Business Rewind: Hot Strudel, Iced Coffee & Pedal-Powered Pub Crawling

The bustling business community inside the Washington Beltway had another busy week with openings, closings and special events.

It's hard to spend any time in Rosslyn without noticing the WJLA news ticker. Inside is the headquarters for Allbritton Communications Co., which announced last week that it is exploring the sale of its television group — potentially shaving off stations in seven markets, including WJLA and NewsChannel 8 in the greater Washington region. Chairman Robert Allbritton said such a sale would allow the company to focus more on Politico, which it also owns, and similar ventures.

Responding to the continuing demand for flex office space, Carr Workplaces last week formally opened its new center in Clarendon. The 24,380-square-foot center features three conference rooms, 68 offices and five large team rooms. The building also features onsite banking, staff security, a fitness center and restaurant. Along with Carr's existing location on North 19th Street in Rosslyn, the company's expansion follows the opening and growth of other flex work spaces in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor like Uber Offices and Link Locale.

Let the Lawyers Figure It Out Department: The Arlington Trolley Pub, which was supposed to launch as a pedal-powered pub where adults could bring their own beer and wine, instead launched last week as a pub-crawl vehicle. Apparently attorneys for the company and the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control interpret state law differently and are sorting things out. Perhaps they should hash it out over a nice, cold — and stationary — beer?

Potomac CrossFit is back in the Clarendon-Courthouse area. The business closed last year thanks to the major redevelopment of the North Highland Street site where it had been. The new location is at 1320 N. Courthouse Road.

Alexandria

The Fuddruckers restaurant on Duke Street closed its doors for good last week. The location was the site of hundreds of school fundraisers, post-game gatherings, birthday parties and tour bus stops.

Over in Del Ray, M.E. Swing's Coffee Roasters will officially open a cafe at its East Monroe Avenue roasting facility in the next week or so. The cafe will be anchored by a long bar with cold-brewed iced coffee on tap.

Happy Anniversary, Del Ray Cafe: The Del Ray Cafe is celebrating its first year in business with a monthlong series of goodies for lucky customers. Each day in May, the restaurant will have a drawing from that day’s entries for a to-go rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes and baguette. All entries for the month will be entered into a second drawing for a $50 Del Ray Cafe gift card.

Does your dog need to get of Arlington every now and then to stretch his legs? Take the pooch to Artfully Chocolate in Alexandria's Carlyle neighborhood. The business has partnered with Paw'k Avenue to hold monthly Yappy Hours featuring food and drinks for canines and their keepers.

Finally, the home decor boutique Coco Blanca opened in Old Town.

Georgetown

Speaking of new businesses, Olivia Macaron is the latest confirmed tenant in the renovated Shops at Georgetown Park. The neighborhood has given its blessing to the venture, which will bring macarons — confectioneries made of sweet meringue — to M Street.

. The restaurant portion will open in the next couple of weeks. Since opening, their house-made strudel has been "selling like hot cakes," according to owner Petra Foist.

After years of looking for just the right location to open shop in Georgetown, Billy Reid is opening at new store at 3211 M St. NW in May. The space was formerly occupied by UNO Chicago Grill. The multi-level store will include curated areas focused on specific elements, such as the women’s collection, the Made in the USA Heirloom line and even made-to-measure services.

Like Patch? Follow these links to like Arlington Patch or Clarendon Patch on Facebook.