There is a new play area for kids inside Ballston Quarter with plenty of pint-sized attractions.
Located on the first floor of the mall, near the about-to-close Macy’s, Junior Playland has everything from a pink-and-blue carousel to a party room to a make-believe “village” with a hospital, restaurant and police station.
Although other indoor playgrounds exist in the D.C. area, owner Mon Nguyen said there was previously nothing like this in Arlington before he opened Junior Playland in November. He credits the idea to his experiences as a single dad with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old twins.
“They inspire me,” Nguyen said. “Before, I would never have thought about this.”
He said his kids enjoy playing in the ball pit and the balloon cage the most.
Junior Playland has a membership option — $59 per month for unlimited play — along with weekday and weekend “open play” admission for kids ages 1-10. It is open from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday.
Nguyen has opened another location in the Mall at Prince George’s in Hyattsville and soon plans to expand elsewhere in Virginia. He said many visitors are parents and nannies seeking an indoor outing away from the weather.
“The customers, they love bringing their kids with us,” he said.
(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) Two years ago, Grace Community Church held its meetings at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School auditorium.
Now, it is hosting big acts in contemporary Christian music at its new home in Ballston Quarter, which seats 500 people.
Next week, Grammy-award-winning artist Steven Curtis Chapman, a fixture on Christian radio for decades, will be making a stop at the church for a sold-out show.
On March 20, Colton Dixon and Jordan Feliz — two ascendant artists whose recent singles and albums have topped Billboard charts for contemporary Christian music — will perform “in this most intimate setting of their entire tour.”
It is a big shift for the church, which bounced between TJ and Key Elementary School before settling into the second floor of the mall, across from the art gallery, wine bar and restaurant WHINO one year ago this month.
Moving into the space drove a 30% attendance bump but the concerts, which started in September, put Grace Community Church on the map, says Pastor John Slye, Jr.
“We were a decent-sized church of 1,000-ish people before we had our space, but people didn’t know who we were,” he said. “But now, they know who we are. The concerts have given us awareness, for sure, and that’s fun.”
Slye had always envisioned using the new digs for concerts but he credits his son Jonathan — who owns a prominent national rock festival — for having the connections to book these acts and other big names. The church previously hosted singer-songwriter David Crowder and has concerts booked with rapper LeCrae, the band Big Daddy Weave and American Idol star Danny Gokey.
“We’re thrilled to have this,” says Pastor Slye. “There’s no way we could’ve done it without his skills and what he knows.”
With the recognition has come the opportunity to take on other types of events, too. Grace Community Church recently put on a worship night that drew people from 200 churches in the D.C. area and hosted a mixer for young professionals that spilled over into WHINO across the way.
With seats for 500, Slye says Grace Community Church is full but capacity is only an issue for larger events and concerts. As a result, future events might make use of other spaces in the mall. The church is in talks with a local radio station to host a singles event in the public outdoor space outside the Ballston Quarter food hall and has discussed the possibility of co-hosting a larger event at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex upstairs.
“We have no desire to make Grace the hero: We just want to see the space bring people together because this is a lonely place, and community is healthy for us, mentally, spiritually and physically,” Slye said. “People just want to make friends and make community. We want to rally around that, big time.”
The pastor and his wife both grew up in Arlington and attended the schools where later, their church would meet before moving into Ballston Quarter. They knew early on that their son loved music but never imagined their then 5-year-old, dancing and playing music in their sparse living room, would one day make his dad’s church into something of a regional hub.
“I had no idea that the seeds of this started way back then,” he said. “I can’t even clap on beat.”
Photos via Grace Community Church/Facebook
Arlington’s first halal barbecue restaurant is up and running in Ballston.
Hal & Al’s BBQ in Quarter Market, the food hall in Ballston Quarter, opened in December. It is best known at this point for its beef brisket, though it also serves beef ribs and turkey sausage and sides such as chili and mac and cheese.
All of the meats follow Islamic food preparation laws — meaning customers will not find pork on the menu.
Owner Mohsin Rehman was born and raised in Baltimore and his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan. Rehman incorporates his upbringing in his dishes by merging Baltimore and Pakistani flavors to create Hal & Al’s popular brisket.
“Deep down, I have my love for Old Bay,” Rehman said. “So we use kind of a hybrid of Pakistani spices and Maryland crab seasoning mixed together to create our brisket. It creates this kind of ‘Bay-B-Q’ vibe, a Chesapeake Bay barbecue vibe.”
Rehman believes it’s important to highlight flavors from different regions as part of the varied Northern Virginia food scene.
“We live in a world — such a diverse world with such a diverse palette — and just black pepper and salt really keeps you from showcasing what you could do with brisket,” Rehman said. “You’re not going to go to a fancy restaurant where they’re like, ‘We only use black pepper.’ They’re going to use a multitude of spices from all over the world. I try staying to my roots.”
Rehman started his venture into the culinary world in college where he was lovingly titled the “Italian grandmother” by his friends due to his love of cooking.
“I get a lot of joy from feeding people,” he said. “I’ve always really gotten a lot of pleasure from seeing people nourished and happy from what I put my time into. The nice thing about barbecue is it’s a very family-oriented community, it sparks a lot of memories for folks.”
In 2010, Rehman started a food blog and, he says, was the only halal food blogger who traveled nationwide as part of his writing. He was inspired to open Hal & Al’s BBQ in Quarter Market (4328 Wilson Blvd) after noticing a lack of halal barbecue spots on the East Coast.
“I found halal Italian places, halal Chinese spots, but not once did I find a halal barbecue place,” he said. “When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, what theme I wanted to go with for the restaurant, there’s nothing more quintessential to being American than barbecue. But there’s also nothing more quintessential to being human than barbecue.”
Rehman’s big goal? To put his “Bay-B-Q” spin on the map.
“You have Texas barbecue, you have Kansas City barbecue, there’s Memphis barbecue, you go to Carolina and they have that vinegar barbecue, and you go down to Alabama and they have the Alabama white sauce barbecue,” he said.
“I’m hoping 20 years from now we’re going to have Bay-B-Q, which is going to be barbecue using Chesapeake Bay seasonings or Old Bay,” Rehman continued. “And it’ll be barbecue all based here in the DMV, up and down the mid-Atlantic.”
The Macy’s store at Ballston Quarter will close later this year, the company announced Thursday.
The Ballston location is one of five Macy’s stores set to close in 2024, as the department store chain aims to cut 2,350 jobs, or 3.5% of its workforce, including 13% of corporate staff.
The closure of the Ballston Macy’s is not exactly a surprise. The Arlington County Board approved a redevelopment plan for the site in December 2022. From our previous reporting:
Insight Property Group proposes to demolish the longtime department store and vacant office building at 685 N. Glebe Road and replace it with a 16-story, 555-unit apartment complex atop a grocery store. In response to online engagement, it is adding a second, 1,400-square-foot retail space on the ground floor.
The units would be spread across two 14-story towers joined at the penthouse level. Residents would have 250 underground parking spaces while grocery store patrons would have 148 spots on the building’s second story.
There’s no immediate word of an updated timeline for the development, which was the subject of scrutiny from local residents and transportation planners.
Photo (top) via Google Maps
Nearly 50 youth hockey players with disabilities took to the ice in Ballston this week to sharpen their skills with Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin.
On Wednesday, members of the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA) convened at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex to spend several hours learning various skating techniques and skills from Ovechkin and other Capitals players, including Aliaksei Protas, Matthew Phillips and Alexander Alexeyev.
Ovi has been hosting this Caps-sponsored clinic for ASHA — which supports individuals with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities through hockey — for a decade, though it took a hiatus during the pandemic.
“Ovechkin has been an ASHA ambassador since the first skate in 2014 and most recently made a donation to the ASHA to help cover ice costs for 136 special hockey teams across the United States,” per a Capitals press release. “The donation supported more than 5,260 athletes and nearly 400 coaches.”
"It's very important for the community. We've been so close to each other for 10 years … kids happy, parents happy, so we're happy as well."@ovi8 chats with @tarynbray on 'The #Gr8 Skate' with @specialhockey today at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Dx4YHEim9Z
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 10, 2024
ASHA Executive Director Jennifer O’Brien told ARLnow that while the donation was vital for the organization, Ovechkin’s personal commitment — in terms of time, money and energy — is especially significant.
“The big thing people should know is that sometimes people donate things and they kind of do it through the organization or whatever,” O’Brien said. “He does this personally. And so we take it personally and appreciate him for that reason.”
Established in 2007, ASHA currently serves over 8,000 members, representing 136 special hockey teams nationally. There are three ASHA teams in the D.C. area, per the release.
Most ASHA members who attended the clinic came from either the D.C. region or other East Coast locales, said O’Brien.
In addition to his work with ASHA, Ovechkin established “Ovi’s 8’s” in 2006, a program dedicated to providing tickets to Capitals games for underprivileged children.
“Since then, more than 5,700 individuals have had a chance to see a game free of charge, including many ASHA participants,” the team said.
Fast-casual Korean restaurant Rice Crook has quietly closed its location inside Ballston Quarter Market.
The restaurant, a creation of noted local chef Scott Chung that was known for its customizable rice bowls, moved into the food hall at 4238 Wilson Blvd in 2019. Now, all that remains is a sign above its former stall.
There was no closure announcement on the restaurant’s Instagram page and Chung did not respond to a request for comment. Chung also owns Bun’d Up in Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) and, in a spare room of that restaurant, a speakeasy-style bar, restaurant and mahjong hub called Sparrow Room.
Ballston Quarter General Manager TaVida Rice confirmed the closure is permanent and revealed several forthcoming additions to the food hall.
Japanese crêperie T-Swirl is set to open this spring and D.C.-based Dumpling District is slated to open in the fall. Hal & Al’s BBQ, which serves halal brisket sandwiches, ribs and mac and cheese bowls, opened last month.
Korean BBQ restaurant Top Pot, meanwhile, is set to open in a restaurant space along the Glebe Road side of the mall, next to Chick-fil-A. And laser hair removal company Semper Laser is slated to open this spring in the mews area near Lenscrafters, Rice said.
None of the new businesses will take over Rice Crook’s former spot, and the shopping center is still looking for a replacement, she noted.
Hat tip to Jason Gooljar
Ballston might remain the place where the Washington Capitals practice if everything goes to plan and the hockey team begins playing games in a newly announced sports arena in Potomac Yard.
The new arena for the Caps and Washington Wizards, as well as a concert venue, could open as soon as 2028 in the Alexandria neighborhood already seeing heavy investment, including a new Metro station and Virginia Tech’s forthcoming Innovation Campus.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis, the city of Alexandria and developer JBG Smith officially confirmed the murmurings of a move today (Wednesday), to which county officials and business leaders reacted with excitement.
Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey called the news an “excellent opportunity for Arlington to continue to partner with Alexandria” and, in a statement, said that “it further cements our region among the world’s most innovative and dynamic places to live, play, and do business.”
But whether the Caps continue to practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, adjoining the Ballston Quarter mall, is just one of the moving pieces with impacts on Arlington, should the project move forward.
Another concern — top-of-mind for residents around Richmond Hwy (Route 1) — is what the new facility will mean for state plans to bring the key north-south artery to grade, which was part of a suite of transportation projects promised if Amazon settled in Pentagon City.
In today’s announcement, the expansion into Alexandria did not explicitly mention relocating the Capital’s practice facility from Ballston, though it was included in a map of the planned development.
Arlington County says Monumental has indicated it intends to negotiate a renewed lease in Ballston — even with the planned arena in Potomac Yard — as it prefers to separate practice facilities and administrative offices from their arena.
A Monumental spokesperson told ARLnow where the Caps practice is one of many details that still need to be finalized, emphasizing that the Iceplex in Ballston is a state-of-the-art facility. The spokesperson said Monumental might renovate the second-floor office space to serve as the front office and athlete space after the business staff move to Potomac Yard, but it is also exploring building a new practice facility at Potomac Yard.
Tina Leone, CEO of the Ballston Business Improvement District, is optimistic the team will stick around. She spoke highly of the Capitals, who she called great supporters of Ballston for the 17 years they have practiced there.
“We can’t help but draw parallels between the evolution of Ballston, the Capitals, and Monumental Sports & Entertainment; and while there are still moving pieces, we couldn’t be happier for the Leonsis family, the Capitals organization, and the MSE team,” she told ARLnow in a statement.
“When the Capitals were looking for an urban setting with access, an amenity-rich neighborhood, and a community their players and coaches wanted to call home, they chose Ballston. Nearly two decades later, we’re proud Ballston continues to be all those things and more,” she continued. “We’ve been fortunate to have such a globally recognized, highly visible organization contribute to Ballston’s growing identity and culture.”
Monumental is similarly keeping a foot in both camps, for now, in D.C. In a letter to fans, circulating on social media, Leonsis said he hopes Capital One Arena and downtown D.C. “remain an essential part of our future.”
He said the company plans to invest in the existing arena so it can continue hosting large-scale events, from concerts to WNBA games and college sports. In the hours leading up to today’s announcement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled legislation to support a complete, $500 million renovation of the Capital One Arena, if the NHL and NBA team stay.
While some NHL teams opt to keep games and practices under one roof, others maintain separate facilities for games and practices. Sometimes, this is out of necessity, if the location for games cannot accommodate practices. Other teams, however, view practice spaces as a way to engage the community and, with the right amenities, to help lure free agents.
The Iceplex, for instance, holds open practices that fans can watch as well as youth clinics, and it has served as a springboard for Monumental, which has also sponsored community events and invested in local organizations.
Ballston Quarter is introducing some new vending machines with a benevolent twist.
From the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 24 through New Year’s Day, visitors to the mall at 4238 Wilson Blvd can find what are called “#LighttheWorld Giving Machines,” near the Macy’s.
Unlike typical vending machines, these are designed to dispense aid to charity.
Customers select a charity, add the donation to a virtual cart, and then complete the transaction using a debit or credit card. In lieu of snacks or drinks, a card symbolizing the donation falls into a collection bin.
Launched in 2017 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Giving Machines “have raised more than $22 million in donations for local and global charities,” according to a press release.
This year, patrons can choose to donate to one of several local or global charities, including American Red Cross, CARE, EcoAction Arlington, Volunteers of America, Willing Warriors and the Young Doctors Project.
With 52 locations across the globe, this is the second time the machines have been located in the D.C. area, per the release. Last year, the D.C. area machines were located in Kensington, Maryland.
Visitors to the Ballston Public Parking Garage this month may have noticed the absence of parking ticket kiosks and gates.
They were replaced with a new contactless parking system last month on Oct. 16.
If The county intended the change to improve the customer experience at the garage, which has garnered some negative online reviews over the past couple of years, but some users say they have found the new system confusing or restrictive.
Instead of getting a ticket at a gate, drivers entering the county-owned garage at 627 N. Glebe Road now park and then pay at a kiosk, online or through an app. There is a 15-minute grace period after entering the garage when parking is free, however, the new system keeps track of those in the facility by recording license plates upon entry.
Once parked, users can pay with cash or credit card at one of the many kiosks in each elevator lobby, after entering their license plate number and selecting an exit time. They can also pay through the Parking.com mobile app or by scanning a QR code that redirects them to a payment portal.
Here, users must enter their cell phone and license plate number, choose an exit time, and provide their credit card information, postal code and email address. This method, however, charges a 35-cent service fee.
In addition to creating more payment options, the county hopes the new system will “improve customer experience” by offering garage users the flexibility to add extra time as needed and stores their information for future transactions, says Melissa McMahon, the county’s parking and curb space manager.
Removing physical gates and automated ticket machines has allowed the “operations team to focus on customer experience and enforcement, rather than mechanical equipment malfunctions,” McMahon told ARLnow.
Several anonymous tipsters raised concerns about the poor internet connection inside the garage and the system’s reliance on smartphones.
“God forbid you don’t have a cell phone,” one tipster said.
Anticipating some confusion about the changes, McMahon said the county sent out letters to local community stakeholder groups and posted flyers throughout the garage. During the first month post-installation, garage staff were also posted around the facility to help users navigate the new system.
Still, several people said that the changes caught them “off guard.”
“Instead of a ticket at entry/exit, you are supposed to pay via the web (entering license plate into a form) or at a machine,” one tipster told ARLnow via email. “Luckily, there was a security guard sitting in the lobby off Level 3 asking people if they had paid and, if not, directing them to the machine. I know others did not realize they had to pay since the arms at the entry/exit lanes were all up.”
The same person who raised concerns about smartphone access also said the fliers were in “tiny print and difficult to understand.”
Individuals with concerns can contact the new garage operator, Chicago-based SP Plus, which provides a customer helpline and email support. County staff regularly visit the garage to “observe operations, talk to staff and customers, and work with garage management on refinements to improve customer experience,” says McMahon.
Santa Claus is returning to Arlington later this week.
The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is kicking off its photos with Santa this coming Friday, according to the mall’s website. Reservations are available starting at 11 a.m.
As in previous years, the Pentagon City mall is also hosting a Caring Santa event, for children with special needs, as well as a Pet Night. Those are taking place the morning and evening, respectively, of Sunday, Dec. 3.
Santa’s arrival in Arlington one week before Thanksgiving may be early, but it’s got nothing on Tysons. Our Fairfax County neighbors had Ol’ Saint Nick walk the red carpet at Tysons Corner Center this past Thursday morning, Nov. 9.
Arlington’s other major mall, meanwhile, is starting Santa photos on Friday, Dec. 1. Reservations for photos with the jolly one at Ballston Quarter mall also start at 11 a.m. that day.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Those seeking an escape from the midsummer heat experienced the opposite this weekend in the Regal Cinema in Ballston.
The theater at Ballston Quarter mall is suffering an extended outage of its air conditioning, just as droves of moviegoers flocked to the big screen starting Thursday for the highly anticipated release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” — dubbed “Barbenheimer” for their shared release date.
“As of Thursday aka the release of Barbenheimer madness, the air conditioning was nonfunctional at the Ballston theater,” said a Yelp reviewer. “We checked out the theater, and it felt like 85 degrees in there.”
The theater is “unbearably hot,” according to a Google review posted Sunday.
While the outage has been ongoing for several weeks, according to tipsters, the informal double feature cast a spotlight on the uncomfortable situation.
Even the New York Times mentioned the Ballston theater’s plight in a discussion about the success of “Barbie,” for which Gerwig now holds the record for the highest-grossing opening in history for a female director.
Some movie-lovers stayed despite the heat, while others took advantage of refunds and vouchers Regal offered to those who chose not to stay.
Asked for comment, the general manager of the theater referred ARLnow to Regal’s corporate team. The company did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.
Regal’s owner, CineWorld, is also feeling the heat financially. The company filed for bankruptcy in September 2022 due to increased financial pressure caused by the pandemic.
CineWorld anticipated ticket sales to remain lower than pre-pandemic levels over the next year, though “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are providing a much-needed boost to the theater industry as a whole.
The two films raked in $155 million and $80.5 million respectively in their opening weekend. Between internet buzz and massive media campaigns, their performance exceeded projections and marked the biggest weekend at the box office this year.
Cinemas may face doldrums further down the road, however. Actors and writers have gone on strike, halting the production of numerous movies and TV shows.