A-Town Bar & Grill Sets Aug. 1 Opening Date

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by ARLnow.com July 17, 2012 at 11:15 am 7,103 133 Comments

Update on 8/3/12 — The opening is now scheduled for Aug. 10.

A-Town Bar & Grill — the re-branded and remodeled incarnation of Caribbean Breeze — is hoping to open on August 1, a co-owner tells us.

Located at 4100 Fairfax Drive in Ballston, A-Town Bar & Grill will feature an expanded beer list; an “eclectic” menu including sushi, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and steaks; a redone outdoor patio; and lots of flat screen TVs.

Scott Parker, a partner in the new restaurant along with existing owner Mike Cordero and his son, Nick, says crews are working hard to get the eatery ready for a hoped-for August 1 opening.

“We’re on a tight schedule,” he said in an email. “The construction crews are working like crazy.”

Flickr pool photo by Maryva2

JamesE

This could work if it was actually a parody of most Arlington bars.
- Captain Pup McPuppo
  
  LOL just imagining this right now
  - VaGurl
    
    best idea for a bar ever. im imagining a Chotchkies version of all the douchey bars…
    - JamesE
      
      They could have “dbag mondays” and other type of drink specials.
    - Typing Dogs
      
      They could have a dress code requiring that your collar be “popped”….
    - WeiQiang
      
      Imagine the opportunities for flair.
  - drax
    
    Could be a cult thing. Everyone shows up in brown flip flops etc. ArlNow happy hour.
- JohnB2
  
  That’s the only way the absurd name would be justifiable.
- newty25
  
  A-town makes even the douchey bars around here look acceptable. This has to be a front for laundering money. I’ve had talks with many friends and absolutely no one that I’ve talked to is interested in visiting that place.
Me

I’m sad to see Caribbean Breeze go. They were always so busy.. why the change??
- Cakes
  
  It was definitely my favorite Billy Ocean song…
  - Caribbean Queen
    
    oooh … so close
nunya

A-Town?
- JamesE
  
  Should have called it Bro-Town or Trev-Town
  - nunya
    
    FRED TERP-TOWN
    
    FRED TERP
    - JamesE
      
      FREDTERP
      - Grindr
        
        GRINDRTOWN
    - Boom! Roasted
      
      lol
- Me
  
  A-Town is what us natives call Arlington .. You know, the ones that actually grew up here
  - Observer
    
    Completely wrong.
    - Zip
      
      Completely right actually. Are you over 50?
      - WL95
        
        Nobody from here says that dude. It’s a stupid label that all the transplant bro’s invented.
      - 95?
        
        If you graduated in 95, u are probably a little older than most bars in Arlington are targeting anyway.
      - Me
        
        I’m not a transplant “bro” .. I grew up here, lived here my entire life and graduated in ’95. Everyone I know calls it A-Town.
      - WL95
        
        Yeah right. Calling BS on this. You probably work at this bar. Nice little way to come on this blog and get your buddies to legitimize the silly made up name.
      - Me
        
        Really? Did I somehow offend you and how you are not knowledgable about Arlington info? I’m from the southside, which totally makes your Northside douchebag mentality make sense…I’m upset Caribbean Breeze is gone (see earlier post) . I do not plan on going to the new place at all .. does that make your ego feel better?
      - Boss
        
        Yup. I grew up in McLean, but everyone i know from Arlington calls it A-Town. No idea if this bar will be good or not, but anyone who says “Nobody from here says that dude” is simply old and out of touch. You might be better off at Jay’s Saloon or something
      - Me
        
        Funny thing is… I’m probably the same age. Class of ’95 and I knew what A-Town meant.
      - WL95
        
        How young do you have to be to call it A-town? My brother is 21, he says none of his friends say that. Are you 16 or something?
      - Me
        
        I’m 34 ….
      - Boss
        
        Everyone I know is generally 24-30, not sure what rock ur little bro lives under
      - North A-Town Snob
        
        I completely back your statement 100%…I said the same thing a few weeks back when the initial article about the change of name to Caribbean Breeze was written and other posters said nobody called Arlington “A-Town” but I know myself and my friends and classmates who grew up here definitely called it A-Town. Hence why when I started posting here occasionally a year or so ago I used A-Town in my user name. Just because some of the other posters say that “nobody” calls it that, well I hate to burst their know it all mentality, but obviously some people do refer to it as A-Town, including those of us who grew up here. Now whether that is a good name for a restaurant/bar or not, really makes no difference to me as I never went there before and probably still won’t go now.
      - Me
        
        And btw, I never said I liked the name of the bar. I merely said that I knew what it meant. I dont’ plan on going there either because I liked the old place much better. We don’t need another ATR around here.
      - WL95
        
        Plenty of people use it. They say it all the time. But it’s not people who grew up here that thought it up.
      - Me
        
        And how did you become the Know All of Arlington Lingo History?
      - Norht A-Town Snob
        
        WL95 – If it is not people who grew up here that thought A-Town up or call it that, how come there are those of us who are posting that did grow up here and said they have always called it that? And I grew up here and was in high school in the 80’s so am probably 10 years older than you are if you graduated high school in 95. I actually picked up the term A-Town from my older brother and his friends who graduated high school in the early 80s. I’ve lived all of my post college life in Arlington and was out at the Clarendon bars (probably far too many nights a week) throughout the 90’s and 2000’s and again heard plenty of people referring to Arlington as A-Town. Stupid arguement really, but again, just because you don’t call it something, doesn’t mean that others who did grow up here must not have called it that too.
      - Clarendon Lover
        
        Completely agree. Grew up in Lyon Village area, attended Swanson MIddle School and Washington-Lee. I’m 32 and a dying breed of actual born and raised Arlingtonians that still reside in the area. While I and my friends now have a few more graying hairs, we still affectionately refer Arlington as, “A-Town”. Always have, always will.
      - ballsteve
        
        So the new bar is targeting the 45-55 year old native Arlingtonians. This should work well….
      - Me
        
        If you read the comments correctly, everyone ranging from 24-50ish have responded.
      - Yup YHS ’03
        
        I’m not saying it wasn’t tacky as hell… and I can’t say who ACTUALLY “came up” with the term, but I went to YHS graduating in 2003, and I have a lot of photos with captions like “A-town crew”, etc. because honestly it was short and catchy on a photo caption or a note to a friend or in a text… people can get pissed and say “no one FROM Arlington calls it that” but that’s almost as ignorant as the people who say no one is actually FROM Arlington. Just dumb. But hey if it makes you feel good to be smarter than everyone because your friends are just SO cool and never said that term, then congrats, you’re awesome guy… Enjoy it! Just enjoy it without making blanket (untrue) statements. Thanks.
      - Hurley
        
        I grew up here too, as did my 8 siblings and my closest friends. None of us have ever called it this and never will. I’m pretty sure my Dad (who also grew up here) would beat my if I called it this. Hell I’d beat myself.
      - WeiQiang
        
        I don’t care how old you are or where you grew up, if it’s not in the ArlNow Blue Book, it doesn’t exist.
      - drax
        
        Nobody calls South Arlington “southside” either.
      - 5555624
        
        Other than you and a couple of people here, I don’t know anyone who calls it A-Town. Oh, I grew up here, lived here my entire life, and graduated in ’80.
      - yards555
        
        I was born in Arlington, grew up here, graduated from Washington Lee in 2005. People called it A-Town then. They call it A-Town now.
      - Robert A Buoy
        
        I kind of think less of Arlington now that I know they came up with that stupid name.
      - Hurley
        
        WL 05 too, maybe I wasn’t cool (I wasn’t) but who the hell called it this? Wasn’t that around the Lil John phase? You sure folks weren’t just referring to Atlanta?
      - Hurley
        
        WL 05 too, maybe I wasn’t cool (I wasn’t) but who the hell called it this? While I heard it used a few times I’m pretty certain I never it used in a non-joking way. Wasn’t that around the Lil John “A-Town, yeaaahhh ohhh kayy” phase? You sure folks weren’t just referring to Atlanta?
      - Hurley
        
        I’m going to reply to this a third time just for the hell of it. Everything’s better in 3’s.
      - yards555
        
        Sorry Hurley…we didn’t have the heart to tell you then…but it was because you were too uncool.
        
        For the record…we didn’t “create it.” It’s clearly a joke off of Atlanta calling themselves Atown.
  - steve
    
    I remember A-Town when it was just a hole in the ground.
    - WeiQiang
      
      Then that would make it “A-hole”?
      - Jackson
        
        That would be the residents who call it “A-Town.”
      - steve
        
        They would be “a-holier” than thou.
  - Justin Russo
    
    Obviously *some* people do call Arlington by that name, but it has nothing to do with where you were born or how long you’ve lived here.
  - JohnB2
    
    I grew up in Annandale and we called it A-Town (and Actiondale and Annandull). I had never heard of Arlington being called A-town until ARLnow arrived.
    - Arl4ist
      
      The name was obviously stolen from my friends who always referred to Clarendon as C-Town.
      - Norht A-Town Snob
        
        We always called Clarendon Grill “C-Grill” so C-Town would be fitting. JohnB2 – too funny, I haven’t heard Annandale referred to as Actiondale since my high school days when we would hit the occasional Annandale house party. Or Funfax for Fairfax. (Obviously enough to all of us that we were calling them that in jest because we felt nothing beat the A-Town parties…O’Connell parties in particular)
      - drax
        
        It’s French. Pronounced uh NON duh lay.
  - herpderp
    
    Lived here all 30+ years of my life
    Dad has lived here all 60 of his
    Grandparents lived here all 80 years of theirs
    
    Not once in my life have I heard the phrase A-town until this blog
Mike

This may very well be the dumbest name of any bar, ever.
- blah
  
  Word on the street is that O-Town will be playing the first night.
  - VaGurl
    
    they should have “liquid dream” as their signature drink…
- MC 703
  
  Dumbest argument ever
blah

sushi, flatbreads, sandwiches, beer list….sounds as generic as American Tap Room..
Cakes

A-TOWN, BRAH! LETS DO THIS!!!
Allie

I’d feel better if the logo itself didn’t look like it was created in 1987. That office building is bland enough, but the logo design is really not helping get rid of the “this place belongs in Office Space” vibe.
- Paul
  
  So true. Felt the same way about Caribbean Breeze or whatever — that was enough to scare me away from ever visiting. If an establishment has not even the bare minimum taste in securing signage, I won’t cry for their demise.
ballsteve

It is impossible to take this place seriously.
novasteve

Wow, maybe we can have every bar in Arlington just merge into one given they are all the same thing anyways?
meh

When is this website changing its name to “A-TownNow”?
Tre_Vick

Great another place to get a $6 Bub Light !!!
- novasteve
  
  I could prove how high status I am if I could spent even more on a bud light! It shows I’m sophisticated and have money to burn showing off!
  - mark
    
    No one would ever mistake you for sophisticated, Steve.
  - drax
    
    “Lawyers” make alot of money.
feh

sushi, flatbread pizza, steaks, and sandwiches? reminds me of the “babu” episode of seinfeld. too many options. i give it 9 months, at best. and no one calls arlington “A-Town” except transplant douche bros and i guess, apparently, local dipsh*ts who never left. jesus, arlington sucks. black hole devoid of culture, life, and originality.
- novasteve
  
  Look on the brightside feh, you won’t be able to get froyo or cupcakes there.
- Sammy the Rat
  
  feh, you just insulted people who come to Arlington, and people who grew up there. You must be from Mannass-hole
- Allie
  
  So, don’t live here?
- TJLinBallston
  
  Don’t let the screen door slap your ass, and all that. It’s expensive to live here. Why bother if you don’t like it? Pack your bags and go seek paradise. Even though you openly hate my home, I will agree with you that no one has ever called my beloved Arlington “A-Town,” ever! Not ever…until this ridiculous new place showed up. It looks like a Dollar Store!
Tre

Needs more signage.

p.s. I need to change my comment name… it’s too close to Trevor (and Tre_Vick?). Now I know how all the kids named Osama feel.
- Vor
  
  Me too.
- JohnB2
  
  Definite overkill on the signs, hopefully those are just temporary covers of the CB signs.
  - Brian
    
    Don’t worry, those are permanent, ha!
- BangBrahs
  
  Pump those brakes. You’re good bro.
ToeMac

Was P-Town already taken? Am I the only one thinking this place sounds like Arlington’s straightest gay bar?

“If we can’t go to Town we might as well go to A-Town!”

(For those that don’t know Town is one of the larger gay clubs in DC.)

As for the use of the term. I’ve lived in Arlington for over a decade, and DC area since 92, and have never heard anyone refer to it as A-Town. Not that it matters what people refer to the area as. Or should that be A-Rea?
- Clarendon Lover
  
  @ToeMac: I’m not surprised you’ve never heard it. I suppose it’s more of a local and understood “nod” to the area. I, or my friends, never actually use it in common conversation besides the occasional ribbing.
- you’re judging
  
  i’ve been to town. don’t judge me
Sherriff Gonna Getcha

as long as we can still meet here before we get on the boomerang bus to pretend we are still fratastic, I dont care what its called
- BangBrahs
  
  I have my first hosting bus gig this Friday. Meeting at Goodys, then going to 3Amys, Comet Ping Pong and Pi.
- GiveItTime
  
  Sherriff…you’re actually going to grace the place with your presence? I thought you were so above this whole scene?
Boom! Roasted

I strongly suspect that “A-Town” is probably used by a wide range of people for numerous towns, cities, etc.
- Arlingtoon
  
  It is. If you check out the Urban Dictionary there are 44 entries. Arlington, Virginia is but one. The most common is Atlanta, Georgia, but there are “A-Towns” from all over the world listed there.
Alex

Sounds like an interesting place!
Faye Jissette

Will go great with the A-Whole Foods.
novasteve

Maybe Remy can make a song about how all of the bars in “A-town” are all exactly the same?
LibraryLady

I imagine that A-Town is going to attract a lot of A-holes.

We don’t need more bars (or fro-yo, pizza, or cupcakes). Clarendon is crammed full of places to meet those needs. It’s a shame that a “different” restaurant such as Caribbean Breeze had to go.
- Jane-Dallas
  
  This is in Ballston, so your point is…?
  - QuangTri1967
    
    A lot of A-holes, probably.
  - CA
    
    Oh SNAP! You served her straight up!
CW

Caribbean Breeze used to have cornhole tournaments. Now they can call them a-hole tournaments.
- JamesE
  
  They could create a brand new variation of the game for North Arlington yuppies where instead of tossing bean bags, tiny dogs are thrown into holes.
  - feh
    
    yes, i love it.
craig

i wish it was called O Town
- TJ
  
  Or O-Face
karzai

I have no clue whatsoever as to what distinguishes this new incarnation from any of the other sports bar/bar/restaurant formulations that overpopulate the rest of the corridor.

I did like the cuisine of Caribbean Breeze. As to this new thing: I can stay in Clarendon and do just as well, if not better. So count me out…
- Karzai’s Mammy
  
  As long as they post their hours, you will have nothing to complain about.
  - karzai
    
    I don’t think I was complaining, was I?
- drax
  
  When exactly is this place open, Karzai? Don’t be rude and not tell us.
  - karzai
    
    They’re open when you grow up.
    - drax
      
      You reset the clock AGAIN. You just can’t resist.
Remi’s Boy

I’ll go when they open Clizzle Dizzle.
Loggie

It seems like people are always complaining about new bars/restaurants that open up in Arlington and they are all the same. If you had the money to open up a bar and/or bar/restaurant what would you do? I hear a lot of complaining but no solutions.
- Novanglus
  
  I’d wait until half these places go out of business and the landlords lower the rents again, and then I’d re-open one of the places that couldn’t survive the overly optimistic rent escalations.
  - karzai
    
    That’s where my bagel place comes in…
- JohnB2
  
  There is a discussion on the forums about that right now. The current contenders are a real biergarten and a country place.
  
  If you read back through the articles, every time one of these opening/closing/renaming articles comes up, there are plenty of suggestions of what is needed here in Arlington. For restaurants, everyone seems to want a seafood place.
Wow

Woooooow…hi haters
Mc

They didn’t say anything about serving wings. It must be an oversight.
TJLinBallston

They forgot tapas and take-out coffee. Might as well sell lottery tickets.
Harry

Never trust a place with both sushi AND pizza on the menu.
- TJ
  
  Like Harris Teeter, or the Ballston Food Court.
  - Observer
    
    What is the deal with that sushi place in the food court? I see a fair amount of attractive women getting take out from there. It seems so sketchy to me.
    - drax
      
      Attractive women eating sushi is sooo sketchy.
- drax
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi_pizza
Drunk_IrishChick

I hope there doormen are as hot as the ones at Osullivans!!
- karzai
  
  Its “their” doormen, not “there” doormen. I enjoy your airing your sexual needs and desires on arlnow.com. I will try to hire hot doormen (and women) when I open my bagel place.
  - nom de guerre
    
    Do you still plan to hire Richard Cranium to make the holes in your bagels?
    - Jonah Falcon
      
      Hire me! You’ll lose less dough on the bagel.
drax

Another perfectly good restaurant ruined by TVs.
YTK

When they’re done, put em to work on “Bronx Pizza”
Suzie

GREATEST BRANDING MISTAKE OF ALL TIME!!!!

I can’t wait for bro night and brown flip flop day.
cj

ok ok all you mo fo’s that dont like it DONT GO!!!!! simple as that. and all the people that wanna go and check it out, i will see you there……. HATERS, stop all the f’ in hatin. i’d like to think that as adults you can figure it out. sheesh
Atown Stay Down

A-Town is Atlanta you Morons

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