When the new Ballston Silver Diner opens, the Clarendon location will close.
Silver Diner is now planning to start serving at 750 N. Glebe Road in October 2022, a company spokesperson tells ARLnow. This is bit of push from its initial “summer 2022” debut that’s still being advertised on its storefront throughout construction.
When it does open, though, the long-time Silver Diner at 3200 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon will shutter after 26 years.
“The current Clarendon location will close the day after the new location opens,” a spokesperson said, confirming what has long been expected given redevelopment plans for the Clarendon site. “Their lease is ending so they’re moving as close as possible to their current location.”
The new Silver Diner is about a mile from the current location. What’s somewhat surprising, perhaps, is that it will shutter as soon as the new diner opens. The closure will make way for a new development that’s set to include a hotel, gym, and a 286-unit residential building.
The Ballston Silver Diner was first announced five years ago as part of the new Waycroft apartment building, which also includes a Target store that opened on the ground floor in the summer of 2020.
The new 6,700-square-foot restaurant is set to have a 68-seat outdoor cafe, which was just given a thumbs-up by the Arlington Planning Commission this month.
While last year’s application noted that “the applicant anticipates operating the restaurant 24 hours a day,” the spokesperson said this won’t be the case. The Ballston restaurant will keep the same hours as the Clarendon location, which operates 21 hours a day — from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. — on Fridays and Saturdays, while closing 2-3 hours earlier on other days of the week.
“Many restaurants apply for permitting for longer hours, just in case anything changes in future but none of the Silver Diner restaurants operate 24 hours,” the spokesperson wrote.
The outdoor seating, meanwhile, will be open “seasonally.”
Construction is ongoing at the future diner, with fences protruding into the sidewalk and wires dotting the side of the building.