BREAKING NEWS: SpaceBar to land in Falls Church, VA.

The "Little City" of Falls Church, Virginia, is poised to become a bona fide good beer destination.

Lary Hoffman, owner of Galaxy Hut—the nearly 20-year-old good beer bar in Arlington, Virginia, which he purchased only a few years ago— has formally filed papers with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to serve beer and wine in a second location, in Falls Church, in the building formerly occupied by Stacy's Coffee Parlor.

[UPDATE: spacebar opened on 1 June 2012. More: here.]

As can clearly be seen on the public notice, only posted this afternoon (Friday, 26 August 2011) on the premises' window, at 709 W. Broad Street ...



... the restaurant will be called spacebar (all lower case). The target opening date is 1 November 2011 the second quarter of 2012.

To set the scene, here's how the orginal Galaxy Hut is described on its Facebook page:

good beer (20 constantly rotating taps of craft and imported beer you mostly don't see anywhere else, and around 30 bottled beers too), vegetarian-centric menu (and dead stuff too), some old video games, awesome staff, cool artwork and background music, and live music most sunday and monday nights

Others, like me, might describe it as funky, inviting, and hip (but not for those who think they're hip). And you gotta love those tater tots!

According to Hoffman, the new SpaceBar will be similar in form and feel: a restaurant/music space, with twenty-four 'craft' beer draught lines. Because the space will be limited and with no basement storage, design will need to be creative. To that end, Hoffman is re-purposing what he calls "megerators": multiple keg coolers built from 3-door beverage coolers. At this point, there are no plans for a dedicated cask line, but Hoffman promises frequent cask tapping events across the bar.



SpaceBar is submitting plans to be a live music venue. Befitting its small footprint, the acts will be small combos, not the full bands that often perform at Galaxy Hut. After the recent demise of blues venue Bangkok Blues, that's a welcome addition to the local music scene.

The pub/restaurant will have a minimum age requirement of 21 in the evenings, but, with a full kitchen, lunch and brunch will be offered to all ages on the weekends.

Finally, here's another really 'cool' possibility. The building was originally designed to have a second story but which was never built. Knowing that, Hoffman intends to open SpaceBar in November, and then submit plans for a 1,200 square foot rooftop patio to be added later. An upper outdoor deck would be a feature no other Falls Church bar or restaurant currently offers.



Add the November landing of SpaceBar on Broad Street to the long established Argia's and Dogwood Tavern, to the recent Dogfish Head Taproom, and to the year-old Public House No. 7 and brewpub Mad Fox Brewing, and Falls Church's 'main street' could indeed become a Craft Beer Street.

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• Here is the official press release, from Facebook, on Saturday, 27 August 2011.
  

  
  Galaxy Hut, which originated in Clarendon in 1990 as Arlington’s original craft beer spot, is opening a second location called “spacebar” in Falls Church City, this fall. Owned and operated by Galaxy Hut owner Lary Hoffman and his wife Erica Hoffman, the restaurant and beer hall will be located at 709 West Broad Street, above the CD Cellar, and a couple of blocks from the Mad Fox Brewery in the spot formerly occupied by Stacy’s Coffee Parlor.
  
  Spacebar is a bit bigger inside than Galaxy Hut, with seating for around 50 people, and some standing area around the 28 foot bar. Plans for a 1,200 square foot rooftop patio and greenhouse vegetable garden are in the works for 2012.
  
  Spacebar will have some tabletop video games, quirky, hand crafted decor, and local art. The background music will consist mostly of current and classic indie rock and post-punk. It’ll have a decent TV (which will hardly ever show sports).
  
  There will be 24 taps of constantly rotating 'craft' beer, and bottles and growlers will be available to-go as well. Spacebar will also be serving cask beer, but, due to space constraints, it is yet to be determined whether there will be a dedicated cask line or just weekly firkin nights. Hard liquor will not be served, but there will be a more substantial wine selection than Galaxy Hut’s.
  
  The food menu will consist of tweaked, more 'gourmet' versions of Galaxy Hut favorites, and will be extremely vegetarian friendly. Yes, there will be tots.
  
  Plans for live music include small combos with a focus on experimental music, frequent (perhaps weekly) karaoke, and low-key dj nights as well.
  
  As spacebar will be a beer-focused night spot, the age policy will be 21 and over in the evening, but the restaurant will be open for lunch on Saturday and Sunday to all ages, beginning in early 2012. Like Galaxy Hut, spacebar will recycle about 80% of its waste.
  
  There is parking for 18 cars on site, and there are numerous parking areas available within walking distance during spacebar’s business hours.
  
  Please contact spacebar.va@gmail.com for more information.

  
  
• More photos: here.