Morning Notes

Alexandria Restaurant Partners Reopening Two More Locations in May — “Alexandria Restaurant Partners will reopen two of its restaurant concepts, Riverside Taco Company and Vola’s Dockside Grill, on May 5.” [Patch]

Del Ray Cafe Gets PPP Loan, Hiring Back Employees — “Our PPP loan came through and we’re bringing back our employees! Starting tomorrow, Friday, April 24th, we will be offering Brunch for carryout every day from 9am-2:30pm. Order from our modified Brunch menu on our website www.delraycafe.com.” [Facebook]

Reminder: ALIVE! Food Distribution on Saturday — “ALIVE! will distribute food from Truck-Trunk at two Drive-Thru food distributions this weekend, April 25 from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. or until supplies run out at the parking lots of Cora Kelly and John Adams Elementary Schools. People who walk to the site are asked to observe social distancing.” [Facebook]

Councilman Seifeldein Wishes Muslims a Blessed Ramadan — “Ramadan Mubarak to all those observing the month of fasting. I wish you a blessed month of reflection. May you find internal peace and enlightenment.” [Facebook]

ALIVE! Thanks Islamic Center for Halal Chicken Donation — “We are fortunate to have Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center Fruitful Planet and Gate Gourmet as Community Partners. Each provided wonderful high quality food for our families enrolled at the ALIVE! Child Development Center tomorrow when then drive-thru to pick up learning packet. Also EXTRA thank you to Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center for their continued donation of halal chicken, a welcome food item for Muslim families in need in Alexandria City, especially at the start of Ramadan!” [Facebook]

City Hiring Assistant City Manager for Public Private Partnerships — “As a member of the City Manager’s Senior Leadership Team, the Assistant City Manager for Public Private Partnerships reports to the City Manager and a Deputy City Manager and is responsible for leading the overall public private partnership (P3) initiatives for the City primarily via capital project planning and financing, leveraging of City assets and resources to implement City facility, City infrastructure, economic development related public sector and private sector projects, as well as facilitating the development and implementation of alternative service delivery strategies.” [LinkedIn]

Beyer Introduces Legislation To Encourage COVID-19 Test Innovation — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), today introduced the Point-of-Care Testing Prize Competitions Act, legislation designed to harness the power of scientific innovation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to rapidly launch prize competitions encouraging the development of a point-of-care COVID-19 test capable of producing accurate results in under 30 minutes for multiple samples.” [beyer.house.gov]

Trinity United Methodist Church Food Drive on Sunday — “Reminder if you go to the grocery store this week that Trinity United Methodist Church will be collecting non-perishable goods in our parking lot at the corner of Cameron Mills & Allison St. each Sunday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 and will continue doing so until the church building reopens.  The current needs include the following: Canned meats (tuna, chicken, spam, ravioli, soups containing meat); Pasta, rice, dry beans; Canned tomato products (sauce, tomato paste, whole/diced/crushed tomatoes); Canned vegetables, fruits, beans; Cereal; Powdered drink mix; Powdered iced tea mix; Coffee; Tea bags; Peanut butter, jelly; Salad dressing – Italian and Ranch preferred; Dish soap, “pot scrubbers”; Toothpaste and Deodorant.” [Trinity UMC]

Virtual Happy Hour at 5 p.m. With Pork Barrel BBQ Bartender — “Social distancing doesn’t have to stop you from having a good happy hour. Join us for a virtual happy hour series to stay connected to the social scene, enjoy great cocktails and have some much needed fun. You’ll be hosted live by top bartenders in the area. Once you register, you must send $10 to your bartenders Venmo and then you’ll receive; a list of the cocktail ingredients, a music playlist curated by the bartender, and a link to the virtual HH. On the day of – get camera ready to meet new friends and make some fab cocktails.” [Eventbrite]

Sweet Fire Donna’s Offers Sunday Brunch — “Sunday Funday Brunch from Sweet Fire Donna’s! Pre-Order by Saturday, 10PM! Add on a Titos Bloody Mary with Two Shrimp Cocktail for $8.95!” [Facebook]

Maryland Lyric Opera Donates to Alexandria Hospital — “When the Maryland Lyric Opera realized their season was over, they wanted to do something to help others. They redirected funds towards a huge purchase of face masks, leveraging the connections of one of their Chinese American producers. They’ve since made major donations of face masks to several hospitals, assisted living facilities and homeless shelters. We are incredibly grateful for their support in providing face masks for our #InovaHeroes!” [Facebook]

Alexandria Times Conducts Mask Contest — “The readers who are able to identify the most mask-wearers will win local restaurant gift cards. This week, we’ve included six photos. To enter the competition, email your best guesses to [email protected]. It’s okay if you can’t identify all six people. The person to accurately identify the most mask-wearers will win a $50 gift card to Del Ray Cafe. Happy guessing!” [AlexTimes]