After some delays, Shirlington’s new Irish pub is expected to open by the end of November.
Signs and renderings posted in the window give an idea of what the place will look like when it opens.
“The entire interior for Beckett’s is coming from Ireland,” a letter to customers reads. “We [will] have a total of three bars, two fire places and a mezzanine level.”
Last month we reported that the Bear Rock Cafe in Westlee had closed as the first step in a change in ownership. Now the Shirlington location has closed as well, and we’re told both will be shuttered for good.
The phone number for the Westlee location has been disconnected. The phone at the Shirlington location was answered by an employee who said both locations were closed permanently. When we asked to speak with the owner, the person on the other line hung up the phone.
It’s not immediately clear why the owners decided to close up shop. However, in recent months Yelp reviewers reported that the Shirlington location was regularly running out of menu items, a likely sign of economic distress.
“I liked the place,” said Alana Foster, who was dining outside at Busboys and Poets after discovering that Bear Rock’s doors were locked. She said she appreciated the cafe’s free Wi-Fi, the relatively low prices (compared to Busboys) and the electrical outlets for laptops under every booth.
“I’m sorry to see it go,” she said.
Shirlington Oktoberfest Draws a Crowd — Lines that nearly stretched around the block didn’t deter thousands from enjoying a sunny afternoon of beer samples, German food and oompah music. See more photos here and here.
Savannah Wants Michael Brown Back — Now that Michael Brown has “resigned” as Arlington’s county manager, editorial writers are beckoning him back to his former job as city manager of Savannah, Ga. However, Savannah’s city council doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about his potential return.
Possible Measles Exposure at DCA — In an abundance of caution, Arlington’s health department is warning anybody who was in Reagan National Airport’s Terminal C from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 that they may have come in contact with an individual who had the measles.
Arena Stage’s Crystal City Era Coming to a Close — Say goodbye to Arena Stage, which is leaving the Crystal City Underground for a newly-renovated, $135 million theater just across the river in southwest DC. But the Crystal City theater won’t be dark for long. Synetic Theater is moving in. More from Connection Newspapers.
Photo courtesy Jason Peschau
What are you doing tonight? Nothing? Good. That will give you plenty of time to rest up for a Saturday and Sunday chock full of events around Arlington.
From noon to 6:00 on Saturday, thousands of beer drinkers will jam Campbell Avenue in Shirlington Village for the 10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest. Wear your best lederhosen and bring extra cash for bratwurst. Oh, and bring a non-drinking friend who can help you get home safely AND provide a few extra sample tickets to your group (for $25, each attendee gets 10 tickets good for one 4 oz. beer sample each).
Dog lovers skipping the Oktoberfest may want to check out Dogtober Day and Barker’s Bash, a dog show and festival full of fun and games. It’s taking place at Lacey Woods Park (1200 N. George Mason Dr.) from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.
On Sunday, Arlington will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Thomas Jefferson Theater (125 S. Old Glebe Rd.). Community members of all ages and backgrounds are invited to enjoy Latin music, food and dancing from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
In addition to those events, there’s also a pair of fundraisers going on, which we wrote about earlier. See our events calendar for even more options.
Over the weekend, Shirlington Village Blog published a letter from Mark Kirwan, owner of the under-construction Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub at 2800 South Randolph Street.
Kirwan says he’s now hoping to open in early November. The opening was expected to be “mid-October” when we checked in with Kirwan last month.
“It has been a tough ordeal dealing with the County,” Kirwan wrote to Shirlington Village Blog.
When we asked what sort of problems he has encountered, Kirwan replied simply: “It’s mainly signage issues and different people’s interpretation of code.”
According to county records, Samuel Beckett’s has been granted a use permit for a restaurant with 228 indoor seats.
ART Route 75 Expands on Monday — The ART 75 bus route will add stops at the Shirlington Transit Center and the Virginia Square Metro station on Monday. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.
New Ballston Burger Joint Coming Soon — Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) will feature grass-fed beef, home-made buns, and a selection of wine and beer. The 30-40 seat restaurant is expected to open in early November. More from TBD.
Shirlington Oktoberfest Map — It’s not as highly-anticipated as Clarendon Day, according to our informal poll, but the 10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest in Shirlington next weekend is sure to attract another huge crowd. The good news is that there will be plenty of stations serving beer, so getting each of your 4 oz. samples hopefully won’t take too long. Shirlington Village Blogspot has a map of all 79 vendor booths.
Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief
Clarendon Day, the Shirlington Oktoberfest, the opening of Rosslyn’s new Artisphere — it’s a three-week procession of big events in Arlington.
Which event are you looking forward to?
Home Alone in Rosslyn — Thanks to a summer rainstorm a few weeks ago, tomorrow will be the last day of the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival. Home Alone will be shown in the usual spot in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park. The 1990 classic family comedy (“without the family”) will play on the big screen starting at dusk.
Satellite Truck is Still Parked in Arlington — A mysterious satellite truck, which we’ve written about two times before, continues to pester residents in north Arlington. A tipster tells us the truck is parked on Fairfax Drive near Arlington Traditional School. It has been there at least a week.
Animal Welfare League Marks Near-Completion — With work on a new addition to the Arlington Animal Welfare League’s Shirlington facility nearly complete, employees and pet lovers gathered Tuesday night to celebrate. More from the Sun Gazette.
Flickr pool photo by Jeff Costlow
ACDC Kicks Off Campaign Season — Last night, the Arlington County Democratic Committee officially launched its campaign to maintain electoral dominance in the county. But looking forward to November contests that include a challenge to incumbent county board member Chris Zimmerman, Democrats aren’t counting their chickens quite yet. “We are not going to take anything for granted [this] fall,” ACDC chair Mike Lieberman tells ARLnow.com. The Democrats’ campaign season will kick into high gear on Monday at the party’s annual Labor Day Chili Cookoff.
Dems, GOPers Swipe Each Other’s Swag — Stop us if this starts sounding like symbolism. In an effort to appease their respective constituencies, the local political parties decided to start stealing from one another. The petty political thievery took place at the recent Arlington County Fair. The Sun Gazette has the details.
Another Week of Chess — Shirlington’s Signature Theater has extended the rock musical Chess for an additional week. The show will now run through October 3. Tickets for the bonus week will go on sale Tuesday, according to Playbill.
The Pit of Hell Burger — Workers have dug up part of the parking lot in front of Ray’s Hell Burger in Rosslyn, but don’t worry, President Obama — your favorite diplomatic lunch spot is still open during the construction. Other affected businesses include Guallijo, Greenberry’s Coffee, and a Virginia ABC store. More from TBD.
Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is planning a series of public meetings to discuss Metrobus service on certain routes. Two of the meetings will take place in Arlington.
One meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Shirlington Library (4200 Campbell Ave). Another is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23 at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association building (4301 Wilson Blvd). Each meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
At both meetings, service on the 23A, 23C, 25A, 25C and 25D routes (The McLean-Crystal City and the Ballston-Bradlee-Pentagon City lines) will be discussed. WMATA is reviewing the travel time and reliability of the routes.
Other meetings are planned for Oxon Hill, Northeast DC, and McLean.
Flickr pool photo by Aaron Webb.
With two big rallies invading DC this weekend (the crowd at the Glenn Beck rally alone is expected to number in the hundreds of thousands), you may want to avoid traveling into the District altogether. The good news is that there’s plenty of fun things to do over here on the quieter side of the Potomac.
On Saturday, the Center Hiking Club is sponsoring an all-day, 12-mile historical walking tour of central Arlington, which will include visits to colonial, Civil War, trolley, and W&OD railroad sites. There will also be stops at cemeteries, log cabins, historic springs and old mills, among others. The tour will start at the Clarendon Metro Station at 9:00 a.m. and end at the Ballston Metro Station around 7:00 p.m. The cost is a mere $2.00. Contact organizer Bernie Berne at (703) 243-0179 or bhberne [at] yahoo.com for more information.
Also on Saturday, Shirlington Village is holding its second annual “Wags ‘N’ Whiskers” pet event from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See our previous article on the event for more information.
Finally, on Sunday, expect a large crowd at Pentagon City’s Fire Station No. 5 for a public ceremony where Arlington County will formally accept a gift of World Trade Center steel from New York City. Representatives of New York’s Fire Department and 500 motorcyclists will be escorting the steel from Brooklyn to Arlington. Between the escort, the middle school choir coming up from Georgia for the event, and spillover from the aforementioned Restoring Honor rally, we expect this to be a very well-attended event. It will take place at 11:00 Sunday morning at 1750 S. Hayes Street. If you have to drive, we recommend parking at the Pentagon City mall garage.
Flickr pool photo by Christaki.
