Author: Dan Egitto

Dan Egitto is an editor and reporter at ARLnow. Originally from Central Florida, he graduated from Duke University and previously reported at the Palatka Daily News in Florida and the Vallejo Times-Herald in California. Dan joined ARLnow in January 2024.

Around Town

New sauna and cold plunge seeks to open this winter on Wilson Blvd

By Dan Egitto
The planned site of Sauna Jungle at 5210 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A new Finnish-style sauna and cold plunge is seeking to open in the Bluemont neighborhood this winter.

Sauna Jungle, previously known as Arlington Sauna, has filed a building permit at 5210 Wilson Blvd with the goal of opening late this year or in early 2027.

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News

Clarendon redevelopment project expected to finish demolition next month

By Dan Egitto
Demolition of 3033 Wilson Blvd (staff photo)

A redevelopment project replacing a Clarendon office tower with an eight-story multifamily building is moving toward its next phase.

Developer Carr Properties is still on track to deliver over 300 units of housing at 3033 Wilson Blvd in early 2028, and demolition is expected to finish in August, a spokesperson told ARLnow.

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Around Town

Ember restaurant opening soon in Pentagon City, with dry-aged meats and ‘secret lounge’

By Dan Egitto
Signage for Ember at Westpost in August 2025 (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A high-end restaurant and bar with dry-aged meats, an extensive wine list and a series of curated rooms for dining and relaxing is preparing to open in Pentagon City.

Ember is looking toward a soft opening in late August at 1301 S. Joyce Street, followed by a grand opening in September, founder Nicholas Mounts told ARLnow. It brings food and drink inspired by European cuisines and five seating areas, including a VIP room, a banquet hall and a “secret lounge.”

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Around Town

‘Grazie Nonna’ Italian restaurant plans mid-2027 opening in Ballston

By Dan Egitto
Grazie Nonna's planned location at 4075 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

An incoming Italian restaurant in Ballston has posted signage and is moving forward with plans to open in about a year.

Grazie Nonna, a full-service restaurant inspired by the home cooking of its founder’s grandmother, hopes to open in mid-2027 at 4075 Wilson Blvd, a spokesperson told ARLnow. Signs direct visitors to the establishment’s Instagram and a newsletter for more updates.

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Around Town

Dunkin’ closes on Columbia Pike, leaving a void at gas station

By Dan Egitto
The former Dunkin' at 3100 Columbia Pike (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A convenience store on Columbia Pike has been left with a donut hole — and not the good kind.

Dunkin’ has cleared out of its longtime location at 3100 Columbia Pike, leaving a retail void in one half of the storefront at the Shell gas station.

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Around Town

Santa Rosa Taqueria plans to open at former Seamore’s spot in Clarendon

By Dan Egitto
The planned location of Santa Rosa Taqueria at 2815 Clarendon Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A D.C.-based taqueria and margarita bar is planning to move into the former home of Seamore’s in Clarendon.

The Crossing Clarendon’s website lists Santa Rosa Taqueria as coming to 2815 Clarendon Blvd, where Seamore’s seafood restaurant closed in November.

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News

Redesign of lanes on S. Four Mile Run Drive seeks to reduce speeding, add parking

By Dan Egitto
S. Four Mile Run Drive at the entrance to the DMV (via Google Maps)

Today (Wednesday) is the last day to submit feedback on a proposed revamp of a stretch of S. Four Mile Run Drive.

The concept design, which county staff have been working on since fall 2023, concerns a length of the road between S. George Mason Drive and S. Walter Reed Drive. It would reduce the width of painted medians and make vehicle lanes narrower in many places, in addition to adding parking lanes.

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News

Series of Arlington pellet attacks damage windows, send person to hospital

By Dan Egitto
File photo

Arlington police are investigating a series of attacks with a BB gun or pellet gun in recent days.

Two of the incidents damaged windows, and another sent a victim to the hospital for “serious, non-life threatening injuries,” according to preliminary incident reports from the Arlington County Police Department.

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Around Town

Ballston bagel battle begins with opening of Call Your Mother

By Dan Egitto
Call Your Mother at 4000 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

The first of three incoming bagel spots officially opened in Ballston today (Tuesday) with bright colors and big crowds.

Call Your Mother welcomed its first patrons at 4000 Wilson Blvd with free coffee cards and “Ballston-inspired stickers,” a spokesperson told ARLnow. This followed a soft opening yesterday, where the Arlington Chamber of Commerce surprised the new business with an impromptu ribbon cutting.

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News

Arlington’s top prosecutor plans to back assault weapons ban, despite pending lawsuits

By Dan Egitto, Angela Woolsey and The Associated Press
FILE - Assault style weapons and hand guns are displayed for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Despite pending legal challenges at the state and local level, Arlington prosecutors still consider Virginia’s new assault weapons ban the law of the land.

“Yes, we plan to prosecute cases under the assault weapons ban if they are brought to us by the police,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow, taking a position that tracks with the view of Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones.

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News

Courthouse hotel sold to become 180-unit multifamily building

By Dan Egitto
The current hotel at 1200 N. Courthouse Road (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A hotel in Courthouse has been sold for conversion into multifamily units, the latest in a series of adaptive reuse projects around the county.

Arlington Court Suites, a Clarion Collection hotel, will be closing at 1200 N. Courthouse Road following a $35 million sale to GoodHomes Communities, the real estate brokerage firm KLNB announced yesterday (Monday). The conversion project, which will turn 187 hotel rooms into 180 multifamily units, was approved by the Arlington County Board back in October 2020.

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News

House committee to compel testimony from Arlington’s top prosecutor in ongoing dispute

By Dan Egitto
Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti speaks (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

House Republicans are compelling Arlington’s top prosecutor to testify next week in a pair of ongoing disputes over politically charged topics.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is requiring Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to appear for a deposition on Thursday, July 16. This caps months of written clashes between the two officials — first over Dehghani-Tafti’s handling of a criminal case involving a political activist, and later over her policies restricting contact with immigration enforcement.

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