Venerable Rosslyn restaurant and happy hour spot Cafe Asia (1550 Wilson Blvd) is closing its doors this week.
The pan-Asian restaurant will serve its last customers Wednesday night, according to a restaurant manager. No special events are planned for the closing, we’re told.
Crews with video cameras. Television production lights mounted on the ceiling.
It appears that some reality show filming was underway at Oz restaurant in Clarendon as of Wednesday evening.
According to initial reports, someone phoned in multiple bomb threats to the Noodles and Company restaurants at 2011 Crystal Drive in Crystal City and 1201 S. Joyce Street on Pentagon Row.
The restaurants have been evacuated, we hear, and bomb-sniffing dogs from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency are en route to sweep the area.
W-L Soccer Captures State Title — The Washington-Lee boys soccer team defeated First Colonial 3-1 on Saturday to win the school’s first Virginia 6A boys soccer state title. Despite an injury, Maycol Nunez led the team with two goals. [Washington Post, InsideNova]
Ceremony for W-L Grad Killed in WW2 — A special ceremony will be held today at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the memory of Merrill Walter Hoover, a star athlete at Washington-Lee High School who was killed while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II. Hoover’s body was never found following a ship collision in which he worked selflessly to save his shipmates. [Falls Church News-Press]
The Panera Bread restaurant in Ballston has closed.
The Panera Bread was located in Ballston Common Mall and was previously expected to stay open during renovations before reopening as Ballston Quarter.
Garvey Out-Raises Gutshall — Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey out-raised Democratic challenger Erik Gutshall by more than $20,000 in April and May. Garvey raised $57,143 to $36,751 for Gutshall. Both candidates received donations from about 300 people. [Washington Post]
More People Biking to Work — The traffic woes and Metrorail headaches caused by Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance work is apparently pushing more people to commute to work via bike. On Monday, Arlington’s “Bike-o-Meter” near the Key Bridge recorded 2,325 bike trips, double the normal number for a Monday around this time of year. The pleasant weather probably helped, too. [WJLA]
NKD Pizza, the pizza chain formerly known as Naked Pizza, has closed its Pentagon City location.
The pizzeria, in the Pentagon Row shopping center at 1101 S. Joyce Street, opened in July 2011, touting unique pizza recipes and all-natural ingredients. Subsequently a Ballston/Virginia Square location opened in 2012.
Signs are up for a new pizza restaurant on Columbia Pike.
1000 Degrees, a quickly-expanding New Jersey-based pizza chain, will be opening “soon” on the ground floor of the Pike 3400 apartment complex. Interior construction appears to now be underway.
The Arlington County Fire Department is on scene of a reported electrical fire in the basement of Thai Square Restaurant (3217 Columbia Pike).
Firefighters responded to the restaurant just before 1:30 p.m. for a report of smoke coming from the basement. There were no visible flames when firefighters arrived; the source of the smoke was believed to be electrical in nature.
The incident happened just before 11:30 p.m. Police say the victim was a friend of the restaurant’s owner and was sitting outside on the restaurant’s patio when he saw a dispute unfold between the owner and a man who refused to pay his bill.
The victim intervened in the dispute, chasing the suspect into the parking lot and standing in front of his car. At that point, police say, the suspect drove forward, knocking the victim down. The suspect then drove over the victim’s legs and fled the scene, said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
Memorial Day in Arlington — It was an active Memorial Day in Arlington. Among the activities: a ceremony was held at the Air Force Memorial; volunteers handed out 30,000 roses to families of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery; President Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns; and Arlington’s annual Memorial Day ceremony was held in Clarendon. [WJLA, WJLA, New York Daily News, Twitter]
Quarterdeck Owner Opening Restaurant in D.C. –Patrick Morrogh, who owns the Quarterdeck near Rosslyn, is reportedly opening another crab-centric eatery, “District Anchor,” in the former Rumors space at 1900 M Street NW in D.C. [Borderstan]
The new beer garden at Spider Kelly’s is officially open for business.
The beer garden, which is located in the back patio of the Clarendon watering hole, first started serving customers last Thursday. With the sun finally shining after some not-so-nice weather this month, hopes are high for big crowds.
