Author: Katie Taranto

Katie Taranto is a reporter at Local News Now, primarily covering business, public safety and the city of Falls Church. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2024, where she previously covered K-12 education at The Columbia Missourian. She is originally from Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Around Town

Inspira Dance opens new dance hall in Ballston this Saturday

By Katie Taranto
An Inspira Dance event (courtesy of Inspira Dance)

An Arlington nonprofit that hosts dance lessons and community events plans to celebrate the grand opening of a new dance hall this weekend.

Inspira Dance is opening this Saturday on the second level of Ballston Quarter at 4238 Wilson Blvd, across from Onelife Fitness. The nonprofit — previously operating as an event pop-up at various local businesses — has planned a lineup of dancing activities throughout the night to celebrate the new space, starting with a bachata class at 7 p.m.

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Around Town

Iranian restaurant on Langston Blvd faces delays, citing maintenance and permitting issues

By Katie Taranto
5009 Langston Blvd (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Plans to open a new Iranian restaurant on Langston Blvd continue to face delays, six years after a local entrepreneur first sought to open a restaurant in the space.

Restaurateur Mohammad Esfahani has been trying to open a business at 5009 Langston Blvd since 2019, when he announced plans to open an All About Burger location and hookah lounge there. He has since pivoted to pursue an Iranian restaurant, Kolbeh (formerly Alvand) which he originally hoped to open in April 2025.

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Events

Yacht-themed summer kickoff party will return to Shirlington in June

By Katie Taranto
Last year's Yacht Party in Shirlington (courtesy of the Village at Shirlington)

The Village at Shirlington is planning to host another yacht-themed party this June to kick off the summer season.

The neighborhood is bringing back last year’s nautical bash “by popular demand.” Guests are invited to dress up and partake in the neighborhood shopping center’s sip and stroll policy, while enjoying live yacht rock and dining specials around 2700 S. Quincy Street.

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Around Town

A third rival enters Ballston bagel battle as PopUp Bagels announces opening plans

By Katie Taranto
PopUp Bagels signage at the former Which Wich storefront in Ballston (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

PopUp Bagels is rolling into Ballston, joining an unusually crowded field of friendly bagel rivals in the neighborhood that had previously gone years without any such businesses.

The national bagel franchise, known for its unique “rip and dip” approach, confirmed it is planning a new shop at 4300 Wilson Blvd, where Which Wich closed. It’s a carb-heavy coincidence, as the storefront — now decked out in PopUp Bagels’ branded signs — is located within a mile of two other incoming bagel shops: Call Your Mother (4000 Wilson Blvd) and Bagel Uprising (901 N. Glebe Road).

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Around Town

Barnes & Noble to reopen next month in Clarendon, smaller than before

By Katie Taranto
Barnes & Noble in Clarendon (courtesy of Barnes & Noble)

Barnes & Noble is getting ready to reopen after a year of renovations in Clarendon, consolidating the previously two-level bookstore into just the second floor.

The bookstore chain plans to reopen at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6, a spokesperson told ARLnow. D.C.-based author Sam Kean will cut the ribbon on the remodeled store and host a book signing at 2800 Clarendon Blvd to celebrate.

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Around Town

Spot of Tea offering discounts and giveaways at Crystal City grand opening

By Katie Taranto
Spot of Tea in Crystal City (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A new bubble tea shop in Crystal City is celebrating its grand opening this weekend with discounts and an online sweepstakes.

Spot of Tea — which offers matcha and a variety of colorful fruit and milk teas at Water Park — will celebrate its new location starting tomorrow (Friday) with a 50% discount on all drinks and a limited-edition magnet giveaway.

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News

Ballston Holiday Inn closes, preparing for 504-unit redevelopment project

By Katie Taranto and Dan Egitto
Fencing around the Ballston Holiday Inn hotel site (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A Holiday Inn hotel in the Ballston area has closed and is now fenced off, apparently in preparation for a redevelopment project approved back in 2023.

Multiple tipsters contacted ARLnow this month after the hotel at 4610 Fairfax Drive closed its doors. The hotel has left IHG Hotels and Resorts’ system, a spokesperson said, although they did not say exactly when the location stopped admitting guests.

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Around Town

Nam-Viet Restaurant, the last outpost of Clarendon’s ‘Little Saigon,’ celebrates 40 years

By Katie Taranto
Historic photo of Nam-Viet's storefront (courtesy of Richard Nguyen)

A family-owned Vietnamese restaurant and the last remaining business from Clarendon’s Little Saigon community is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Tucked in a storefront near the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Hudson Street, Nam-Viet Restaurant — started in July 1986 by the late Nguyen Van Thoi and his widow, Ngoc Anh Tran — carries on the legacy of what was once a hub of Vietnamese immigrant-owned businesses that opened in the neighborhood following the fall of Saigon in 1975.

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Around Town

Rashfa Cafe aims to bring Yemeni coffee with a personal touch to Falls Church

By Katie Taranto
Rashfa Cafe's space in Falls Church (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A new, locally owned Yemeni cafe is brewing in Falls Church, with plans to open in a couple months.

Rashfa Cafe hopes to open this June at 310 S. Washington Street, owner and founder Abdulrahman Al Harethi told ARLnow. He wants to share his heritage with the community through Yemeni-sourced coffee and menu items like rawani cake, sabayah pastries and honeycomb bread. 

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Events

One More Page Books kicks off indie bookstore crawl with giveaways this weekend

By Katie Taranto
The interior of One More Page bookstore in East Falls Church (courtesy photo)

Raffles, free books and other giveaways are coming to an East Falls Church bookstore this weekend in honor of Independent Bookstore Day.

One More Page Books is bringing back its annual festivities from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. this Saturday at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street. The day also kicks off the bookstore’s participation in the third annual NoVa + Indie Bookstore Crawl, which includes 18 stores around the region.

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Around Town

FS8 fitness studio hosts Ballston grand opening with Olympic medalist

By Katie Taranto
Kassidy Cook (right) teaches a class at FS8 in Ballston (courtesy of Apex Wellness Group)

A new fitness studio has entered Ballston’s wellness scene, hosting group workout classes with elements of yoga and Pilates.

Fitness franchise FS8, which specializes in reformer Pilates, yoga and low impact training, is now open for business at 4001 9th Street N. The new studio held a grand opening over the weekend with Olympic diving medalist Kassidy Cook.

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Events

Live outdoor jazz returning to Pentagon City this spring

By Katie Taranto
Attendees at the Jazz @ Met series (courtesy of the National Landing BID)

Another season of live jazz music is returning to Metropolitan Park in a few weeks.

The annual Jazz @ Met concert series, now in its fourth year, starts back up on Thursday, May 7 and will continue through June 18 at 1330 S. Fair Street.

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