RedRocks to Hold Grand Opening Friday
RedRocks will open its third D.C.-area Neapolitan pizzeria on Columbia Pike tomorrow (Friday).
RedRocks is opening the 133-seat eatery at Penrose Square, on the 2500 block of Columbia Pike. The restaurant overlooks the new Penrose Square park and the restaurant’s owners plan to debut outdoor seating (about 20 seats) starting this spring.
The restaurant is best known for its wood oven pizza, but also offers charcuterie, cheeses, salads, vegetable dishes, pasta, small plates and snack-sized items. Drink offerings include 20 draft beers, a small bottled beer selection, a wine selection and seven signature cocktails.
The happy hour menu includes DC Brau Public pale ale and Port City Optimal Wit, plus Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot for $3. Mixed drinks are $5. Basic marinara and Neapolitan pizzas are offered for $6 during happy hour.
RedRocks will be open today (Thursday) for an invite-only “soft opening.” It will hold its grand opening on Friday, with doors open to the public at 6:00 p.m. The restaurant will start its lunch service on Saturday. It will open for lunch every day except Mondays, starting at 11:00 a.m. (RedRocks will be open for dinner every night.)
RedRocks has existing location in D.C.’s Columbia Heights neighborhood and in Old Town Alexandria. An H Street NE location is also opening soon.
The Right Note: Verify Then Trust
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column by published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
County Board members went out of their way last week to say “the fix” was not in on the PenPlace development near Pentagon City in South Arlington. PenPlace has raised serious concerns from local residents who are not thrilled with the type and amount of non-residential development proposed there.
As part of the deal, Vornado is reportedly offering land for the Columbia Pike trolley maintenance facility as well as $20 million to help offset the costs of the new aquatics center. The Board desperately needs the space for the trolley facility, and the money for the pool is good PR for an expensive facility that had its share of detractors. With these sweeteners on the table, future public discussions seem likely to only be a formality.
Residents in the South Arlington neighborhoods who are concerned about PenPlace need only look back a couple years to the Crystal City redevelopment plan. They raised a number of issues on the plan with the County Board and staff throughout the process. At the end of the day, virtually none of the issues were addressed by the Board. Instead, the Board created an ongoing neighborhood advisory group, presumably to keep talking about changes the Board has no intention of making.
They can also look back at the widespread neighborhood opposition to the proposed purchase of 2020 14th Street North to house a new homeless shelter. The new building and renovations could cost the county nearly 20 times what it would have cost to retrofit the current facility. The County Board hearing room was packed by opponents of the plan, but their concerns simply fell on deaf ears. The decision had already been made.
Chairman Tejada just announced that there will be a public forum on the future of the massive Columbia Pike trolley project on March 27th. But, the promise of a forum seems somewhat hollow after the January 1st meeting where Chris Zimmerman pronounced the trolley issue had already been decided.
The Board certainly has a history of encouraging community dialogue and input. What seems to be a recent trend is that the Arlington Way stops when the Board realizes the community will not come around to their way of thinking. This is probably why a friend quipped to me last year after then-Chairman Hynes announced her PLACE initiative — it really stands for “Pretending Like Arlington County Ever-listens.”
When negotiating with the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan’s philosophy was “trust but verify.” Based on our Board’s recent track record of paying lip service to concerns raised by Arlingtonians, South Arlington residents concerned about PenPlace should consider taking the posture of “verify then trust.”
Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.
Board Discusses Harris Teeter ‘Claims’ in Closed Session
A sewage backup that flooded an Arlington Harris Teeter store last May is still causing a stink in the backrooms of county government.
The Harris Teeter at 3600 S. Glebe Road, near Potomac Yard, remains closed with no reopening date in sight. The grocery store was flooded with raw sewage on May 11, 2012, due to a clog at the nearby Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plan.
Earlier this month, Arlington County spokeswoman Mary Curtius told ARLnow.com that “no civil lawsuits have been filed” against the county as a result of the sewage incident. But at its Tuesday meeting the County Board adjourned to closed session to discuss, as County Board Chair Walter Tejada put it, “two matters requiring consultation with the County Attorney and staff concerning pending claims made by Harris Teeter and others, arising from an incident on May 11, 2012.”
It’s unclear what “claims” are being made. Asked about the behind-closed-doors session, Curtius declined further comment.
Harris Teeter says they’re “actively working with both the county and our landlord to discuss solutions to make sure that which happened does not happen again,” but a company rep declined to give additional specifics.
The closed session was not the only hush-hush County Board action to take place on Tuesday. The Washington Post reports that the Board unanimously approved 5 to 10 percent raises for three top county officials at the end of the public meeting. The raises come as the county faces a $25 to 50 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year.
ACPD: No Charges to Be Filed Against Patrick Moran
There will be no criminal charges filed against the son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) as a result of the video that purported to show him going along with a scheme to commit voter fraud.
In a statement released this afternoon (below), the Arlington County Police Department said it has completed an investigation and will not be filing charges against Patrick Moran, who resigned as Director of Field Operation for his father’s reelection campaign following the release of the video.
The video was created by Project Veritas, a nonprofit investigative group founded by conservative activist James O’Keefe. The police department said the video-makers did not cooperate with their investigation.
The Arlington County Police Department, in collaboration with the Offices of the Virginia Attorney General and the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney, has concluded its investigation of election offense allegations against Patrick Moran.
A criminal investigation was initiated by the Arlington County Police Department in late October 2012 after a video was released allegedly depicting Patrick Moran, former Director of Field Operations for the Jim Moran for Congress campaign organization, assisting another to vote illegally.
Patrick Moran and the Jim Moran for Congress campaign provided full cooperation throughout the investigation. Despite repeated attempts to involve the party responsible for producing the video, they failed to provide any assistance.
As a result of the investigation, there will be no charges brought against Moran and the investigation is now closed.
Rep. Moran was reelected despite the video controversy. In a separate incident, Patrick Moran later pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend outside a D.C. bar.
Man Who Fought Thief For Bike Says He Had the Last Laugh
In publishing last week’s Arlington County crime report, we wrote that a man’s effort to recover his stolen bike “backfired” when he was punched in the face and his new bike was stolen.
The victim of that alleged crime wrote us shortly thereafter and said it was actually he who had the last laugh.
The man, who didn’t want his name published but who was able to confirm non-public details about the incident, says he successfully recovered his pricey Gary Fisher mountain bike while the thief only managed to punch him once and take off with his girlfriend’s used $100 bike with pink tires.
Here’s the victim’s side of the story:
My Gary Fisher 29er mountain bike with multiple very distinguishable and colorful upgrades was stolen Sunday [Jan. 13] in downtown DC in front of a Safeway at 3 pm in broad daylight by a guy who broke my lock.
The next Thursday I was biking to Caps practice at Kettler in Ballston on my girlfriend’s pink tired bike (which the perp is pictured with here) when I saw a bus pull up with my stolen Gary Fisher on front. I put the pink tire bike I was riding on the rack with my stolen Gary Fisher and boarded the bus. I rode for a few blocks and got ready to make my move at the Whole Foods. I went to get both bikes and the guy charged off the bus and we wrestled for the Gary Fisher. Eventually I got my lock around the frame and wheel so he couldn’t ride away as he got one good punch in. With the Gary Fisher secure, I knocked him down and he put his hand in his bag and threatened to have a gun. He probably didn’t but l was spooked and let him up and backed off.
He got up and got on the pink tired bike and rode off. I got my nice Gary Fisher back. He rode off on this pink tired bike that I bought for 100 bucks a few years ago heading toward Courthouse and Rosslyn. I assume he dumped it right after he rode out if sight because he stood out on that thing and cops never found him.
I was fine after the fight and didn’t have a mark on me.
If you see the pink tired Specialized Hardrock around Clarendon he stole it. Also by the time I got to Kettler on my Gary Fisher, practice was over. At least I got my bike back.
I’m sure the police don’t encourage confronting thieves like this and maybe that’s why they took the successful part of the report out. But the bike I got back is really valuable to me.
Police say they have not made any arrests in the case so far.
Courtesy photo
Morning Notes
APS Announces Make-up Day Plan — Arlington Public Schools has lost three days this school year due to inclement weather, including the day lost as a result of the controversial decision to close this past Monday for what turned out to be mostly drizzle. APS has announced its make-up plan, though most schools will not actually have to make up any days due to additional hours built into the school calendar this year. Those impacted by the make-up plan are elementary schools with early release and the Stratford Program, which will see three abbreviated days turned into full days as part of the make-up plan. [Arlington Public Schools]
County to Explore More Options for Reeves Farmhouse — Arlington County is issuing a ‘request for information’ for the historic Reevesland farmhouse. The county is now seeking ideas from individuals and groups who want to use the farmhouse and its grounds but don’t have the nearly $1 million necessary for repairs to the property. That’s a win for one group of residents who have been pushing for the property to be used as a learning center. ”We’re open to the idea of shared investment,” said County Manager Barbara Donnellan. [Sun Gazette]
Arlington Judge to Retire — Arlington County General District Court judge Karen A. Henenberg is retiring. Henenberg and her husband plan to spend more time with their sons: Kenneth, a rock band guitarist, and Benjamin, a professional golfer. [Falls Church News-Press]
Flickr pool photo by Ddimick
Restaurant Talk: Is 2013 The Year of the Doughnut?
Restaurant Talk is an occasional feature written by Nick Freshman, a native Arlingtonian and co-owner of Spider Kelly’s and Eventide Restaurant in Clarendon.
Are doughnuts the new cupcake?
I have to confess that writing that line has me shaking my head. If you think restaurant professionals understand every trend, think again. A lot of us have no idea where this stuff comes from (although the nexus for the most avant garde trends seems to be Brooklyn).
While Arlington is rarely the birthplace for the latest and greatest, we certainly seem to have a knack for embracing what is once it gets here.
Temples to the cupcake trend have popped up everywhere in the DC area, with multiple cupcakeries within blocks of each other, celebrity visits (Suri Cruise, no less), and even cupcake-based TV shows. Who saw that coming? Nobody, frankly.
So how long does the trend last? Forever? Another year? I thought cupcakes would come and go a couple years back, but I was clearly wrong. And who’s to say they won’t be here forever? After all, hamburgers were a fad at one point.
But a threat has arrived: America’s breakfast workhorse is on a tear. No longer the exclusive domain of Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme, doughnuts have been popping up on menus everywhere—and not just at breakfast. Two places that are set to make waves this year are GBD (Golden, Brown, Delicious) in Dupont and Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken near Metro Center. The former is the latest from local trendsetters Neighborhood Restaurant Group (of Tallula and Rustico fame) while the latter is the brainchild of two local boys, one of whom (Jeff Halpern) recently played for the Caps.
