A source who had advance knowledge of the closing of the Ballston Chevys tells ARLnow.com that the financially-troubled restaurant chain is indeed planning on closing the Pentagon City location, perhaps as soon as this weekend or next week.
That’s contrary to what employees at the restaurant told us. A Chevys Pentagon City employee said earlier this week that the eatery was “going strong” and would remain open.
Workers have been there all day clearing out the restaurant and taking down signs and lights. A long table now blocks the mall entrance, and the name has already been removed from the outside facade.
Two employees say the Ballston location is just one of the several closing across the country as part of the restaurant chain’s restructuring plan. Real Mex Restaurants Inc. owns the chain and filed for Chapter 11 in October, due to what it called high debt, high rents and a weak economy. A bankruptcy court approved the sale of the company last week.
Arlington’s main event is the Clarendon-Courthouse Mardi Gras Parade. The free event starts at 8:00 p.m. More than 40 local groups will march in the event, some with floats and the quintessential beads. The parade will run along Wilson Blvd from N. Barton St to N. Irving St. The following street closures will be in effect:
In addition, street parking in the area will be restricted. Motorists should be on the lookout for temporary “No Parking” signs. Illegally parked vehicles may be ticketed or towed. Parade-goers are encouraged to use Metro.
The restaurant had the rare privilege of catering a congressional event last week, thanks to a devoted fan: Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas). Barton has a home in Arlington Heights, not too far from Pedro and Vinny’s, and has become a regular customer since it opened last summer.
When it recently came time for Barton to arrange the catering at a weekly lunch for Republican members of congress from Texas, he asked his staffers to approach the restaurant to see if they’d be up for the task. It would be tough to appease the discerning palates of the Texas lawmakers — whose lunch is usually catered by a rotation of larger, more established restaurants like Hill Country Barbecue and Tortilla Coast — but owner Roger Coroneo said he was up for the challenge.
The lounge has been renovated over the past week and will reopen tomorrow (Tuesday) night as “Odd Bar.” The name pays homage to the restaurant’s historic building, which housed the Independent Order of Odd Fellows after being built in 1925.
Odd Bar aims to attract a bit broader of a clientele than the old Eventide lounge, which tended to skew older and more upscale. Changes to the lounge’s interior are minor, but include repainted walls (now blue), high top tables instead of booths and a couple of new flat screen televisions.
30th Anniversary of Air Florida Crash — Thirty years ago today Air Florida Flight 90 took off from Reagan National Airport, slammed into the 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the icy Potomac River, killing 78 people. Only five people on the plane survived the crash. [Wikipedia, Washington Post]
Bondi Releases Statement on Tax Lien — County Board candidate Melissa Bondi has released a statement to supporters regarding the recent revelation of her tax troubles. “Blog commenters very recently have begun attacking me about two issues,” Bondi began. “The attacks have been sudden, nasty, highly personal, and intended to derail the excellent work we have done together as a campaign.” Bondi said that she has hired a tax advisor “to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.”
The Indian eatery, located on the second floor of the Market Common Clarendon shopping center, is inviting interested foodies to stop by and sample some of their spiciest dishes — for free — while a camera crew tapes a segment for the show. You have to hurry, though — it’s happening from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. today.
“You may even have the chance to be interviewed!” noted Tandoori Nights’ PR rep.
The new District Taco restaurant will be located at 1309 F Street NW, near Metro Center. It will be District Taco’s second brick-and-mortar location, after its popular Arlington location on Lee Highway. Owner Osiris Hoil tells ARLnow.com that he hopes to be able to open the D.C. eatery at some point this spring.
Partly on account of the effort to complete the build-out, and partly on account of the cold weather, District Taco has garaged its popular, battle-scarred food cart — dubbed “El Torito” — for the next couple of months.
Four men were arrested Friday night after a large fight broke out at Las Delicias Restaurant, on the 1600 block of S. Walter Reed Drive.
Police say a group of men assaulted several people at the restaurant around 9:30 p.m. One of the victims was assaulted with a shovel, causing a serious leg injury, according to police.
Donna, whose Galileo III restaurant in D.C. closed in September, now owes Arlington County $167,366.79, up from $150,715.96 in June, according to the list. The debt stems from the failure of Donna’s Bebo Trattoria restaurant in Crystal City, which closed in 2009 amid a mountain of debt and a federal lawsuit. Prior to the closing of Galileo III, Donna had been making small court-ordered payments on his meals tax debt.
(Meals tax delinquencies are often accrued when restaurants collect a required tax on food from customers but then fail to pay the collected funds to Arlington County.)
Here are some of the larger or unique New Year’s Eve events happening around Arlington. This list is by no means exhaustive, but provides some interesting options from places that have already announced their celebrations.
1. Hyatt Regency Crystal City — Professionals in the City is hosting its annual “Passport to the World Gala” at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy). In addition to food, drinks and a DJ, the event has entertainment featuring various cultures around the world. Some highlights include the Japanese karaoke room, Red Light District adult-content comedians, Caribbean steel drums and Bollywood Hills Underground Club.
The change follows several weeks of renovations, which followed the repurchase of Harry’s by one of its original co-founders. Michael Sternberg says he quit his job as an executive at the restaurant operator he sold Harry’s to in 2008, in order to follow his passion for running a restaurant up close.
“For the last 4 months, I haven’t been happier,” Sternberg said.
