Author: Vernon Miles

Vernon Miles is the ALXnow cofounder and editor. He's covered Alexandria since 2014 and has been with Local News Now since 2018. When he's not reporting, he can usually be found playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with friends.

Around Town

Signs of Life in The Pinemoor, New Restaurant Replacing Clarendon Grill

By Vernon Miles
The Pinemoor in Clarendon (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Almost a year after signs for The Pinemoor went up at 1101 N. Highland Street, it looks like progress is being made on the new southern restaurant.

The restaurant replacing Clarendon Grill was originally planned to open last summer, according to signs, but that date came and passed without news. Now, signs of life: the restaurant has recently filed permits to serve alcohol and inside, the restaurant sports new decorations and furnishings.

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Around Town

Gallery Clarendon to be Replaced with Connecticut Pizza Restaurant Colony Grill

By Vernon Miles
Gallery Clarendon (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

(Updated at 4:30 p.m on 11/02/20) Gallery Clarendon, a temporary art space at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, has announced that it will be closing to make way for a new pizza restaurant from New England.

The gallery, a project from the Arlington Artists Alliance, opened at Market Common Clarendon in June 2018 as a way to fill the space until a permanent tenant could be found. At the time, the Arlington Artists Alliance told ARLnow they expected to be open for roughly a year.

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Around Town

New Cafe Brings Odd New Eastern European Coffee Trend to Clarendon

By Vernon Miles
Bumble Coffee, a mix of espresso, orange juice, and caramel at This is Fine Coffee (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Okay, hear me out: orange juice, espresso and a dash of caramel over ice.

Reactions in the ARLnow office were mostly negative, but the reporter who actually tasted it at the new This is Fine Coffee in Clarendon now swears by it.

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News

Virginia Hospital Center to Open Primary Care Service in Crystal City This Summer

By Vernon Miles
Virginia Hospital Center in Crystal City (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

(Updated at 11:30 a.m.) Virginia Hospital Center recently opened a new immediate care facility in the Crystal City area, but plans are already in the works to expand the facilities.

“Virginia Hospital Center Immediate Care will be adding family medicine and OB/GYN care (by appointment) in coming months,” a spokesperson told ARLnow in an email.

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Around Town

Despite New ‘Tacos’ Sign, Goody’s Is Still Selling Pizza in Clarendon

By Vernon Miles
Tacos Mexicano, né Goody's pizzeria (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Don’t be fooled by the signs on the building, the notoriously green shack in Clarendon is still long-time local pizzeria Goody’s.

The “Goody’s NY Style Pizzeria” sign has been taken down from the building at 3125 Wilson Blvd. and replaced with a sign that says “Tacos Mexicano,” while the windows advertise tacos and pupusas. Inside, however, there’s still rows of pizza and staff still call it Goody’s.

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Around Town

Aroma Indian Cuisine Aims to Reopen in Shirlington This Month

By Vernon Miles
New Aroma location at 4044 Campbell Avenue in 2020 (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Shirlington restaurant Aroma Indian Cuisine is planning to reopen later this month, immediately adjacent to the carved-out husk of its old space.

The new Aroma at 4044 Campbell Avenue — where Hula Girl Bar and Grill was until it closed in September — is nearly complete, manager Jose Rios told ARLnow. Rios said the plan is for the restaurant to open sometime around Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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Feature

Cybersecurity Startup Moves Up to Bigger Office in Courthouse

By Vernon Miles

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

DivvyCloud, an Arlington startup specializing in cloud-based cybersecurity, is planning to more than double in size with a move into a new much larger new headquarters in Courthouse.

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Around Town

Gambling, Rock and More in Weenie Beenie’s History

By Vernon Miles
Weenie Beenie in Green Valley

Weenie Beenie was recently commemorated in an Arlington mural, but the shack near Shirlington has a surprising history involving gambling winnings and a beef with a popular D.C. restaurant.

Founded as a simple hot-dog stand in the 1950s in Green Valley at 2680 Shirlington Road, Weenie Beenie’s current incarnation was the creation of gambling legend Bill “Weenie Beenie” Stanton, lauded as the “one of the premier gentleman gamblers of pocket billiards” aka pool.

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Events

Program Aimed at Finding Lost Cash Returning to Arlington Next Week

By Vernon Miles

A state organization aimed at helping Virginians identify unclaimed property will set up a booth next week to help locals find previously unknown money.

On Thursday (Oct. 3) from noon to 5 p.m. and on Friday (Oct. 4) from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., the Virginia Department of the Treasury’s program VA Money Search is scheduled to set up in the lobby of the county government building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

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News

County Board Approves New Energy Plan Despite Some Concerns

By Vernon Miles
Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey delivers remarks at a rally supporting the County's renewable energy plan on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in Arlington, Va. (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

After months of debate and discussion, the Arlington County Board has unanimously approved a plan to reach carbon neutrality in Arlington by 2050.

The plan, approved at the Saturday (Sept. 21) County Board meeting, has environmental goals across six categories, from new building regulations to transportation goals and standards. More from a county press release:

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Feature

Arlington Startup Promoting Women in STEM Headed to National Finals in Pitch Competition

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Fresh off a win at the Small Biz Challenge, Arlington startup Boolean Girl is now headed is to Nationwide’s “Pitch to Win” contest as a finalist.

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