A new barbecue restaurant and pub may replace the Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon.
The owners of in Ballston, in Clarendon and in Rosslyn are planning the thus-far unnamed venue in Hard Times鈥� two-story space across from the Clarendon Metro.
The plans were revealed during a聽County Board聽review of a site plan amendment for A-Town (see below).
鈥淲e鈥檙e soon to take over Hard Times,鈥� Mike Cordero, a partner in the restaurants, told the County Board. The new venture was described as聽鈥渁 really big barbecue restaurant or pub鈥� that may be sports-oriented.
The restaurant聽could open as soon as next spring or summer, although a source says the deal to take over the Hard Times space has not been finalized.
Meanwhile, a fight prompted a big聽police response at聽A-Town (4100 Fairfax Drive) on聽Sunday night.
The 鈥渇ight in progress鈥� call聽happened around 9:30 p.m., amid the bar鈥檚 popular Sunday Funday festivities. At the bar鈥檚 request, police banned five of the alleged fighters from the establishment. One person was arrested.
鈥淎rriving officers located five subjects and all were banned from the location,鈥� according to a crime report. 鈥淥ne suspect, Oscar Hernandez, 26, of Woodbridge VA, was wanted on an assault charged and was arrested for the outstanding warrant.鈥�
A source at A-Town said the fight was 鈥渘othing鈥� and 鈥渆nded fast.鈥� The incident came a day after the Arlington County Board, after a lengthy discussion, approved a six-month extension of A-Town鈥檚聽site plan amendment for聽live dancing and entertainment.
A said聽that police calls to A-Town were up by a third in 2016 compared to a similar period in 2015.聽Seven of the 16 calls this year were made on Sundays.聽Resident complaints about noise and rowdy bar patrons, however, were down, a county staffer said during Saturday鈥檚 Board meeting.
Board members expressed concern about the ongoing issues at A-Town but acknowledged that its management was proactive in trying to address the problems.
Without the entertainment permit,聽Cordero said,聽鈥測ou might as well close A-Town.鈥�
Photo (bottom) courtesy
