Roommates Brewery, as the venture was named, was planned as a production brewery with an in-house taproom. Although no final location has been set — Pianta expects that to happen in the next few weeks — Roommates Brewery will likely open in Alexandria.
“Arlington couldn’t match up better with the demographics for a brewery with a taproom,” Pianta said. “It’s just tough to open something that large in Arlington.”
Free Burgers for Feds — Because the federal government shut down early this morning, Z-Burger is following through on its offer to serve free burgers for all federal and D.C. workers who have been furloughed. The local burger chain, which has a location at 3325 Wilson Blvd, near Clarendon, says customers must present a government ID to get the free burger.
Task Force Recommends More School Buses — An Arlington Public Schools task force has recommended that the school system’s bus service be expanded, at least for elementary school students. Elementary students should be supervised on their way to school, said the task force, which also said that buses are safer and produce less traffic than cars. [Sun Gazette]
The awards, presented by Arlington Economic Development, are in the following categories:
Those interesting in nominating a business — any business in Arlington is eligible — can do so at the ShopArlington website. Nominations will be accepted from now until Oct. 4. All nominations and voting are tracked via IP address; only one vote per IP address will be counted, according to AED.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) The headquarters of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be moving out of Ballston, employees are being told today.
The move is another blow to Arlington’s commercial real estate market, which is dealing with rising office vacancy rates (16.5 percent as of January) and the impending loss of the National Science Foundation.
Board Approves Paid Parking at Arlington Mill Center — The Arlington County Board has approved a plan to have drivers pay for parking longer than 4 hours at the new Arlington Mill Community Center. The plan, approved by a vote of 3-2 in a special Board session, is intended to discourage commuters from using the center’s parking garage. Chris Zimmerman and Board Chair Walter Tejada voted against the plan, arguing that parking should be free at all times. [Sun Gazette]
Arlington Seeks Better Bike Map — Arlington County is asking for public input into its effort to design a better bike map of the county. Bike Arlington has created a short survey for local cyclists. The survey will remain open until Sept. 17. [Greater Greater Washington]
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the Orange Line corridor in Arlington “the core of startups in Washington” during a Q&A with entrepreneurs in Rosslyn today (Thursday).
Warner spoke to several dozen attendees at ÜberOffices (1400 Key Blvd) as part of “Startup Across America” Day, focusing on ways to boost the local startup economy, which has been a driver of job growth in the area.
Located at 3650 S. Glebe Road, Melody Tavern was a bar/restaurant that hosted live music. It closed in October 2012 after 10 months in business.
The space is now being renovated and will become the new location of the Crystal City Children’s Center. The parent-run cooperative child care center opened in 1987 and is currently located at 1900 S. Eads Street.
This article was written by Maddy Berner
On Sept. 1, Tri360 at 2121 N. Westmoreland St. in East Falls Church will celebrate one year of serving the area’s triathletes. While the shops’ consumer base might seem narrow, Blaine Atkisson — who co-owns the store with his wife, Kate — says the D.C. area triathlon community is large and active, with events every other weekend and thousands of participants. This community has contributed to the store’s increasing sales, which have made the couple excited about its progress, despite some initial struggles to expand the brand.
WJLA parent company Allbritton Communications announced today that it had struck a deal to sell WJLA, local cable channel NewsChannel 8, and 6 other local TV stations to Sinclair, which is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The deal, worth $985 million, will add to Sinclair’s portfolio of nearly 150 television stations across the country.
The deal is not expected to close until the end of the year, while the companies wait for federal regulatory approval. No changes to the station are planned in the meantime, but newsroom employees worry that Sinclair — which is conservative in its politics and in its fiscal management — may cut jobs and make other changes once the deal is approved.
Arlington: Top ‘City’ For Successful, Educated, Single Women — Arlington is the top “city” in the country for women who are college graduates, who have a high income, and who are single, according to the real estate website Redfin. As an added bonus to the single, successful women, there are 6 percent more single men than women. [Redfin]
Homeless Twins Still Recovering from Assault — Two homeless, 26-year-old twins are still recovering from a vicious attack that took place outside Arlington Central Library last month. Through donations and determination, they are attempting to overcome their injuries and get their lives back on track. [Washington Post]
The pages of Craigslist are filled with budding young professionals who, unable to afford their own Metro-accessible apartments in high-rent Arlington, instead search for roommates and shared housing. In the past few years, a growing number of young businesses have been taking a similar approach to office space in Arlington: cheaper rent, good location and good company.
Five coworking offices have moved into Arlington in the past two years: UberOffices in Rosslyn, Carr Workplaces in Rosslyn and Clarendon, Link Locale in Clarendon and, most recently, The Ground Floor in Rosslyn in the same building as UberOffices.
The Ballston Business Improvement District held its second annual meeting last Wednesday to discuss Ballston and its future, which looks more uncertain than a year ago when the BID was created.
Held just weeks after news broke that the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters would be moving out of Ballston for offices in Alexandria and elsewhere, Ballston BID Executive Director Tina Leone said the talks focused on the positives of Ballston’s business future and recent past.
