There is a new play area for kids inside Ballston Quarter with plenty of pint-sized attractions.
Located on the first floor of the mall, near the about-to-close Macy’s, Junior Playland has everything from a pink-and-blue carousel to a party room to a make-believe “village” with a hospital, restaurant and police station.
Although other indoor playgrounds exist in the D.C. area, owner Mon Nguyen said there was previously nothing like this in Arlington before he opened Junior Playland in November. He credits the idea to his experiences as a single dad with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old twins.
“They inspire me,” Nguyen said. “Before, I would never have thought about this.”
He said his kids enjoy playing in the ball pit and the balloon cage the most.
Junior Playland has a membership option — $59 per month for unlimited play — along with weekday and weekend “open play” admission for kids ages 1-10. It is open from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday.
Nguyen has opened another location in the Mall at Prince George’s in Hyattsville and soon plans to expand elsewhere in Virginia. He said many visitors are parents and nannies seeking an indoor outing away from the weather.
“The customers, they love bringing their kids with us,” he said.
Written by Kate Kimberlin
A charcuterie board franchise officially opened its doors in Rosslyn earlier this month.
The second Virginia location of Graze Craze is located within the Le Méridien Arlington hotel at 1121 19th Street N.
The business was two years in the making, according to franchisee Amaan Bhanji. He was in high school when he got started on this venture, making him the youngest Graze Craze franchisee, per a press release.
“I’m so excited to serve the community and create relationships with the many amazing people I meet on my entrepreneurial journey with Graze Craze,” Bhanji said.
Bhanji started working in food service when he in high school. While he originally planned to pursue college, those early work experiences, along with visits to several Graze Craze locations, led him down the path of entrepreneurship.
“I immediately fell in love with the concept, the fresh ingredients, and the creativity that goes into creating stunning charcuterie. I knew opening my own Graze Craze location would be the perfect venture to kick off my entrepreneurial journey,” Bhanji said.
The business offers a menu of different “grazing” boards and boxes curated to fit different flavor and dietary preferences. The boards can also be made for one person or as many as 10. Customers can meet with a “charcuterie expert” who will help customize boards for anything from small gatherings to large events.
Menu offerings are made fresh daily, with a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits and dips that are made in-house. The menu also offers occasional seasonal boards, such as a “Game Day Board,” as listed on the website.
Bhanji said the business will debut a new “Springtime Spread” board tomorrow (Tuesday), with watermelon radish, Italian prosciutto, dried apricots and merlot cheese.
The franchise, founded in 2018 by an Oklahoma Air Force veteran, was launched amid the rising popularity of charcuterie boards. Now with over 40 locations in 18 states, it is considered a top franchise in the “grazing food” category.
Bhanji said the first week of business has been a success and he looks forward to continuing to win new customers.
“It’s thrilling to be part of this young brand that will help bring joy to our community. I love the fact that I will be able to cater events and help relieve stress from our customers while doing something I truly enjoy,” he said.
Colada Shop is set to open its first Arlington location on Monday, and the first 100 visitors will receive a free “Colada Clarendon” tote bag.
The Sterling-based Cuban cafe is moving into a 2,200-square-foot space next to Tatte and Seamore’s, at 2811 Clarendon Blvd.
The company originally announced the Clarendon opening last August. This will be the sixth Colada Shop to open in the D.C. area, including one that opened in the Mosaic District in 2021. The first location opened in Sterling in 2016 before quickly expanding to D.C.
“We’ve been blown away by the love and support from the Washington, D.C. community,” Founder and CEO Daniella Senior said in a press release. “Each Colada Shop has its own unique charm, and I’m thrilled to see the infectious energy this Clarendon spot will bring to our family. Clarendon has always been on our radar, and now, we’ve found the perfect spot to bring our Cuban coffee, cocktails, and culinary delights, amplifying the neighborhood’s spirit.”
ARLnow reported in December that a second Colada Shop is slated to open in Crystal City this year, along with a Tatte cafe and Van Leeuwen ice cream shop, among other businesses.
What sets the Clarendon location apart from its sister cafes is a bigger bar, which will be the largest among all its locations.
“Prepare to be dazzled by the spacious interior and cozy patio seating at the Clarendon store, but the real star is the bar — meticulously designed to foster a lively ambiance where guests can unwind, mingle, and indulge in an array of tantalizing Cuban-inspired libations,” the release said.
The restaurant will offer a menu that includes favorites like Cuban-style empanadas, croquetas, arroz con pollo and BBQ ribs, with vegetarian options including jackfruit dishes.
The cocktail menu offers a variety of rum-based drinks, including the traditional piña colada and mojito, among others. For patrons on the go, the shop will offer seasonal slushies and cocktail pouches.
The building housing Colada Shop dates back to 1941 and is part of The Crossing Clarendon development, which has been renovated and rebranded in recent years.
The restaurant joins other new openings in Clarendon including as Chip City. There have also been several closures in the area, including clothier Jos. A Bank, outdoor outfitter Orvis, bar/restaurant Chicken + Whiskey, Mediterranean restaurant Cava Mezze and international bakery Le Pain Quotidien.
More changes could be on the horizon at The Crossing in the coming months as the property manager aims to “modernize” its retail offerings.
The Lot in Clarendon, now under new ownership, has been re-christened Arlington Beer Garden.
However, craft beer fans will need to wait a bit longer for its debut. Yahya Yasini, one of the new owners, told ARLnow the beer garden at 3217 10th Street N. could open in about a month.
“Our plan is to do grand openings sometime in mid-April,” he said. “So just keep an eye out on Instagram.”
Following its grand opening in 2019, The Lot quickly became a local favorite, gaining particular prominence during the pandemic. Initially, it was expected to remain open for only a few years before being demolished and redeveloped.
However, delays in the planning and approval process extended its lifespan.
ARLnow previously reported the beer garden intended to make last year its final hoorah.
The current plan is still to demolish The Lot and other nearby buildings, including the now-shuttered Silver Diner, to make room for a mixed-use apartment and hotel complex known as the Bingham Center. The Arlington County Board unanimously approved the project last year.
But Yasini said he has come to an “understanding” with the property owners that it may be at least another few years before the site is redeveloped.
“When that time comes, we’ll get into that,” he said.
The property was lively yesterday (Tuesday) with new staff, who could be seen moving new heat lamps and drawing up plans for the area when ARLnow stopped by.
Plans for the site, including the new beer list, are still being finalized, says Yasini. He and his business partners plan to release more updates on the venture’s official Instagram page in the weeks ahead.
Hat tip to numerous tipsters
Pizza Roma in Ballston has closed, making way for a new fast-casual Italian eatery called Scolapasta.
ARLnow received a tip last week that the longstanding pizzeria at 4219 N. Fairfax Drive — in operation for at least 15 years — had shut its doors, with “Coming Soon” signs for Scolapasta now gracing the windows. This week, the sign for “Pizza Roma” was also gone.
The closure comes after the pizza place abruptly ended its lunch service in 2019 amid rumors circulating of its closure.
The new tenant, Scolapasta, will not offer pizza but instead sell a variety of freshly made pasta types, sauces and toppings, restaurant owner Burak Temel told ARLnow. Patrons will be able to create their dishes on the spot, an approach Temel describes as “the Chipotle of Italian food.”
Temel, a long-time Arlington resident and owner of Urban Boxing Arlington and a construction company, said his business partner came up with the idea after visiting Italy and seeing how popular Italian street food was there among tourists.
“It’s kind of a no brainer, when you think about it,” he said. “Pasta is healthy. It’s budget friendly, and it could be a great late night food alternative to pizza for example, or some of the other local places in D.C., like Surfside.”
Scolapasta is aiming for a June 1 grand opening, according to Temel. Additionally, he noted that plans are in the works for a second location at the Tysons Galleria mall.
“I think it’s going to be very popular, especially with the locals,” he said.
A florist from Eastern Europe is bringing her passion for flowers to Arlington.
What started as an online business for floral delivery has blossomed into a brick-and-mortar storefront, Kat Flowers Design and Decor, which had its grand opening at 2342 Columbia Pike this past Friday, Feb. 9.
Yekaterina Allotey, the owner and lead designer, told ARLnow that she stumbled on the future home of her flower shop by accident, while pushing her baby in a stroller along the Pike. Once she laid eyes on the location, she knew it was the place for her.
Allotey says the Columbia Pike community welcomed her with open arms.
“You don’t feel alone when you’re starting something big like a floral business or flower shop,” said Allotey. “It’s so important to have supporters or someone who actually appreciates you here.”
Supporters from all over came to help Allotey settle in. She said her family flew from her home country of Belarus, as well as from Spain, for opening day. Other floral businesses showed their support at the ribbon-cutting, too.
“We are friends with every other shop I used to work with,” said Allotey. “We support each other.”
While the florist says she loves her new home, she still clings to memories of home.
Allotey told ARLnow that her fascination with flowers was sparked in her childhood home in Belarus, where her mother always displayed outdoor plants and flowers in the front and backyard of the house and had some arrangements inside, too.
“I remember in the summertime, when I would have guests coming over, she would ask me, ‘Hey, can you go pick up some flowers so that we can put them on the table as a centerpiece?” she said.
Allotey also recalled obsessing over flowers while at school, spending all of her lunch money on floral and landscaping garden magazines. Little did she know that her childhood obsession would become her career.
“I didn’t know that, at that moment, I was going to be a florist, ” said Allotey. “I think that’s where everything started.”
From then on, Allotey did everything she could to be around flowers. Before coming to the U.S., Allotey worked at a small wedding business, where she sometimes worked with flowers but mostly, due to the high price of flowers, decorated with drapes.
Allotey immigrated to the U.S. and settled on the East Coast, working for other floral shops before starting an online flower business in 2021. Now that her online business has transitioned to a physical storefront, she is eager to connect with customers face-to-face.
“Right now I’m waiting for more walk-in customers to buy flowers,” Allotey said.
As of Tuesday, Allotey served 40 customers and she says she hopes for an even bigger turnout today for Valentine’s Day. She says she is fully stocked up for the day of love and touted her arrangements and specialty roses.
“We have six special bouquets. We don’t use regular roses: Our roses are garden-style and it’s not like something you buy from any other grocery stores,” she said.
Allotey is also willing to break outside the mold of a traditional floral designer. She and her team have done unique requests ranging from money bouquets to sparkling powder on roses.
“None of the florists I worked for would ever accept this type of request because they have their style,” Allotey said.
She says she even works with artificial flowers, if that is what the customer wants.
“I want to try to keep quality and delivery,” said Allotey. “You know they say happy customer, happy shop.”
The opening of a wine store and bar in Clarendon is approaching, after numerous delays and setbacks.
The aptly named “Clarendon Wine Club” at 1114 N. Irving Street originally hoped to open this past fall. According to one of the owners, who requested they not be named, there is no set timeline for opening but they are hopeful to begin operating “someday soon.”
The owners, a self-described “Lyon Village couple,” said the landlord of the space passed away and the estate changed hands several times, resulting in significant delays.
“Unfortunately, we have had a lot of setbacks, including several transfers of custodianship of the landlord estate that delayed signatures and paperwork,” the owner told ARLnow. “Arlington has our paperwork, and it is pending currently.”
The business is a couple of doors down from O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub and around the corner from Clarendon Ballroom, which was revamped in 2022 with a new interior, a renovated rooftop and a pizza take-out window.
Clarendon does have at least three other businesses that can reasonably be classified as wine bars. Screwtop Wine Bar on N. Fillmore Street recently underwent an ownership change but is still operating as a wine shop. Northside Social Coffee & Wine at 3211 Wilson Blvd. is a self-titled “neighborhood café, wine bar, bakery & coffeehouse,” per their website.
The Board Room at 925 N Garfield Street, meanwhile, has a Champagne lounge that serves wine of the bubbly variety.
A bar and restaurant with French bistro inspiration and an “eclectic ambiance” is set to join several new businesses in Crystal City next year.
Bar Colline, created by D.C. brothers and hospitality entrepreneurs Eric and Ian Hilton, will join six street-level offerings at two new apartment buildings at 1900 Crystal Drive, announced developer JBG Smith in a press release.
The new restaurant is anticipated to open in early 2025 and will be an interpretation of French bistro Café Colline, which the brothers opened in the Lee Heights Shops along Langston Blvd in June 2020.
The Hilton brothers, operating as H2 Collective, have received national attention for their burgeoning D.C. restaurant empire, including Cafe Colline, Chez Billy Sud in Georgetown, Brighton at the Wharf and El Rey taqueria in Ballston and on U Street NW in D.C.
They are also behind Players Club, Parc de Ville in the Mosaic District, Solace Outpost in Falls Church and delivery-only burger purveyor Gee Burger.
The newest venture will boast a bar and private dining room with an “eclectic ambiance,” a press release from JBG Smith said. Bar Colline’s menu will feature shareable plates, wine and inventive cocktails.
The venue will join multiple businesses coming to the new apartment buildings, dubbed The Grace and Reva. They are Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois, Cuban café and bar Colada Shop, national blowout and hair styling brand Drybar, a nail salon called nailsaloon, and popular chains Tatte Bakery & Cafe and New York-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream.
JBG Smith is also behind an explosion of food options in Crystal City after opening a 1.6-acre dining destination in the Crystal City Water Park last October in an effort to “[cultivate] engaging places that create lively communities and exciting experiences,” JBG Smith Senior Vice President of Retail Leasing Amy Rice said in the release.
“We’re thrilled to welcome H2 Collective’s newest concept, Bar Colline, to the neighborhood and expect it to offer customers a unique and compelling reason to return again and again,” Rice said.
Arlington County awarded $225,000 in grants to five local startups working to solve problems in their respective industries, from keeping track of freight trucks to helping veterans with disabilities.
The five winning startups are the first to receive grants — of $25,000 to $50,000 apiece — from the Arlington Innovation Fund. This new pot of money, which the county approved last year, is intended to support early-stage tech companies, particularly those owned by women, veterans and minorities, while pushing down office vacancy rates.
Arlington Economic Development (AED), which oversees the fund, says it selected the five startups from 22 applicants because of “their executive and and technical capabilities, as well as their potential for significant revenue growth and societal impact.”
The companies are as follows:
- Dispatchr Technologies, LLC, which developed software to reduce the energy costs and carbon emissions of power plants.
- Freely Payments, LLC, which aims to cut processing fees when businesses accept credit card payments from customers.
- GenLogs Corporation, an artificial intelligence company that tracks freight trucks and tractor-trailers.
- Phalanx AI, Inc., a cybersecurity company that helps protect sensitive documents in online products such as Office 365 and Google Workspace.
- Seamless Transition, a medical device company that helps wounded veterans transition from active duty to civilian life through use of “a prosthetic knee that mimics the movement of natural human limbs.”
“We are excited to support these innovative companies in their startup journey as they launch, scale and advance out-of-the-box solutions right here in Arlington,” AED Business Investment Group Director Michael Stiefvater in a statement. “Their dedication to innovation and entrepreneurship aligns with Arlington’s vision as a leading technology hub offering a dynamic and inclusive business environment for startups.”
The grants can be used for business expenses such as hiring employees, leasing office space, and purchasing equipment. Many recipients told AED they plan to add new hires, enhance current features of their products and increase their marketing presence.
One entrepreneur, Seamless Transition CEO Sarah Malinowski, said she plans to patent the design of the prosthetic knee.
“With these resources, we’ll be able to secure a full patent for our innovative design using the current provisional patent,” said Malinowski. “This grant propels us forward on our trajectory, eliminating any potential delays and allowing us to focus unwaveringly on out mission.”
AIF still has $425,000 to award, having received $650,000 in the county’s 2024 budget. A second round of applications opened yesterday (Monday) and will close on March 10.
Depending on how many approved in the second round, there may be enough funding for a third, AED spokeswoman Destiny Esper told ARLnow.
(Updated at 10:10 a.m.) Arlington is set to see a number of new restaurants on the scene this year.
We’re tracking at least 19 eateries hoping to open in 2024, from burger joints to Chinese restaurants, and even some by acclaimed local chefs.
Which are you, personally, most looking forward to? For the purposes of this poll, we’ll exclude nationwide chains and one spot mostly serving desserts — Van Leeuwen in Crystal City.
When we asked this same question last year, the top vote-getter was Sabores, which was recently named a Top 100 U.S. restaurant by Yelp (more on that in an article later t0day).
Links to more info, below, on each of the new-for-2024 restaurants.
- Carbonara (Ballston)
- Thakali Bhatti (Ballston)
- Immigrant Food (Ballston)
- Roggenart Bistro & Cafe (Ballston)
- Zazzy (Clarendon)
- Kirby Club (Clarendon)
- Mister Days (Clarendon)
- Burger Billy’s Joint (Cherrydale)
- Yunnan by Potomac (Pentagon City)
- 2910 Kitchen & Bar (Columbia Pike)
- For Five Coffee (Rosslyn)
- NiHao (Crystal City)
- Lantern Restaurant and Bar (Crystal City)
- Tatte Bakery and Cafe (Crystal City)
- Bar Chinois (Crystal City)
- Colada Shop (Crystal City)
- Bar Colline (Crystal City)
- Columbia Pike Deli (Columbia Pike)
- Andy’s Pizza (Virginia Square)
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.
(Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 2/6/24) A private equity firm has partnered with Arlington-born juice and smoothie bowl shop South Block in a deal that will help the local chain advance its plans to add dozens of locations up and down the East Coast.
South Block owner and founder Amir Mostafavi will stay on as CEO post-acquisition, per a press release announcing the deal. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mostafavi tells ARLnow he calls this deal a “strategic growth partnership,” as he and the whole South Block team will stay on while Savory Fund will help with its plans to reach 50 locations from the Mid-Atlantic up to the Northeast. The investment fund will also help with business operations, including human resources, finance and accounting, marketing, legal and facilities management.
“First and foremost, we have a great team at South Block already, a great foundation to build on,” Mostafavi said. “We’re excited about growing the business… My team is going to work alongside them and gain knowledge and experience as we’re building our team up in South Block, as we’re continuing to grow.”
Savory’s Managing Partner and Co-Founder Andrew Smith told ARLnow that, when it acquired a majority position in the company, keeping Mostafavi on was a non-negotiable.
“He’s done an incredible job leading this team to the successful level that he has,” Smith said. “He absolutely stands, amongst his peers, way ahead [in] the way that he runs [South Block], and I think it’s because he’s been patient: He hasn’t worried really about growing as fast as he can. He’s been growing as methodically as he can.”
Mostafavi started South Block with its first location in Clarendon, naming the company after its position on the south side of the block, near Trader Joe’s. As the juicery added locations, all within the D.C. area, Mostafavi started searching for a capital partner in 2022 to help him continue to expand the business.
“We’ve done what I think is a great job getting us to 15 locations and we could probably navigate on our own getting to 50, but to have a partner that… has your back, that will support you and that you can learn from just makes the journey feel a lot more relaxed and attainable,” Mostafavi said. “Any time as an entrepreneur that you can try to reduce some of the pressure and stress, that’s a good thing.”
Mostafavi says he was drawn to the Savory Fund after their initial introduction.
“They’re just great people, they genuinely care about the founder of their portfolio brands, the culture and that’s what they go looking for is brands that have a great fan base, a great company culture, that are founder driven, that put people first and that’s what I was looking for,” he said.
The Utah-based investment group says it “specializes in taking fast casual and polished casual food and beverage concepts” and scaling them “into 30-unit+ powerhouse brands.” Smith, Savory Fund’s co-founder, told ARLnow he wants to maintain South Block’s cult following amid the planned expansion.
“More important than scale, where we add dozens more units, we want to grow the business from within and make sure that we grow the base of our cult following and the locations we currently have,” he said.
By focusing on South Block’s leadership ranks and its business processes, he said, Savory Fund will help it “continue to maintain the great business that it is and continue to maintain the cult following that we have within South Block, and continue to maintain that leadership presence, especially in the Northeast.”