Around Town

The Lebanese fast-casual restaurant Badaro has closed down seven months after it opened in Ballston.

The restaurant, located at 933 N. Quincy Street, has signs on both of its doors. “We are sorry to inform you Badaro Restaurant has closed down. We thank you for being a part of our Badaro family — from your Badaro employees,” both of the signs read.


Around Town

As the busiest shopping season of the year draws near, the Pentagon City mall is adding five new stores.

The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City announced Thursday (Nov. 15) that it would be welcoming the new retailers, with some opening right away and others rolling out in the coming weeks.


Around Town

Hungry diners in Rosslyn will need to wait a bit longer for a new food hall slated to open in one of the neighborhood’s new skyscrapers.

Social Restaurant Group, the same company behind Clarendon night-life spots Bar Bao and Pamplona, plans to someday open the “Common Ground” food hall in the Central Place building at 1800 N. Lynn Street. However, SRG co-founder Mike Bramson told ARLnow that the company is currently targeting the “end of spring 2019” to open its doors, despite previously hoping to do so before the end of this year.


Around Town

A new bar and restaurant bound for the ground floor of the CEB Tower in Rosslyn is pushing back its opening date slightly, now aiming to start serving patrons next year.

The Metropolitan Hospitality Group, which also operates Circa Bistro in Clarendon, announced plans to bring a second “Open Road” restaurant to the area last summer. The firm had hoped to open it up sometime this fall, but MHG President Matt Carlin told ARLnow that “the permit process has definitely taken longer than we thought.”


News

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Concerns about the wisdom of doling out millions in incentives to lure Amazon to Arlington have abounded ever since rumors first kicked up that the company could head to the county — but Tuesday’s celebration of the move in Pentagon City didn’t betray much trepidation among state and local leaders.

Instead, Gov. Ralph Northam and a cadre of others devoted the afternoon to hailing the tech giant’s decision to bring a new headquarters to Arlington as a transformative one for the region.


News

Ballston Quarter could open to customers as soon as this week, marking an unofficial end to the years-long redevelopment of the old Ballston Common mall.

Signs posted around the development’s elevator banks list Thursday (Nov. 15) as the site’s opening day. Specifically, the signs advertise that the two main floors of Ballston Quarter — including the first floor with “street-level access” and the second floor with an area dubbed “Instagram alley” — will open this week.


News

WWI Commemoration Sunday — “At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I ended with the signing of the armistice. One hundred years later, we are gathering to commemorate the end of the Great War with a ceremony at the Clarendon War Memorial to mark the hour and day the armistice was signed.” [Arlington County, Arlington County]

County Board Election Map — In Tuesday Arlington County Board election, John Vihstadt captured most of the precincts in residential North Arlington, as well as few in South Arlington — including Aurora Hills and Fairlington — but Matt de Ferranti won by capturing the precincts along the Metro corridors and around Columbia Pike. [Blue Virginia]


Around Town

The Wendy’s on Columbia Pike has temporarily closed for major renovations.

Workers are currently in the process of fully overhauling the fast food restaurant, located at 3431 Columbia Pike, stripping away some of its exterior and clearing out its interior as well.


News

Suspect and Murdered Wife Both Marines — “A woman found dead in [an Arlington] hotel room on Saturday and the man arrested in connection with her murder are both U.S. Marines… The two were seen earlier in the evening at the Marriott while attending their unit’s military ball to commemorate the Marine Corps’ 243rd birthday.” [Newsweek, Task and Purpose]

Arlingtonian Named ABC 7’s Hero of the Week — “In his dedication to the community, Aaron Codispoti switches gears constantly — in the truest sense of the word. He manages a team of more than a thousand people within the State Department, volunteers as an auxiliary police officer with Arlington County — often on bike patrol — and organizes blood drives twice a year.” [WJLA]


Around Town

A new eatery coming to Ballston is inviting diners to eat “Dirt” — not quite literally, though.

The Miami-based restaurant plans to open its first location outside Florida in the Ballston Exchange development, located at 4121 Wilson Blvd, according to a press release.


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