)

Metro Delays and Traffic This Morning — There are residual delays on the Orange and Silver lines due to a malfunctioning train near the Clarendon Metro station earlier this morning. For drivers, morning rush hour traffic is noticeably heavier than usual around Northern Virginia inside the Beltway. [Twitter]

Firefighters Applaud New Metro Move — WMATA will now staff its Metrorail control center with a uniformed fire officer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Arlington’s firefighter association applauded the move, calling it a “positive step for the safety of firefighters and citizens in the DMV.” [WTOP, Twitter]

CARD to Hold School Board Debate — The Pike Presidents’ Group and the Coalition of Arlingtonians for Responsible Development, which advocates for a wider distribution of affordable housing throughout the county, is holding a School Board candidate debate on Wednesday, May 11. CARD also sent a candidate questionaire to all four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Of them, only Tannia Talento declined to respond. [CARD, CARD]

Liberty Tavern Named Top Brunch Spot — A new-for-2016 list of the top brunch spots in the country, compiled from diner reviews by the restaurant reservation website OpenTable, includes The Liberty Tavern in Clarendon. [OpenTable, Patch]

Mrs. Arlington Wins Mrs. Virginia — Mrs. Arlington, Elizabeth Peace, has been crowned Mrs. Virginia America 2016. [Facebook]

Mall Launches Walking Program — Today, the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is launching a new program called “Walk-Fit.” Open to all ages, the program is described as “an official way for walkers to meet up, exercise, socialize and even enjoy a morning cup of coffee,” all inside the mall.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Shake Shack Opening Soon in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Exterior signage is up at the future Shake Shack at the Pentagon City mall.

The burger-and-shake restaurant is opening within a new, still under-construction expansion of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City along S. Hayes Street. It’s the chain’s first restaurant in Arlington.

The mall’s website says Shake Shack “is expected to open as of 4/1/2016,” but a PR rep said that information is “inaccurate.” No updated opening date was immediately available. Initially, it was said that Shake Shack would open at some point this spring.

Other restaurants and stores coming to the expanded front entrance of the mall include:

Another new store at the mall, Garrett Popcorn, is currently said to be opening around June 1.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Gray skies over Rosslyn and the Potomac (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Major Rosslyn Development Approved — A sweeping five-phase redevelopment of 7.65 acres of prime Rosslyn real estate was approved unanimously by the Arlington County Board on Saturday. The Board approved the framework for the development, though final approval will be necessary for each phase. Developers Vornado and Gould Property Company expect to complete the project over the course of 25 years. [Arlington County]

Gun Store Saga Continues — Who owns NOVA Armory, the gun store that’s planning to open in Lyon Park despite community opposition? The man who speaks on behalf of the business and holds its federal firearms sales license isn’t saying, exactly. Dennis Pratte declined further questions after describing it as “a female, minority-owned business” and stating “I may or may not be the owner.” Meanwhile, county leaders say there’s nothing they can legally do to prevent the store from opening. NOVA Armory is planning to a grand opening on March 26. [Washington Post, InsideNova]

Teen Tourist Scammed at Pentagon City Mall — A California teenager on a school trip to Washington was reportedly scammed out of $97 by an armed man at the Pentagon City mall. The man compelled the teen to give him $97 in exchange for what turned out to be a counterfeit $100 bill. [NBC Washington]

Arlington Natives Live Blog Day at Ballston Common Mall — Two friends who grew up in Arlington’s Bluemont neighborhood decided to spend all of Saturday at Ballston Common Mall, ahead of its imminent demise, and live-blog their experience. The blog mixes nostalgia for time spent shopping and working at the mall with observations about the current mix of largely chain restaurants and small, quirky stores. [Things Remembered: A Day at Ballston]

Other County Board Action — On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding to partner with Virginia Tech and join the national MetroLab Network, and voted to accept $731,813 in state funding to support the county’s permanent supportive housing program. [Arlington County, Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

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