Local Oyster in Ballston appears to have closed, after another seafood spot ran aground

The catch is a little bit less fresh in Ballston with the likely recent closing of another seafood spot.

The Local Oyster at Ballston Quarter appears to have ceased operations in recent weeks. Its former stall in the back right corner of the downstairs food hall is now dark and cleared out, with signs removed and the walls blank.

The Arlington location is also no longer listed on the website of the Baltimore-based restaurant.

ARLnow has reached out to the restaurant to confirm and ask why it closed, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

The Local Oyster first opened in Ballston over three years ago, in April 2019. It couched itself as “no frills seafood” that sourced oysters locally from southern Maryland.

Last month on Instagram, restaurant founder and co-owner Nick Shauman advocated for the replenishing of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and asked customers to reach out to a number of senators to help pass the bill.

“This is our last chance to save thousands of restaurants from closing their doors for good,” he said in the Instagram video.

The legislation ended up not passing.

Local Oyster isn’t the only seafood spot at Ballston Quarter to shutter over the past few months. Slapfish also closed its doors in late December, the franchise owners confirmed to ARLnow.

Slapfish, billing itself as “sexy” seafood, opened three years ago on the first level of the mall at 671 N. Glebe Road, near Chick-fil-A but otherwise a bit removed from the mall’s more highly-trafficked corridors. The restaurant chain was founded by Andrew Gruel, known for his occasional turns as a judge on food competition shows.

The Arlington location was owned by Raghu Reddy and several partners. They wrote to ARLnow in an email that they closed because of high rent and insufficient marketing by the mall.

“Landlord wants pre-COVID rent and has not promoted the mall,” they wrote. “There is no foot traffic and the rent was very high.”

There are no plans to open another Slapfish in Arlington.

A number of restaurants have opened at Ballston Quarter recently, including JINYA Ramen Bar and British cuisine purveyor Salt Pop Kitchen.