A new nightlife attraction with karaoke and Chinese cuisine is open in Crystal City.
Lantern Restaurant & Bar opened at 320 23rd Street S. late last month, debuting a nearly 5,500-square-foot space decked out with high quality sound systems and LED lights. The venue is currently taking reservations, owner Shen Zhao told ARLnow.
A new cafe with cozy seats, neon signs and a playful disco theme is now open in Crystal City.
Coffee Republic opened last week at 3130 Potomac Avenue, on the ground floor of Azure National Landing apartments. The shop sells espresso drinks and food in addition to organic coffee beans and grounds.
Arlington’s small business community is strong and resilient. However, local businesses continue to face challenges from economic uncertainty, drops in consumer confidence, losses in access to capital, and disruptions from artificial intelligence. BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development, continues to rise to the challenge by supporting over 6,000 small businesses in Arlington with one-on-one counseling, innovative programming and robust marketing to encourage consumers to shop locally.
During a recent presentation to the Small Business Coordinating Council, BizLaunch Director Tara Palacios highlighted fiscal year 2026 results that underscore both the impact of Arlington’s business support programs and the pressures ahead.
BizLaunch provided technical assistance to entrepreneurs at a level 56% above its annual goal, reflecting sustained demand for one-on-one advising and business guidance. The division also served a diverse business community, including 52% women-owned businesses and 45% minority-owned enterprises. Nearly a quarter — 24% — of clients were in food and retail, industries that continue to face heightened economic pressure.
Major marketing and PR campaigns drove engagement across Arlington. Small Business Saturday, one of BizLaunch’s signature programs, prompted more than 4,141 transactions and $211,862 in consumer spending through the Open Rewards incentive, supported by a $10,625 investment of County funds. A coordinated marketing campaign with the BIDs and Partnerships further amplified the effort, generating more than 56,000 organic social media impressions, 44,000 video views and 1,619 engagements, along with nearly 2,000 paid ad clicks.
Support for business development through programming has also expanded. The BizLaunch Transformational Challenge and Pitchfest drew 40 participants for a five-week training program covering strategic planning, marketing, artificial intelligence and financial management. Participants developed pitch decks and presented to a panel of private lenders and business leaders. In all $25,000 was awarded to local businesses through the pitch event which came from private donations and contributions from the Industrial Development Authority. (more…)
Falls Church residents are less satisfied with their roads than they used to be, a new survey suggests.
Still, they continue to have a generally positive view of city services and their community’s overall quality of life.
Two key Arlington government advisory panels have been asked to focus less on trying to vet individual capital projects and more on a big-picture approach.
Since that request comes from County Manager Mark Schwartz, it may have the force of a directive — albeit one politely delivered.
Give yourself a day to connect more deeply with yourself, community, and nature through experiential coaching exercises.
By attending the Friday Field Trip you’ll:
Cold Case Murder Arrest — “PGPD Cold Case Unit charges man for 1979 murder of 31-year-old Kathryn Donohue of Arlington. The suspect is 82-year-old Rodger Zodas Brown of North Carolina.” [Washington Post, WTOP, PGPD/X]
Lidl Lot to Remain Parking — “Lidl is kicking the can down the road on the long-approved office development of a parking lot it owns near its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, leaving a hole in the stretch of Potomac Yard known as National Gateway for the foreseeable future.” [WBJ]
Pedestrian Struck on Langston Blvd — A woman was struck by a driver on eastbound Langston Blvd at N. Bryan Street yesterday around 4 p.m. She was bleeding and suffered at least an arm injury, according to initial reports, prior to her being taken to a local trauma center. [ARLnow/X]
Truck KOs Traffic Light — “Follow the white pickup. Watch until the end. Check out the traffic signals. The traffic signals are still out at S. Glebe and I-395.” [Dave Statter/X, Arlington Alert/X]
Crash Concerns in F.C. — “Falls Church continues to see high numbers of traffic-related injuries, with 175 reported in 2024—making it the third-worst year in the last eight. A new analysis of city crash data highlights that nearly all injuries occur on key 25-30 mph cut-through roads, and the first traffic fatality since 2010 underscores the urgent need for proven safety improvements.” [Falls Church Pulse]
More Fuel Storage at DCA — “Reagan National Airport is planning to increase storage capabilities for on-site jet fuel by some 50%, or by 1.6 million gallons, as passenger totals for the at-capacity Arlington facility continue to break records.” [WBJ]
Ballston Building Sold for Loss — “A Brookfield fund recently sold an office building in Arlington for $47 million, at a loss. The real estate giant unloaded the eight-story building known as Arlington Medical Center at 1005 N. Glebe Road…It had acquired the property, home to a 1980s-era,148,000-square-foot office, formerly called Fairgate at Ballston, in 2021 for $50.15 million.” [WBJ]
Another Acquisition for Local Firm — “Arlington government technology contractor Redhorse Corp. has acquired a Kensington-based Department of Defense contractor in a bid to deepen its capabilities. Redhorse’s acquisition of The Mannakee Group is its second in the three years since it landed a minority investment from McLean’s Blue Delta Capital Partners.” [WBJ]
It’s Wednesday — Expect a mostly sunny day, reaching a high of around 74, with southerly winds at 8 to 13 mph in the morning, and potential gusts up to 18 mph. The night will turn mostly cloudy, with lows around 48, and southeast winds at about 10 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. [NWS]
A woman was rescued Tuesday evening after driving into the Potomac River along the GW Parkway.
The incident happened shortly before 7 p.m. on the Parkway between the 14th Street Bridge and Memorial Bridge. A crowd gathered along the Mt. Vernon Trail as U.S. Park Police and good Samaritans helped to pull the driver to shore.
Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Mar 18, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect a mostly sunny day, reaching a high of around 74, as light southeast winds shift to the south at 8 to 13 mph in the morning, with potential gusts up to 18 mph. The night will turn mostly cloudy, with lows around 48, and southeast winds at about 10 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Eagle-eyed Arlingtonians might have noticed that a Dominion Energy substation in the Ballston area is called, strangely enough, the Clarendon substation, while it’s vice versa for another substation down the street.
A substation is a part of an electrical grid that enables electricity to be transmitted at different voltages. Dominion Energy’s Ballston substation at 3241 Wilson Blvd is near Clarendon, just west of Northside Social.
A read-end collision on Arlington Blvd (Route 50) caused delays in the Arlington Forest neighborhood today.
Just before 11:30 a.m., a dark-colored SUV collided with the rear of a stopped vehicle in a line of cars at the road’s intersection with Park Drive, traffic camera footage shows.
