Around Town

Running shoe shop in Pentagon City is at the starting line, looking to open next week

Specialty athletic shoe store Road Runner Sports is sprinting towards opening next week in Pentagon City.

It will be the first Arlington location for the running shoe retailer, with its next closest store being in Falls Church. It’s filling the 4,500 square-foot space at 1101 S. Joyce Street once occupied by Unleashed. The Petco off-shoot closed more than a year ago.

This is the store’s 42nd U.S. brick and mortar location.

“We’ve enjoyed serving customers in our Falls Church location and know our opening in Arlington will provide us with the opportunity to help even more consumers achieve their running, walking and fitness goals,” the company’s director of customer acquisition Sean Peterson tells ARLnow.

As part of its planned opening on Friday, Feb. 25, the store is partnering with Project Sole, which will donate three dollars to the nonprofit Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) for every used or unwanted shoe collected. AHA helps provide free adaptive bikes to children with permanent physical disabilities.

The store was first announced in October. Back in November, a spokesperson for Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns Westpost, told ARLnow that Road Runner was on track for May or “possibly earlier.” It appears the shoe store will end up opening several months sooner than expected, a rarity as supply chain woes delay many retail and restaurant openings.

Westpost, formerly known as Pentagon Row, is in the midst of a bit of a transformation, with a number of new businesses, restaurants, and stores moving in.

This includes Nighthawk Pizza, a beer and pizza hall with a “90s vibe,” which is aiming for a late March opening. The Baltimore-based Banditos Bar & Kitchen, at last check, is hoping to open by April.