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

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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Around Town

New Van Leeuwen ice cream shop coming to Ballston

By Katie Taranto
New signs for Van Leeuwen in Ballston (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Arlington’s third Van Leeuwen ice cream location is preparing to open in Ballston.

Signage for the national ice cream chain has appeared within the last few days on the ground floor of 4075 Wilson Blvd, in part of the former Rustico Restaurant space. The business has eyed the location since last May, according to permit records.

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Around Town

Westover Taco’s new women’s sports bar hosts grand opening with D.C. teams

By Katie Taranto
Sarah White cuts the ribbon on Westover Taco's women's sports bar (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Westover Taco cut the ribbon on Northern Virginia’s first women’s sports bar last night (Thursday) with a little help from some of the region’s athletes.

Members of the professional women’s tackle football team D.C. Divas and nonprofit tackle football team DMV Queens showed up alongside professional ultimate frisbee players from DC Shadow Ultimate to help celebrate the grand opening of the bar with founder Sarah White.

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Around Town

New ownership at pizzeria bringing ‘global fusion’ pies to Langston Blvd

By Katie Taranto
The former Citi Pizza and Wings on Langston Blvd (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Under new ownership, a longtime pizzeria on Langston Blvd is receiving a brand new look, name and internationally inspired menu.

Zesto Pizza has replaced Citi Pizza and Wings, ushering in a new menu and interior renovations at 5127 Langston Blvd. Led by Arlington chef Tushar Chawda, the revamped business plans to soft open tomorrow (Friday), offering up “global fusion pizzas” and appetizers inspired by international cuisines.

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Around Town

Lebanese restaurant moving to former burger joint on Langston Blvd

By Katie Taranto
Signage at The Block Oven's new Langston Blvd address (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A family-owned Lebanese restaurant with brick oven-prepared cuisine is preparing to reopen in a new space on Langston Blvd.

The Block Oven has moved about half a mile from 3110 Langston Blvd — now home to Brazilian-Lebanese fusion spot Tio Pelé — to 2515 Langston Blvd, above the Cloud Lounge hookah bar. It replaces a vacancy left by Burger7, which first opened in 2012.

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Around Town

‘Cafe Dalmatia’ planned at former Green Pig Bistro space in Clarendon

By Katie Taranto
1025 N. Fillmore Street, where the Green Pig Bistro used to be (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A veteran chef in the D.C. area appears to be breathing new life into the Green Pig Bistro’s former Clarendon address.

A work permit application for a new “Cafe Dalmatia” by chef Ivan Zivkovic was filed last week at 1025 N. Fillmore Street. It’s unclear what the new restaurant plans to offer, but the name Dalmatia, a coastal region of Croatia, suggests Mediterranean cuisine.

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