restaurant

Afghan Kabob Restaurant in Courthouse to Close This Week

By Airey
1/2

Courthouse’s Afghan Kabob House is shutting down the grills this week after just over a decade in business.

Restaurant owner Akbar Madany, who describes himself as the “creator” of the restaurant, said his business at 2045 Wilson Blvd will officially close at midnight this Thursday, October 31.

“There are food trucks in front of my restaurant — six or seven of them — for the past almost three years now, selling my similar food right in front of my restaurant,” said Madany, when asked of what led him to close up shop in the space the restaurant occupies between the UPS location and Ireland’s Four Courts.

Afghan Kabob House is known for its array of grilled meats, hookah tables, and for staying open until 3 a.m. — whether it’s for Iftar or your average workday — for the last 11 years.

In 2015, the restaurant joined a coalition of area restaurants that urged more regulation on food trucks to prevent the mobile food vendors from hurting brick-and-mortar restaurants — a disagreement that gained an edge later that year when a food truck hit one of the Afghan Kabob House’s food delivery cars.

Since then, the county has loosened regulations on food trucks, allowing the vendors to operate along more Courthouse streets and serve up grub for longer hours.

“I fought with the county… about this for many years,” Madany told ARLnow today (Monday). “We had many many meetings, but we got nowhere with them.”

The restaurateur also said that business struggled as third-party delivery apps like Postmates flooded the market.

“They took a lot of my deliveries away,” he said, noting that he tried joining Uber Eats but the company’s high rates didn’t help. “I had to partner with them, but I don’t make money out of them because of the commission they charge — 33% commission.” 

Madany added that rising rents around the area meant offices moved away, taking regular customers with them. Still, he told ARLnow that he wanted to thank people for their loyalty, saying, “it breaks my heart to sell something that I love so dearly but the time has come.” 

In 2011, the county profiled his business for a county TV segment on how he hand-marinates and grills the meat.

“Ever since I came to the States it was a dream for me to open a restaurant because I grew up in the business,” he said in the video. “I wanted to create something on my own, something I could call home, something I could feel a part of.”

Now, he says watching the video “just makes me sad.”

Update on 10/30/19 — “Courthouse Kabob” will be opening in Afghan Kabob House’s place shortly after it closes.

Image via Google Maps

Arlington Bars and Restaurant Hosting Specials For World Series Games

By Kalina Newman

We heard your call and we answered: here are some of the bars around Arlington offering specials for the upcoming Nationals World Series games.

Game 3 kicks off at Nationals Parks tonight at 8 p.m., followed by games 4 and 5 on Saturday and Sunday.

This list is not comprehensive and is comprised of bars that either posted specials on their social media or picked up the phone at 11 a.m.

Dudley’s Sport and Ale in Shirlington (2766 S. Arlington Mill Drive) will have specials all night long, including:

  • $1 hot dogs and beers during the first inning
  • $5 Maker’s Mark drinks all night
  • $5 beer tub specials all night
  • And if the Nationals win, free Jello shots.

In Ballston, Rustico (4075 Wilson Blvd) will be extending their happy hour pricing for beer and wine through the end of each game, which includes $2 off all draft beer and $5 glasses of house wine.

Also in Ballston sports bar First Down (4213 N. Fairfax Drive) is doing $5.50 “Baby Shark” shots layered with vodka, sour mix, Blue Curacao, grenadine, and a splash of Sprite, in addition to the discounted drink and food specials.

Meanwhile in Courthouse, the Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill (2424 Wilson Blvd) will be offering $5 shots of Jameson, Fireball, and Jager, along with $25 buckets of White Claw seltzer, $20 buckets of beer, and $18 pitchers all throughout the games.

The Crystal City Sports Pub (529 23rd Street S.) in Crystal City will be projecting the game on its 18-foot video wall, with specials including an $18 Yuengling bucket of beer, $5 shots, and a hot dog platter covered in chili, cheese, and more.

In Rosslyn, Quinn’s On the Corner (1776 Wilson Blvd) has  events for every inning, with free Jello shots after the first Nationals pitch, a gift card raffle in the middle of the fourth inning, and raffles for various Nationals bobbleheads during the seventh-inning stretch.

Also in Rosslyn, Rhodeside Grill (1836 Wilson Blvd) will extend its happy hour until 7 p.m., featuring $4 draft beer and $6 cocktails, plus food specials after 5 p.m., while Barley Mac (1600 Wilson Blvd) will honor its happy hour pricing throughout the entire game, which includes a spiked apple cider and a whiskey smash for $7, plus wines for $6.

Bonus: if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’re in luck. Here’s where you can find specialty Nationals desserts in Arlington as well:

  • Nationals-decorated cupcakes at Pastries by Randolph (4500 Lee Highway)
  • Nats Red Velvet ice cream at Ice Cream Jubilee in Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd)
  • “DoughNat” doughnut, topped with caramel glaze and dark chocolate caramel popcorn, at District Donuts in Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd)
  • “Nats Tarts” at Sidekick Bakery in Ballston (4238 Wilson Blvd)

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Sawatdee Thai’s Dining Room Temporary Closed For Renovations

By Kalina Newman
1/2

(Updated at 1 a.m.) Sawatdee Thai (2250 Clarendon Blvd) has temporarily closed for renovations.

Today (Friday) was the first day in seven years it closed its doors to sit-down customers other than for holidays and weather emergencies, a representative from the restaurant told ARLnow. The renovations are expected to upgrade the restaurant’s interior.

Sawatdee anticipates re-opening in four weeks, per a sign on the front door.

In the meantime, the kitchen will remain open for takeout and delivery orders. Customers placing takeout orders are instructed to enter the restaurant through the back door.

The restaurant applied for a building permit for the 112-seat dining area in September, per county records.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New Trail Bridge Work Progressing — “Bridge girder installation is occurring this week during daytime hours for the new Washington & Old Dominion Trail Bridge over Route 29 (Lee Highway) in Arlington. This work is taking place west of Lee Highway, and will not impact roadway or trail users. Work will continue the week of Oct. 28, and will require nighttime hours and an additional trail detour.” [Press Release]

Chick-fil-A to Blame for Blocked Bike Lane? — Delivery drivers picking up orders from Chick-fil-A in Crystal City may be at least partially to blame for frequent bike lane blockages along Crystal Drive. [Twitter]

Netherlands Carillon to Get ‘Grand’ Upgrade — “The National Park Service (NPS) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands today celebrated the start of a project to restore the Netherlands Carillon and add three bells to elevate its status to ‘grand carillon.'” [Press Release]

E-CARE Sets New Record — This past Saturday’s E-CARE recycling event recorded record turnout, as Arlington residents showed up en masse to drop of tons of old bikes, scrap metal and household hazardous materials. [Twitter]

Yorktown Golfer Wins State Championship — “He was the last player to tee off in the round, then at the end of the 18-hole competition, Benjamin Newfield was standing No. 1 on the leaderboard. The Yorktown High School freshman carded a 4-under-par 35-33-68 on Oct. 14 to win the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 individual state golf championship by one stroke.” [InsideNova]

Ceremony for New Elementary School — “This past weekend, the APS and [Fleet Elementary] communities celebrated the opening of the new school with ribbon cutting and fall festival.” [Twitter]

Woodbridge Development Claims HQ2 Proximity — “The radius of Northern Virginia buyers citing Amazon HQ2 in their plans continues to expand, with a developer in Woodbridge now citing the tech giant as a catalyst for a large-scale shopping center redevelopment.” [Bisnow]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Scooters May Be Allowed on Arlington Sidewalks — “The Board voted unanimously to advertise a public hearing at the Nov. 16, 2019 County Board Meeting to consider proposed regulations of shared mobility devices. The proposed revisions include allowing the [scooters] to be used on County streets, sidewalks and multi-use trails and putting in place a permit fee structure for private companies offering the devices. During the pilot program, the devices have been prohibited on County sidewalks.” [Arlington County]

Clarendon Cafe Rebrands as ‘Three Whistles’ — “CoworkCafe founder Ramzy Azar rebranded the space this week. In addition to a new name, Three Whistles (2719 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia) has a new look and a new menu. Azar expects to roll out a menu full of Mediterranean small plates in the next few weeks. He says sharable dishes help create the feeling of a gathering place.” [Eater]

Arlington Man Sentenced for Gun Smuggling — “An Arlington man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in the trafficking of firearms to his native country of Honduras. According to court documents, in October 2018, Chris Rodriguez, 57, attempted to smuggle a firearm and 247 rounds of ammunition out of the United States, concealed in a bucket of roofing tar destined for Honduras.” [U.S. DOJ]

‘Verizon Site’ Building OKed — “Crystal City’s Verizon site will be redeveloped with a 19-story apartment tower within walking distance of Metro that will include 12 affordable housing units… The [County] Board voted unanimously to approve the vacation of a portion of the right-of-way for Old South Eads Street, a rezoning and site plan amendment for the proposed redevelopment.” [Arlington County]

Amazon Avoids Donating to Arlington Pols — “Amazon.com Inc. just sent $23,000 in campaign contributions to a total of 26 Virginia lawmakers, resuming its political giving in the state for the first time in months as a crucial statehouse election draws near… it only sent checks to six lawmakers in Northern Virginia (and did not send money to a single politician representing Arlington).” [Washington Business Journal]

DMV Select Staff Fights Fraud  — “Three members of [the Commissioner of Revenue’s DMV Select office] staff (Isaac Kateregga, Ahmad Abdalla and supervisor Michelle Neves) recently were honored by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in Richmond. They were presented with ‘Fraud Busters’ awards for their work in disrupting efforts to commit misdeeds… [involving] title fraud.” [InsideNova]

Reminder: Arlington Restaurant Week Kicking Off — “Arlington Restaurant Week, organized by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, will run from October 21-28. Diners can visit a number of Arlington restaurants offering special menu items at discounted prices.” [ARLnow, Arlington Chamber of Commerce]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Heavy Seas Alehouse to Close — “Heavy Seas Alehouse, the restaurant affiliated with the Baltimore-area brewery, will close its doors in Rosslyn by the end of October, one of its principals said Thursday. The restaurant plans to close Oct. 27, said Mike Morris, a partner in Monogram Hospitality, which operates Heavy Seas Alehouse.” [Washington Business Journal]

Real Estate Costs Going Down? — “In every major jurisdiction of the local area, the median per-square-foot price for housing for the January-through-September period declined, in many cases by double digits, according to new figures reported Oct. 11… Arlington led all local jurisdictions for the nine-month period, but its median per-square-foot cost of $436 was down 6.8 percent from $468.” [InsideNova]

Kaine to Talk Vaping at Arlington School — “On Friday, October 18, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine will hold a roundtable discussion on efforts to address the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use. The discussion at Montessori Public School of Arlington will include students, teachers, counselors, parents, health experts, and Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.” [Press Release]

Road Closures for Festival in Shirlington — “The Shirlington Shucktoberfest, sponsored by the Copperwood Tavern, will take place on Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  Set up will begin at approximately 6:00 a.m. and cleanup should be completed by 7:00 p.m. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures…” [Arlington County]

Arlington Woman’s Alleged Killer Charged — “The killer of Pamela Butler, a Washington, D.C., federal worker who disappeared before Valentine’s Day in 2009, has been charged in the 1989 death of his wife. Marta Haydee Rodriguez-Cruz disappeared from Arlington, Virginia, in 1989. Her remains were found along Interstate 95 in Stafford County in 1991 but weren’t positively identified until 2018. Her husband, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, also dated Butler for a time.” [NBC 4]

Arlington Man Convicted in Child Sex Sting — “An Arlington man is among more than 300 people arrested worldwide in connection with a website that authorities describe as the largest child sexual exploitation operation of its kind ever discovered in terms of the volume of content. Ammar Atef H. Alahdali, 22, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to serve five years in prison and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.” [Patch]

Nearby: Birding Store Near Fairlington Closing — “After 33 years, birding and nature store One Good Tern (1710 Fern Street) near Fairlington is closing as longtime owner Charles Studholme faces a grim kidney failure diagnosis.” [ALXnow]

Anthony Rendon Drops By Clarendon Silver Diner After NLCS Win

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:40 a.m.) A day removed from winning the National League Championship Series in spectacular fashion, Washington Nationals star Anthony Rendon enjoyed a quiet meal with his family at Silver Diner in Clarendon.

The local diner chain posted a photo of Rendon last night, showing him posing with his daughter and a server at the restaurant.

The Clarendon Silver Diner was a favorite of another Nats All-Star: Bryce Harper, who now plays for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rendon and the Nats will face the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees in the World Series, starting next week. It’s the first World Series for the Nats since 1933.

Flickr (top) photo by Stephen Yates

We, The Pizza To Open in Ballston By The End of October

By Kalina Newman
1/3

We, The Pizza’s second Arlington location is set to open in Ballston Exchange by the end of the month, after some delay.

Original signs up at 4201 Wilson Blvd first indicated the pizza chain would be open by fall 2018. That later turned into an expected September opening this year.

The restaurant is now expected to open at some point “by the end of October,” according to Micheline Mendelsohn, Deputy CEO for We, The Pizza’s parent company, Sunnyside Restaurant.

A media preview has been organized for Oct. 21 and 22, and “Now Hiring” signs have been posted to the window. Inside, the restaurant appears to be mostly built out.

We, The Pizza is located on the west side of Ballston Exchange alongside a new CorePower Yoga and the existing Dunkin’ Donuts.

Neighborhood Spotlight: Where to Eat in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This content was written and sponsored by The Keri Shull Team, Arlington’s top producing residential real estate team.

Feeling hangry? Well, don’t be crabby. Let’s taco bout where to eat in Rosslyn, Virginia!

There are so many delicious restaurants in Rosslyn, it was hard to narrow it down to just these 6! Check out our list of the restaurants and nightlife spots that you HAVE to try if you are visiting or moving to Rosslyn.

What’s your favorite place to eat and drink in Rosslyn? Let us know in a comments below, we’d love to try it!

Are you planning to move to Rosslyn, or anywhere else in D.C, Maryland, or Virginia? You should get the best help when finding your new home! If you want to learn how our team of superstar agents can find your dream home (and get you in it for a great price!) contact The Keri Shull Team today!

As always, if you know anyone who’s looking to buy or sell a home in the DMV, The Keri Shull Team is here to help. Click here to contact us.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sietsema’s Dining Guide Includes Arlington Spots — Out of 77 restaurants on Washington Post food critic’s prestigious  annual Fall Dining Guide, four are Arlington-based or have Arlington outposts: Thai Square on Columbia Pike, Sfoglina in Rosslyn, Jaleo in Crystal City, and Buena Vida in Clarendon. [Washington Post]

Dance Flash Mob in Ballston — “Flash Mob in #Ballston! Volunteers and @BMDCdance treated @marymountu’s Ballston Center students to an impromptu performance at the Fall Wellness Fair! #LifeisFull” [Twitter]

Man Arrested for Sexual Abuse of Child on Metro — “Patel was stopped by MTPD officers shortly before 6 p.m. after a juvenile male victim reported that the suspect sat next to him and then groped him aboard a Yellow Line train traveling between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations. The train was in the District of Columbia at the time of the offense.” [WMATA]

ACPD Encouraging ‘See Something, Say Something’ — “While the overall crime rate is down regionwide, in 2019 there’s an increase in the number of people calling police in Arlington, Virginia; and the police chief thinks it is because people are becoming engaged with law enforcement. And that’s a good thing.” [WTOP]

‘Trail Rage’ Incident in Arlington — “At approximately 4:50 p.m., the victim and a friend were riding their bikes along the Custis Trail when they had a brief exchange with the suspect who was traveling by bicycle in the opposite direction. The suspect later caught up to the victim on the trail, became aggressive and struck the victim’s bike with his tire, before the victim was able to ride away. The suspect again caught up to the victim, attempted to grab his personal belongings, before the victim kicked the suspects’ bicycle and rode away.” [Arlington County]

Lee Highway Planning Meeting Today — “From 12-3:30pm: Lee Highway-area residents, business owners, community members and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend the Plan Lee Highway: Open Design Studio.” [Twitter, Arlington County]

Nearby: Rabid Raccoon in Falls Church — “On October 4, a sick raccoon was euthanized by City of Falls Church Police in the area of Lea Court and S. Spring Street. On October 9, the Fairfax County Health Department confirmed that the raccoon was suffering from rabies. In this case, there was no human exposure to the animal, however, the community should be cognizant of the rabies threat at all times.” [City of Falls Church]

Flickr pool photo by Lisa Novak

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Woman Sues Moby Dick House of Kabob — “An Arlington woman is suing Moby Dick House of Kabob after a salmonella outbreak related to hummus made at least 17 people sick in Maryland and Virginia since September 10.” [WTOP, Bethesda Magazine]

Driver Cited for Striking Cars at McKinley Elementary — Per an Arlington County Police spokeswoman: “At approximately 4:28 p.m. on October 3, police were dispatched to the 1000 block of McKinley Road for the report of a hit and run just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the driver of the striking vehicle hit three unoccupied parked vehicles in the parking lot. The driver of the vehicle was identified, the incident was determined to be a medical emergency and the driver of the striking vehicle was issued a summons for violation of Arlington County code § 14.2-17 Vehicle to be Kept Under Control.”

Arlington: Too Crowded for Some — Arlington has “grown crowded enough to prompt even deep-rooted residents to escape ever farther out to nature. Take my friends Tim and Beth Reese… They’re now ensconced on a 77-acre grow-your-own-organic-food farm a 90-minute drive out in Capon Bridge, West Virginia (pop. 371).” [Falls Church News-Press]

Fire Prevention Week Reminders — “It’s Fire Prevention Week, and this year the Arlington County Fire Department and fire departments across the country are working to educate their communities about the small but important actions everyone can take to keep themselves and those around them safe.” [Arlington County]

Nearby: Amazon Opening Store in D.C. — “Amazon.com Inc. is preparing to grow its brick-and-mortar retail presence along one of D.C.’s growing retail corridors: 14th Street NW.” [Washington Business Journal, PoPville]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

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