The Pinkberry in Clarendon has been closed for well over a month, with all the equipment inside sitting, waiting, for someone to use it and serve frozen yogurt again.
That day could soon be coming. Pinkberry’s franchise owner, who also owns six other Pinkberry stores in the D.C. area, has declared for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and his stores — including the one at 2930 Clarendon Blvd — are up for auction, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Drs. Natasha Ungerer and Kayleen Gloor have recently opened Clarendon Animal Care, located at 3000 10th Street N., Suite B.
The location previously housed Ellen’s Futons, but has been transformed into a state-of-the-art veterinary care facility. Build-out renovations were completed just before the New Year and the hospital has been open since January 5. Drs. Gloor and Ungerer have been delighted by their new professional home and the warm reception they have received from clients and neighborhood residents.
We’re told by one restaurant employee that Jan. 31 will be its last day. A manager, when contacted by ARLnow.com, said “there’s been talk of it” but “we haven’t gotten any official word yet.”
The restaurant, owned by Polish company AmRest, was the third American location of a franchise that was popular in Europe, and was viewed as a harbinger for potentially hundreds of additional U.S. locations. In May, the Washington Business Journal reported those expansion plans were on hold, and theorized the Post’s review — which called La Tagliatella “a threat to our nation” and compared it unfavorably to Olive Garden — might have had something to do with it.
Brixx Pizza is planning on opening its second location in the D.C. area in a new building next to the alleyway behind CVS. The site is owned by Gene Roberts, who also owns the CVS, and is already under lease to Brixx Pizza.
The restaurant will be the building’s sole occupant and take up 3,700 square feet of space, Roberts told ARLnow.com this afternoon. Roberst is looking at a mid-summer opening.
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Vespa of Arlington opened its motor scooter dealership in November 2013, but it has already outgrown its space.
At some point this year, Vespa of Arlington will open a new, flagship location at the corner of 10th Street N. and Wilson Blvd in the former J.K. Auto Parts space, according to Stephanie Rodriguez, who works in the current dealership at 3206 10th Street N., next to the Budget car rental space.
An electric bicycle shop in the Clarendon area was damaged by a fire Sunday night.
The fire department was called just before 8:00 p.m. for a fire at the Hybrid Pedals shop at 925 N. Jackson Street. The shop sells bikes outfitted with electric motors, also called “eBikes.”
There’s a storewide clearance sale going on now, and the store has signs posted inside and out announcing that the location will be closing at the end of January. According to a store employee, EMS’ lease is up at the end of the month.
The closest EMS location is in Dulles, Va., 20 miles away. A similar retailer, Orvis, is another Market Common tenant and is at 2879 Clarendon Blvd.
Anyone who’s driven along Clarendon Blvd near the Whole Foods at 2700 Wilson Blvd knows the grocery store has a tendency to cause minor backups.
This afternoon during the lunch hour, the traffic problems escalated, backing up traffic for several blocks in the area and leading to police being called for traffic control. We’re told backups like this are common around major holidays, like Christmas and New Years.
(Updated at 10:50 a.m.) Police tackled and arrested a theft suspect inside the Clarendon Apple Store on Tuesday.
The incident happened around 4:15 p.m., at the store at 2700 Clarendon Blvd. We’re told that the suspect tried to use stolen credit cards at the store, then tried to flee when police arrived. He was tackled and taken into custody.
Clarendon has been ranked among the nine “yuppiest neighborhoods in America” by the website Thrillist.com.
The Orange line neighborhood made the list thanks to young, affluent residents and their standard-issue upscale haunts, like Whole Foods, Pottery Barn and Lululemon. From the website:
There are numerous events around the county this month, from holiday markets to ice skating “winter spectaculars.”
Here’s a selection of some of the more notable events in the area:
ATR’s permit renewal request was pulled from the Board’s “consent agenda” for non-controversial items by County Board member Mary Hynes. It was instead heard individually on Tuesday, giving Hynes, a nearby resident, a chance to inquire about a couple of noise complaints she had received from her Lyon Village neighbors.
The Board was assured by an ATR manager that the bar has addressed the noise issue and that it in fact doesn’t host any live entertainment anymore — instead it’s seeking to hang on to the permit “just in case.” That was enough assurance for Board, which took little additional time to approve the routine renewal request.
