The signs appeared on the windows at the corner of Washington Blvd and N. Garfield Street yesterday. Conspicuously, they were posted on the outside of the windows.
“We don’t have a sign on 3001 that says that… we haven’t been in any discussions with them,” said John Asadoorian, whose firm, Asadoorian Retail Solutions, is handling leasing for the building’s retail spaces.
(Updated at 5:50 p.m. on 6/19/14) Cafe Caturra (2931 S. Glebe Road) is expected to close in order to be converted into a Tazza Kitchen restaurant.
The restaurant opened in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center in September 2011. It is expected to close for renovations in the near future, though no timeline has yet been set, according to co-owner Jeff Grant, the founder of Cafe Caturra. The restaurant has applied for but has not yet been granted building permits.
A restaurant called “The Celtic House,” from a company called “Green Brigade LLC,” has applied for a permit to serve wine, beer and mixed beverages at 2500 Columbia Pike, in the Arlington Village Shopping Center. That’s the current home of Manee Thai restaurant, which has been open for 13-14 years.
“Mo,” a man identifying himself as the owner of Manee Thai, told ARLnow.com today that he is in talks to sell the restaurant and retire. But he said nothing has been finalized.
We, The Pizza, the pizza shop launched by former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn, is now open in Crystal City.
Located next to TechShop in the Shops at 2100 Crystal Drive, the pizza shop has only been open “a couple of days” according to a manager in the store, and it was still crowded for lunch at 1:30 p.m. today. The shop has signs posted alerting customers “Staff is training (Be Gentle).”
A combination Mediterranean restaurant and Italian hoagie shop could be opening at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Garfield Street in Clarendon as early as Friday.
“Spice” will occupy the same space that housed Le Sandwich for 10 days and previously was home to Cafe Wilson, Paciugo Gelato and Street Corner Cafe. Its owner, Yasser Mohamed, who also owns and operate Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream across the street, held the lease for Le Sandwich and said he saw “the store going downhill fast” and “didn’t like it,” so he decided to kick out Le Sandwich and its operator, Mehdi Ben, and give his wife the space for a restaurant.
Graffiti Closes Powhatan Skatepark — Powhatan Springs Skatepark is temporarily closed after “graffiti containing vulgar language” was found. The park will be temporarily closed until park staff can remove the graffiti. No word yet on a reopening date.
Tejada: Three Dems on County Board — At the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner over the weekend, Walter Tejada said pointedly that he is “one of three Democratic county board members,” presumably excluding Libby Garvey. Garvey was also not listed as an “Arlington Democratic Elected Official” in the program. [Blue Virginia]
A new restaurant that boasts serving pizzas “freshly-baked in 90 seconds” appears to be moving to Rosslyn at 1501 Wilson Blvd, next door to Roti.
Spinfire Pizza is planning on opening one of its first two locations in Rosslyn — the other is expected to open in Ashburn, Va. — but there’s no indication of when the restaurant will open its doors.
Del Campo and Taco Bamba chef Victor Albisu has withdrawn his concept, a Mexican restaurant called Bombazo, leaving Christiana Campos and her Spanish restaurant, Casita, as the winner.
Campos will now get to open up shop in the former Red Parrot space at 1110 N. Glebe Road, next to The Melting Pot with a year of free rent, an 11-year lease and a $245,000, interest-free loan from the building’s owner, Brookfield Properties.
A Chinese restaurant that bills itself as “Healthy. Tasty. Fancy,” appears to be coming soon to Rosslyn.
Secret Chopsticks has posted signs all over the windows of the ground floor space along N. Fort Myer Drive of the Turnberry Tower luxury condominium building. The signs point interested passers-by to a website that is empty, other than the restaurant’s logo and the description “contemporary Chinese cuisine.”
Jimmy John’s, which has locations in Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City, has signed a lease to move into the Beacon at Clarendon West apartment project, at the corner of Washington Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street, according to Asadoorian Retail Solutions, which is managing the retail leasing for the development.
Asadoorian’s Jeff Handler told ARLnow.com that the company is also looking to fill the apartment building’s ground floor with a fitness business and a wine bar, among other retail options. Handler also said he’s “in conversation with a number of restaurants.”
Adams Morgan watering hole Black Squirrel may be coming to Rosslyn.
Leasing agents at the Sedona Slate apartment complex, on the 1500 block of Clarendon Blvd, have been telling prospective residents that Black Squirrel will be opening in a ground floor space at the building.
Nicecream Factory, an ice cream shop that features the frozen confection made-to-order using liquid nitrogen, is now open at 2831 Clarendon Blvd.
The shop opened last Wednesday in the former Red Mango space. The shop was “packed” this weekend, according to co-owner Sandra Tran. Many customers read about the shop on ARLnow.com last month, she said, but a few others had been clamoring for her to open when they walked by during the shop’s buildout, which she said took less than a month.
