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A fast-casual Italian restaurant serving customizable pasta bowls has a new timeline for its Ballston opening.

Scolapasta has been in development across from the Ballston Metro station since February. While initially hoping to open this past summer, owner Burak Temel said the restaurant now expects to open its doors this spring.


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A karaoke bar and restaurant in Crystal City plans to open its doors in the next few weeks.

After nearly a year of development, Lantern Restaurant & Bar is preparing to open toward the end of this month or in early January, co-owner Shen Zhao told ARLnow.


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A longtime family-owned Thai restaurant on Langston Blvd has taken on a new name and look, along with some new menu items.

Thai Thai rebranded to Thai Leaf this fall under the ownership of Pichamon Dobson, a family friend of the previous owner. While Dobson spent months renovating the restaurant at 5123 Langston Blvd, much of Thai Thai’s cuisine lives on under the same chef.


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A forthcoming rooftop restaurant and bar in Courthouse aims to serve classic American meals in a fun, relaxed setting.

The previously unnamed restaurant at 2424 Wilson Blvd is called Rooftop Recess, and its menu will feature “expertly handcrafted cocktails and outstanding American cuisine,” according to its website. The restaurant expects to open in early 2025.


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A casual eatery with a “veggie-forward” menu is on track to open at some point next year at The Crossing Clarendon.

The location at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, in the former Jos. A. Bank space, will be the first location outside of New York City for Westville, which serves “casual American food.”


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A Vietnamese restaurant from D.C. will soon make its Arlington debut in Ballston, serving banh mi, pho and other family recipes at affordable prices.

Simply Banh Mi plans to open its second location at 801 N. Quincy Street in a few weeks, owner John Tran told ARLnow. It will replace a similar restaurant that closed at that location in February: Lee’s Sandwiches, which bills itself as the “World’s Largest Bánh Mì Chain.”


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A D.C. pizza restaurant with a colorful monster theme is looking to open a second location, in Falls Church.

Known for its picture book-style art and Detroit-style pizza, Little Beast Cafe & Bistro plans on bringing a little whimsy to the ground floor of Broad & Washington (111 E. Broad Street) sometime next year.


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A new halal Indian restaurant opened recently on Langston Blvd, adding some South Asian flavors to the corridor’s diverse lineup of local restaurants.

At 5645 Langston Blvd, Curry & Clay Oven offers mainstays like biryani, palak paneer and curry, as well as fusion dishes such as paneer cheesesteaks, butter chicken pizzas and masala fries, manager Khalid Oylid told ARLnow.


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Sandwich shop Port of Subs is expected to land in Arlington next year as the company rolls out plans for a D.C.-area expansion.

The nautical-themed, Nevada-based submarine sandwich chain expects to establish 70 locations in the region over the next decade, with the first scheduled to open in Arlington by May 2025, Port of Subs announced this month.


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