Morning Notes
Prince Harry Visits Arlington Nat’l Cemetery – Britain’s Prince Harry is visiting Arlington National Cemetery this morning as part of his two-day visit to the Washington area. The prince is expected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and to visit the burial area for military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. [NBC Washington]
Now Official: Whole Foods to Pentagon City — Whole Foods has made it official and signed a deal with Vornado to open a 37,000 square foot store in on the ground floor of a planned 700-unit apartment building in Pentagon City. The store will be the company’s second in Arlington, and is expected to open in 2017. [Washington Business Journal]
Wieners Added to Testicle Festival – The Fairfax County-based Top Dog food truck has been recruited to serve hot dogs at next weekend’s Montana State Society Testicle Festival in Virginia Square. Jed Link, an organizer of the event, called the combination of Rocky Mountain Oysters and hot dogs “a culinary reunion that’s guaranteed to entertain.”
Flickr pool photo by Martin Humm
Developer In Negotiations to Bring Whole Foods to Pentagon City
Developer Vornado is in negotiations to bring a new Whole Foods grocery store to Pentagon City.
The store would located on the ground floor of Vornado’s planned Metropolitan Park apartment building at the corner of S. Eads Street and 12th Street. The building, currently in the Site Plan Review stage, will replace a dilapidated warehouse and is part of a larger effort to turn 12th Street into a mixed-use commercial corridor.
Vornado’s Metropolitan Park building will the fourth in the overall Metropolitan Park development. The development will also result in an extension of 12th Street between Eads Street and Fern Street. Vornado’s planned, 2 million square foot PenPlace office and hotel development will be located across the future 12th Street, which is now a pedestrian path.
Met Park 4-5, as the Vornado apartment building is being called in planning documents, is expected be up to 22 stories tall, with two connected towers, and will contain just shy of 699 apartments. A 37,000 square foot grocery store space on the ground floor is being incorporated into the building with the express purpose of attracting Whole Foods, though no lease or letter of intent has been signed yet, we’re told.
An official with the Crystal City Business Improvement District told us the organization is “thrilled” with the prospect of bringing Whole Foods to the area. Currently, Whole Foods’ only location is the perpetually-crowded Clarendon store at 2700 Wilson Boulevard.
Developers hope the building plan will go before the County Board at some point mid-2013. No word yet on how long construction would take.
Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser
Clarendon Whole Foods to Add New ‘Arlington Pub’
The Whole Foods Market at 2700 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon is building a new “beer room” overlooking the store.
The “Arlington Pub” will be located on the second floor area of the store and will offer local draft beers, wine by the glass, bottled craft beer, growlers and an organic coffee bar in a “pub style atmosphere.” The pub will also offer “tasty nibbles” for patrons. All beer will come from a 200 mile radius.
Whole Foods is planning a grand opening celebration for the pub on Thursday, Sept. 20. The event, which is open to the public, will feature raffles, beer mug giveaways, beer and food tastings, and meet and greets with brewery representatives.
“Pull up a stool, fill up a mug and join Whole Foods Market Arlington in celebrating the official opening of Arlington Pub,” the store said in an invitation to the event.
The coffee bar will open at 8:00 a.m. daily, and the pub will remain open until 9:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy Erin Johnson
Man Accused of Sex Assault in Clarendon Whole Foods
(Updated at 11:05 p.m.) A D.C. man is in jail after police say he sexually assaulted a woman in the Clarendon Whole Foods and masturbated in a police interview room.
The alleged crime took place inside the store, on the 2700 block of Wilson Boulevard, at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday. According to the police report, a female shopper had bent down to retrieve a bottle of wine when the man — 24-year-old Frank Alex Bouknight — came up behind her and placed his hand between her legs and on her genitalia. Bouknight then laughed and walked away, police say.
Bouknight fled the area in a bus, but then returned and was located by police sleeping on a public bench in front of the nearby Barnes and Noble store, four hours after the assault, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Police found “hardcore pornography” magazines inside Bouknight’s backpack, Sternbeck said.
Bouknight’s alleged sexual misconduct continued when he was brought back to police headquarters.
“Once in the police interview room, the subject repeatedly masturbated,” according to the crime report.
Bouknight was charged with sexual battery. He is being held without bond.
Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department
Fall-Themed Events Planned in Clarendon
Clarendon seems to be a hotbed of fall-themed events over the next week.
Tomorrow (Oct. 22), from noon to 2:00 p.m., the Whole Food Market in Clarendon (2700 Wilson Blvd) will be hosting AppleFest — a “harvest tasting event” devoted entirely to apples.
“From juicy and aromatic apples to those that are fine textured, families and apple-enthusiasts can welcome the new fall season while sampling a variety of tasty apples and enjoying its culinary and crafty delight,” Whole Foods said in a press release. Planned activities include cooking demonstrations, crafts, tastings and an apple scavenger hunt.
Next Saturday (Oct. 29), the Market Common shopping center in Clarendon (2700 Clarendon Blvd) — across from Whole Foods — will be hosting its annual FALLoween event.
The free, family-friendly event will feature a petting zoo, a kids circus, face painting, sidewalk chalking, a comedy show, a DJ and other live entertainment. Plus, there will be trick-or-treating for the kids at a number of stores and each attendee will have the opportunity to take home a free pumpkin.
FALLoween is being held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Costumed people and pets are also invited to join a FALLoween parade, which kicks off at 11:30 a.m.
Also on Saturday, Oct. 29, Doorways for Women and Families will be organizing a Howl-O-Ween Dog Walk for the Homeless.
From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., dog owners are encouraged to dress up their pooches and bring them to the James Hunter dog park for a mini-walk to support Doorways. The park is located at the corner of N. Herndon and 13th Streets in Clarendon.
“All human participants will help Doorways to reach our walker goal for the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon, while our animal participants will get the chance to compete for prizes from local pet store merchants, including Wylie Wagg and Kissable Canine,” Doorways said on its website.
Registration for the walk is $30 for adults and $20 for youth 25 and under. Pets are free.
Morning Notes
Greene Turtle Coming to Ballston — Sports bar The Greene Turtle is coming to Ballston later this year. The restaurant has signed a lease for a 7,000 square foot space on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech Research Center (900 N. Glebe Road). [Washington Business Journal]
New Apartment Complex Coming to Ballston — A new 150-unit apartment complex called The Crimson on Glebe is coming to Ballston. The five-story mixed-use building will be located across from Ballston Common Mall at the corner of Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road. Owners are hoping to wrap up construction by mid-2013. [CoStar Group]
Buck-a-Burger Sale at Whole Foods — Get ready for your Fourth of July cookout with the Buck-a-Burger deal at Whole Foods. Today only the Clarendon Whole Foods is offering eight varieties of burger patties for $1 each. (They’re normally $2.) [Clarendon Culture]
Remy ‘Dissed’ in Video — A pair going by the names of Barack Flobama and St. Fatrick have released a music video “dissing” Arlington Rap guy Remy Munasifi. [YouTube]
Who Will Tow the Tow Truck?
(Updated at 6:00 p.m.) A reader sent us these photos, taken today at the intersection of N. Edgewood Street and Wilson Boulevard.
The tipster said he spotted an Advanced tow truck idling in a no parking zone close to the intersection, in front of the Clarendon Whole Foods. Upon closer inspection, he says he noticed that the driver was asleep and the engine was running. The truck sat there “for at least 45 minutes,” hindering the ability of Edgewood Street drivers to see cars and pedestrians coming up Wilson Boulevard, according to the tipster.
“If I did this I’d be towed,” he declared.
Popular Chef Leaves Clarendon Whole Foods
Tuesday night cooking classes are on hold at the Clarendon Whole Foods (2700 Wilson Blvd) while the store looks for a new chef.
Chef Michael Kiss, who has been profiled in local blogs and on local TV, left the store for a position at a Whole Foods in Rockville, Md.
The Clarendon store is now searching for Kiss’ replacement.
Photo courtesy Stacey Viera
Whole Foods Cooking Classes Back for 2011
The Whole Foods Market in Clarendon (2700 Wilson Blvd) is gearing up for another year of free cooking classes with in-house chef Michael Kiss.
On the menu for January are two vegetarian classes and a how-to for curried lamb. The classes are held from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Seating is limited. Interested cooks are asked to reserve a spot by emailing michael.kiss[at]wholefoods.com with the subject line “Cooking Class.”
See the list of January classes after the jump.
Flickr pool photo by Erin Johnson
To Do Tonight: Spruce Up Your Salads
Via Every Food Fits, we learn that Michael Kiss, resident chef at the Clarendon Whole Foods, will be teaching a class on whole grain salads tonight. What are whole grain salads? Well…
We all know that we need to incorporate more whole grains into our diets, although in practice it can be overwhelming and frustrating. Chef Kiss will showcase light and flavorful vegetarian salads, great for summer entertaining at patio dinners and picnics!
The class will start at 7:00 and run 30-50 minutes. It’s free and you don’t have to RSVP, but arriving early is recommended.
Whole Foods’ free cooking lessons are a weekly event. See some of the upcoming classes here.
Volunteer Opp: Storm Drain Marking
Did you know that all of Arlington’s storm drains empty directly into local streams and waterways? Many people do not, which is part of the reason why 50-100 cases of stream contamination are reported each year.
To help reduce that number, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and Whole Foods are teaming up to put “Don’t Dump” markers on neighborhood storm drains.
The project is taking place this Saturday. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Clarendon Whole Foods (2700 Wilson Blvd) at 1:00 p.m. A light snack will be served at Whole Foods afterward.
Contact Jackie Zovko (jackie.zovko[at]wholefoods.com) for more information.
Profile: Whole Foods Store Chef Michael Kiss
The following is excerpted from the blog Every Food Fits.
A traditionally-trained chef, Michael Kiss dared to leave his traditional kitchen gig and, through his “friend named serendipity,” found his calling.
Five years ago he was living in Georgia, working as a chef and teaching cooking classes at a cookware shop, a job that he loved. Then, when his wife’s career moved them to Washington, D.C., Kiss took it as an opportunity to change his career.
Having worked with domestic artisan cheeses as they were gaining popularity at the turn of this century, he took his positive attitude to the cheese counter at the Silver Spring, Md., Whole Foods Market. “I went from executive chef in a restaurant to a $7-an-hour job in the cheese department.”
Kiss moved up the ranks within Whole Foods, moved to the Arlington store, and eventually, the “Store Chef” position was created for him. “When you have a passion,” Kiss said, “you find a way to do it.”
Nearly every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at 2700 Wilson Blvd., Kiss teaches basic cooking classes on the store’s second floor. Classes like “29 ½ Minute Meals,” “Cook Like a Chef” and others to help new cooks get comfortable with meal preparation while providing tips for the seasoned home cook.
“I used to write more complicated classes, but those were more intimidating,” Kiss said. “I teach the simple ABCs of cooking for people who need inspiration.”
Read the part one or part two of the interview in its entirety.
Photo courtesy Stacey Viera
