Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
🌤 Today’s weather: Clear throughout the day. High of 53 and low of 36.
☔ Tomorrow: Light rain until evening. High of 46 and low of 36. Sunrise at 6:29 am and sunset at 6:10 pm.
🚨 You need to know
Beloved Alexandria biscuit restaurant Stomping Ground is closing next month, Alexandria Living Magazine first reported.
Owner Nicole Jones said in an insightful letter that despite community support, in several ways the restaurant never fully recovered from the pandemic
The Del Ray staple was at a high pre-pandemic, having just opened a new location in Tysons Galleria and Jones helped launch bagel shop, Bagel Uprising, next door in Del Ray. But Jones said the restaurant has been mostly treading water since the Covid pandemic.
“You would think after all of these efforts I would be happy that Stomping Ground survived the pandemic,” Jones said. “But that’s all we did, we survived. We didn’t flourish. We didn’t grow. We got hard. We lost the magic that made our 1400 square feet a place you wanted to come every day. Everything feels a little less bright.”
Jones said the newest challenge has been struggling to keep up with the rise in ingredient costs.
“Earlier this year, as we fought our newest battle; the raw cost of our ingredients, I knew I had to do something,” Jones said. “While watching the price of flour, dairy and eggs, the soul of our recipes, skyrocket, I watched my staff become more complacent every day. Without the community, Stomping Ground is not the third space it once was and working there feels more and more like just another job.”
Jones said since the pandemic, she’s watched tips go down and hours reduced. Seeing a need for change, Jones said the restaurant will close in April, but something new is in the works.
While I’m not ready to totally give up, I am ready for a change. Our team has decided that in April 2023, we will shutter our beloved biscuit house to make way for something entirely new. We will share more details as they become available – we are so very excited about the project. It makes financial sense, it makes my team renewed at the idea of something REALLY new. We know that the next chapter will hopefully delight our customers again. In the meantime, please join me in saying goodbye to my beloved first restaurant. She has been so good to all of us.
Locals took the news of the award-winning restaurant’s impending close hard.
Waking up to the news that Stomping Ground is closing pic.twitter.com/A03K5r9QA5
— Becky Hammer (@beckyhammer) March 9, 2023
Third spaces are the secret sauce of a thriving community, as this beautiful letter on the closure of Stomping Ground makes clear. Many current friends started as people I nodded and smiled at every time I was in Stomp – can’t thank you enough Nicole.https://t.co/vczIq8yK2u
— Jesse O'Connell (@jesseocnl) March 9, 2023
📈 Wednesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Mar 8, 2023.
- Arlington attorney arrested for allegedly stealing credit cards from Alexandria office building (3405 views)
- Grammy winners and other stars send in letters supporting The Birchmere’s new electric sign (421 views)
- Power (mostly) restored after early morning outage in Del Ray | ALXnow (369 views)
- Arlington attorney arrested for allegedly stealing credit cards from Alexandria office building (303 views)
🗞 Other local coverage
- St. Patrick’s Day 2023: Pub Crawls, Events Around Alexandria
Patch (Wednesday @ 4:55 pm)
- Alexandria Restaurant Inspections: Rodent Droppings Violation
Patch (Wednesday @ 12:33 pm)
- ‘King Lear’ Smashes All Shakespeare Theatre Company Sales Records
Zebra (Wednesday @ 11:48 am)
- Bad Ass Coffee Opens in Alexandria
Alexandria Living (Wednesday @ 11:08 am)
🐦 Tweets of note
Congratulations to our 2️⃣0️⃣ ACPS teachers who have been awarded new or renewed National Board Certification in 2022. @NBPTS is the most respected professional certification in education, designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers.https://t.co/busBRMTXac
— Alexandria City Public Schools (@ACPSk12) March 6, 2023
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Recent Stories
Monarch Montessori School located in the heart of Del Ray is enrolling children 6 weeks to 6 years of age for our half day and full day program.
Our hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday-Friday. Monarch Montessori School is open year round, with intermittent breaks.
Children engage in self-directed, self-initiated activities under the guidance of a trained Montessori teacher. Classroom sizes range from 8-12 students. Our robust curriculum includes botany, sensorial activities, the social graces, culture, math, science, practical life, geography, music appreciation and language arts.
You’ll get half off of the registration fee when you register and begin care with us before April 30, 2023.

Press Release:
EDBS Dental Billing Solutions is pleased to announce that it has achieved compliance with the federally mandated standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) through the use of Compliancy Group’s proprietary HIPAA methodology, The Guard® compliance tracking software, and HIPAA Seal of Compliance®.
The HIPAA Seal of Compliance is issued to organizations that have implemented an effective HIPAA compliance program through the use of The Guard, Compliancy Group’s proprietary compliance tracking solution.
Clients and patients are becoming more aware of the requirements of HIPAA compliance and how the regulation protects their personal information. Forward-thinking providers like EDBS Dental Billing Solutions choose the HIPAA Seal of Compliance to differentiate their services.
Del Ray Dog Fest & Yappy Hour
The 1st Annual Del Ray Dog Fest is a fun outdoor event that will include dog-centered activities, dog menu items, live music, vendors and food on Sunday, April 2 from 11am- 3pm at the George Washington Middle School parking lot.