Stewart tells ARLnow.com that he has raised about $175,000 of the $400,000 to $500,000 he needs to bring the watering hole back to life. Having already sold interest-bearing investments, Stewart is now selling ownership shares in the new bar.
Stewart says that he has negotiated a purchase price for an existing business in Clarendon, and now just must raise enough money to get the new Dremo’s off the ground and running.
According to Arlington Police, the luxury SUV was stolen around 10:30 last night. Two men wearing masks and pointing guns approached the car after it pulled out of a driveway on the 1100 block of S. 18th Street. The men, described as in their late teens or early 20s, forced two women out of the car, stole their purses and drove off.
Just after noon today, the Porsche and two men — presumed to be the same suspects from last night — were involved in an armored car robbery at 16th and M Streets NW, just south of Scott Circle in the District. The men — one with a machine gun and the other with a 9 millimeter pistol — attempted to hold up a Brinks truck, according to initial reports. It’s unclear if they made off with any money.
The store was originally slated to open “mid-2011,” but that hoped-for opening has been pushed back due to an unexplained delay in applying for (and getting) the necessary permits and inspections. In May, a Trader Joe’s rep told ARLnow.com that the store is expected to open by the end of the year.
In addition to the building permit, Trader Joe’s has also received a zoning permit that will allow it to modify the building’s first floor facade (pictured) for use as a grocery store. The only other regulatory hurdles that remain, for now, concern the store’s fire prevention plan.
Just before adjourning for the summer, the County Board quickly and unanimously passed an item that did not appear on the board agenda. The item, a request to advertise public hearings, is the first step to passing a zoning amendment that would effectively prevent Walmart, Target and other large-format retailers (including certain supermarkets) from building stores without the Board’s prior approval.
The proposed zoning amendment advertised Tuesday night specifies that any building in a “C-1” or “C-2” commercial zone, with a “gross floor area of 50,000 square feet or more on any level” would be subject to prior approval by the County Board under a Special Exception Use Permit. The exception would also apply to buildings with 200 or more parking spaces. Under the current zoning ordinance, Walmart would be able to build a store on the Shirlington site “by right” — without Board approval — a source with knowledge of zoning issues tells us.
Barbara Favola’s state Senate campaign is defending a telephone poll that erroneously identified Democratic primary opponent Jaime Areizaga-Soto as a Republican.
The poll, conducted on behalf of the Favola campaign, asked residents negative questions about both candidates. In a statement, the Favola campaign said calling Areizaga a Republican was a “clerical error.”
This week’s Arlington County crime report contained an item seen only once or twice in the past year and a half. A couple was carjacked while parked in Pentagon City early Saturday morning.
CARJACKING, 07/09/11, 400 block of S. 12th Street. On July 9 at 1 am, a couple was sitting in a parked vehicle when two unknown men approached the car. The suspects opened the doors and demanded the victims exit. One suspect displayed a handgun and valuables were stolen from the victims. The suspects then drove off in the victim’s car. The car was later recovered in Maryland. The suspects were both African American men approximately 20 years old. One suspect was 5’9″, 140 lbs and wore a grey hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect was 5’5″, 140 lbs, and wore a grey hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
That’s a Lot of Rain — WJLA meteorologist Ryan Miller crunched the numbers and determined that about 587 million gallons of rainwater fell on Arlington during yesterday’s storms. [ABC7]
Single-Person Households in Arlington — In Arlington, 41 percent of households are occupied by a single person. That figure, from 2010 Census data, compares to the national average of about 25 percent. [Sun Gazette]
The ramp to northbound I-395 from the northbound HOV lanes is blocked due to a collapsed storm drain. Crews are on scene trying to repair the drain and reopen the roadway.
Drivers heading toward Capitol Hill via I-395 are advised to head into the District on the main line instead of the HOV lanes.
