Wilson Boulevard

Arlington’s first medical cannabis dispensary now set to open early next year

By Matt Blitz
Future Beyond/Hello medical cannabis dispensary in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new medical cannabis dispensary coming to Clarendon is delaying its opening to early next year.

Beyond/Hello is hoping to open Arlington’s first medical cannabis dispensary — and its fifth in Northern Virginia — in the “first half of January,” though that depends on county inspections, a spokesperson told ARLnow.

The dispensary at 2701 Wilson Blvd was initially slated to open its doors prior to the end of the year, but that has been slightly delayed.

Florida-based Jushi, which owns Beyond/Hello, bought the building at 2701 Wilson Blvd, across the street from Whole Foods, for $7 million about a year ago. Jushi chose that location because of its central location and 45 dedicated parking spots, an executive told ARLnow over the summer.

The dispensary is moving a space that was formerly a Comcast service center. Another part of the building is occupied by Arlington Independent Media (AIM), which operates radio station WERA 96.7 FM.

The plan is to allow AIM to remain in the building, even as it expands to a satellite location in Green Valley.

Over the last two years, Beyond/Hello has opened locations in Fairfax, Alexandria, Manassas, and Sterling. Another location is coming to Woodbridge sometime next year.

Beyond/Hello is one of four companies allowed to sell medical cannabis in Virginia but is legally limited to opening six stores in the Commonwealth.

This past July, a new state law went into effect that removed the requirement that medical cannabis patients had to register with the Commonwealth in order to purchase cannabis. Now all patients need is a written certification from a licensed practitioner.

It’s legal for those over 21 in Virginia to possess and grow small amounts of cannabis. But recreational sales are still illegal due to the failure of a legislative effort this past year to create infrastructure for retail sales.

For now, retail sales of cannabis are expected to remain illegal in Virginia until 2024 at the earliest.

A stretching studio expects to open soon in Courthouse

By Matt Blitz
StretchLab in Courthouse (photo courtesy of StretchLab)

A stretching studio is opening in Courthouse later this month.

Los Angeles-based StretchLab is stretching itself to open by late December at 2200 Wilson Blvd, at the corner with N. Wayne Street. It will be in the same building in Courthouse as Sweet Leaf Cafe.

Founded in 2015 in Venice, California, StretchLab calls itself “the industry leader in offering one-on-one assisted stretching.”

There are nearly 300 locations nationwide, per a company spokesperson, but this would be the first StretchLab in the D.C. area. There are plans for additional expansion locally, we’re told.

“StretchLab has gathered a team of experts already certified in an array of related fields — physical therapy, chiropractic medicine, yoga, Pilates, and more — and brought in the world’s leading authority on stretching and flexibility to deliver on the promise of having the finest team of stretching professionals gathered anywhere,” reads a statement provided to ARLnow.

The studio offers memberships, one-on-one instruction, and group classes.

Construction is nearly finished on the space, a spokesperson said. Next week, on Monday, Dec. 12, the studio will be open for a preview and “free demonstration stretches.” The studio is set to fully open to the public later in December.

Clarendon Silver Diner set to close this week, ahead of Ballston location’s opening

By Matt Blitz
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The Ballston Silver Diner is finally opening this month, which means the Clarendon location is closing after 26 years.

The new Silver Diner at N. Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd, next to Target, is planning to officially start serving on Wednesday, Dec. 14, a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.

The planned diner was first announced more than five years ago. The locally-owned chain was originally supposed to open in Ballston in the summer, but the timeline slid later as many construction projects experienced delays due to supply chain and staffing issues.

The new 6,700-square-foot location will be a mile away from the existing Clarendon diner. It’s set to have a full bar plus 244 seats, including 191 indoors and 68 on its outdoor patio. The patio will be open “seasonally.”

There will be 100 parking spots, 40 spots more than the Clarendon location. Parking will be free with a 2-hour validation.

The restaurant will have roughly the same hours as the Clarendon location, opening at 7 a.m. seven days a week and closing between midnight and 3 a.m.

The opening also signals the closing of the Silver Diner in Clarendon, which has sat between Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street for more than a quarter of a century. The closure has long been expected and will make way for a new development that’s set to include a hotel, gym, and a 286-unit residential building.

That Silver Diner will shutter on Sunday, Dec. 11, the spokesperson said. The purpose behind moving only a mile away was to “maintain [Silver Diner’s] neighborhood presence in Arlington.”

Clarendon’s staff will be moved over to Ballston, per the restaurant’s website.

“They literally expect to shut down one location, walk down the street and open the other location,” a spokesperson wrote ARLnow in August.

The restaurant is planning an auction of memorabilia to support a local charity, we’re told, but details are not yet available.

Courthouse’s Rāko still shuttered, citing ‘out of order’ espresso machine

By Matt Blitz
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Rāko at 2016 Wilson Blvd remains closed due to what a sign says is an “out of order” espresso machine.

The Courthouse coffee shop has reportedly been closed since at least early this month. A handwritten sign remains outside of the store noting it is “temporarily closed” and that the “espresso machine [is] out of order… we are sorry for the inconvenience.”

The cafe’s interior appears to be unchanged, with furniture set up and the suspect espresso machine still sitting on the counter.

A number of readers have written to ARLnow asking if the closure is permanent due to how long it’s been closed.

“Hi! I am desperate to know what happened to Rako coffee shop in Courthouse. They have had a sign up that their espresso machine is getting fixed for about three weeks?” read one email. “Seems like a bad sign. No phone number or notice on Google/their website. I love their business and it fills a much needed local coffee gap around here!”

ARLnow has reached out to the company and a spokesperson multiple times but has yet to hear back.

Lorton-based Rāko Coffee opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in August 2021. A year ago, the coffee shop signed a lease to open a new location at Amazon’s HQ2.

The row of shops and restaurants along the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd will be dealing with a notable challenge for the next couple of years: construction activity on the former Wendy’s lot, at the top of the block, potentially driving away some customers.

George Ishak, owner of Burger District at 2024 Wilson Blvd, told ARLnow this week that some safety measures are hurting business.

“There’s a new construction starting in the adjacent plot of land but the thing is that they have put a fence in front of my store and also fenced around the tree pit that is exactly in from of my store entrance,” he said. “I filed a complaint with Arlington County requesting to remove the fence in front of my store and around the tree pit since this is negatively impacting my small business.”

Update on 11/19/22 — It appears that the business may owe money to Arlington County, as seen in the photos below.

New Clarendon vintage clothing shop owned by W-L grad set to open next week

By Matt Blitz
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A new vintage clothing shop owned by a Washington-Liberty grad is looking to open in Clarendon next week.

People’s Place Blvd is opening up at 3179 Wilson Blvd, a prime spot near Clarendon Ballroom and Spider Kelly’s. The plan is to open on Saturday, Nov. 12, co-owner Fabricio Gamarra tells ARLnow. The store will specialize in buying, selling, and trading vintage clothing.

Gamarra is a 2018 graduate of Washington-Liberty High School and grew up in Arlington. He was previously the manager of the People’s Place location in Manassas but is partnering with that store’s ownership to open his own shop closer to home. It will feature his brand Forbiiidden Vintage.

He’s also the founder of the Barcroft-based pop-up flea market Euphoria, which was so popular two years ago that it went viral on TikTok and resulted in traffic jams in the neighborhood after people flocked to the market from miles around.

Gamarra soon realized the popularity of what he was doing and wanted to expand to a brick and mortar storefront. He found one in the hole-in-the-wall, office and retail space above Spider Kelly’s.

Clarendon is a great place to open his new vintage shop, he said, because of the clientele.

“The area is a popular scene for a lot of kids who are into fashion,” Gamarra said. “Obviously, there’s a lot more income [here]… than in Manassas.”

While he was previously doing plenty of business online and at other local markets, the pull of opening a brick-and-mortar location was too much.

“Having a flea market once or twice a year is cool, but I wanted to open up more opportunities… I like to have that face-to-face connection with other people,” Gamarra said.

There are relatively few vintage clothing shops in Arlington. There’s Current Boutique, which advertises itself as a consignment shop and is located about a half mile away from where People’s Place Blvd is opening. There’s also Amalgamated Costume and Design on Langston Blvd, which is both a store and a rental provider for film, TV and stage productions.

Gamarra said that with more customers turning to small businesses and the “fast fashion” trend waning, people are looking for vintage clothing shops where they can buy and trade back clothes when they are done wearing them.

“People will be able to stop by and recycle their clothing or trade it in for other clothing that they are buying,” he said. “I think buy, sell, trade [shops] are vital.”

Upscale corner store Foxtrot aiming for December opening in Rosslyn

By Matt Blitz
The new Foxtrot store in Rosslyn (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

Boutique market Foxtrot‘s newest location in Rosslyn is aiming to open in mid-December.

With window stickers now up, a company spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow that the Foxtrot at 1771 N. Pierce Street in Rosslyn could open its doors within six weeks.

“We are looking at the second week of December,” District Manager Adriana Stavreva wrote in an email.

The initial estimate for the store’s opening right off of Wilson Blvd, basically next door to the year-old Fire Station 10, was “early fall,” but that’s been pushed back by at least a couple of months.

Chicago-based Foxtrot is a delivery-focused upscale corner market and cafe. It makes much of its inventory — everything from a rainbow-sprinkled crispy cake to non-alcoholic whiskey — available for delivery within an hour.

ARLnow reported in April that the company was opening a Rosslyn location, part of a local aggressive expansion that includes several other planned stores in the region. A Foxtrot location opened in Old Town Alexandria earlier this year and another is currently open in Georgetown.

Salt Pot Kitchen in Ballston has closed, new tenant unknown

By Matt Blitz
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The sun has set on the British-inspired Salt Pot Kitchen in Ballston Quarter Market.

The “upscale British street food” eatery closed down its Quarter Market stall back in early August, co-owner Wendy Salt confirmed to ARLnow. Salt Pot first opened there in May, making its run rather short.

“Our contract was only ever for 3 months as a trial run/pop-up. There was always going to be an option to extend, which we would have been happy to consider but it just never got busy enough,” she wrote ARLnow. “Other opportunities came our way, and we have been busy exploring those since August.”

Salt also noted that they are not completely gone from Ballston, keeping a presence at the weekly farmers market on Thursday evenings until mid-November.

“This has been very successful, and we have many repeat customers every week,” Salt said.

The restaurant also continues to sell its food online.

Salt Pot Kitchen is from the Loudoun County-based mother-son team of Wendy and Charlie Salt and the mall stall was their first brick-and-mortar location. It served traditional English fare, like sausage rolls, meat pies, soups, and Wiltshire plaits.

The stall where Salt Pot Kitchen was, near the escalator and across from Bollywood Bistro, is currently dark, as it’s been since August. There’s no word as of yet on what new tenant might move in.

Prior to the British eatery, the stall was the home of Rogi. That pierogi pop-up, which replaced Italian spot Cucina al Volo, closed early this year, making way for Salt Pot Kitchen in the spring.

Clarendon’s Wilson Hardware fully reopens after million dollar revamp

By Matt Blitz
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Nightlife venue Wilson Hardware in Clarendon is now back fully reopened after a million-dollar renovation.

The five-year-old restaurant underwent a significant facelift over the last several months that added a new garden terrace, expanded the rooftop, redesigned the interior dining space, and redid the menu.

While Wilson Hardware never fully closed, the nightlife venue and restaurant on 2915 Wilson Blvd made its new and improved debut this past week.

The three-level venue now has distinct spaces on each level and the intent is to be open year-round. The rooftop added a retractable awning so it’s now “suitable for all seasons.”

“Overall, the team wanted to reinvest in the space that has served the Arlington community for five years strong and create a more elevated atmosphere for guests, giving them the chance to experience three distinct environments in one setting,” a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow about why they decided to embark on the renovation.

Wilson Hardware opened in the late summer of 2017. Its name is in homage to the hardware store that occupied that space for decades prior before closing in 2005. After that, Ri Ra Irish Pub moved in before making way for Wilson Hardware.

The concept for the revamp is “industrial-chic” while also emphasizing greenery and floral decor.

“The redesigned dining space on the first level features updated seating in a sleek, industrial-style setting,” reads the press release. The second level includes lounge seating for cocktail hour and double doors that lead out to a newly-designed garden terrace, where guests can grab a drink from the bar outside or order a bite to eat at several dining tables. The third-level rooftop bar is nearly doubled in size and features floral decor reminiscent of its downstairs terrace as well as a retractable awning to block out the sun on hot days or keep the winter breeze at bay.”

There’s also a bit of a reworked menu that includes several new options like truffle hanger steak and garlic shrimp skillet. In terms of cocktails, the major addition is the PSM — yes, that’s a pumpkin spice martini with vodka, Kahlua, pumpkin liqueur, and espresso. Brunch has also been extended on Sundays until 6 p.m.

Back in July, a small fire broke out reportedly at or near the roof of Wilson Hardware. There’s no word back from the restaurant as of the publication if the fire was indeed at the restaurant and related to the renovation.

Capriotti’s in Rosslyn seems to have made its last sandwich

By Matt Blitz
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Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop in Rosslyn appears to have made its last sub.

The Delaware-founded and currently Las Vegas-based fast-casual sandwich chain seems to have closed its eatery on the ground floor of 1500 Wilson Blvd, across from the Target. Closed signs are posted on its doors, while equipment inside has been moved out.

Additionally, the store seems to have been scrubbed from Capriotti’s website.

ARLnow has reached out to the company to confirm its closure in Rosslyn but has yet to hear back as of publication.

Capriotti’s first opened on Wilson Blvd in August 2014 to considerable fanfare, with people camped out in order to get free sandwiches for a year. It was part of a torrid expansion for the company, with a number of other locations also opening in the D.C. area around the same time.

The sandwiches were famed for being a favorite of now-President Joe Biden, who attended the opening of the first Capriotti’s in D.C. in 2013 and reportedly liked to tell people that the shop was proof that Delaware makes the best sandwiches. During the first week of November 2020 and with Biden on his way to becoming the 46th president, sales rose by about 30% at the Capriotti’s in Rosslyn.

Despite that brief uptick in sales, though, it was already clear that Capriotti’s was struggling to generate enough sandwich sales to maintain its expanded presence in area. The location in Dupont Circle closed in 2018 and the location in Arlington was the last of the shops in the region.

The closest Capriotti’s currently open is in Chester, Maryland, southeast of Baltimore. An outpost is also reportedly coming to Dulles International Airport, which brings to mind the fact that the last Virginia location of once high-flying regional chain Taylor Gourmet is still slinging sandwiches at Reagan National Airport.

The first Capriotti’s opened in Wilmington, Delaware in 1976. It now has more than 100 locations and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maison Cheryl plans to reopen next week after closing for a “fall refresh”

By Matt Blitz
1/3

Clarendon’s Maison Cheryl says it is not closing for good but rather undergoing a “fall refresh.”

Over the last week, ARLnow has received several emails from readers asking whether the French-American bistro had closed permanently.

That does not appear to be the case. The restaurant is planning to reopen on Monday (Oct. 3) after a two-week hiatus for repairs, to hire staff, and complete training, a spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.

“We are simply changing with the season! We’ve had some maintenance and repairs done on the inside of the restaurant. We also hired a new General Manager, Jody Sultan, that we are very excited about,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “She’s bringing some great staff with her and we are currently training and implementing some new processes so that we are ready to hit the ground running when we reopen fully on Monday, October 3rd. Our new fall menu will be debuting along with the reopening.”

Maison Cheryl first opened about a year ago at 2900 Wilson Blvd near the intersection with N. Fillmore Street. As chef and co-owner Robert Maher told ARLnow at the time, the restaurant’s aim was to be a great date night spot for “older millennials” in a neighborhood that often caters to a younger crowd. It has garnered generally favorable reviews online, with many of the less favorable reviews mentioning the pricing.

With Maher being a trained French chef, the cuisine is billed as “French-New American.” Popular dishes include the Maison Wagyu burger, duck breast, and bucatini with fried burrata in a zucchini sauce.

Earlier this year, Maher shared with ARLnow that Covid concerns and difficulty securing an outdoor seating permit were posing some challenges for the relatively new eatery in a storefront that has seen some turnover. However, he expressed optimism at the time that it was going to all work out in Clarendon and, possibly, beyond.

“One day, I might think of [opening] another one, but right now just trying to become a staple in the community,” he said. “I’m having the time of my life doing that.”

Clarendon’s Chicken + Whiskey looking to open in the spring

By Matt Blitz
Chicken + Whiskey moves into Clarendon (photo courtesy of Twitter/David Kinney)

(Updated at 5 p.m.) Chicken + Whiskey is crossing the river to get to Clarendon.

The new South American rotisserie chicken restaurant and whiskey bar is hoping to open this spring, co-owner Des Reilly confirmed to ARLnow.

Permitting and construction remain ongoing in the nearly 6,000 square-foot space at 3033 Wilson Blvd, where window stickers are now advertising the restaurant. One sticker reads, “Chicken in the front, Whiskey in the back.”

The new eatery and bar moves into a space that was formerly occupied by Hunan Number One, which closed three years ago. It will be in the same building as Waterhouse Coffee and the newly-opened Bar Ivy while across the street from Mexicali Blues.

The menu consists of Peruvian chicken, homemade sauces, sides like yucca fries and black beans, and a wide selection of whiskeys. There are also cocktails, churro donuts, arepas, and salads.

This will be Chicken + Whiskey’s fourth location, but first outside of the District. The restaurant is led by Chef Enrique Limardo who is “commonly credited as the pioneer of modern Venezuelan cooking in the U.S.,” per Huffington Post. He’s also the head chef at Immigrant Food and D.C.’s Seven Reasons, which was named 2019’s best new restaurant in the country by at least one publication.

Reilly said that the reason Clarendon was chosen as the next location for Chicken + Whiskey is that they believe good Peruvian chicken is “missing” from the neighborhood.

“In my opinion, we are the best in the DMV,” he said. “No one is doing what we are doing at this price point.”

That section of Wilson Blvd, the two blocks between N. Highland Street and N. Fillmore Street, has been undergoing some changes recently. Bar Ivy opened this summer while the former sports bar G.O.A.T. is being converted into a bank. Meanwhile, Maison Cheryl is currently closed for a “fall refresh.” Just beyond N. Fillmore Street, buzzy Middle Eastern restaurant Tawle is looking to open in the spring as well.

Hat tip to David Kinney

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