A food hall in Rosslyn will soon undergo a major transformation.
Assembly, the food hall at Rosslyn City Center (1700 N. Moore Street), will be closing on Friday, March 1, a PR rep tells ARLnow. In its place will rise a new food hall called Upside on Moore.
All of the existing concepts at Assembly — from the Fog Point oyster bar to Charo’s Taqueria to Big Day Coffee — will close, we’re told. They are set to replaced by Ghostburger, Stellina Pizzeria, Laoban Dumplings, Lucky Danger, Kam and 46, La Michoacana and another coffee shop.
An opening of the revamped food hall is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19.
More from a media advisory:
Treat yourself to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ favorite burger for lunch or grab a Michelin-rated Margherita pizza before hopping on the metro. Meet a few friends for a happy hour of Chef Tim Ma’s famous dumplings or spring rolls and some nostalgic Filipino nachos or host your birthday on the terrace with all your favorite tacos.
The Bar at Upside on Moore will feature wines, beers, and specialty cocktails curated and created by Elli Benchimol of Georgetown darling Apéro. […]
The 30,000 square foot space is operated by DMV born and bred Mothersauce Partners, the hospitality group behind Thompson Italian, City-State Brewing Company, and other favorites in the DC area and beyond. The space features both indoor seating, an outdoor terrace, bar seating, and several conference rooms. The space is fully customizable for private events of all sizes and occasions. The space is fully customizable for private events of all sizes and occasions.
A website and Instagram account for Upside on Moore are expected to launch soon.
Mothersauce Partners was founded by local restaurant and nightlife vet Nick Freshman, who was also behind the recently closed Crystal City cafe The Freshman.
The Washington Business Journal reported in December that the owner of the Metro-adjacent Rosslyn City Center building had tapped Mothersauce Partners “to freshen up the design, branding and concept curation at the food hall.”
The change comes as the lunchtime and happy hour crowd in Rosslyn is expected to swell, with the arrival of another major corporate headquarters. CoStar Group is set to eventually have 650 employees working four-day-a-week in person, in the Central Place building across the street from the food hall.
Before the pandemic, it looked like Rosslyn would be home to three separate food halls. In addition to Assembly, which was opened in 2021 by Chicago-based DMK Restaurants, the neighborhood was slated to get Common Ground and Happy Endings Eatery, both in the Central Place development.
The former never opened and the latter has rebranded as The Happy Eatery, de-emphasizing the food hall concept.
Celtic House on Columbia Pike is nearly ready to unveil its new whiskey bar.
Construction on the basement expansion has wrapped up and the owners are now adding finishing touches before the grand opening, expected in the next week or two, General Manager Chris Devenney told ARLnow.
“You only get one chance to open, and we want to do it right and not screw it up,” he said.
The whiskey bar, situated beneath the pub, is linked to the main restaurant via a wooden staircase. Additionally, patrons will be able to use a separate entrance located at the back of the building.
An official opening date hasn’t been set but Devenney anticipates it will be within the next 10 days. Upon opening, the bar’s hours will be 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
Owners Michael McMahon and Rolando Canales initially planned to open the bar last fall but they decided to time the opening with March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day instead.
“That’s our best month of the year,” McMahon said.
Billy Mulcaire, a D.C.-area carpenter trained in old-world techniques, started working on the complex solid red oak bar last February. He also crafted all the furniture, stairway and vestibule leading into the bar behind the pub, says McMahon.
“He’s a good friend of mine… He [doesn’t] do this stuff anymore,” McMahon said. “It is a great masterpiece.”
Construction on the space, previously a dry cleaning business, began in August, after the county’s historic review board approved plans for a vestibule on the exterior of the pub, which is located in a historic district.
McMahon, who immigrated to the U.S. from County Clare in southwestern Ireland in 1987, co-founded Celtic House with Canales in 2014. When the dry cleaning business closed, Canales suggested to McMahon that they lease or renovate the space.
Although McMahon was initially hesitant, Canales convinced his business partner to embrace the opportunity and launch a whiskey bar that could host private gatherings while expanding the restaurant’s capacity from 90 to nearly 150 patrons.
“So, this room gives us an opportunity that we can tap into that if they want to do a showcase or have a nice happy hour here with 40 or 50 people,” McMahon said.
The food menu downstairs will be the same as the upstairs menu, while the event and catering menus — set to publish on the restaurant’s website this week — will “look a little different,” says Devenney.
Devenney mentioned the new bar will also have a much more extensive selection of Irish whiskeys, which are “difficult to get.”
“So, we have bottles we’ve been collecting for over a year, really since we started construction,” he said.
Lee’s Sandwiches, which bills itself as the “World’s Largest Bánh Mì Chain,” has temporarily closed its doors in Ballston but may reopen under new ownership.
The Ballston location at 801 N. Quincy Street appears to have been closed for at least a month and is listed as “temporarily closed” on Google Maps and on a sign posted inside the door.
It first opened on N. Quincy Street in August 2020, replacing a Subway which closed in 2019.
The Ballston spot was the second East Coast location for Lee’s Sandwiches — a California-based franchise — following the first such location opening in 2016 at 3037 Annandale Road in Falls Church.
Tamy Nguyen Duong, who owns the Falls Church franchise location, says she recently purchased the Lee’s Sandwiches store in Ballston. She told ARLnow that the Ballston shop will reopen soon, though she could not give an exact date.
Her nephew will run the shop and is still deciding whether to operate it under the “Lee’s Sandwiches” franchise, she said. Either way, 801 N. Quincy Street will eventually resume selling sandwiches and coffee, according to Nguyen Duong.
The chain has a variety of sandwich options but specializes in bánh mì, a popular Vietnamese sandwich with savory ingredients in a short, toasted baguette. Lee’s is also noted for its Vietnamese iced coffee.
Arlington has plenty of dimly lit, romantic restaurants and charming, cozy local spots suitable for a date night.
Whether you’re hoping to share a bowl of noodles “Lady and the Tramp”-style, split a slice (or whole pie) with a partner, or would rather skip straight to dessert, these local spots have you and your loved one covered for Valentine’s Day next week.
Don’t want to venture out on Feb. 14? Stay in with take-home treats from your favorite local spots suitable for solo diners, a duo or even with a group of friends.
1. Village Sweet
5872 Washington Blvd, Westover
We’re starting with dessert on our romance roundup. Begin your Valentine’s Day with the sweet smell of croissants, cookies and other Valentine’s Day treats at Village Sweet Bakery.
The bakery’s holiday offerings are available now and include a royal wedding layer cake, “brown sug’ah” cupcakes with spiced graham buttercream, strawberry and black velvet swirl loaf and chocolate snacking cake with Irish coffee buttercream. Place your order ahead of time or stop by and peruse all of Village Sweet’s offerings.
2. Surreal
2117 Crystal Drive, Crystal City
Step into a garden-like oasis for a dinner experience suitable for both singles and couples at Surreal, a gourmet diner that opened late last year in Crystal City. Surreal is offering a three-course Valentine’s Day menu for single diners starting at 7 p.m. in the private dining room. For couples, Surreal is open for both lunch (12-2 p.m.) and dinner (4-10 p.m.) with creative favorites like chocolate lava cake service and the crispy tuna poke pillow.
Reservations can be made on Surreal’s website.
3. WHINO
4238 Wilson Blvd., Second Floor, Ballston
Step into the colorful and carefully-curated WHINO, a restaurant, bar and art gallery where you and your valentine can peruse art and the menu. This year, WHINO is offering a special Valentine’s Day dinner menu on Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 5-10 p.m. The menu has not yet been made available, but WHINO’s current menu can be found on its website.
Reservations can be made online.
4. Padaek
2391 S. Glebe Road, Arlington Ridge
Elevate your dinner experience with a five-course chef’s tasting menu this Valentine’s Day at Padaek, which opened last fall in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center.
Inspired by Chef Seng Luangrath’s 35-year marriage, the menu of Southeast Asian dishes include goong nahm paa (Argentine red shrimp with chili garlic and lime sauce), pak naam (flash-fried sweet potato leaves with tamarind sauce), gaeng som (chicken consommé, Chilean sea bass, pickled lime, roasted cherry tomatoes and smoked hot pepper), and kanom soat sai (steamed sticky rice cake stuffed with caramelized shredded coconut and coconut cream).
The dinner is $89 per person. Reservations are required and can be made on Padaek’s website.
5. Ambar
2901 Wilson Blvd., Clarendon
Looking to share new experience this Valentine’s Day? Ambar is offering a Valentine’s Day feast of traditional dishes from the Balkan Peninsula, prepared with a modern twist. The dinner features small plates including spreads, charcuterie, soups and salads, seafood, dessert and more to share.
The Valentine’s Day menu is $94.99 per person (tax and gratuity not included) at Ambar Clarendon. Pre-selected cocktails are priced at $0.99 per drink and featured beverages include an Ambar Old Fashioned, mango lemonade, margarita, kiwi smash, red punch sangria and a variety of wine and beer. Ambar’s Valentine’s Day menu will be available exclusively on Wednesday, Feb. 14, from 4-11 p.m.
There is a 2-hour time limit for all parties. Reservations can be made on Ambar’s website.
A bar and restaurant with French bistro inspiration and an “eclectic ambiance” is set to join several new businesses in Crystal City next year.
Bar Colline, created by D.C. brothers and hospitality entrepreneurs Eric and Ian Hilton, will join six street-level offerings at two new apartment buildings at 1900 Crystal Drive, announced developer JBG Smith in a press release.
The new restaurant is anticipated to open in early 2025 and will be an interpretation of French bistro Café Colline, which the brothers opened in the Lee Heights Shops along Langston Blvd in June 2020.
The Hilton brothers, operating as H2 Collective, have received national attention for their burgeoning D.C. restaurant empire, including Cafe Colline, Chez Billy Sud in Georgetown, Brighton at the Wharf and El Rey taqueria in Ballston and on U Street NW in D.C.
They are also behind Players Club, Parc de Ville in the Mosaic District, Solace Outpost in Falls Church and delivery-only burger purveyor Gee Burger.
The newest venture will boast a bar and private dining room with an “eclectic ambiance,” a press release from JBG Smith said. Bar Colline’s menu will feature shareable plates, wine and inventive cocktails.
The venue will join multiple businesses coming to the new apartment buildings, dubbed The Grace and Reva. They are Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois, Cuban café and bar Colada Shop, national blowout and hair styling brand Drybar, a nail salon called nailsaloon, and popular chains Tatte Bakery & Cafe and New York-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream.
JBG Smith is also behind an explosion of food options in Crystal City after opening a 1.6-acre dining destination in the Crystal City Water Park last October in an effort to “[cultivate] engaging places that create lively communities and exciting experiences,” JBG Smith Senior Vice President of Retail Leasing Amy Rice said in the release.
“We’re thrilled to welcome H2 Collective’s newest concept, Bar Colline, to the neighborhood and expect it to offer customers a unique and compelling reason to return again and again,” Rice said.
When friends Alex Lopéz, Carlos Olarte and Ernesto Valenzuela opened Sabores Tapas Bar last year on Columbia Pike, they did not anticipate becoming a community staple so soon.
Since its debut last February — replacing a former Taqueria el Poblano location — the tapas bar was named one of the top 100 places to eat in the U.S. in 2024 by Yelp. Sabores ranked 48 on the list of 100 and was the only Northern Virginia restaurant to be featured.
Sabores was also named to Northern Virginia Magazine’s 2023 Best Restaurants list, cementing it as a new mainstay in the Penrose neighborhood.
“It was amazing news, we got really excited,” Olarte said. “It didn’t sink in completely until when it was announced and we saw the hype and started receiving phone calls from people that we knew, from customers calling us.”
Sabores samples regional cuisine from Spain and several Latin American countries, including Colombia, Venezuela and Honduras, from which López, Olarte and Valenzuela hail, respectively.
This is the first restaurant the trio has opened, though the restaurateurs have a combined 70-80 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, particularly in managing and opening restaurants, Olarte says. They worked together at a Brazilian steakhouse in Fairfax as well as Jaleo in Crystal City, which closed in 2021.
After the Yelp ranking, the business at 2401 Columbia Pike saw an immediate increase in customers, including upticks in large parties and reservations.
“We really, really welcome that push,” Olarte said. “People are being great. A lot of regulars, a lot of people coming in. It makes sense.”
As Sabores Tapas Bar welcomes more repeat customers, the restaurant become a place where “everybody knows everybody,” he continued.
“We really have become part of the neighborhood,” Olarte said.
Following the Yelp write-up, Sabores started serving bottomless brunch on Saturdays and Sundays and is working on launching a new lunch menu.
“We realize that a lot of people in the area are looking for something quick, so we’re adding more sandwiches, more salads, and also like a pre-fixe menu so people can pay a fixed price and get like three tapas of their choices so they can get in and out — something really quick and affordable,” Olarte said.
In the future, Olarte says he and his business partners are considering expanding Sabores as well perhaps opening other concepts. Right now, however, they are focusing on keeping up with the excitement at the current tapas bar.
“We’re hoping, right now especially with this, to start getting to a level that we feel comfortable that we can spare a little bit of our efforts for the new ventures,” Olarte said.
Despite these plans, the trio is still focused on serving Columbia Pike.
“This is our home,” Olarte said. “We can’t wait to see you again and again and again and again.”
Craft beer and whiskey bar Rebellion on the Pike is closing.
The bar at 2900 Columbia Pike opened in April 2019. In an Instagram post Monday afternoon, Rebellion blamed economic circumstances and said its last day would be in two weeks, on Monday, Feb. 19.
It is with great regret that we share the news of our plans to cease operations here on the Pike. The recent economic downturn has had a great effect on many people, especially around here on Columbia Pike. While we have had our fair share of struggles over the years, a global pandemic to name mention one, we have had a great run here at 2900 Columbia Pike. That time has been filled with so many great memories they are impossible to fully list here. Birthday parties, retirement ceremonies and celebrations of life for dear friends taken far too soon. This is definitely a sad day for us and anyone we have come into contact with over the last five years.
We would like to thank those of you who we became dear friends with over the years. We would like to thank our current and former staff who put in so many hours of hard labor here. Lastly, we would like to thank our partners and vendors for providing us with the high quality products you became used to here. All of those groups made this place what it was. We’ll certainly miss those relationships.
Our LAST CALL will be held on Monday February 19th. President’s Day seemed like a fitting day to shut it down. Many of you can join us for a recovery Brunch that day, as we celebrate one final Daytona 500 in that traditional Rebellion style the day before. And with it being President’s Day, we can be reminded by our very own Rebellion TJ shirts one last time, “A little Rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
Rebellion replaced another former Pike watering hole, BrickHaus, which was only open for about a year.
Infamously, in 2021 a local TikTok personality feuded with Rebellion and fellow Columbia Pike bar Celtic House — and some employees — over alleged mistreatment, culminating in criminal charges against her that were later dropped.
The incident also prompted a deluge of negative reviews of Rebellion on Yelp, though most were subsequently removed.
Hat tip to Katherine Z.
Rosa Mexicano’s Arlington outpost closed its doors today, after opening a little over a year ago in Pentagon City.
An employee confirmed the closure of the restaurant to ARLnow, citing issues with the location and proximity to the mall. A moving truck and crew were seen clearing out the space, while a sign on the door confirmed its closure.
Rosa Mexicano opened its Pentagon City location in late 2022, a year or so after its first D.C.-area location — across the street from the Capital One Arena in D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood — closed after 16 years in business.
The New York-based restaurant chain serves classic Mexican fare, such as tacos, enchiladas, ceviche and fresh-made guacamole, in a colorful setting.
The Pentagon City location featured a bar with a long list of tequila- and agave-based cocktails, seating for 200 guests, a private dining room for events and an outdoor patio.
The chain still operates a local location — in National Harbor — as well as locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Hat tip to Angela Fox
There’s no better pairing than high-caloric food, cold drinks and the Super Bowl.
Spend your Super Bowl Sunday — next Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 — at one (or several) of these local bars and restaurants in Arlington, serving up food and drink specials all game long.
1. Astro Beer Hall
4001 Campbell Avenue, Shirlington
Astro Beer Hall’s Super Bowl special includes a $100 food package for four people, available for both dine-in and take-out. The food package comes with one order of pretzels, one order of mac and cheese bites, one order of loaded nachos, 25 chicken wings or tenders and six doughnuts or cookies.
Visit Astro Beer Hall for both inside and outside dining, a full arcade, signature cocktails, fresh fried doughnuts, 24 beers on draft and plenty of screens for you to cheer on your favorite team.
2. Punch Bowl Social
4238 Wilson Blvd, Ballston
Punch Bowl Social is offering drink specials and a scratch kitchen menu all game long during the Big Game Watch Party. Not interested in the big game? Punch Bowl Social offers other games too, including board games, ping pong, bowling, shuffleboard and more.
3. Clarendon Ballroom
3185 Wilson Blvd, Clarendon
Clarendon Ballroom’s Super Bowl watch party will feature a $25 bottomless Super bowl Buffet Station, an 18,000-watt sound system with game commentary, a 50-foot projector wall, a 20-foot TV Video Wall and all night drink specials, features, and giveaways. There will also be a private “tailgating: sections for reservation and a game area with cornhole, water pong and giant jenga.”
Doors open at 4 p.m. for the pregame party and super happy hour.
4. Crystal City Sports Pub
529 23rd Street S., Crystal City
Head to Crystal City Sports Pub for a third-level Super Bowl party. Tickets are required and are $60 each. Each ticket includes access to a 18ft video wall, pre-game buffet and a touchdown buffet. Beverages are additional.
A new burger restaurant with a novel take on contactless service is coming to Cherrydale.
A sign for Burger Billy’s Joint has been installed above a ground floor retail space at the condo building at 3800 Langston Blvd.
There are no specifics on when the burger joint might open, but a Facebook page associated with the restaurant says that “Burger Billy’s Joint is coming to the Cherrydale community in Arlington, VA, very soon!”
Burger Billy’s Joint promotes quick and simple service, locally sourced ingredients and “food lockers” to get customers “in and out quickly,” the restaurant’s website says. Customers can place their order and pick it up from the no-contact locker system or have it delivered through an app-based delivery service.
“We love and appreciate you but we know you’re busy,” the website says. “That’s why our restaurants are designed to get you in and out quickly. Our Food Locker system will ensure you get the correct order, fast!”
The burgers at Burger Billy’s Joint will be fresh and made-to-order, using ingredients from Virginia farms, including grass-fed beef from Cottonwood Ranch in Front Royal and fries and hot dogs from Winchester, the website says.
The burger joint will join L.A. Leaf, a CBD and vape shop which opened in 2023, and an existing ATM-only Chase Bank vestibule, in the building’s street-facing retail bays.
The condo building in Cherrydale has seen a few homegrown businesses open on the ground floor and gain popularity, only to close a few years later. Among them were tea house and foot-soaking “sanctuary” House of Steep, closed in 2018, and Gaijin Ramen Shop, which closed in 2022.
Photo via @alysonphoto/X
Falls Church may be pint sized compared to Arlington, but the Little City next door has the county beat handily in a new list of the region’s best restaurants.
Three Arlington restaurants appear in Washingtonian’s just-released 100 Very Best Restaurants list. Twice as many Falls Church restaurants appear in the same pages.
That’s despite solid Northern Virginia representation on the “Very Best” list.
“Some of the year’s coolest spots — Joon in Tysons, Ellie Bird in Falls Church, Kirby Club in Fairfax — debuted in the Virginia suburbs,” the magazine noted in its introduction. In all, 21 Virginia eateries were listed.
Those in Arlington are:
- Cafe Colline
- Ruthie’s All Day
- Padaek (which recently opened in Arlington and has another location in Seven Corners)
The six in Falls Church are:
