Plans for a new juice bar across from the Ballston Metro station are moving forward despite the arrest of one of its co-founders earlier this month.
Signs advertising Paradise Juice Bar have recently appeared at 4219 Fairfax Drive, where co-founders Saleh Salim and Sam Ahmed have planned the business since last summer. The juice shop still intends to open within the next month, following Salim’s March 18 arrest as local authorities investigated a regional drug trafficking ring.
Salim is one of three men charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering following a multi-agency investigation into more than a dozen Northern Virginia vape shops — mostly under the Tobacco King brand.
While Salim is out on bail and awaits a preliminary hearing on June 3, his business partner, Ahmed, still intends to open the juice bar within 30 days and will handle the day-to-day operations, property manager Joel Dinkins told ARLnow. It’s located next door to one of Salim’s Tobacco King locations — but the specific shop was not targeted during Fairfax County Police Department’s raids earlier this month.
At the shops, police confiscated an estimated $2 million in narcotics, $500,000 in cash and 40 pounds of “suspected mushroom-infused gummies.” This is in addition to unknown pills, suspected prescription medications, and hundreds of pounds of marijuana in various forms, including flowers, vape cartridges, pre-rolls and edibles.
In Virginia, possession of up to one ounce of marijuana is legal for adults age 21 and older; however, marijuana sales remain illegal. A bill awaiting approval by Gov. Abigail Spanberger would allow retail sales starting in 2027.
Not much is known about Paradise Juice Bar’s offerings, and the business is still awaiting a final inspection to receive an occupancy permit.
In August 2025, Salim told ARLnow the bar would offer fresh juices, smoothies, acai bowls and pastries. However, signs on the windows direct passerby to a website operated by a business of the same name in Santa Maria, Calif, with different branding materials.
Salim and Ahmed did not respond to requests for comment sent via the property’s management.
Paradise Juice’s future space was most recently home to Pizza Roma. Fast-casual pasta spot Scolapasta previously planned to open there last year before relocating to nearby Ballston Quarter.
