Loyal fans of One More Page Books in East Falls Church are helping the store keep the lights on — literally.

The bookstore, a staple in the community for 12 years that often works with Arlington Public Library and local schools, recently held a fundraiser to help pay for needed maintenance and to help the shop stick with its current slate of publisher vendors.

As of Monday evening, the well-loved bookstore at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street raised nearly $36,000 — surpassing its $35,000 goal — from some 400 donors over the course of 10 days. The largest was an anonymous $2,500 donation.

“We are overwhelmed with the response and the words of encouragement from our customers and the community,” owner Eileen McGervey told ARLnow. “It is difficult to ask for help and then to have such a rapid response is humbling.”

McGervey says she wishes the funds would go toward something “fun and exciting,” but instead it will go to fixing its lighting and HVAC system.

“About a third of our ceiling lighting units are no longer working, so there are certain parts of the store that are dark,” she said.

The funds will also make One More Page whole after paying for recent repairs to its air conditioning unit and plumbing.

“Since the overflow pan is in the ceiling, we have had water come down into the store — books and water are not a good mix,” McGervey said.

Any money leftover could help pay for “a few fun ideas for the store design,” she says.

McGervey says the bookstore is cutting costs where it can but that applies to future expenses, not those the store has already had to incur. In addition to fixing the AC unit, that includes ongoing costs associated with maintaining its website, which was upgraded during the pandemic to facilitate online ordering.

“The profit margin for small businesses is notoriously small, and over time, even new small expenses or slight revenue dips add up,” she wrote in the fundraiser. “And, like all of you, our rent and other expenses continue to rise.”

When rent rose by 30% in 2019, One More Page also turned to the community, hosting an online auction that ultimately helped it raise $20,374. That money paid the publisher vendors McGervey could not pay after covering rent.

The fundraiser for covering repairs and paying vendors this time around is ongoing. McGervey encourages supporters to continue shopping at the store, in person or online, and at Libro.fm for audiobooks. Supports can also attend events, become a Patreon member and buy branded t-shirts.

With the approach of summer comes a slower event schedule but One More Page does have a launch party scheduled for local author Jonathan Harper, for his book “You Don’t Belong Here” on June 4.

The store is also planning to support Arlington Public Library’s event with author Imani Perry at Central Library on June 22 and to likely host a repeat of its “highly popular” Puzzle Exchange night.

On July 18, the shop will celebrate the release of “The Inner Ear of Don Zientara” with Antonia Tricarico and special guests Don Zientara, Amanda MacKaye and Joe Lally, followed by an event to celebrate the July 25 release of “Ghosted” by store staffer Amanda Quain.

Just one month after both Loyal Companion stores in Arlington closed amid the chain’s bankruptcy, both locations are back as new pet stores.

In the Lee Harrison Shopping Center, Loyal Companion is still the sign above the storefront, but inside it has been converted into Wag N’ Wash, a pet store with a focus on pet hygiene.

Wag N’ Wash is a national chain with a few locations in the region, including one in Vienna.

As far as conversions go, the changes inside are fairly minor. Staff at the store, located at 2501A N. Harrison Street, said “it’s mostly the same stuff” with the same dog washing services Loyal Companion offered, just under a new name.

One of the few notable changes, staff said, is that eventually Wags N’ Wash will have a self-serve dog wash.

Meanwhile, a store manager at Dogma Bakery & Boutique said the new location near Clarendon — at 2509 Franklin Road — will have a soft opening later this week, perhaps on Wednesday, March 15, depending on when the shelves get set up. The store expects to be fully open next week.

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) The building that hosts a Ballston area pet store is being offered for lease.

A leasing flyer says the 4,666 square foot, circa-1925 commercial building at 3902 Wilson Blvd is available for new a tenant starting in January 2024. That suggests that the existing tenant, Unleashed by Petco, will be closing later this year after its lease is up.

Unleashed opened in the space in September 2013, about nine-and-a-half years ago. It replaced the quirky, homegrown burger-and-hot-dog restaurant Wiinky’s.

The flyer notes that the free-standing building was renovated in 2013, when Petco moved in, and that the property has 19 parking spaces.

The only other remaining Unleashed store in Arlington is located at 5400 Langston Blvd. It opened in 2011. A Pentagon City location closed in 2021.

Among other pet-related businesses along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, the Loyal Companion pet store at 2509 Franklin Road in Courthouse just closed but is expected to be replaced soon by Dogma Bakery & Boutique.

Hat tip to Ray Caputo

The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon was the scene of an alleged armed robbery today.

Police responded around noon to the bookstore at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, after a caller reported a crime that happened earlier that morning.

“At approximately 12:06 p.m. on September 29, police were dispatched to the late report of an armed robbery inside a business,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 10:50 a.m., the unknown male suspect began to conceal merchandise inside a bag. When employees confronted the suspect, he displayed a pocket knife before exiting the business with the stolen merchandise.”

“No injuries were reported,” Savage added. “The suspect is described as a Black male in his 40’s or 50’s, 5’10” tall, 240lbs with black hair. He was wearing a cream colored sweater, tan khaki pants, brown boots and black rimmed glasses. The investigation is ongoing.”

Photo via Google Maps

Christmas items are now on display at the Pentagon City Costco.

Reader John Antonelli sent the photo above, which is perhaps jarring given the current beautiful, 80 degree weather — and the fact that many of us have not even started thinking about Halloween.

“Ho ho ho,” Antonelli said in his email.

But perhaps Christmas items in September are fine. Maybe there’s a subset of the population that appreciates getting to prepare for the holiday more than three months in advance.

Which of the following do you most associate with?

The fall beers on store shelves are not the only sign heralding the imminent arrival of spooky season.

A Spirit Halloween store opened in Bailey’s Crossroads last week, the first of the seasonal chain’s stores to open within a relatively short drive of Arlington.

With it feeling a bit more like early fall outside, with most of you likely suffering summer fatigue after the recent heat wave, and with pumpkin spice season kicking off next week at Dunkin’ and elsewhere, we thought it might be a good time to list some of the Halloween stores near Arlington.

There may be others we’re missing here — if so, please list them in the comments.

Currently open

Spirit Halloween (5800 Crossroads Center Way, Bailey’s Crossroads)
The shelves might not yet be fully stocked, but it’s already Halloween in the former A.C. Moore space next to Old Navy.

Party City (5522 Leesburg Pike, Bailey’s Crossroads)
Unlike the somewhat disconcerting temporary Spirit Halloween locations inhabiting the dessicated husks of dead stores — which, come to think of it, seems on-brand — Party City is open year-round, hawking various party supplies, before stocking up for Halloween.

Opening soon (as of Aug. 12)

Spirit Halloween (3536 S. Jefferson Street, Bailey’s Crossroads)
Are you sensing a theme here? Bailey’s Crossroads seems to be the hub of big-box Halloween retail for Northern Virginia’s inner suburbs. This location is a short walk away from the aforementioned Party City and a mile away from the currently-open Spirit Halloween. Speaking of short walks, the store is a brisk 10 minute walk from Arlington’s Wakefield High School. For what it’s worth.

Spirit Halloween (7950 Tysons Corner Center, Tysons)
For those in the far northern reaches of Arlington and those taking Metro, this is your Spirit Halloween store of choice. Now, if you’re wondering why we’re filling the text here with random factoids, it’s because we realized too late that no one tried to call Spirit Halloween HQ (in beautiful-ish Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey) and ask when the actual opening date of these two locations will be. But don’t worry, we saved the best random factoid for last. The former Lord & Taylor store that this Spirit Halloween location is temporarily occupying is… wait for it… haunted. Specifically, paranormal activity was reported around the ladies restroom over the years, our sister site FFXnow reported. Plus, after Lord & Taylor closed in 2020, the vast retail space served as a mass vaccination site. Now if that isn’t a recipe for a successful and legitimately creepy Halloween store, who knows what is.

Happy two-and-a-half-months until Halloween!

Legend Kicks has found a new home across the Pike, after moving because of Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center’s pending redevelopment.

The sneaker reseller and clothing store has moved from its home for the past four years at 2609 Columbia Pike to a storefront about a half block away at 2514 Columbia Pike, a few doors down from the Celtic House.

The shop opened its doors at its new location this past weekend, according to an Instagram post.

The step was necessitated by imminent demolition and redevelopment of Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center. In March, the Arlington County Board approved replacing the one-story, aging retail strip with “The Elliott,” which will feature 247 market-rate apartments, a renovated CVS, a relocated Burrito Bros, and a new grocery store that could end up being an Amazon Fresh.

Legend Kicks first opened on Columbia Pike in 2017, but in April 2018 the store fell victim to arson. It reopened four months later a few doors down. Now, four years later, Legend Kicks is on the move again, but this time it’s because of redevelopment.

In an Instagram video from late last week, owner Layth Mansour claimed he was only given a few days to move.

“The first Legends got burned down. The second Legends I put so much money into, but then I got a letter saying that someone bought the whole building and I got three or four days to move,” Mansour says in the video. “Literally, I got a new place in, like, two days.”

That timeline may not be totally accurate. ARLnow reported in January that all tenants received a notice that told them they needed to vacate by May 31. In those preceding six months, a number of businesses have since closed or moved including the Columbia Pike Partnership, the Black Heritage Museum, and Atilla’s Restaurant.

ARLnow has reached out to Mansour and Legend Kicks several times but has yet to hear back.

Mansour also owns the alcohol-free restaurant Eska on Columbia Pike. In April 2021, he took over the troubled, former location of Purple Lounge with the pledge to make it “family-friendly.” However, more than a year later, that restaurant has yet to open despite hopes it would be in business by February 1.

With Legend Kicks moving out, the only remaining tenant remaining in Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center is CVS. It’s not immediately clear when the store will make the planned shift to a trailer in the parking lot next door.

Though no demolition permit application has been filed for the now-mostly abandoned building, a county spokesperson says that work should begin late this year after all the needed permits are obtained.

If that timeline is followed, The Elliott could be completed and be move-in ready by early 2025.

The growing cadre of tech employees working in Pentagon City and Crystal City now have new places to go for their sneakers and hoodies.

Two new stores recently opened at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall on S. Hayes Street. SneakerMat is on the second level near Nordstrom and specializes in sneaker cleaning, restoration, and repair. It also has a collection of footwear for purchase.

The shop is local to the D.C. area and independently-owned, with its only other location in Hyattsville, Maryland.

“I became very proficient in shoe care and restorations [because] of a passion to always keep my shoes clean,” Nathan Hawkins, the shop’s co-owner, wrote on its website. “Growing up there were times I had to wear the same shoes an entire school year; so making sure my shoes were clean and could last was very important to me.”

Custom World, located next to the GameStop on the mall’s food court and Metro level, is a customized hoodie and t-shirt retailer. The store claims that it can “customize everything in 15 minutes” — something, presumably, that fast-moving startups may appreciate.

The stores join other recently-opened retailers at the Fashion Centre, including Rihanna’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. Back in September, a cereal bar, a Levi’s store, a furniture store, and an LA-based luxury goods seller all set up shop there.

The mall, popular with local shoppers as well as out-of-town tourists, is located only a block from Amazon’s under-construction HQ2.

The CVS inside of 1100 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn is closing next month after more than twenty years in that location, the company confirms.

The store is located in the lobby of the same building as local TV station WJLA (ABC 7), near the busy intersection with N. Lynn Street. It has been there since December 1999, according to the company.

This is just sad! It was such a convenience to have right here in our building.

— Brian van de Graaff (@Brian7NewsDC) March 15, 2022

“We’ve made the difficult decision to close our pharmacy at 1100 Wilson Blvd. in Rosslyn, VA on April 15,” a CVS spokesperson said in a statement to ARLnow. “All prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 1788 N. Pierce St. in Arlington, which is just three blocks away, to ensure that patients continue to have uninterrupted access to service. All employees are being offered comparable roles at other CVS locations nearby.”

The exact reason for this particular closure wasn’t directly addressed in the statement, with the spokesperson noting that “maintaining access to pharmacy services in underserved communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions.”

The company also cited population shifts, a store’s density, local market dynamics, and the proximity of other CVS stores as reasons.

The remaining CVS in Rosslyn on Pierce Street is relatively new, having opened in the last few years. While just a few blocks away from the closing store, it’s something of a journey, given the steep hill one has to walk up from N. Lynn Street.

All told, there are 15 other Arlington CVS locations.

Sitting at 31 stories, 1100 Wilson Blvd is one half of a pair of twin towers and a well-known Rosslyn skyline landmark. Besides being the long-time home of WJLA, it’s also home to cybersecurity company Shift5, pasta house Sfoglina, a satellite location for the University of Virginia’s business school, and Raytheon.

An optometrist office one block from the Clarendon Metro station was the latest apparent victim of a band of eyeglass bandits.

The robbery happened last night shortly after 6 p.m. at Visual Health (3012 Wilson Blvd). Police say a group of three suspects entered the store, grabbed handfuls of glasses, and ran to a getaway vehicle that then sped off.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report today:

GRAND LARCENY (significant), 2022-02160206, 3000 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 6:13 p.m. on February 16, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery by force. Upon arrival, officers determined the incident was a grand larceny. The investigation determined that Suspect One entered into the business and began grabbing eyeglasses. A short time later, Suspects Two and Three entered into the business and also began grabbing eyeglasses. All three suspects then ran out of the business with the stolen merchandise and entered into a vehicle before fleeing the area. The three suspects are described as Black males, approximately 5’8″ – 5’10”. Suspect One was wearing all black clothing and a black ski mask. There is no clothing description for Suspects Two and Three. The suspect vehicle is described as a black sedan. The investigation is ongoing.

The suspect descriptions and modus operandi are similar to a group implicated in a series of smash-and-grab eyeglass heists around the region over the past month or so.

Among the half-dozen or more previous incidents was a $60,000 eyeglass theft from Arlington’s EyeSee Optique on Columbia Pike on Jan. 11; another eyeglass smash-and-grab at Bauer’s Optical, near Fairlington in Alexandria, on Jan. 20; and a Feb. 1 smash-and-grab at Village Eye Center in McLean.

“Based on the similar circumstances of the incidents, the Arlington cases are being investigated as a series,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “The investigation into these incidents is ongoing and Arlington detectives continue to collaborate with our regional law enforcement partners to identify crime trends in the region and apprehend suspects involved.”

The thieves are believed to be targeting eyeglasses due to their relatively small size and high resale value.

Photo via Google Maps

Steadfast Supply in Ballston will be closing this Saturday, June 27.

Last week, a handwritten sign was spotted on the glass doors noting the store’s last day and reduced, weekend-only hours. The store is located in an open-air section of Ballston Quarter mall.

Steadfast Supply’s founder and creative director Virginia Arrisueño confirmed the store’s closing in an email to ARLnow, noting that ownership made the decision to not to renew the lease.

“We have sincerely enjoyed our time at Ballston Quarter! We met so many new and wonderful customers. Sadly, we decided to not renew our lease and will be closing our doors on Sunday June 27,” Arrisueño wrote. “We are incredibly grateful for the warm welcome that we received in Arlington, and forever thankful for your support. ⁠Please feel free to visit our Washington, DC location at The Yards or online at www.steadfastsupplydc.com.”

The D.C.-based boutique shop opened in Ballston Quarter in July 2019, offering handmade goods from small vendors, including jewelry, home goods, clothes, and leather bags.

When Steadfast Supply opened two years ago, Arrisueño told ARLnow that she hoped the shop would be a supportive space for artisans to test out products and learn.

“My goal with Steadfast Supply was to create a cool retail setting where talented creatives can grow their brands,” she said. “As a designer myself, I know how tough and competitive the retail industry is, and I wanted to provide a supportive space where brands can ask us questions about line sheets, packaging, etc., receive direct feedback and suggestions on how to improve their products.”

The store started as a pop-up in Navy Yard in 2016 before expanding to a 3,000-square foot space in Southeast D.C. at The Yards shortly thereafter. That location remains open.

Ballston Quarter has had plenty of comings and goings just in the past month. Sloppy Mama’s BBQ closed earlier this month, while a 6,200-square-foot combination restaurant and art gallery opened just last week. A new dog daycare, grooming, and veterinarian business opened in late May.