The expansion of coffee shops continues as an international brand plans a location in Old Town.
Construction has started on Twosome Place, a new coffee shop and dessert cafe at 404 King Street.
The South Korean dessert and coffee chain A Twosome Place, founded in 2002 and known for specialty coffee and cakes, is expanding into the U.S. The Alexandria location is one of the first to open in the U.S.
The company focuses on connections, sweet moments and offering a “much-needed breather from the hustle and bustle of daily life,” according to its website. “For Twosome, these heart-warming connections could remind one of Korean traditional decorative knotting, ‘Maedeup.’”
The coffee menu at Twosome Place includes a dark roast blend with beans from Colombia, Brazil and Papua New Guinea, a medium roast blend with beans from Ethiopia and Guatemala, and a dark roast decaffeinated Colombian blend. Tea-based drinks and matcha drinks are also available.
The cakes menu includes flavors such as strawberry chocolate fresh cream, and a cake with chocolate cookies and mascarpone cream.
According to a permit application filed with the City of Alexandria, Twosome Place plans to have outdoor seating in the courtyard behind the cafe. The architect listed on the permit is Fairfax-based Syn Architecture & Engineering.
Twosome Place has not yet announced an opening date for the new coffee shop. The company, which D.C. investment firm The Carlyle Group acquired in 2021, announced in November that it would start opening company-owned locations in the U.S. this year. The Carlyle Group also owns next-door neighbor Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, which opened at 402 King Street earlier this summer.
Twosome Place and Carlyle Group did not respond to ALXnow requests for comment.
Twosome Place operates more than 1,700 cafes in South Korea. The company briefly expanded into China in 2011 but closed its 40 locations there after a decade of slow sales, according to Inside Retail.
