Author: Jared Serre

Jared Serre covers local business, public safety and breaking news across Local News Now's websites. Originally from Northeast Ohio, he is a graduate of West Virginia University. He previously worked with Law360 before joining LNN in May 2024.

Around Town

Stratford Garden restaurant and bar opens at former motel in Falls Church

By Jared Serre
Stratford Garden in Falls Church (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A new spot for bites and brews has opened in Falls Church, replacing a former motel.

Stratford Garden opened yesterday (Tuesday) at the long-vacant Stratford Motor Lodge at 300 W. Broad Street, abuzz with local officials including Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi.

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News

Arlington residents press lawmakers on Medicaid funding, affordable housing policy

By Jared Serre
Members of Arlington's state delegation listen to residents on Dec. 11 (photo via Arlington County Board)

Funding for Medicaid in Virginia and affordable housing on church-owned property were among Arlington residents’ priorities for state lawmakers at a meeting last week.

The pre-legislative meeting with Sens. Barbara Favola and Adam Ebbin, and Dels. Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez and Adele McClure, came ahead of the Virginia General Assembly session scheduled to begin on Jan. 14. Other topics of discussion ranged from expanding ranked-choice voting to an age verification law for pornography sites.

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Around Town

Christmas movie marathon at Arlington Drafthouse begins tomorrow

By Jared Serre
Arlington Cinema Drafthouse sign along Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A weeklong marathon of Christmas classics is taking over the big screen at Arlington Drafthouse starting tomorrow (Wednesday).

Every day through Tuesday, Dec. 23, the theater at 2903 Columbia Pike will be screening hits that run the gamut from “It’s a Wonderful Life” to “Die Hard.”

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Around Town

BGR: The Burger Joint closing next week in Lyon Village after 15 years

By Jared Serre
BGR: The Burger Joint in Lyon Village (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A popular burger restaurant is closing its doors next week after more than 15 years in Lyon Village.

BGR: The Burger Joint — which opened in 2010 at 3129 Langston Blvd, in the Lyon Village Shopping Center — will serve its final customers on Dec. 24, an employee told ARLnow. The corporate office for BGR did not respond to a request for comment.

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News

Jurors deadlock in case of W-L substitute teacher accused of sexual relations with a student

By Jared Serre
Booking photograph of Timothy McGhee, via ACPD, over a file image of Washington-Liberty HS

A mistrial has been declared in the case against a former substitute teacher accused of having a two-year sexual relationship with a Washington-Liberty High School student.

Prosecutors sought the mistrial last Thursday after a jury failed to deliver a unanimous verdict in the three-day trial of Timothy Thomas McGhee, defense attorney Damon D. Colbert told ARLnow. The 12-member jury was ultimately split 8-to-4 — forcing Chief Circuit Court Judge Judith L. Wheat to grant the motion and declare a mistrial.

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After cancer battle, Favola steps into role leading Senate health committee

By Jared Serre
State Sen. Barbara Favola (courtesy photo)

State Sen. Barbara Favola (D) is stepping into a new role as chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee on the other side of a recent battle with cancer.

When the Virginia General Assembly convenes in January, Favola, who announced in May that she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer, will be only two months removed from the end of chemotherapy treatments.

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Around Town

Medical spa and recovery center replacing Grand Cru in Ballston

By Jared Serre
The former Grand Cru Wine Bar & Bistro in Ballston on Thursday, Dec. 11 (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A new medical spa and wellness studio are coming to Ballston, taking over the location of a wine bar that closed last month.

McLean-based Evexia Med Spa plans to open a second location at 4301 Wilson Blvd — the former Grand Cru Wine Bar and Bistro space — alongside a new “recovery wellness center,” Evexia Bio Studio, Evexia Managing Partner Chirjeev Sawhney told ARLnow.

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Around Town

‘Arlington Sauna’ seeks to launch Finnish-style wellness spot in 2026

By Jared Serre
Steven and Kira Hu with their children (courtesy of Steven Hu)

A local couple is hoping to bring a new method of rest and relaxation to Arlington: Finnish saunas.

Entrepreneurs Steven and Kira Hu are currently scouting locations to launch Arlington Sauna, a “pop-up village” with wood fires and cold plunges based on a popular practice in Finland.

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Around Town

Arlington preschool seeks shoe donations to support families in need

By Jared Serre
The Children's School's shoe drive tracker (photo courtesy of the school)

An Arlington preschool is seeking donations of footwear to support families around the world.

The Children’s School is asking for “gently used, wearable shoes” in either adult’s or children’s sizes through Tuesday, Dec. 16.

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Around Town

Mae’s Market and Cafe closes in Pentagon City, making way for new Maman

By Jared Serre
The former Mae's Market and forthcoming Maman in Crystal City (staff photo by Jared Serre)

After just over a year in business, a Pentagon City cafe selling baked goods and lunch items has shuttered — apparently making way for another cafe.

The windows of Mae’s Market and Cafe are papered over at 1450 S. Eads Street with signs advertising another tenant: Maman, a New York City-based chain that opened its first Arlington location in Courthouse this fall.

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News

Man sentenced for setting fires at three Crystal City restaurants

By Jared Serre
Suspect in 23rd Street restaurant arsons, on a surveillance image of a fire being set at Freddie's Beach Bar (both via ACFD)

A man has been sentenced for setting fires at three restaurants in Crystal City earlier this year and reportedly trying to frame a past employer.

Timothy Clark Pollock last Friday received the maximum 10-year sentence for arson of an unoccupied building, but all but two and a half years is suspended, according to court records. The remaining years of Pollock’s sentence would apply if he violates the terms of his probation after his release.

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