A restaurant, brewery and ax throwing venue plans to open in what is currently the ground floor of Barnes & Noble at The Crossing Clarendon.
Three Notch’d Brewing Company is expected to open in 2026 as the bookstore consolidates into its upper level at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, April Laney, a senior leasing agent for property owner Regency Centers, told ARLnow.
Three Notch’d — a Charlottesville-based brewery producing beers and canned cocktails that are sold at several Arlington locations — has signed a lease to take up 10,160 square feet of the ground floor space, Laney said. A second, as-yet unnamed tenant will fill a 2,659 square foot space on the same floor.
The brewery plans to install a kitchen, a full taproom, a whiskey distillery and an ax throwing area, Three Notch’d CEO George Kastendike told ARLnow.
“We’re very passionate about crafting unique beverages in Virginia for folks that live and travel through the Commonwealth,” he said. “We needed a place that would be in the heart of everything, but also offer enough square footage for us to implement all of these individual components of the entire experience.”
The space is also slated to host a liquor store, where customers can purchase bottles of the company’s whiskey and bourbon to take home.
This will be the second Three Notch’d location that includes on-site ax throwing, an activity that nods to the brand’s historical Virginian name.
“We do that down in Nelson County, Virginia, and to great fanfare,” Kastendike said. “It’s a huge attraction, and it’s very on brand for us.”
In terms of food, Three Notch’d locations typically serve classic bar fare including burgers, pretzels and parmesan garlic fries.
Meanwhile, the Barnes & Noble, which has been in Clarendon two decades, will shrink to the remaining 14,041 square feet above the brewery. Regency Centers plans to install a new elevator and escalator connecting downstairs patrons to a bookselling space described as “cozy and arranged to encourage browsing,” according to a press release.
“The best thing that we can do up there is be an awesome neighbor, and just see if there’s a fit for Barnes & Noble customers to take in our experience, and vice versa,” Kastendike said.
Barnes & Noble’s corporate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Employees at the store told ARLnow they were not aware of the planned changes.
Construction on Three Notch’d is expected to begin sometime in 2025 and wrap in the second or third quarter of 2026, we’re told. In the meantime, the bookstore “will stay in the total space until we have our permits in hand,” Laney said.
“They will be there through the holiday season, for sure,” she said.
In advance of the planned addition of Three Notch’d, The Crossing adopted a new open container policy last weekend. Drinks purchased from Seamore’s, Colada Shop, and Lifetime Café can be taken to designated common areas and into certain participating stores.
Barnes & Noble is not among those participating.
This story has been updated to more accurately reflect how long Barnes & Noble has been in Clarendon.
