The original Bob and Edith’s Diner on Columbia Pike is back open after a brief closure for maintenance, and its owner is looking to reassure nervous fans that the restaurant isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
The diner closed for maintenance last Tuesday (Oct. 30), leaving would-be patrons a bit mystified. But Ryan Brown, a lawyer for Bob and Edith’s owner Greg Bolton, told ARLnow that the closure only lasted two days, to allow for the installation of a new grease trap.
A new shop serving up smoothies, coffee and “superfood” recently opened in the lobby of an office building in Clarendon.
The Waterhouse Coffee and Juice Bar debuted last Tuesday (Oct. 30) with a soft opening for the office building tenants to sample the food and drink, Connie Kim, the owner and manager, told ARLnow.
Polls Are Open — Voting in Arlington started at 6 a.m. this morning and will continue until 7 p.m. Don’t be surprised to see TV crews at local polling places: a number of international news outlets will be on hand to document democracy in action in Arlington. [Twitter, Twitter]
HQ2 Driving Real Estate Interest — Real estate agents are seeing increased interest in Arlington and Alexandria as a result of the increasingly-likely prospect of Amazon’s HQ2 (or, at least, a portion of it) coming to the area. Crystal City residents, meanwhile, are both excited and apprehensive about the tech and e-commerce giant moving into the neighborhood. [Washington Business Journal, WJLA]
Punch Bowl Social, a combination bar and entertainment venue that’s a key part of the new Ballston Quarter development, now seems set to open its doors next month.
Details remain scarce on when the newly revamped Ballston Common mall will open its doors, with the development blowing past proposed opening dates in both September and October. But new ads for Punch Bowl Social posted inside the Ballston Metro station indicate the establishment is planning a “grand opening” on Dec. 8.
Amazon in Talks to Come to Crystal City — Per a widely re-reported Washington Post scoop, Amazon “has held advanced discussions about the possibility of opening its highly sought-after second headquarters in Crystal City.” An Amazon executive, meanwhile, tweeted that “the genius leaking info about Crystal City” is “not doing [it] any favors.” [Washington Post, Twitter]
Crystal City Isn’t Alone — “Amazon.com Inc. has progressed to late-stage talks on its planned second headquarters with a small handful of communities including northern Virginia’s Crystal City, Dallas and New York City, people familiar with the matter said, as it nears a final decision that could reshape both the tech giant and the location it chooses.” [Wall Street Journal, Washington Business Journal]
The Sichuan Wok Chinese restaurant in Ballston seems to have closed.
The restaurant, located at 901 N. Quincy Street, has been closed during normal business hours for the last two days and caution tape now blocks off its entrance. No one answered the phone at Sichuan Wok this morning (Friday).
A new Asian fusion restaurant is on the way for Virginia Square, moving in to the space once occupied by Water & Wall.
Thai Treasure will soon open a new location at 3811 Fairfax Drive, owner Nui Bumrungsiri told ARLnow.
The original Bob and Edith’s Diner along Columbia Pike is currently closed for maintenance.
A sign posted on the door of the diner, located at 2310 Columbia Pike, informs would-be customers of the closure, and was still posted as of noon today (Tuesday).
Josephine’s Italian Kitchen, a new Italian restaurant, is now open for business in the Penrose Square shopping center.
Located just off Columbia Pike at 2501 9th Road S., the eatery opened its doors for the first time Saturday (Oct. 27), according to a release. The restaurant is backed by Tony Wagner, owner of the nearby Twisted Vines Bottleshop & Bistro and BrickHaus.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Stageplate Bistro in Ballston still plans to reopen following a summer hiatus, though it likely won’t welcome diners once more until late next month.
The restaurant, located at 900 N. Glebe Road, shut its doors back in August, as its owners hoped to take a pause from some lengthy work weeks and revamp the eatery’s web presence. Originally, its proprietors had planned to reopen by Sept. 1, but that date came and went without any news from the restaurant.
GMU Arlington Building Renamed — “Founders Hall, one of two major academic buildings on George Mason University’s Arlington Campus, was officially renamed Van Metre Hall after Mason’s Board of Visitors approved the change at its Oct. 10 meeting. The board’s action recognizes the generosity of the Van Metre Companies, a major regional builder that donated 37 acres in Ashburn, Virginia, to the George Mason University Foundation.” [George Mason University]
Overturned Vehicle on Washington Blvd — Near the tail end of yesterday morning’s rush hour a vehicle flipped on its roof along Washington Blvd, between Route 50 and Clarendon. The westbound lanes of Washington Blvd were blocked for a period of time. One person suffered minor injuries. [Twitter]
There’s some renovation work on the way for the space once occupied by Capitol City Brewing in Shirlington, though the location’s long-term future remains unclear.
Sterling-based construction company Cypress Contracting secured permits in August to make “interior alterations” to the space at 2700 S. Quincy Street, part of the Village at Shirlington shopping center, county records show.
