Baja Fresh, located near the Harris Teeter grocery store, closed on Dec. 31, according to a note in the window. The restaurant’s main sign has already been taken down.
Baja Fresh will be replaced by Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, a fast-growing chain that’s also opening a location in Clarendon. The Pentagon Row Lime Fresh location is expected to open this spring, according to the Pentagon Row Facebook page. The Clarendon location, meanwhile, is now expected to open on Jan. 16.
Interior construction is underway at a new Seattle’s Best Coffee location at 2450 Crystal Drive. The owners were originally hoping to open the store, which is now hiring, in mid-November. No word yet on when the store is now expected to open.
Also coming soon to Crystal City: a new California Tortilla location. The local Mexican restaurant chain is planning on opening a location on the southern portion of Crystal Drive, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Yet another dessert option is coming to Clarendon.
Interior construction is underway for the first D.C.-area location of Paciugo Gelato and Caffè, a Texas-based gelato and coffee chain. The store will be located at 3033 Wilson Boulevard in the former Cafe Wilson/Big Belly Deli space.
Lime Fresh Mexican Grill is hoping to open its new Clarendon outpost in mid-January, according to a manager.
The fast-growing Mexican chain’s new eatery, the first in the D.C. area, is located at 2900 Wilson Boulevard, in the former Comfort One Shoes space. The restaurant is currently accepting employment application at the location.
William Jeffrey’s Tavern opened to the general public for the first time last night, co-owner Wilson Whitney told us. The restaurant, at 2301 Columbia Pike, offers seating for nearly 200 and a menu featuring American-style fare, 16 draft beers, and Prohibition-inspired cocktails.
Despite the high expectation of many Pike residents, Whitney warned that the restaurant is still in “soft opening” mode. With the kitchen still getting up to speed, early patrons should expect slower-than-usual service, he said.
The restaurant, which describes its offerings as “updated American classics,” is currently only open for dinner, but plans to start serving lunch on Tuesday. A weekend brunch service is expected to begin later this month, perhaps on Christmas weekend.
Wilson Tavern retains the small footprint of Kitty O’Shea’s, as well as the prominent bar, but renovations have resulted in an updated look that got rid of the old drop ceiling and exposed some of the building’s rugged brickwork. Black woodwork, an eclectic collection of new and antique furniture including repurposed 19th century church pews, and bare, hanging light bulbs give the tavern a unique, vaguely old-fashioned feel.
The sports bar and restaurant, on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech National Capital Region building at 900 N. Glebe Road, should open at some point between Christmas and New Year’s Day, The Greene Turtle’s Sattar Shaik tells ARLnow.com.
According to The Greene Turtle website, the restaurant will be open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight Sunday though Wednesday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Melody Tavern is located at 3650 S. Glebe Road, near Potomac Yard — but mapping software and GPS systems often interpret the address incorrectly. For instance, Google Maps will steer users to a vacant lot several blocks away.
The restaurant recommends that customers use the address 3600 S. Glebe Road, instead, when using navigation systems. That address seems to work in most cases.
The new restaurant is expected to open on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. It will be the Chicago-based chain’s first Virginia location, although it currently has half a dozen locations open in the District of Columbia.
“Rosslyn is the perfect location for the Mediterranean-inspired, fast, casual, tasty and healthy food because of the amazing community filled with hip, active and health conscious professionals,” the company’s PR rep said in an email. “By serving ‘food that loves you back,’ Roti is the perfect meal option for the residents and businesses in the area.”
A photo posted on Facebook over the weekend shows big, colorful signs covering the doors and windows of the future burger-and-milkshake joint’s prime, 3,300 square foot space on Crystal Drive’s restaurant row.
This will be Good Stuff’s second location. Its original location on Capitol Hill opened in 2008.
Memphis Barbeque, located at 320 23rd Street S., will feature “authentic” Memphis barbeque as envisioned by chef and owner Chris George.
“Memphis Barbeque will feature a menu of finger licking, barbequed meats, fish and shellfish,” the restaurant said in a press release. “Meats will be slow cooked over hickory wood from two smokers and finished with a selection of tomato and vinegar based sauces.”
Wilson Whitney, Adam Lubar and Chris Lefborn — who own Rhodeside Grill (1836 Wilson Blvd), Ragtime (1345 N. Courthouse Road) and Dogwood Tavern (132 West Broad Street, Falls Church) — are plowing some $2 million into the elaborately-decorated, nearly 200 seat restaurant at 2301 Columbia Pike, on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartment building. They’re in it for the long haul, too, after signing a 20-year lease on the space.
“We’re really out there,” Whitney said of their investment.
