restaurant

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dorsey on Death of George Floyd — Arlington County Board member Christian Dorsey posted the following on Facebook Sunday afternoon: “Why is it when we are bird watching, retrieving mail, swimming in a pool, walking down the street, or living in our own homes that you view us as a threat? Why do these routine activities see us being reported to police and losing our lives? It is a question my daughters ask, as do the children of every black person in America. Yet that question needs to be seriously be pondered non-Blacks. We then need you to transform episodic outrage into all-the-time anti-racism.” [Facebook, Blue Virginia]

Apple Store Boarded Up in Clarendon — Workers placed plywood over the entrance to the Apple Store in Clarendon Sunday, as a precaution, after the weekend’s clashes in D.C. [Twitter]

House Fire in Hall’s Hill — “1800 block of N. Cameron St — crews encountered fire in attic. Fire was quickly controlled, 6 occupants escaped without injury and one dog was rescued in good condition. @RedCross called in to assist occupants.” [Twitter]

County Creates Badges for Mask-Requiring Businesses — “In response to Gov. Ralph Northam’s Executive Order that face coverings must be worn inside public places, the County created the ‘We Are Covered’ program. This gives Arlington businesses, multi-family residences, and houses of worship a way to show they have pledged to protect the people who come through their doors.” [Arlington County]

Tables, Tents in CC Sports Pub Parking Lot — “With outdoor seating now permitted as part of Phase One, Finlay and his staff worked to turn the restaurant’s parking lot into a patio. Outdoor tables are all set up six feet apart. ‘We’re lucky and blessed to have a parking lot that’s big enough to accommodate that type of spacing and still have the social distancing and be able to abide by all the rules and regulations we have to go by,’ he said.” [WJLA]

ACPD Releases Photo of Car That Struck Girl, Dog — On Sunday, Arlington County Police released photos of the dark-colored sedan that struck a girl and killed her dog Friday in the Donaldson Run neighborhood. ARLnow also obtained video of the car. [ARLnow]

Bayou Bakery Donates Thousands of Meals — “Back in 2005, [Bayou Bakery owner David] Guas saw first hand how Hurricane Katrina impacted his hometown and the importance of rapid response in rebuilding the community. In March 2020, when COVID-19 closed school doors, he knew he needed to provide the same fast-acting relief to area children and families left underserved.” [Washington Life]

Discussion with AED’s Telly Tucker — “We talked with Telly Tucker, the new head of Arlington Economic Development, about Friday’s reopening, what’s going on with the local economy, the plight of small businesses during the pandemic, and the growth of tech companies in Northern Virginia.” [Facebook, Apple Podcasts]

Photos: Reopening and Graduating in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/40

We asked our staff photographer, Jay Westcott, to document a pair of notable events Friday in Arlington.

First up: the partial reopening of local restaurants and businesses. After that, a Marymount University graduation parade down N. Glebe Road.

The photos are above. Here is what Jay wrote about what he saw around the county:

I spent the bulk of my day walking around Clarendon and Ballston with restaurants preparing to open as the county proceeds into Phase One of reopening. There weren’t as many people eating lunch outside as you would normally expect on a balmy late May afternoon, in fact there weren’t many at all. A couple of tables of folks at Northside Social, a few tables at Circa in Clarendon. There still seems to be sense of anxiety in the air about what’s next. It’s palpable.

As I was walking up Wilson Blvd I spotted a bright white cap and gown. I caught up to the young man, Josh Cisneros, and made a picture of him about to cross the street as we got caught at the light. We got to talking and he is graduating today from Wakefield High School. He looked around for a minute, hoping to spot someone familiar to take his picture with his phone, but he found none. Well, I wasn’t about to let that stand. I made a few pictures of Josh in his cap and gown, with his diploma, on his graduation day. Congratulations, young man!

At lunch I made pictures of Marymount University’s Class of 2020 parading in cars with a police escort down Glebe Road. Sirens wailed, horns honked, and lights flashed. Grads cheered out of sunroofs and side windows, some filmed TikToks. Later Friday, I swung by the Village at Shirlington and photographed groups of people on outdoor patios, enjoying a first dinner out since mid-March.

What I saw today was Arlingtonians adapting and going forward. We have to, right? Be safe, be kind. Keep the faith, keep wearing masks, keep washing your hands.

Local Gentlemen’s Club Reopening Friday, Sans Dancers

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) On Friday, as Northern Virginia reopens, local gentlemen’s club Crystal City Restaurant will be just what its understated name suggests: a restaurant.

CCR, as the club is known, is planning to open a new, 17’x24′ outdoor seating area recently constructed in its front parking lot. There will be six tables, 24 chairs and no dancers.

The long-time establishment along 23rd Street S., just west of Route 1, reopened for carryout on Friday, May 22, and will now — during Phase 1 of the reopening — serve its reasonably-priced prime rib, as well as beer and wine, to outdoor diners.

Owner Billy Bayne tells ARLnow that he’s eager to “get back in the groove, get my people back, try to get back to work.” CCR, he said, will as always offer “good food, good service, clean facilities.”

Bayne describes the gentlemen’s club as “a neighborhood restaurant, with dancers.” The dancers, however, will have to wait until the Commonwealth moves to a new reopening phase that allows indoor restaurant seating. Still, reopening even in a small way will help alleviate some of the pain of the shutdown.

“Everybody needs to open their doors, or they’re done,” said Bayne.

As for the potential name change to “National Landing Strip,” in honor of the area’s new identity, Bayne said that will also have to wait.

“Right now, I’m worried about survival of my business, about getting my kids through college,” he said. “I’m not worried about a name change.”

In addition to a two month closure, Crystal City Restaurant — and other nearby eateries — will be dealing with the coronavirus fallout for months to come. Crystal City is usually chock full of office workers, hotel guests and conference-goers. Now the offices are largely empty, with employees working from home, and hotels that would usually be 90% full are 20% full. Conferences have been cancelled through the end of the year and Rolling Thunder, which would have rolled into Crystal City this past weekend, was instead held virtually.

Bayne maintains his prediction that some 30% of restaurants will ultimately go out of business due to the pandemic. He said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from customers, even though business is way down.

“Restaurants are in dire straits,” he said. “We appreciate everyone out there who has come out and ordered from the local restaurants and helped us.”

As co-owner of the nearby Crystal City Sports Pub, Bayne said he’s also grateful to two individuals in particular: Freddie’s Beach Bar owner Freddie Lutz and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

During the spring, the Sports Pub would normally have been packed with nearly 500 paying customers during the NCAA basketball tournament and other high-profile sporting events. Instead, it’s doing only 10-20% of its usual revenue through takeout.

Freddie, Bayne said, helped give the pub a boost when he received a large takeout order from Amazon, for distribution to local first responders and Virginia Hospital Center, and then distributed large chunks of the order to other restaurants along 23rd Street S.

Bezos is “a class act for trying to help Crystal City… and the little local small businesses,” Bayne said, adding the Lutz is likewise to be commended for his generosity toward fellow local businesses.

JUST IN: County Board Approves Process for Temporary Outdoor Restaurant Seating Areas

By ARLnow.com

With Arlington and Northern Virginia poised to begin a Phase 1 reopening on Friday, the Arlington County Board today took a first step towards allowing more business to be conducted outdoors during the pandemic.

A growing body of scientific evidence has found that coronavirus spreads primarily in confined, indoor settings. That’s why Virginia’s Phase 1 reopening only allows restaurants to reopen to “dine-in” customers outdoors, with physical distancing requirements between diners and other restrictions.

Outdoor dining space is limited, however, and restaurants that want to have sidewalk cafes in Arlington have to go through lengthy approval processes.

With many restaurants facing severe financial distress, after more than two months of only being able to offer takeout and delivery, the County Board took action Tuesday afternoon that may help.

The Board voted 4-0 to approve, on an emergency basis, a process that would allow restaurants to apply for a temporary, expanded outdoor seating area, on sidewalks or in parking lots.

The Temporary Outdoor Seating Area (TOSA) process for restaurants would allow rapid approval by county staff and does not have an application fee. With written permission in hand, restaurants can then apply for an additional, needed permit from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority that would allow beer, wine and cocktails to be served in the new outdoor dining areas.

(Virginia ABC is allowing alcohol to be served in TOSAs between 6 a.m.-11 p.m., though County Board Chair Libby Garvey expressed concern about the early hours and asked county staff whether the county can restrict hours of operation. Existing rooftop dining areas, meanwhile, will be allowed to reopen under Phase 1 guidelines without additional permits.)

TOSAs could be created in on-street parking lanes, county staff told the Board in a presentation, but a more common use for parking lanes would be as “pedestrian circulation” zone, allowing people to walk around expanded sidewalk cafes. On-street parking spaces could be blocked off via rubber barriers or bollards, county staff said, though they noted that that might shrink existing, temporary restaurant pick-up and delivery zones.

“Where appropriate, repurposing parking lanes may add flexibility,” the presentation said. “[The] review process will prioritize proposals where [the owner has] consulted with neighbors.”

Reuse of parking lanes will be subject to review by Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services and must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Vehicle travel lanes are currently expected to remain open.

The TOSA permits will be valid until the county decides to terminate them, either all at once as the pandemic abates or individually for restaurants “flaunting” the rules, officials said during today’s special online Board meeting. Violations could also be considered a crime — a Class 1 misdemeanor — though a representative from the police department told the Board that ACPD is “trying to educate,” not arrest violators.

County staff said that a TOSA-related page on the county’s website, including an application for restaurants, is expected to go live tomorrow (Wednesday). Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Restaurant Initiative will be holding a webinar on the Phase 1 reopening and TOSAs for businesses on Thursday, while county officials are expected to address both during Arlington’s regularly-scheduled Friday online town hall for the general public on Friday.

The TOSA web page is eventually expected to include a map of approved, temporary seating areas and a form for submitting complaints, in lieu of complaints being phoned in to the county’s Emergency Communications Center.

County staff are now working on additional guidelines for bringing more activities outdoors, including religious services, fitness classes, farmers markets, brick and mortar retail, child care, and mobile vending.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free Coronavirus Testing Event Today — “Arlington County will host a free COVID-19 testing event on Tuesday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Barcroft (4200 S Four Mile Run Drive). Tests available both by drive-up and walk-up. No doctor’s note or ID required… the public can anticipate heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area.” [Arlington County, Twitter, Twitter]

Flasher Arrested After Incident Near Ballston — “At approximately 12:12 p.m., an officer on patrol was flagged down by an individual in need of assistance. It was determined that the victim was in the area when she was allegedly approached by the male suspect who exposed himself before running away. The officer located an individual matching the suspect description and, during the course of the investigation, he was positively identified.” [Arlington County]

New Facade, Name Change for Crystal City Building — “JBG Smith Properties is looking to revamp, rebrand and add more leasable space to its Crystal Drive office campus, including one building partly leased and occupied by Amazon.com Inc. as part of HQ2. The new name for the entire office and residential complex, long known as Crystal Park: The Parks at National Landing.” [Washington Business Journal]

Bakeshop Closes Due to COVID Case — Bakeshop in Clarendon is temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The store is now being cleaned and other employees testing. The bakery’s Falls Church location remains open. [Twitter]

How Hotel Manager Chose ‘KIND’ Message — “He kept coming back to one night, in particular, when a Southwest Airlines pilot approached the front desk. He brought a woman with two children from the airport who had been stranded for the night, their connecting flight canceled. The pilot offered to pay for their room and then pulled out his wallet, handing the woman cash for a meal. ‘The woman started to cry and asked the pilot, ‘Can I give you a hug?”” [Washington Post, Twitter]

Restaurant Fire Causes Significant Damage — “On Thursday, May 21 at approximately 11:23 a.m., units from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, Arlington County Fire Department and the City of Alexandria Fire Department were dispatched for a reported building fire in the 5200 block of Leesburg Pike in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Fairfax County… Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $350,000.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]

Photo courtesy Dennis Chiappetta

ACFD Helps Battle Fire at Edy’s Chicken & Steak on Route 7

By ARLnow.com
1/10

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Arlington and Alexandria firefighters assisted their Fairfax County counterparts in battling a restaurant fire along Route 7 this morning.

Firefighters from several jurisdictions were dispatched shortly before 11:30 a.m. to Edy’s Chicken & Steak Restaurant, at 5240 Leesburg Pike, in a shopping plaza just across the Arlington border in Fairfax.

Fire was reported in the ductwork of the Peruvian rotisserie chicken eatery, complicating the firefighting efforts.

Employees were evacuated from the business. As of 12:30 p.m., the fire was out and no injuries were reported. Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the blaze.

Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington Auctioning Off Furnishings, Equipment

By ARLnow.com

The future of Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington is in doubt, with most of its equipment and furnishings listed on a commercial auction website.

Everything from light fixtures to kitchen equipment to trash cans are on the auction block. The auction website says the restaurant, which is not named but is clearly Cafe Pizzaiolo in photos, “is closing and will make a liquidation.” The auction closes on Wednesday, June 3.

Still, it’s unclear whether this will mean a permanent or a temporary closure for the pizzeria at 2800 S. Randolph Street, which has a sister location nearby on Fern Street in Alexandria. The latter remains open for delivery and takeout.

“Is Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington closing for good or just moving/downsizing?” asked a tipster who sent a link to the Rasmus Auctions site.

Owner Larry Ponzi tells ARLnow that no decision has been reached quite yet.

“The pandemic has caused us to pivot and rethink all of our businesses,” he said. “We have not made any final decisions about [what] our business in Shirlington will look like/function as when the time is right. We are using the time to strip down, clean, and rethink what the future of the business may be.”

Ponzi and wife Christine own Cafe Pizzaiolo, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub, Market to Market, and the future replacement of Catch on the Ave — all in Alexandria.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

No Word Yet on N. Va. Reopening — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he has not decided whether Northern Virginia can enter Phase One of reopening on May 29. Northam last week delayed the region’s entry into the first phase of easing restrictions designed to slow the spread of coronavirus until at least midnight on May 28. Most of the rest of the state began easing restrictions on Friday, May 15.” [InsideNova]

Nam-Viet Back Open — Long-time Clarendon restaurant Nam-Viet is back open, starting today, for takeout. “The last two months have been the most challenging time for our restaurant since we first opened our doors 34 years ago,” Nam-Viet said on social media. [Facebook]

County to Restart Commission Meetings — “The Arlington County government’s ability to jumpstart its board and commission process in a social-distancing environment remains, in part, at the mercy of technological and scheduling challenges… The Arlington government has dozens of advisory panels on subject areas ranging from aging and the arts to historic preservation and sports.” [InsideNova]

DCA Passenger Volume Plummets — “DCA overall is registering barely 1,500 passengers a day. The slowest day since the coronavirus outbreak brought just 641, Potter said… Overall, passenger volume at Reagan and Dulles is down 97%.” [Washington Business Journal]

Dumpster Fire at Grocery Store — “Scanner: Firefighters working to extinguish a dumpster fire behind the Giant at the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center (2901 S. Glebe Road).” [@ARLnowDOTcom/Twitter]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Waiving Affordable Housing Loan Payments — “The Board approved allowing borrowers of County Multifamily Revolving Loan Funds the option of waiving their 2020 loan payments if they commit to using the money to address rent and vacancy losses and emergency needs that are associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Arlington County]

County Delaying Purchase of Property Near Shirlington — “In order to keep their options open, the Arlington County Board will make another $175,000 payment to hold open the possibility of acquiring two parcels adjacent to the Arlington Cultural Affairs facility in the Four Mile Run corridor.” [InsideNova]

Masks Required at County Courthouse — “Beginning May 22, 2020, cloth facial coverings will be available for all people who do not have one as they enter the Arlington County Courthouse, Sheriff Beth Arthur announced. This comes after the Honorable Judge Newman, Arlington County Chief Judge, ordered that all patrons who enter the Courthouse will be required to wear a cloth face covering or face mask.” [Arlington County]

Chamber Supports Extra Outdoor Dining Space — “Allowing restaurants to use parking lots and street parking spaces for additional outdoor capacity, similar to how they have been allowed to reserve parking space for carryout patrons, will provide additional flexibility for socially distanced service. We also encourage the County to consider block closures where restaurants may set up tables on a pedestrianized right of way to expand overall capacity.” [Arlington Chamber of Commerce]

Pair in Stolen SUV Crash into Parked Cars — “The victim’s Ford F-150 was parked when he observed the unknown suspect enter it and and drive away. An officer en route to the call for service observed the F-150 and a Toyota Land Cruiser in the area travelling at high rates of speed. The officer attempted to effect a traffic stop on the F-150, however, it the driver refused to stop and fled onto I-395 NB. The Land Cruiser, which had previously been reported stolen out of Arlington, was later located, unoccupied, after it crashed into multiple parked vehicles.” [Arlington County]

Fund Established for Gutshall’s Kids — “A memorial fund to support the education of the late County Board member Erik Gutshall’s children has been established… The fund was established by a ‘generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.'” [InsideNova]

Nearby: Fairfax Parks Reopening — “The Park Authority has begun reopening of parking lots and parks in the park system to be open for the Memorial Day weekend. Park Authority staff will begin the process of clearing barricades and opening parking lots at all 427 parks for our community on Wednesday, May 20 through Friday, May 22. These parks will reopen for limited use in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines.” [Fairfax County]

Poke Restaurant in Rosslyn Has Closed, Perhaps Permanently

By ARLnow.com
1/4

It’s not a great time to own a restaurant, particularly one that depends on masses of office workers crowding into a small space.

Amid the pandemic, Poke Bar in Rosslyn appears to have closed for good. The two-year-old, assembly line-style eatery on N. Lynn Street was empty this morning, with the furnishings gone.

There was no sign announcing a closure, however, and the location is still listed — albeit without a phone number — on the Poke Bar website.

It’s the latest apparent restaurant casualty in Arlington, with more expected as coronavirus takes a big toll on the industry. Others include Boston Market on Columbia Pike and Champps in Pentagon City, both of which have permanently shuttered before an expected reopening of the region gets underway.

Morning Poll: Allow Restaurants to Sell To-Go Alcohol After the Pandemic?

By ARLnow.com

The D.C. Council is reportedly considering making some pandemic-era alcohol rules a new fixture of the local dining scene.

Barred in DC reports that the provision, in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed budget, would make restaurants’ newfound ability to offer beer, wine and cocktails for delivery and takeout permanent. It would be a shot in the arm for struggling restaurants that have seen business drop precipitously during the coronavirus crisis.

With dining rooms closed, table service restaurants lost their main profit driver: alcoholic drinks. Both D.C. and Virginia have responded with emergency rules allowing restaurants to let customers carry out beer, wine and cocktails in sealed containers, or to have those adult beverages delivered.

Making such rules permanent can help the industry recover, and perhaps avoid the worst of the “restaurant apocalypse” that some predict could result in 20% to 40% of U.S. restaurants closing for good.

Do you think Virginia lawmakers should make the temporary takeout and delivery drink rules permanent?

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