Woman Takes Stage to Find Bathroom — An apparently intoxicated woman climbed on stage during a recent Signature Theatre production in Shirlington, made her way backstage and asked a cast member for directions to the bathroom. [Playbill]
Spout Run Closure — The eastbound lanes of the Spout Run Parkway will be completely closed from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today for road paving. No detours will be in place and “alternative routes should be used,” according to the National Park Service.
The permits indicate that Shake Shack is planning a restaurant with outdoor patio seating and signage, indicating that it’s likely coming to the mall’s 50,000 square foot expansion along S. Hayes Street, which is currently under construction.
The location could be a boon to the New York-based burger restaurant, serving the legions of U.S. and international tourists who get dropped off at the mall by the busload in order to chow down at the food court and do a bit of shopping.
Oz, a new Clarendon bar and restaurant with modern Australian cuisine, is planning to open its doors next month.
The restaurant, located at 2950 Clarendon Blvd., is currently under construction, but Oz’s grand opening is planned for Sept. 10 for media and invited guests.
The new restaurant, which sits along N. Fort Myer Drive on the lower ground floor of the Turnberry Towers building, is currently under construction, according to general manager Robin Li.
Construction and permit issues caused the restaurant to delay its opening, he said. It was originally planned to open last summer.
Sweetgreen, Taylor Gourmet Coming to Crystal City — Venture capital-funded salad purveyor Sweetgreen plans to open a 1,700 square foot store in the former Corner Bakery space in Crystal City later this year. And that’s not the only trendy eatery coming to the neighborhood. Sandwich shop Taylor Gourmet is expected to open in a storefront next door. [Bisnow]
Sunglasses Store Closes on Pentagon Row — There’s still more than a month until Labor Day but sunglasses store Specs New York, which opened up three months ago on Pentagon Row, appears to be closing. [Twitter]
Sehkraft Beer Garden and Haus, a new brewpub near Clarendon from the owners of the Westover Beer Garden, is looking to open its doors before baseball season is over.
The beer garden’s goal is to open its new location at 925 N. Garfield Street by the end of August, said owner Devin Hicks. The pub will definitely be open by mid-September “in time to watch the Nationals kill it in the playoffs and hopefully watch the Redskins be competitive,” he said.
(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) District Taco is working with an unlikely contractor for the construction of its new Rosslyn location: a company that once laid the restaurant’s founder off.
In 2008, Osiris Hoil was working as a superintendent for Patriot Contracting, the construction company that is building the new District Taco in Rosslyn and has built locations in Alexandria and Dunn Loring — which is celebrating its grand opening today.
Potbelly has leased a 2,525 square foot space, according to Liz Wainger, a spokeswoman for real estate firm CBRE. An opening date has not been decided, she said.
There’s no word yet on which storefront Potbelly will occupy. There are at least three vacant or soon-to-be-vacant ground floor retail locations in the building:
Alexandria Restaurant Partners, a local restaurant management and consulting company, is planning to open new restaurant Palette 22 at the Village at Shirlington (2700 S. Quincy Street) in December.
The restaurant is envisioned as following in the footsteps of ARP-managed restaurant Cafe Tu Tu Tango in Orlando, Florida, a small-plates eatery which boasts the theme of “Food, Art, Fun.” The company describes Palette 22 as Cafe Tu Tu Tango designed “for the local, millennial crowd,” and says the restaurant will emphasize authentic international street food, street art and a creative craft bar program.
A new restaurant on Lee Highway is looking to serve customers a hug, in the shape of a bowl of ramen.
Gaijin Ramen Shop (3800 Lee Highway) opened its doors last week on Tuesday for its soft opening and already the restaurant has had repeat customers, said co-owner Nicole Mazkour. On Friday, three days after opening, the restaurant had a waitlist of 65 people hoping to try its various ramen recipes.
Community Pushes Back on Fire Station Plan — Arlington County Board members are hearing an earful from residents who live around Fire Station 8 on Lee Highway. The county is considering relocating the station to improve fire response times in far northern neighborhoods. However, residents say the fire station is historic because it was the first in Virginia to be staffed mostly by professional black firefighters, in the 1950s, and should not be moved. [InsideNova, WTOP]
Kojo and Kaine in Crystal City — WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi will host a “Kojo in the Community” discussion with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) tonight. “The discussion will focus on the ways in which the military and defense industry shape our region, ranging from jobs and the economy to infrastructure and traffic,” organizers say. The talk will take place at Synetic Theater in Crystal City. [ARLnow Events]
Mezeh, an assembly-line-style Mediterranean lunch and dinner joint, has opened a restaurant in Crystal City at 2450 Crystal Drive.
Mezeh replaces a similar restaurant in the space: Black Lime, which closed last year.
