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The signs appeared on the windows at the corner of Washington Blvd and N. Garfield Street yesterday. Conspicuously, they were posted on the outside of the windows.

“We don’t have a sign on 3001 that says that… we haven’t been in any discussions with them,” said John Asadoorian, whose firm, Asadoorian Retail Solutions, is handling leasing for the building’s retail spaces.


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Owner Amir Mostafavi explained he decided to expand because South Block’s line of raw, unpasteurized, cold pressed juices — called South Block Juice Co. — has enjoyed a tremendous response from customers. South Block opened in 2011 and the juice line launched more than a year ago.

“This brand has sort of taken on a life of its own. So we have decided to give the juice its own space, and we are putting our first South Block Juice Co. location in the Clarendon Alliance Spot next door to us,” Mostafavi said. “I refer to South Block Juice Co. as a ‘micro-juicery,’ so we are having a little fun with this and taking on some traits of a microbrewery.”


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Matt Hussmann, the executive director of the Clarendon Alliance, told ARLnow.com this afternoon that the markets fell through when the “parking lot operator” changed its terms –not Wells Fargo Bank, as he originally stated.

(A tenant in the Wells Fargo building, who declined to speak on the record, disputed Hussmann’s account.)


Events

The All American Bar Crawl will take place from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 28. Tickets are $15 now or $20 at the door.

Organizers say “thousands” of patriotic partiers are expected to flock to local watering holes like Clarendon Ballroom, Velocity Five, Bracket Room and Mad Rose Tavern, which are among the 14 participating bars announced so far for the event.


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A combination Mediterranean restaurant and Italian hoagie shop could be opening at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Garfield Street in Clarendon as early as Friday.

“Spice” will occupy the same space that housed Le Sandwich for 10 days and previously was home to Cafe Wilson, Paciugo Gelato and Street Corner Cafe. Its owner, Yasser Mohamed, who also owns and operate Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream across the street, held the lease for Le Sandwich and said he saw “the store going downhill fast” and “didn’t like it,” so he decided to kick out Le Sandwich and its operator, Mehdi Ben, and give his wife the space for a restaurant.


Events

Roads will close starting at 4:30 a.m. Saturday and re-open at 5:00 p.m. to accommodate the Clarendon Cup portion of the Cycling Classic, which also features races in Crystal City and along Route 110 on Sunday.

Registration is closed for the Cycling Classic, which is part of USA Cycling’s National Criterium Calendar, but spectators are invited to watch and visit booths at the expo on Clarendon Blvd. The Clarendon Cup, according to the Cycling Classic’s website, is “known as one of the most difficult criterium races in the U.S. due to technical demands of the course and the quality of the participants.”


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Washington Wizards swingman Martell Webster has a new position: serving ice cream at new Clarendon shop Nicecream Factory (2831 Clarendon Blvd).

Webster, who lives in McLean, had started cycling to Clarendon some afternoons to taste some of Nicecream’s treats after his childhood friend from Seattle, Wash., James Conti, started working as Nicecream’s marketing coordinator a month ago.


News

Matthew Leighton, a Realtor with Century 21 Redwood Realty, said he received a phone call from a renter inquiring about a Zillow listing for a a $950-per-month, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the Station Square building at 1201 N. Garfield Street. The supposed “owner” of the condominium told the hopeful renter that she had moved to England and needed the deposit wired to her.

“Two bedrooms could easily get $3,000 per month at Station Square,” Leighton told ARLnow.com. “I was pessimistic so I asked the renter to send me the email correspondence (the Zillow ad is long gone). The scammer’s emails are filled with grammatical errors and outlines the intricate steps to lease the condo. You could go through almost every paragraph and pick apart the details which poke huge loopholes in this person’s story. Yet people are still responding to these ads.”


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Residents and out-of-town visitors alike took part in Memorial Day observances around Arlington this past weekend.

Warm and sunny weather helped drive large crowds for stalwart annual events like the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally and the wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.


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Jimmy John’s, which has locations in Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City, has signed a lease to move into the Beacon at Clarendon West apartment project, at the corner of Washington Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street, according to Asadoorian Retail Solutions, which is managing the retail leasing for the development.

Asadoorian’s Jeff Handler told ARLnow.com that the company is also looking to fill the apartment building’s ground floor with a fitness business and a wine bar, among other retail options. Handler also said he’s “in conversation with a number of restaurants.”


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The apartment construction at the intersection of Washington Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street is expected to be complete this fall, bringing 187 new apartments to the market.

The Beacon at Clarendon West will have two towers — one with 10 stories, one with six stories — and retail frontage on Washington Blvd. Construction on the ground floor and leasing center, according to contractor Donohoe Construction Company, will be complete by the end of June. The six-story tower is expected to be completed by the end of summer and the 10-story tower — and the complete project — should come on line this fall.


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