After nearly two years of construction, owner Peter Tabibian hopes to open the restaurant in the next two to three weeks. He said an inspector asked for a few more fixes before the final occupancy permit is granted. Tabibian thinks the timing should be better with a March opening anyway, considering it may not be as cold outside.
“I think it’s better to open when it’s a little bit warmer,” he said. “When you open, you want to open with a big bang. It’s not as good when it’s winter.”
Little City Gourmet, described as a “cafe and store,” plans to open at 2121 N. Westmoreland Street on April 15. The cafe plans to have about 16 seats inside and four outdoor seats, according to interior design sketches. It’s also applying for a license to serve beer and wine.
Located on the ground floor of an apartment building, Little City Gourmet is within walking distance of the East Falls Church Metro station and the W&OD Trail, on the same block as One More Page Books.
Ballston is about to get an influx of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese foods. All of those varieties will be served up at Red Parrot Asian Bistro (1110 N. Glebe Road) when it opens next week.
Workers are setting up furniture and making finishing touches on the restaurant, so owner Wendy Cheng expects to have a soft opening by next Thursday (February 14), with a grand opening in March. She already has two successful Red Parrot restaurants in Maryland, and had been looking to open an Arlington location for a while.
RedRocks will open its third D.C.-area Neapolitan pizzeria on Columbia Pike tomorrow (Friday).
RedRocks is opening the 133-seat eatery at Penrose Square, on the 2500 block of Columbia Pike. The restaurant overlooks the new Penrose Square park and the restaurant’s owners plan to debut outdoor seating (about 20 seats) starting this spring.
A new restaurant aimed at offering high protein foods is opening in Ballston tomorrow. Protein Bar (800 N. Glebe Road) will start serving its blended drinks, wraps and other entrees around lunchtime on Wednesday.
The goal is to serve foods high in protein, high in fiber and low on refined sugars. Founder Matt Matros based the menu on the diet that helped him lose weight.
A new Indian restaurant recently opened in the Lyon Park neighborhood.
Masala Express, at 2622-A Pershing Drive, just celebrated its first month in business. The restaurant, which offers carry out service and a small section of cafe seating, has enjoyed favorable reviews on Yelp since it opened on Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
A tipster sent ARLnow.com a photo of the county inspection sign that went up on the door yesterday, claiming the building is unsafe.
According to a representative with Arlington’s Inspection Services Division, the restaurant had opened before receiving its certificate of occupancy. The county worker said the restaurant owners took it upon themselves to open when they weren’t authorized to do so.
Low Water Pressure Issues Continue — Residents in parts of Lyon Park, Buckingham, Douglas Park, Nauck, Arlington Ridge and Crystal City may experience low water pressure this morning due to various water issues. According to Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services, yesterday’s break in a 30-inch water main at Arlington Blvd and S. Irving Street is isolated and awaiting parts for additional repair work. Several water leaks also have been reported this morning at S. Stafford Street and 16th Road S., 26th Street S. and 26th Place S., and 31st Street S. and S. Woodrow Street.
Protein Bar Opens in Two Weeks — According to its Twitter feed, the new Protein Bar restaurant is set to open at 800 N. Glebe Road in Ballston on Wednesday, January 30. The restaurant will start serving its healthy food at 11:00 a.m.
The new Dunkin’ location is offering free medium hot or iced coffee this week to celebrate its grand opening.
The store is open from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, we’re told.
Reality TV star Chris Bukowski is opening a “female-friendly” sports bar called “Bracket Room” in Clarendon.
The “sports lounge and eatery,” as described in a press release, is expected to open this summer. It will be opening in the former Burapa Thai space at 1210 N. Garfield Street, though as of this morning no building permits have been issued.
A new Vietnamese restaurant has opened in Shirlington Village.
Lotus Vietnamese Grill & Noodles, at 4041 Campbell Avenue, started serving customers on Monday. The restaurant, which seats about 40, is located in a 2,100 square foot space next to Extra Virgin restaurant.
When is a restaurant not just a restaurant? When it’s connected to a framing store, like the new Rus Uz in Ballston.
The restaurant is connected to Ballston Art and Framing (1000 N. Randolph Street), which is owned by the family behind the KH Art and Framing store on Lee Highway. Jamil Hakimi runs the framing business and said he originally had planned on just running his store until he was approached by the Rakhmatullaev family about sharing the space, which previously had been occupied by Daily Deli.
