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Food halls, healthier options help Arlington’s malls attract shoppers

By ARLnow.com

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner ARLnow.com and republished with permission.

Amid difficulties for American shopping malls, Arlington’s two malls are betting on new eateries to turn more diners into shoppers.

Management at the newly-renovated Ballston Quarter and the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City say elevated dining options — from Ballston Quarter’s trendy local eateries to newer, healthier options at Pentagon City mall — are becoming an increasingly important part of mall design.

Commercial real estate experts say food options are now the key driver of mall traffic.

A new study released by the International Council of Shopping Centers shows that 40 percent of customers choose which mall they go to based solely on the food there, and nearly 38 percent of those surveyed said healthy options were a priority, according to CNBC.

“People increasingly value experience-based shopping and place higher expectations on how they spend their time,” said Will Voegele, senior vice president of mixed-use development for Brookfield Properties, in an email to ARLnow. “We designed the revitalized Ballston Quarter with the community in mind and our vision reflects a strong focus on experiential retail, innovative food and beverage concepts, and diverse entertainment offerings to create a new all-season neighborhood experience with the density of an urban center that is purposeful, thoughtful and unique.”

Voegele said part of the redesign for Ballston Quarter was to maintain a focus on local vendors for the 25,000 square-foot food hall.

“The uniform array of national names that we associate with the traditional food court does not provide the richness and authenticity that is so important to our mission at Ballston Quarter,” Voegele said. “Families and young professionals still want grab-and-go, but they are also looking for better quality and healthy dining options. Food halls offer the perfect solution in this case.”

Voegele said the new food hall design has gradually supplanted the traditional fast food-oriented food court of the archetypical ’80s and ’90s malls.

“The fundamental design of the traditional mall no longer supports the way people like to shop and dine as consumers are craving visually stimulating and creative experiences,” Voegele said. “The boxy retail behemoths of yesterday are just not practical for today’s landscape.”

Healthy options were also a big part of the expansion and renovation of the Pentagon City mall.

“Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has introduced enhanced dining options over the recent years, including Matchbox American Kitchen + Spirit, honeygrow, Sugar Factory and Shake Shack,” management at the mall said in an email. “In addition, the center added modern furniture, finishes and additional seating during the renovation in 2016 to offer an even better experience for shoppers visiting the dining pavilion.”

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But does this translate into sales at other retail options in the mall? Voegele said the Ballston Quarter’s food hall, Quarter Market, has seen consistent traffic across all age groups — and events like Quarterfest last weekend boosted its local profile. The study said transactions increase as much as 25 percent at malls with quality food and beverage options, with shoppers who eat at the mall spending 15 percent more per trip.

Shoppers inside Ballston Quarter weren’t so sure. While several said they came for the food hall and loved the dining options, many also said this wouldn’t necessarily translate into going into the upstairs part of the mall to shop.

“I live across the street and I’ve been watching this go up for years,” said one shopper, proudly eating fried chicken after a visit to his cardiologist. “The food court was the focus of this visit. I like that it’s not trying to be Tysons. I come here for the entertainment.”

Entertainment has been a component of Quarter Market’ appeal, with the main doors often open to let in music from a live band playing outside. The chicken-eater said that if he needed something from one of the upstairs stores, he’d go shop there, but otherwise he would probably just come for the food hall experience.

Some diners said the Quarter Market was hard to find from the main section of the mall. The food hall is listed as being located in the “concourse,” which drew some confusion as shoppers were looking near the under-construction bridge for the food hall.

“When I see ‘concourse’ I don’t think ‘in the basement,’” one said.

Another diner, at the food hall with a group of friends from out of town, said she was excited for Francesca’s to open upstairs. The friend said they were considering moving to the area and would likely shop at the mall if they did.

Others eating at the food hall said they worked upstairs and loved the dining options in Quarter Market, but weren’t as enthusiastic about the selection of stores.

“We come down for the food court and we love it,” one said, “but there’s really nowhere else to shop here unless you’re looking for a new cell phone.”

Activist who protested outside Stephen Miller’s home won’t face state charges

By CBS News
An activist who protested outside the home of White House adviser Stephen Miller and distributed fliers containing his Virginia address will not face state charges, after a local prosecutor determined she did not commit a crime.In a 166-page court filing, the Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said that she had reviewed evidence against Barbara Wien and found there was "nothing in the proceeds of the search warrant supports criminal prosecution" for violations of a state law that criminalizes using someone's identity or address as a means to coerce, intimidate or harass. Violations of that law constitute a misdemeanor."It would neither accomplish the ends of justice nor discharge the Commonwealth's ethical obligations of fair prosecution to initiate any charges," she wrote, adding that charging her for protesting against the Trump administration's policies also would likely violate her constitutionally protected free speech rights.Wien, a former college professor and longtime political activist in Arlington, Virginia who specializes in peace-building,  has been under a state investigation since last year, after she distributed fliers last August and September depicting Miller on a "Wanted" poster for "crimes against humanity."The flyers contained his Arlington address, and they also provided a QR code that urged people to demand a congressional investigation. A second flyer distributed in his neighborhood, meanwhile, referred to Miller as the "alt-right extremist behind Trump's most abhorrent policies, Project 2025 and your new neighbor in Arlington, Va."In making her determination not to bring charges, Dehghani-Tafti noted that the wanted flyer "called neither for any action at or near his residence, nor for any action by the viewer against Mr. Miller.""The sole call to action was to a traditionally and clearly protected political activity, encouraging residents to petition Congress to investigate Mr. Miller's actions based on the wanted flyer's allegations," she wrote.A White House spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on the decision.Bradley Haywood, an attorney for Wien, said he admired Dehghani-Taft's careful effort to analyze the facts and the law in her filing. He said that such a move is important at a time when the federal government has been increasingly targeting political activists whose views do not align with the Trump administration."We have a… federal government that is trying to bring conspiracy and even RICO cases against activist groups," he told CBS.  "If you are looking to investigate someone for alleged threats of violence, maybe don't pick a literal professor of peace studies," he added. "Barbara's whole career has been in peace studies."Wien has separately been under a federal investigation in connection with the same incident, according to congressional documentation cited in the court filing, sources familiar with the matter and a witness who was approached by the FBI for an interview. To date, no federal charges have been filed.Shortly after those incidents, the Miller family moved out of their home and into military housing, CBS previously reported.Stephen Miller's wife, Katie Miller, reported the flyers to Arlington County Police Department on August 4, and said she believed the flyer listing their home address violated state law. About a month later, protesters appeared at the public intersection closest to the Millers' home and used sidewalk chalk to depict non-threatening political messages about issues such as immigration and transgender rights.Katie Miller also told police she saw Wien walk by once while she was on her porch, and that Wien made a gesture which seemed to convey "I'm watching you."As part of the state investigation, Virginia State Police reviewed evidence, including a message sent in April 2025 from a phone associated with Wien to a group that stated that Stephen Miller had moved to the neighborhood and accused him of being "the evil fascist behind family separation and deportation policies.""My Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) chapter in N. Virginia intends to make his life hell. We have set up a carefully vetted Signal group. Let me know if you are interested in being a part of our campaign," the message said.In other Signal chat messages, Wien also communicated about sidewalk chalk events, sending one image that read: "Got a message for Stephen Miller? Come (peacefully) CHALK IT OUT on the sidewalks of his neighborhood.""The conduct initially investigated cannot support a charge," Tuesday's court filing said. "In short, Ms. Wien is not likely to be found guilty and her speech is likely to be found to be constitutionally protected."The decision not to charge Wien is likely to spark fresh tensions with House Republicans, who since last year have demanded investigative documents from Dehghani-Tafti and accused her of "stymying the investigation" into the alleged threats against the Miller family.Miller has repeatedly pressed the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia to bring federal charges in the case, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News. But those efforts faltered after a federal magistrate judge twice rejected the FBI's attempt to obtain a search warrant for Wien's phone, according to a letter sent to Dehghani-Tafti from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and a source familiar with the matter.Dehghani-Tafti said the efforts by federal investigators to accompany state police on the execution of the search warrant "raised specific concerns regarding how federal authorities may have been involved (and appearing, potentially, to be attempting to use the Commonwealth, this Court, and the VSP to further a federal investigation—that had to date failed to demonstrate wrongdoing by even the lowest of legal standards of proof.)"After the FBI and Secret Service sought to accompany the state police when officers tried to seize Wien's cell phone, a state judge also separately prohibited local investigators from sharing any data collected from the phone with anyone, apart from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office.Since then, FBI agents have tried to interview several witnesses in the case, telling at least two of them they were visiting, "based on Barbara Wien's phone logs or, on review of their personal phone logs," the court filing says.Dehghani-Tafti wrote in her filing that she was not sure how the FBI could have obtained phone logs, since the court had restricted data sharing with the bureau and the state's narrow search warrant did not include data pertaining to those phone logs or contacts.She added that since she learned about the FBI's interviews, she has tried to obtain more information about how they may have accessed phone logs, but said neither the FBI nor the Virginia State Police have been willing to share their communications with one another.Dehghani-Tafti asked the court to issue an order telling the state police to destroy the records it obtained from its search of Wien's phone. She also asked for a court order requiring the custodians of the records to attest that they were not shared with any other outside agency.
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