🍷Top Wine Clubs

Plus: 🍴Get ready for restaurant week!

July 21, 2025

Happy Monday!  
Let's pop into the good stuff.

☕️ Good morning, Arlingtonians! We hope you enjoyed the (slightly) cooler weekend and are ready for another great week in Arlington. Did you know Lyon Park turned 100? Its centennial celebration is this weekend, make sure to check out the details in Saturday’s event lineup.

In today’s bubble:
📰 New tapas spot + ARL rent goes up
📆 Centennial Picnic & DIY sunglasses
🎷 Live music lineup for the week

📰 News Bites 
Quick local updates

🍷 Discover Arlington’s Best Wine Clubs 
Arlington Magazine highlights 11 local spots where members sip curated bottles, score discounts, and enjoy tastings and events from Screwtop’s themed parties to Verre’s VIP perks. Perfect for wine lovers looking to expand their palate and community.

🍴 ARL Joins Restaurant Week 
Sixteen Arlington restaurants, from Ruthie’s All-Day to Yume Sushi, will serve special prix-fixe brunch, lunch, and dinner menus Aug. 18–24 as part of Metropolitan Washington’s Summer Restaurant Week. Prices range from $25 brunch to $65 dinners.

🍤 El Mercat Brings Tapas to Pentagon City 
Spanish-inspired El Mercat opens mid-August at Westpost, serving 30 tapas like ham croquettes, cod fritters, and bacon-wrapped dates. The new spot will feature table-side jamón carving, Spanish wines, and brunch with chorizo and torrija.

🥞 Meet Virginia’s Best Diner 
ARL’s iconic Bob & Edith’s, a family-owned favorite for over 55 years, earned the title thanks to its 24/7 comfort food, hearty patty melts, and classic homestyle fare served across multiple Northern Virginia locations.

🏠 Arlington Rents Soar 
A new report ranks Arlington as having the 5th-highest median rent nationwide at over $2,600, trailing only four California cities. With rents up 2.7% year-over-year, officials cite a “supply-starved” market and push for housing solutions.

🏗️ Key Bridge Marriott Comes Down 
Demolition is underway at the historic Key Bridge Marriott, erasing a longtime Arlington landmark. The site’s future remains uncertain as expired residential tower plans leave Woodridge Capital needing fresh county approval before redevelopment can move forward.

🚧 Roosevelt Bridge Lane Reductions
Eastbound traffic on the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge has dropped from four lanes to three, causing heavier congestion from I-66, Route 50, and GW Parkway into D.C. The $128M rehab runs through 2028, with more lane reductions ahead.

📣 Advertise in the Bubble! 

Local biz, meet your new megaphone. The Arlington Bubble is ready to blast your message to hungry readers. If you’re interested, reach out to us at [email protected]

🧃 Mini News Bites
Updates for the Kiddos

📚 New Literacy Boost for APS 
Arlington Public Schools will launch a “Read With Me”-style pilot this fall, pairing volunteers with students for weekly reading sessions. Advocates say it could significantly boost English language learners’ reading scores, which lagged in recent SOL results.

📚 ARL Program Faces Funding Crunch 
Arlington’s only free program for underserved 3rd–8th graders is scrambling as $350K in AmeriCorps funds remain frozen despite a court win. A reinstated $72K grant offers temporary relief, but looming cuts could leave one classroom’s worth of students without a spot this fall.

🎓 Students from ARL Win National Merit
H.B. Woodlawn’s Issac Edward Studley and St. Albans’ Zachary Teacher earned 2025 National Merit Scholarships, joining 15 Virginia winners. Studley will study law at Carleton College, while Teacher heads to Purdue for mechanical engineering.

☕ Dunkin’ Scholarship for ARL Grad 
Washington-Liberty alum Alba Edsall earned a $2,500 Dunkin’ Regional Scholarship for her academic achievements and community leadership. She’ll join Fordham University’s Class of 2029 as one of 50 DMV students awarded a share of $125,000 in scholarships.

📆 This Week in Arlington
Weekday Happenings

😎 Today

🎧️ Tuesday

📖 Wednesday

💐 Thursday

 🎸 Friday

 💯 Saturday

 🪄 Sunday

🎷 Live Music Lineup
Where to find your groove

🗓️ Wednesday
M&J Volksmusik @ 6 PM — Westover Market

🗓️ Friday
Swingamajig @ 6 PM — Westover Market
Lost & Sound @ 6 PM — American Legion
Bill & Karen @ 8:30 PM — Three Whistles
Talk in Waves @ 9:30 PM — Ragtime 
My Chemical Bromance @ 9:30PM — The Renegade

🗓️ Saturday
Soul Fire @ 5 PM — Westover Market
The Highballers & The Janine Wilson Band @ 6:30 PM — The Renegade
Larry Thomas @ 9:30PM — Ragtime
Starting Early @ 10 PM — The Renegade

Know a great local music venue? Share your picks at [email protected]—we love featuring your Arlington favorites!

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Have a great day, Arlingtonians!