Z-Burger Set For Fall Opening In Virginia Square
The owners of the growing Z-Burger local burger chain say they plan to open a franchise in Virginia Square this fall, perhaps as soon as September.
In March 2011, Z-Burger co-owner Mohammad Esfahani told ARLnow.com that he hoped to have the location open last summer. But co-owner Peter Tabibian said today the company is now focused on opening its new Columbia Heights location first, in the next few weeks.
Esfahani said construction is ongoing for the 4,000-square-foot space at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Kenmore Street. This will be Z-Burger’s sixth location and first in Virginia.
A BGR: The Burger Joint opened last year in Clarendon, and the location will also face competition from a nearby Five Guys (2300 Wilson Boulevard) and Wiinky’s (3902 Wilson Boulevard), among others.
The two-story red brick building that used to house a video conversion business and a realty company has made way for a new structure. A crew was working on the new building’s interior today (Wednesday). The before and after comparison is below.
Local Students To Take On Global Issues At ‘Earth 2100′
Arlington nonprofit Our Task will host an “intergenerational” conference to discuss environmental and global development issues on Saturday, Aug. 11 at the Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.).
Our Task Executive Director Jerry Barney said the conference is aimed at local high school and college students who want to share ideas and discuss what the world will look like in 2100, and what should be done to deal with ongoing deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, population increases and a host of other issues.
“It comes from a growing unease and a growing sense of fear among thoughtful young people that the planet they’re going to inherit is not at all the planet they hope to inherit,” Barney said.
The all-day conference is open to participants of all ages, but for the past six years has attracted mainly local students. They are organized in focus groups and presented with an issue “from the 10,000-foot level,” said Our Task Chair Angeline Cione. They then develop and present solutions.
This year’s opening speaker will be conservation biologist and George Mason University professor Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. Registration is free and will run until the day before the event.
Photo courtesy Jerry Barney
Crime Report: Window Washer Falls onto Sidewalk
A window washer is clinging to life after plummeting about 7 stories onto the sidewalk while working on a Rosslyn office building.
The incident was detailed in this week’s Arlington County crime report, although it’s not being investigated as a crime. Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said investigators believe the victim forgot to clip in his safety harness. He stepped over an edge, fell, and landed on the sidewalk near the entrance to the offices of WJLA (ABC 7).
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT, 07/27/12, 1000 block of Wilson Boulevard. At 11:10 am on July 27, a worker fell approximately from the 7th floor while cleaning windows. Victim is currently in critical condition.
Also in this week’s crime report, a Nauck resident’s glass door was shattered by an apparently stray bullet.
MISSILE INTO OCCUPIED DWELLING, 07/29/12, 2100 block of S. Oxford Street. At 3:40 am on July 29, victim had the front glass door shattered by a bullet fired by an unknown suspect.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
New ‘Ridesharing’ Program To Debut In Arlington
Zimride, a company that connects long-distance carpoolers through Facebook, launched its “digital ridesharing” operation in the Washington area today.
Arlington residents looking for rides to New York can pay an average of $50 round-trip for a seat in another person’s car, according to Zimride’s Nick Greenfield, who described the concept as “non-creepy hitchhiking,” and the “long-distance version of slugging.”
Users match up with drivers and potential carpoolers by listing whether they smoke, their musical preferences and other personal details. The program first gained traction on college campuses as a way for students to more easily afford travel.
Now, the company is hoping to attract users in Arlington by opening up the site for Northern Virginia to New York road trips.
At least one Arlington resident has posted a ride for this weekend to New York. For $80 round-trip, “Clinton L.” is offering to drive passengers to Manhattan in his Infiniti FX45.
“[I] drive around 90 mph on the highway [and] listen to electronic dance music,” Clinton L. wrote. “Will take a total of 4 people… to ensure the comfort of all passengers.”
Thieves Strike Cars at Pentagon City Mall Parking Lot
Thieves struck at least 10 vehicles — including two police cars — at the Pentagon City mall parking lot yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.
Detectives are investigating 10 reports of car break-ins at the mall parking garage yesterday, including five reports of larcenies from auto (items stolen from inside the car) and five reports of attempted larcenies.
Police believe the incidents took place between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Two of the victim vehicles belonged to law enforcement agencies, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Sternbeck wasn’t able to confirm which agencies were involved, except to say that the vehicles did not belong to Arlington County. ARLnow.com hears that at least one of the vehicles was an undercover Fairfax County police car.
Sternbeck said that mall-goers can help protect themselves from theft by making sure to lock their vehicles and by keeping valuables like iPods, GPS units and cash hidden in a locked glove box or trunk. Shoppers are also asked to report suspicious activity in such parking garages to police or mall security.
Ballston Building Adds ‘Bob Peck’ Historical Marker
Developers of a new office building in Ballston have added another historical touch to commemorate the old Bob Peck Chevrolet dealership that for decades served as a neighborhood landmark on the same site.
Alexandria-based Bowman Consulting, the landscape architecture firm on developer JBG’s 10-story office building at 800 N. Glebe Road, recently designed and installed a historical marker to honor the dealership’s iconic Googie architecture style.
In January, builders added a diamond-shaped facade to the front of the building to mimic the style. Bob Peck Chevrolet was demolished in 2008.
From the text of the historical marker:
Bob Peck opened his first Chevrolet dealership in 1939 on Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. In 1964, he moved the dealership west to Ballston to the very prominent corner of North Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard, 300 feet south of this marker. Taking advantage of the site’s unique location and visibility, local architect Anthony Musolino designed a transparent circular showroom of glass and chrome, with a butterfly roofline whose frieze of diamond-shaped blue panels spelled out “Chevrolet.” The building was an excellent example of Googie architecture, reflecting the era’s prevailing interest in the future — space travel, nuclear energy, rockets — through the use of upward slanting and cantilevered roofs, geometric patterns, acute angles and large sheets of glass.
Musolino’s design evoked thoughts of flight and movement, with its walls of transparent glass and a roof that appeared to float skyward. The transparent showroom was a living billboard. Motorists could see the chrome-trimmed vehicles from the street. Peck Chevrolet became a community icon and a landmark for motorists traveling to and through Arlington. The showroom’s design is represented in the new diamond-shaped frieze of the office building now located at the former Bob Peck site.
Photos courtesy Bowman Consulting
Morning Notes
Fairfax Approves Pike Streetcar — By a vote of 7-2, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a plan to build a streetcar line along Columbia Pike from Pentagon City to the Skyline area of Fairfax. The vote gives Fairfax and Arlington, which approved the project last week, the opportunity to apply for federal funding. Fairfax Board Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said of the project: ”The streetcar will relieve congestion and present economic development opportunities for the Skyline area and serve a population with the demonstrated support and need for transit.” [Washington Post, Washington Examiner]
Moran Leads Fundraising Race — Incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D) has out-raised his Republican opponent by a factor of more than eight. As of June 30, Moran raised $813,000 and had $308,000 cash on hand, compared to the $98,000 raised and $55,000 cash on hand for Republican challenger Patrick Murray. Independent candidate Jason Howell had $1,900 cash on hand. [Sun Gazette]
Defense Contractors Rally Against Cuts — Worried about the $500 billion in automatic defense spending cuts which will go into effect next year unless Congress acts, defense contractors held a rally in Crystal City on Monday. Among those in attendance was Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who joined local congressmen and business leaders in decrying the potential for more than 200,000 job losses in Virginia as a result of the cuts. [Patch]
