Bussiness
Small Business Focus: Crystal Boutique, a new chapter after 55 years in the Underground | ARLnow.com
This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
Founded in 1970, Crystal Boutique is a full-service clothing shop catering to modern women who are discerning about quality, fit, style, color and exceptional service. “We specialize in personal shopping,” says Joel Cohen, President of Crystal Boutique.
For the past 55 years, Crystal Boutique has been a fixture in the Crystal City underground, becoming a beloved part of the Arlington Business Community and earning numerous awards for its longevity and outstanding customer service.
”Naomi Cohen and my father Sidney moved to Crystal City in 1968 and discovered a struggling women’s boutique. My mother later bought the shop, and it thrived — right place, right time,” says Cohen.
In April 2024, JBG Smith announced that the Crystal City Underground would permanently close at the end of October, forcing all remaining businesses to relocate. In response, the National Landing Business Improvement District and created a unique program called National Landing ReLaunch. This program offers free business consulting services, underwritten by the National Landing BID and managed through BizLaunch, to help businesses in National Landing navigate the transition.
Understanding the forthcoming challenge, Crystal Boutique was one of the first businesses in the Underground to take advantage of National Landing ReLaunch. “The program helped greatly with our social media,” says Cohen. Given National Landing’s accessibility to the DMV area, it was crucial for Crystal Boutique to rein in the area, for its namesake and because customers were familiar with the location.
The scarcity and high cost of traditional retail space in National Landing could have been a hurdle for small businesses. Still, Crystal Boutique rose to the challenge with creativity and innovation — focusing on customer service. While traditional retail space was limited, the abundance of office space opened exciting new possibilities.
Crystal Boutique quickly embraced the County’s Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative, transforming office space into a vibrant retail environment and leading others to follow. “I didn’t let COVID take me out, I wasn’t about to let the closure of the Underground take me out, now we’re bigger and stronger than ever [at the new location],” says Cohen.
Crystal Boutique and JBG Smith negotiated to find a suitable office location, eventually creating space on a third-floor office suite at 2231 Crystal Drive, above Starbucks. “We moved in the first week of November and have quickly adjusted to our new space. We’re excited to have more room to offer a truly remarkable shopping experience — for evening, daytime, casual or work,” says Cohen.
To celebrate their new location, BizLaunch and National Landing are supporting Crystal Boutique with a ribbon-cutting celebration on January 16, 2025, at 11:30 a.m.
Join us to celebrate their new location and enjoy their Trunk Show and pre-season spring sale. For more information about Crystal Boutique, visit www.crystalboutique.com.