Author: rossccadmin

Steps above the Rosslyn Metro station is a new food hall with hopes of becoming Arlington’s favorite destination for food, drinks and fun.

Upside on Moore debuted in late March, transforming the nearly 30,000-square-foot space of former Assembly food hall with a new slew of D.C.-area based vendors including Ghostburger, Lucky Dangr and La Michoacana.

“We changed the name, we changed the look, we changed the paint, we changed the style,” CEO Nick Freshman told ARLnow. “We changed the vibe and we completely recurated all the concepts.”

After a few months in business at 1700 N. Moore Street, within easy walking distance of corporate offices for Nestlé, RTX Corporation and now CoStar Group, Freshman said the management team is “thrilled with how things are going,” and that a whole schedule of community events has been planned for this fall.

From 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, guests make use of the hall’s spacious indoor seating and outdoor patio while ordering food virtually or in-person from any of Upside on Moore’s nine vendors.

These include two original restaurants owned by Mothersauce Partners, which operates Upside on Moore and previously operated The Freshman in Crystal City.

Lili’s serves American food “with a Mediterranean twist,” and Lightning Coffee Company offers locally roasted coffee. Its name is an homage to Lightning Motor Oil Company, a historic former fueling station in Rosslyn, Freshman said.

“We like to say Rosslyn has been fueling Washingtonians for 100 years. We’re doing it now, with espresso,” Freshman said.

The kiosk offers typical coffeehouse goodies like muffins, croissants and cookies, in addition to drip coffees, espresso drinks and teas.

Across the way from D.C.-based and presidentially enjoyed Ghostburger, you’ll find Kam & 46. It’s a Hawaiian and Filipino startup restaurant featuring ahi tuna tartare nachos and plates, kalua pork and chicken adobo. The restaurant recently won a $5,000 grant for women-owned businesses by nonprofit Regarding Her.

The patio, meanwhile, has functioned as a tiki bar all season, with a selection of summery cocktails by D.C. expert sommelier and mixologist Ellie Benchimol.

Promoting all local, “DMV born-and-bred” operators was important to Freshman, an Arlington native.

“This space was a really good chance for me to lean into my community and build something here that features other businesses that are, in some cases, already operating in Arlington or in D.C.,” he said.

The hall began programming shortly after its March debut. The schedule mostly featured wine nights and giveaways in addition to a “Cinco de Moore” celebration. Most recently, it hosted a National Oyster Day celebration on Monday.

Leading Upside on Moore presented a chance for Freshman to support a community space, but also a chance to give back.

The food hall has what Freshman called a “three-prong commitment” to community service that includes partnerships with local nonprofits, Arlington Food Assistance Center and Kitchen of Purpose.

Through these partners, Upside on Moore donates meals in addition to supporting local workforce development and job training. Surplus food is also redistributed throughout the D.C. area through Goodr to minimize food waste.

Looking ahead, visitors can expect weekly trivia nights and stand-up comedy as well as Oktoberfest activities this fall.

Upside on Moore remains a workday destination — it’s closed on weekends unless there is an event planned — but Freshman hopes to add weekend service in the future. For now, he said the food hall’s main focus is “trying to get excellent at Monday through Friday” before adding Saturday and Sunday.

“Business has been great,” Freshman said. “Our vendors are happy. We’ve started really leaning into promotions and events… and the events and promotions that we have lined up for the fall are pretty killer. We’re really excited to sort of show what we can do with this space.”

Next month, a NoVa startup assistance program will celebrate the launch of its first permanent, dedicated home.

Unstuck Labs, in partnership with American Real Estate Partners (AREP), Arlington Economic Development and the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID), is launching its new permanent home. On Sept. 7, community members, founders and others will gather at AREP’s Rosslyn City Center at 1700 N. Moore St. in Arlington, Virginia to open the new space.

At Unstuck, CEO and cofounder Wa’il Ashshowwaf said that the team helps founders with tech and software development, product builds and more. At the same time, it’ll help with growing the company itself and advise in a cohort format. But what makes Unstuck different is how closely it works with the founders. Instead of just serving as an advisor, Ashshowwaf said that the Unstuck team becomes an integral part of the company during the three-month program.

“We roll up our sleeves and do the work with them, so we’re kind of their cofounders for those 12 weeks,” Ashshowwaf told Technical.ly.

In the new Unstuck space, founders can take part in Unstuck Tuesdays, an open house where any entrepreneur can come and get free help with their startup. Ashshowwaf said that the team often gives these founders homework and holds them accountable to make sure they’re progressing. There’s also a startup founders’ room with mentors who rotate through to offer advice. There’s also a podcast room for Unstuck to launch a series, as well as resident growth-stage startups that began in the area who can help the early-stage companies.

With this new, dedicated spot, Ashshowwaf said that Unstuck can focus solely on its programs for the first time.

“This is our first dedicated space that we own, where we’re not elbow to elbow, where we can welcome the community and really start building our vision and executing it and launching it,” Ashshowwaf said.

Cohorts range from six to 10 startups, with one or two founders present for each company. On top of programming, Unstuck also holds curated introductions with funders and prepares founders for seeking money.

In startups, Ashshowwaf said he looks for early-stage companies with a track record of resiliency.

“If they feel like, ‘I’ve tried something and I failed really badly at it,’ I’m like, ‘Yes, okay,’” Ashshowwaf said. “They failed. They have the experience and they’re willing to do it again.”

With founders and companies coming together through the program and meetups, Rosslyn BID President Mary-Claire Burick said, the team hopes to build the area’s tech and entrepreneurship pipeline. The new space allows founders to work on their startups and host meetings with outsiders in the facilities, including the food and drink hall downstairs.

“Like-minded people want to be together and so, when you really create a space for them and you surround them with the resources that are going to make them successful: access to capital access to expertise, access to other companies and businesses. … When you start bringing these all together, it feeds on itself,” Burick said.

RCC has been further amenitized with the opening of Gold’s Gym, a state-of-the-art 28,000 square foot fitness studio. The studio has its own 1,400 square foot promenade, perfectly combining fresh air and fitness for outdoor training and classes. Additionally, tenants can experience wellness in the workplace with large rooms for weekly group fitness classes, a digital personal training offering, spa-inspired locker rooms and towel service.

RCC’s dedicated and flexible pre-built suites are ready when you are. Take a virtual tour today to learn more about these limited availabilities.

Suite 1115

Suite 1800