Around Town

In honor of Father’s Day this weekend, the Lululemon marketing team in Clarendon decided to create a recipe for the perfect “dad bod.”

Store manager Kelsey Knutson said she was inspired by a recent spate of articles on the Huffington Post, the New York Times and elsewhere describing a phenomenon where women seem to go for softer, less in-shape men.


Events

Outdoor movie festivals at Market Common Clarendon and Penrose Square on Columbia Pike have both announced their weekly lineups.

“Dinner and a Movie on the Loop” will take place on four consecutive Thursday evenings at Market Common Clarendon (2700 Clarendon Blvd), starting this week. The event was started last year as Now Playing at the Loop.


Around Town

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Hundreds of cyclists took to Clarendon and Crystal City streets as part of the Air Force Association Cycling Classic this past weekend.

The two-day event saw professional, amateur and youth cyclists speed up and down Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards and Crystal Drive. The course also featured several tight turns for participants to whip around. The Clarendon Cup had five of these turns, which makes it one of the more difficult courses of its kind in the United States.


Events

The two-day event boasts multiple races, with a men’s and women’s professional cycling race in each neighborhood. There will also be multiple amateur races, kids races and a challenge ride.

On Saturday, the highlight of the event is the Clarendon Cup, a professional/amateur course that takes cyclists through the heart of Clarendon. The course is known as one of the most difficult in the United States, according to the association.


Events

The DMV Food Truck Association is helping to organize Clarendon Food Truck Thursdays, which will bring two to five food trucks to the corner of North Irving Street and Washington Boulevard from 6:30-8:30 p.m. every Thursday for the rest of the summer and part of fall.

The truck lineup will change from week to week. Tonight features Arepa Zone, which offers Central and South American cuisine, and Bada Bing, which slings cheesesteaks and other “sangweeches.”


Around Town

Readers of Washington City Paper recently voted the neighborhood joint ‘Best Pizza’ in the paper’s annual Best of DC series, and the Wilson Blvd restaurant used that as an opportunity to highlight its apparent propensity for being a spot for successful first dates.

Together with Faccia Luna locations in Alexandria and State College, Pa., co-owner Joe Corey says he has talked to at minimum 300 couples who had their first date at Faccia Luna and eventually got married. At least five couples whose relationship started at Faccia Luna returned to the restaurant to propose, and two more have held their wedding receptions there.


Events

The event will run from 2:00-9:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. Tickets are $20 in advance or $30 at the door.

“The All American Bar Crawl celebrates America’s birthday a few days early!” said the bar crawl’s website. “Rock your red, white and blue and get ready for a day full of Star Spangled shenanigans and bar-hopping in Arlington with thousands of your closest friends.”


Feature

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. 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.

The burgeoning coworking trend in Arlington commercial real estate has a new wrinkle: child care.


Around Town

The bar, at 2915 Wilson Boulevard, served its last patrons Sunday night. It is closed today, following the expiration of its ten year lease, manager Ian McInnes told ARLnow.com.

McInnes said there were no special events held on the last night, and staff “just went about our business.” He said Ri Ra was unable to negotiate a favorable lease and, with rising rent and sluggish business, the company made the decision to close.


Around Town

A crowd of locals swapped memories, shared beers and even fought back some tears while saying goodbye to longtime neighborhood hangout Jay’s Saloon on Monday.

Jay’s Saloon first opened its doors in the fall of 1993, and became famous throughout Clarendon for $8 pitchers of beer during happy hour, cheap eats and a no-frills dive bar aesthetic.


News

Taste of Arlington Winners — The judges at Sunday’s Taste of Arlington event in Ballston selected four winners among the dozens of restaurants that participated. Il Forno won for Best Appetizers, Liberty Tavern won for Best Fast Casual, Water and Wall won for Best Fine Dining and Northside Social won for Best Dessert.

Real Estate Prices Rise — Real estate prices in Arlington continue to rise. The median home sale in Arlington between January and April was $545,000. That’s up 9 percent year-over-year. [InsideNova]


Events

NextGenGOP, a Virginia group hoping to push statewide Republicans forward on social issues, is hosting a “Freedom to Marry Happy Hour” on Wednesday, May 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd).

The event, praised by Washington Post opinion blogger Jonathan Capehart, is aimed directly at millennials who, even among Republicans, largely support marriage equality.


View More Stories