But not everybody thinks the Italian Store will be an all-over positive development for the neighborhood.
Here’s a letter to the editor from former Westover resident Kyle Herchert:
new restaurant
Sponsored
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Servers: Do you have 2 years of experience in a high-volume restaurant? Are you team-orientated and guest-focused? Craft beer knowledge is preferred, but not necessary.
Hosts: Are you friendly and outgoing with a great smile? Experience with Open Table is a bonus.
Bar Louie will fill a 5,480 square foot space at 320 23rd Street S. formerly occupied by Memphis Barbecue. This will be the sixth Metro D.C. location for the Texas based chain. Bar Louie is known for signature martinis, but also features small plates, flatbreads, salads, burgers and sandwiches.
To celebrate its grand opening next Thursday (December 26), the bar and restaurant will host a three day celebration next week. From Friday, December 27 through Sunday, December 29, customers can enjoy drink specials and free food. Each customer will receive one free appetizer or flatbread just for stopping by. There are reportedly other surprises planned for the bash that have not been announced yet.
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Executive Chef and operating partner Alan Newton describes the concept as “modern comfort food with some international flair.” He said customers can expect high quality, made from scratch food in a casual setting.
“We want to be known as a great place for drinks and great food. There’s a lot of French influence in the food as well,” Newton said. “You can wear a suit or wear shorts, you’ll feel comfortable either way.”
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(Updated at 7:00 p.m.) The Italian Store will be opening a second location next year, in the Westover neighborhood.
The store, which sells sandwiches, pizza, wine and gourmet Italian grocery items, has enjoyed considerable success at its Lyon Village location, at 3123 Lee Highway. The new location, at 5839 Washington Blvd, will be about twice the size as the original, according to owner Robert Tramonte, whose family has owned and operated the store since 1980.
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The new restaurant will be located in Pentagon Row, not far from Sur La Table on S. Joyce Street. It will fill a 5,350 square foot space where the Desi Innovations furniture store used to be.
Bonefish Grill is a national chain specializing in market-fresh fish and other wood-grilled specialties.
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Having launched Maple Ave in Vienna nearly five years ago, husband and wife team Tim Ma and Joey Hernandez are not new to the restaurant scene. Yet with the opening of Water & Wall (3811 N. Fairfax Drive) in Virginia Square almost two weeks ago, they found new challenges to contend with at their Arlington restaurant.
“When you get into a new kitchen, it’s completely new equipment, completely new staff, it’s a completely new space flow,” said Ma. “It’s a completely new restaurant. We want to take the time to make sure we get every step right.”
‘Thaiger Asian Bistro’ applied for a permit at 3035 Clarendon Blvd this week. Fatshorty’s closed at that location a week and a half ago, citing disappointing sales.
So far, there’s no word on when the new restaurant will open. A woman answering a phone number associated with the restaurant told ARLnow.com that she was unwilling to divulge any details about the restaurant at this time.
Free Clinic Still Needed Post-Obamacare — The Affordable Care Act may help reduce the number of people without health insurance, but it won’t alter the core mission of the Arlington Free Clinic. The clinic will continue to serve the thousands who are expected to remain without health insurance in Arlington even after the health care law is implemented. [Sun Gazette]
Water & Wall to Open Saturday — Water & Wall, a new restaurant in Virginia Square, is set to open on Saturday. The restaurant, from Tim Ma of Maple Ave Restaurant in Vienna, will serve “eclectic American” cuisine. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
The Texas-based bar/restaurant chain has started interior construction work that includes core drilling as they work to replace the old Memphis Barbecue restaurant at 320 23rd Street S. Bar Louie applied for a permit in the space this summer, but the company said at the time that it hadn’t made a final decision on a location.
Per an anonymous tipster, management at the Buchanan sent the following note to residents, notifying them of the construction activity.
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Heavy Seas Alehouse, a brewpub affiliated with the popular Baltimore brewery, is expected to open in Rosslyn this December.
The alehouse is currently under construction at the corner of N. Oak Street and 18th Street N. and Director of Operations Vince Cassino said it will open in December “if all goes well.”
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Capriotti’s, a fast-casual sandwich shop, will be moving into ground floor retail space along Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, according to Capriotti’s Washington Metro Area Developer George Vincent. Vincent wouldn’t reveal the precise location because the lease has not yet been signed.
Vincent expects to sign the lease in the coming weeks, and is concurrently applying for permits with Arlington County, he said. Once the lease is signed, building the interior of the restaurant will take about five weeks.