Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza.
A sponsor for Arlington’s premier youth soccer league is helping girls hone their skills as players and coders.
Tim Yang, who owns an online coding school called 355Code, has been hosting classes for members of the Arlington Soccer Association Girls with Goals program this year.
Girls With Goals is a free, six-week after school club that helps low-income families at select elementary schools in Arlington Public Schools participate in sports. It aims to break down barriers to participation, including cost and transportation, while increasing membership in the soccer league.
Yang, who liked the mission of the program, decided to offer his services as a coding coach during a six-week session this spring at Drew Elementary School.
“I felt Girls with Goals was a great program and wanted to connect further,” he told ARLnow.
Yang says elementary school students are the “perfect age” for the first stages of instructional coding.
In the last session, Yang — who has previously worked as a software engineer for the IRS, the bank Citigroup and Nike — conducted 45-minute classes. Girls warmed up with 15 minutes of typing, moving to 15 minutes of computer activities and then 15 minutes of theory connection, reflection and discussion.
After witnessing the girls’ passionate, dedicated attitude and persistence, Yang says he hopes to continue hosting classes for Girls with Goals this fall.
“The girls are great — they work very hard,” Yang said. “There is no reason not to [continue].”
The coding lessons were in part possible through the partnership Girls With Goals has with the Extended Day after school program through Arlington Public Schools.
Christyna Haskins, a program assistant supervisor, says coding was new to the girls and they love it.
“Every day they come in asking if he is coming today,” she told Arlington Soccer Association. “They really do enjoy it. Some of the girls said they want to do coding as they get older. So it has opened new doors for them.”
Yang offers classes for Javascript and Python to students from grades 4-12. This summer, he is offering a Javascript course for one hour a week, on Zoom or in person at 901 N. Glebe Road, according to the Arlington Soccer Association.
Earlier this month, Arlington Kabob cooked up hot dinners for a cause.
About two weeks ago, the restaurant donated 75 individually packaged meals to the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health. The nonprofit provides housing and programming to young people with rare diseases being researched and treated at the NIH campus in Bethesda.
Arlington Kabob owner Susan Clementi says she was approached about a meal donation by longtime customer Gindy Feeser, who regularly serves dinners at the Children’s Inn with her coworkers.
Clementi said she worked with Feeser and her team at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) in Falls Church to offer a “moment of kindness” to kids living at the hospital, who lack normalcy in their day-to-day lives.
“One of my personal spiritual values is to stay involved and have awareness for my community,” Clementi said. “We at Arlington Kabob are always eager to support any great cause… and partner with [the restaurant’s dedicated customers] to make a small difference.”
Together, for the GDIT team’s June dinner contribution, Clementi provided the kabobs and Feeser provided the service.
“I think most of us know by now how lucky we are to have a gem like Arlington Kabob in our neighborhood,” Feeser said in a recent post that received considerable attention on the social media platform Nextdoor.
She said delivering a car full of kabobs to Bethesda was “a mouth-watering experience.”
“Once delivered, they were gone in minutes,” Feeser said in her post, which garnered nearly 530 reactions. “Bellies and hearts, full.”
Arlington Kabob is located at 5046 Langston Blvd in the Halls Hill/High View Park neighborhood and is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The restaurant was founded by Clementi a decade ago and, as reported earlier this year, is noted for its partnerships with local schools on various fundraising initiatives.
Velocity Bike Cooperative is hosting a grand opening for its new Arlington location this weekend.
The location at 2647 N. Pershing Drive has been serving customers for a few months, but will formally celebrate its opening on Saturday, June 10. The event will include a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and giveaways.
“During Saturday’s celebration, we will offer a 20% discount on bikes and accessories,” said John McClanahan, a volunteer for the cooperative. “Giveaway items will include socks, shirts, caps, and basic tune-ups with pickup at Arlington. And, we’ll offer coffee, water, juices, and small pastries.”
Founded by John Patterson and Christian Myers in 2009, Velocity aims to foster an inclusive biking community through “affordability, education, and embracing the fun of riding,” according to its website.
The new Lyon Park location is its second location; the first is at 2111 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.
Velocity’s storefronts facilitate sales, bike donations, bike education, as well as do-it-yourself and full-service repairs. Regular shop hours in Arlington are Tuesday-Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Arlington is full of great local businesses, and sometimes those businesses change hands.
We occasionally check in on the state of local business by taking a look of the entities being offered for sale via BizBuySell, an online aggregator. The businesses are described but usually not named in the listings.
When ARLnow last checked in this past October, we highlighted eight businesses for sale, including restaurants, a moving company and a salon.
Today, we have a dozen to highlight, including one that appeared — for some reason — via a real estate listing.
1. 2900 N Sycamore Street – Williamsburg Deli ($65,000)
Perfect Location with Huge Potential Deli. Deli has demonstrated its pandemic proof with steady sales generated by a well-established core customer base within the neighborhood. Great business opportunity for first-starters.
2. Fantastic Corner Cafe’ and Market ($145,000)
European café and market. Serving breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and deserts. All types of coffees, lattes, and teas. Pastries and bagels. Sandwiches, soups, and salads. Chips, candy, cigarettes’, and Ice cream, Refreshments, select micro beers, and fine wines. Inside and outside seating. A real must see.
3. Newly Renovated, Beautiful restaurant with Patio for Sale ($60,000)
Beautiful newly built out Restaurant, brand new equipment. Big patio. Price for a quick asset sale as Seller wants to pursuit different opportunity.
4. High Volume Restaurant & Bar in Prime Location ($1,100,000)
High volume restaurant & bar in a prime location of Arlington surrounded by residential & office buildings. This restaurant has been in business for over 10 years and averages an immaculate $3,200,000 in annual sales. Beautifully built out with a full service bar serving some of the best wines and specialty cocktails in the area.
5. Specialty Dessert Boutique Franchise ($149,000)
Specialty dessert & gift franchise locations for sale. For a low price of $149,000 you can be the owner of 2 dessert franchise businesses located in Arlington & DC. The current owner of these locations is absentee and we are looking for a new hands on owner to take this established business to the next level.
6. Top rated/top sales with great revenues Burger ($450,000)
Top rated gourmet Burger with potential growth in different directions. Located next to a bustling high-rise residential area. It is not just a burger joint, but also a bar and a hanging out place for the community. With top sales and great revenues, it’s evident that this burger have become a favorite among locals and visitors alike.
Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz of Arlington and a behavioral health clinic in Courthouse are among the latest winners of the annual Arlington Best Business Awards.
The event, organized by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, was held earlier this week at Army Navy Country Club. It also included three inductions into the Chamber’s Arlington Business Hall of Fame.
Mastercard is based in Purchase, New York, but has a technology hub in Ballston. Its ubiquitous logo tops the office building at 4250 Fairfax Drive.
More, below, from a Chamber of Commerce press release.
On May 16, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce celebrated the 37th Annual Arlington Best Business Awards at Army Navy Country Club, sponsored by Arlington Community Federal Credit Union. The Best Business Awards are presented to area businesses that consistently deliver exceptional quality of service to their customers, are industry leaders or offer a unique approach to delivery of goods or services, achieve significant growth or stability over the lifetime of their business, display an interest and concern for the success of the Arlington community, and demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The 2023 Best Business Award Winners are:
- Home Energy Medics — 2023 Sustainable Business of the Year
- National Capital Treatment & Recovery — 2023 Nonprofit Business of the Year
- Mercedes-Benz of Arlington — 2023 Retail Small Business of the Year
- Arlington/DC Behavior Therapy Institute — 2023 Service Small Business of the Year
- Mastercard — 2023 Large Business of the Year
This prestigious awards dinner recognized businesses in the Arlington community that go above and beyond to serve clients and make Arlington a great place to work and live.
“We’ve been doing business in Arlington for 86 years, and we’re very proud of our history,” said Mark Zetlin, of Mercedes-Benz of Arlington. “We always aim to take the best care of our customers, and we are proud to be valued by this diverse community.”
Following the presentation of the awards, the Chamber inducted the late Bert W. Johnson, Lola C. Reinsch, and Robert H. Hawthorne into the Arlington Business Hall of Fame.
The inductees captivated the sold-out crowd as they shared inspiring tales of how their upbringing influenced their careers. From leveraging family connections within the Arlington Chamber to secure their first post-college job to joining a traveling circus on the weekends, the Hall of Fame speeches not only entertained the audience but also showcased the diverse paths that led these individuals to their success.
Mr. Johnson served as the first professional County Manager for Arlington, from 1962 to 1976. He had the insight to develop the Rosslyn neighborhood as an office center and was instrumental to the Metro subway system construction in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.
Ms. Reinsch is the second-generation President and CEO of the Reinsch Companies. She noted that her father specifically wanted to develop properties along Columbia Pike, due to its proximity to the Pentagon and Washington DC. Her philanthropic efforts have led to her directing capital campaigns for VHC Health and Marymount University.
Mr. Hawthorne most recently was the Market President for United Bank, before retiring in 2021. Despite his monumental career in banking, Hawthorne never forgot the community that helped raise him. He noted that he first started with the Chamber, helping his bank at the time win the Arlington Chamber membership campaign, which lead to him initiating the first Membership Development Committee of the Chamber. Hawthorne would become the Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors in 1997. He also co-founded the Leadership Center for Excellence in 2000 and served as its first Chair.
“One of the biggest things that I’ve really seen the Chamber become is a place where there is a nice balance between small, medium, and large businesses,” said Robert H. Hawthorne. “I know that the business community will continue to help the Chamber, and keep up the good work!”
The Arlington Business Hall of Fame honors men and women with a connection to Arlington County who have demonstrated a long record of successful management, expertise, and business skills, along with notable achievements and exceptional civic and community involvement.
Just one month after both Loyal Companion stores in Arlington closed amid the chain’s bankruptcy, both locations are back as new pet stores.
In the Lee Harrison Shopping Center, Loyal Companion is still the sign above the storefront, but inside it has been converted into Wag N’ Wash, a pet store with a focus on pet hygiene.
Wag N’ Wash is a national chain with a few locations in the region, including one in Vienna.
As far as conversions go, the changes inside are fairly minor. Staff at the store, located at 2501A N. Harrison Street, said “it’s mostly the same stuff” with the same dog washing services Loyal Companion offered, just under a new name.
One of the few notable changes, staff said, is that eventually Wags N’ Wash will have a self-serve dog wash.
Meanwhile, a store manager at Dogma Bakery & Boutique said the new location near Clarendon — at 2509 Franklin Road — will have a soft opening later this week, perhaps on Wednesday, March 15, depending on when the shelves get set up. The store expects to be fully open next week.
(Updated at 3 p.m.) Amazon is putting the second phase of its second headquarters in Arlington on pause, Bloomberg and various other business news outlets are reporting.
“The construction moratorium will delay the online retailer’s full arrival at its biggest real estate project, and could create headaches for local developers, as well as construction and service workers banking on Amazon’s rapid expansion,” Bloomberg first reported.
It is a move that is not totally unexpected but yet will have significant local economic ramifications. Phase 2 of HQ2, approved by the Arlington County Board in April 2022, would have come with hundreds if not thousands of construction jobs, nearly 3 million square feet of office space, and the futuristic, nature-inspired Helix building.
That’s not to mention possible impacts on some of the development in the area spurred by Amazon’s arrival.
Amazon is still on track to complete the first HQ2 phase in Pentagon City this summer and told the Washington Business Journal that it still plans to eventually hire some 25,000 workers for its Arlington presence.
Thus far, this move is being described as a “pause” and not a cancellation. Amazon still plans to apply for permits associated with the project’s second phase, on what’s known as the PenPlace site, according to the Business Journal.
Amazon recently announced that it would be bringing most employees back to the office at least three days per week, after three years of working from home during the pandemic. Some employees, including those who work on national security-related business lines, have been working out of rented office space in Crystal City during that time.
Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to lay off more than 18,000 employees across the company. It also paused work on office construction projects in Nashville and in the Seattle area.
Arlington County issued the following statement about Amazon’s decision today.
Arlington County values the ongoing partnership with Amazon throughout the creation of its second headquarters – HQ2 has always been a multi-year project, and it continues to be a long-term commitment to Arlington and Virginia. We’re confident Amazon remains committed to the second phase of the project — PenPlace — and its benefits to the community, including affordable housing and the exciting partnership with Arlington Public Schools for the Community High School. We remain committed to working with Amazon in the years ahead, and look forward to the opening of phase one — Met Park — later this year.
At a virtual press conference this afternoon, County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said the HQ2 delay is “not exactly surprising” and “makes sense” given economic conditions and post-pandemic work patterns.
“It really doesn’t concern me, in fact i’m quite understanding,” Dorsey said. “Every [organization], from every sector, is thinking of its long term plans in a new light.”
“We’re going to ultimately see all of the benefits that we envisioned at the beginning, it’s just going to take longer,” Dorsey said, confidently predicting that the second HQ2 phase will still get built. “There’s no indication that I have that as Amazon expands, a central piece of that won’t be HQ2 and Arlington.”
In 1989, when Raffis Cleaners opened at 5119 Langston Blvd, the Berlin Wall came down, the Game Boy was released, and Taylor Swift was born.
Now, after 33 years, the owners of Raffis Cleaners say the business never fully came back post-Covid, forcing the alterations and dry cleaning service to close.
“We reached a point where we’re not covering our expenses,” said Eugenei Hovsepian, who owns the cleaner with her husband Harout. “We didn’t want to declare bankruptcy, we wanted to go out the right way.”
Eugenei said their landlord was a big help in keeping the businesses afloat as long as it has been: only paying half their usual rent for the last three years and getting several months in 2020 completely free.
The business also received support from the local community, with neighbors doing everything they could to help.
“We know people by their names here,” Eugenei said. “It’s a beautiful neighborhood and people really tried to help out.”
Eugenei said her husband has retired, but she’s hoping to go to Fairfax County Public Schools to work as a classroom monitor. Eugenei is in the interview process for the schools, saying she heard they needed support and wanted to help.
Raffis Cleaners closed for good yesterday (Wednesday) but will be open for the next two weeks to clear the store and return cleaned garments to customers.
Tuna Restaurant in Cherrydale is on the market, one of several Arlington restaurants publicly listed for sale.
The restaurant at 3813 Langston Blvd, serving Laotian and Japanese cuisine, opened in September after taking over the former space of Maneki Neko Express.
First-time restaurant owner Sak Vong expressed to ARLnow at the time high hopes for the revitalization of the Cherrydale neighborhood, which had just seen the closure of the well-regarded Gaijin Ramen Shop across the street.
Vong told ARLnow last week that he is selling because of a “new business opportunity overseas.”
The listing for Tuna on a business brokerage website says it’s bringing in more than $40,000 per month, has positive diner reviews, and has “plenty of room to grow.” The new owners would be able to retain the staff of six, says the listing, which comes with a $195,000 asking price. The restaurant’s lease reportedly runs through September 2025.
Several other Arlington restaurants are currently listed for sale on the brokerage site, though the identities of each have not been revealed. Among them:
- Popular Restaurant & Bar for sale in Arlington — $225,000
“Restaurant & bar for sale on a high traffic road in Arlington VA. This restaurant was established in 2019 built out with all brand new furniture, fixtures and equipment which are all still in pristine condition. Excellent menu consisting of a variety of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads as well as an assortment of mouth watering specialty entrees. The highlight of this restaurant is the bar which serves numerous craft beers, wines, large whisky selection, liquor and specialty cocktails.” - 5 Day Cafe in Prime Location — $89,000
“Prime location restaurant and cafe on a main road in Arlington opened only 5 days a week. Surrounded by office buildings, apartments and retail makes this a great location given the high volume walking traffic during work hours and evenings. This restaurant has been in business since 2016. The current menu consists of soups, salads, sandwiches and much more but can be converted to fit most menus/concepts.”
- Low Rent & Profitable Free Standing Restaurant — $279,000
“Profitable free standing restaurant in Arlington VA located on a heavy traffic road surrounded by residential. This restaurant has been in business since 1998 and has EXTREMELY LOW RENT for this area. The current menu and concept can be converted to almost any type of food or be kept the same. Very big kitchen great for catering and to accommodate large orders. With a rent of $5,700 per month and annual sales around $800,000 this is an excellent money making opportunity. 5 star google reviews.”
- Absentee Owned Franchise Sandwich Shop — $99,000
“Absentee owned national franchise sandwich shop/deli in Arlington. Conveniently located on a heavy traffic road surrounded by office buildings and residential. The menu consists of mostly deli sandwiches but can be converted to fit most menus. Large kitchen with high end equipment. Extremely low rent considering the location. MUST SEE!! Please inquire for more information. Current owner is ready to retire.”
- Fantastic Corner Cafe’ and Market — $145,000
“European café and market. Serving breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and deserts. All types of coffees, lattes, and teas. Pastries and bagels. Sandwiches, soups, and salads. Chips, candy, cigarettes’, and Ice cream, Refreshments, select micro beers, and fine wines. Inside and outside seating. A real must see.”
ARLnow reached out to Rebellion on the Pike, which opened in 2019, given the similarity between it and the “Popular Restaurant & Bar for sale in Arlington” listing. We have not heard back as of publication time.
Dogma Bakery & Boutique is expanding and taking over the Clarendon space that Loyal Companion is moving out of next week.
The Shirlington-based local pet store announced on Saturday that it was opening its third Northern Virginia location at 2509 Franklin Road in the Clarendon area. It’s taking over the space that Loyal Companion is leaving at the end of February.
Earlier in the month, Loyal Companion announced it was closing many of its pet stores across the country, including the two in Arlington, due to its parent company declaring bankruptcy. Both locations, in Clarendon and at Lee Harrison Shopping Center, were planning to close on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Within weeks, though, Dogma committed to taking over the space.
While it’s taking over the space at the beginning of next month, Dogma owner Sheila Raebel told ARLnow the plan is to reopen by Tuesday, March 7. She said one of the biggest reasons to move in was the desire to keep Loyal Companion’s staff employed.
“The decision was made when I met the staff there and saw how hard they were taking the closure of their store,” said Raebel. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
Dogma opened more than two decades ago in Shirlington and expanded to Reston in 2017, with the new location focused on grooming. The Reston outpost closed during the pandemic and then was open for appointments only.
Separately, Raebel also announced the Reston location will be fully reopening next month.
It used to be that we could just post article links to our Facebook and Twitter accounts and call it a day.
But each social network has been leaking users and reducing the organic reach of news publishers, so in order to connect with readers where they are we’ve been upping our game.
Two recent initiatives include a push to get email newsletter signups, to cut out the middleman between readers and our local news stories, and posting our top stories on Instagram.
As of today, something new: we’re going to be publishing business- and economic policy-related local news stories on our new ARLnow LinkedIn page.
Just click “Follow” on the page to get our links in your LinkedIn feed.
