new business | ARLnow.com

Published August 14, 2014 at 3:30PM

SpecDive Tactical's website

A store selling civilian and military-grade weaponry and tactical gear is planning to move into the ground floor of a condominium building in the Nauck neighborhood.

SpecDive Tactical, which currently operates out of an apartment building on S. Abingdon Street in Fairlington, hopes to move into the ground floor of 2249 S. Shirlington Road, next door to Pizzoli Pizza. When contacted, SpecDive Tactical’s owner Gerald Rapp confirmed an agreement was in place to move into the space, but otherwise declined to comment on the record.

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Catholic Gifts Store Coming to Cherrydale

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 14, 2014 at 10:00AM

A new “Catholic gift store” is getting ready to move into Cherrydale next month.

Joyful Spirit Gifts is a new business owned by Meg Miller Rydzewski, a parishioner at Saint Agnes Catholic Church, and it says on its website that it plans to open its brick-and-mortar and online store Sept. 1. The shop is located at 3315 Lee Highway, in the Lee Centre strip mall.

News

Unauthorized Construction Caused Clarendon Gas Leak

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 7, 2014 at 5:10PM | Updated August 8, 2014 at 9:01AM

Photo via @jdsonder

The gas leak in Clarendon that caused several buildings to evacuate last weekend was caused by unauthorized construction, ARLnow.com has learned.

Interior construction on the small, vacant space of 3127 Wilson Blvd caused the gas leak, and Arlington County’s department of Community Planning, Housing and Development said they have not approved any permits for work, and ordered the work to stop after the gas leak.

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Cherry Blow Dry Bar Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Published August 4, 2014 at 10:30AM

This won’t be a full-service salon offering haircuts and coloring. In fact, the website explains, “We do two things… and we do them extremely well.” Those two things are hair blow outs and extensions.

Cherry Blow Dry Bar offers $35 blow outs every day, regardless of hair length. Extensions are described as “premium, long-lasting, and beautifully blended tape extensions that won’t damage your hair.”

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‘Orangetheory Fitness’ Plans to Open in Rosslyn

By Morgan Fecto

Published July 16, 2014 at 10:00AM

Orangetheory Fitness, an interval-training gym with heart rate-focused workout sessions, plans to open a location at 1776 Wilson Blvd by the end of the August.

Orangetheory employees have been signing up passersby for discounted memberships this week in the storefront next door to its planned location, near Ray’s to the Third restaurant. The gym is offering specials ranging from $8 to $17 per session to those who sign up for a month of group classes between now and its planned grand opening opening at the end of the summer.

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New ‘Green’ Car Service Launches in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 8, 2014 at 11:00AM | Updated July 8, 2014 at 11:23AM

Green Tomato Cars Co-founder and Vice President Jonny Goldstone said the car service launched in Arlington in May and has more than 25 cars in its fleet that are licensed to operate in Virginia, and he plans to add five to 10 more every month, as allowed by Virginia law for operating a car service as opposed to a taxi company.

“We’re looking at getting to 70 to 100 vehicles within the calendar year,” Goldstone told ARLnow.com. “With that sort of number, we’re pretty comfortable we’re going to be able to offer a car in 10 minutes wherever people are. At that point, I think we’re really a viable competitor to Uber for the on-demand rides. Right now we’re most convenient as a pre-scheduled ride service.”

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Maserati Dealership Coming to Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published June 2, 2014 at 3:30PM

A Maserati dealership appears close to opening in the former M. Slavin & Sons Seafood site on S. Glebe Road, just south of I-395.

“Maserati” is already displayed on the side of the building, at 2710 S. Glebe Road, and the business says it’s just weeks away from opening the doors of the dealership (and the Italian sports cars inside.)

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New Boutique Grocery Store Coming to Pershing Drive

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 23, 2014 at 2:30PM

A new grocery store is expected to open in Lyon Park on Pershing Drive within the next month or two.

A boutique grocery store called Streets Market is hoping to open by late June or early July on the ground floor of the new 2201 Pershing apartment complex, at the corner of Pershing and Route 50, according to company official Kathryn Lee. Streets Market just opened its first location, at 2400 14th Street NW in D.C., last month, but they have been undergoing construction for seven months, Lee said.

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TechShop Opens in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 22, 2014 at 9:50AM

TechShop, a subscription-based, high-tech workshop, has opened its 20,000-square-foot space at 2110-B Crystal Drive, in the Crystal City Shops.

The shop opened last Wednesday after eight weeks of construction. It offers its members access to millions of dollars worth of equipment to use to build prototypes, new inventions or anything else they can dream up.

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Made-to-Order Ice Cream Shop Coming to Clarendon

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 17, 2014 at 3:30PM

An ice cream shop that takes customers orders, then literally makes the ice cream as the customer watches, is preparing to open in Market Common Clarendon next month.

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Former Lee Highway 7-Eleven Now a TitleMax

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 4:45PM

TitleMax, which lets individuals with poor credit borrow against the title of their automobile, moved into the space a few weeks ago, according to representatives of Virginia Hospital Center, which owns the building.

The 7-Eleven closed Oct. 21 of last year after the convenience store chain’s corporate arm declined to continue its month-to-month lease. In the months between 7-Eleven’s closing and TitleMax opening, Virginia Hospital Center Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Adrian Stanton said there was little interest in the property.

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Investment Fund Launches in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 10, 2014 at 3:00PM | Updated April 10, 2014 at 4:41PM

Crystal City will soon be the home to dozens of early stage technology companies, housed in the just-opened Crystal Tech Fund coworking space.

Located on the 10th floor of 2231 Crystal Drive, the $50 million Crystal Tech Fund — founded by Paul Singh, an early partner in the venture capital firm 500 Startups — provides office space to companies while also giving each of them significant capital investments and entrepreneurial mentorship.