Pressed juice and smoothie chain South Block — one of a dozen D.C.-area businesses chosen by Amazon for its retail space at its new HQ2 campus in Pentagon City — opened its new location over the weekend.
Owner Amir Mostafavi says it was an instant success, with more than 300 people lining up for smoothies and acai bowls before the doors opened.
The Arlington, Virginia, store is the 15th location for South Block, whose first store opened in Clarendon in 2011.
HQ2 officially opened in June and will house the company’s 8,000-plus employees already working in Arlington.
When Amazon announced plans for the 67,000 square feet of retail space that’s part of its 2.2 million square foot HQ2 Metropolitan Park campus, it said it was seeking small, locally owned businesses. Here are those who’ve signed leases.
South Block’s Mostafavi started his juice business on the George Washington University campus with Campus Fresh in 2006.
Its locations’ menus include “skin care smoothies,” cold-pressed juices and green smoothies along with its popular acai bowls. He also runs a nonprofit called Fruitful Planet, which purchases and donates fruits and vegetables to community programs.
South Block takes its name from its first location, on the “south block” at 11th and Garfield Street in Clarendon.
