Author: Emily Leayman

Emily Leayman is the editor of ALXnow and contributes reporting to ARLnow and FFXnow. She was previously a field editor covering parts of Northern Virginia for Patch for more than eight years. A native of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, she lives in Northern Virginia.

Around Town

Alexandria’s Hypergoat Coffee Roasters is expanding with a second location in Del Ray

By Emily Leayman
storefront with large glass windows along a brick building on a sunny street; a person walks away on the sidewalk.
Hypergoat Coffee at 2423B Mount Vernon Avenue (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hypergoat Coffee Roasters, an Alexandria-founded coffee shop, is planning a second location in Del Ray.

Co-owner and head roaster Rodrigo Ramos confirmed to ALXnow the second Hypergoat location is in the works. The 3,051-square-foot location at 2423B Mount Vernon Avenue and the adjacent, vacant 2423A Mount Vernon Avenue used to be home to First Agape Baptist Community of Faith and were converted into two tenant spaces.

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News

Residents pack Beatley Library forum on Plaza 500 data center plans near Alexandria

By Emily Leayman
Audience seated in a conference room facing a panel at the front with a projector screen displaying slides.
A packed room at Beatley Library for the Alexandria People’s Assembly forum on the Plaza 500 data center project (via Alexandria People’s Assembly)

Residents from eight ZIP codes packed a room in Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library Saturday (Aug. 15) to discuss concerns with the Plaza 500 data center plans just outside Alexandria city limits.

The Alexandria People’s Assembly, an advocacy group formerly known as PLTI of Alexandria that seeks to support marginalized people, organized the community forum.

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News

National Symphony Orchestra to utilize Alexandria venue amid Kennedy Center shutdown plans

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press
Conductor in black shirt using a baton to cue an orchestra on a dim stage.
Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Gianandrea Noseda conducts the orchestra during a rehearsal at Milan’s La Scala theatre, Italy, on Feb. 26, 2024. (via Antonio Calanni/Associated Press file)

Alexandria’s Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center will be among the landing places for the National Symphony Orchestra amid the Kennedy Center’s planned shutdown for renovations.

Forced from the Kennedy Center following approval of a reconstruction project by allies of President Donald Trump, the NSO will split its 2026-27 season among six venues in Washington, D.C., and the capital’s suburbs.

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Around Town

Delivery robot service expanded in Alexandria to Wonder food hall

By Emily Leayman
Serve Robotics has expanded its on-demand robotic delivery service to Alexandria (via Serve Robotics/Instagram)

The deployment of autonomous sidewalk delivery robots is expanding further in Alexandria.

Serve Robotics announced today (Monday) that the Wonder food hall at 3615 Richmond Highway will offer robot deliveries. The New York City-based Wonder, which has been rapidly expanding in the D.C. region and beyond, opened the Potomac Yard location in January.

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News

Speed cameras to resume enforcement as school year begins in Alexandria

By Emily Leayman
School zone sign indicating 15 mph speed limit when flashing, with traffic light and street scene in the background.
A school zone speed limit sign near the Minnie Howard Campus (via Google Maps)

Alexandria City Public Schools will be returning to school on Monday, Aug. 24, and that means speed cameras will also be reactivated to enforce school zone speeding violations.

The City of Alexandria said enforcement of school zone speed cameras will begin on the first day of school following testing of the school zone flashers and camera systems on Aug. 21. The cameras will automatically issue tickets for speeding violations when school zone signs are flashing.

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News

JUST IN: Thousands without power along Quaker Lane in Alexandria

By Emily Leayman
Map showing a beige polygon outlining a neighborhood boundary around N Quaker Ln and W Braddock Rd near Fairlington, VA.
Outages reported in Alexandria on Aug. 17 (via Dominion Energy)

Thousands of Dominion Energy customers in a portion of Alexandria are experiencing power outages this afternoon (Monday).

Dominion Energy’s outage map shows 2,160 outages around the Taylor Run, Seminary Hill and Fairlington neighborhoods with small extensions into North Ridge and Rosemont.

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Around Town

Horror and sci-fi bookstore Long Dark House to hold grand opening in early September

By Emily Leayman and James Cullum
Woman walking on brick sidewalk past a storefront with a green awning labeled 1510, carrying shopping bags.
The upcoming location of Long Dark House at 1510 King Street (staff photo by James Cullum)

Long Dark House, a bookstore dedicated to horror, science fiction and other dark titles, will open its doors at the start of September.

The independent bookstore will open at 1510 King Street at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1. A grand opening from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5 will include special activities all day. Author Lisa Jones Gentry will be at the opening to sign copies of “A Dead Man Speaks,” which can be preordered through Long Dark House. The grand opening will also have specially themed matcha drinks from Whisked Away Cafe, chocolates and gifts from Madame Coco’s Emporium, raffle prizes, music and more.

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Around Town

Alexandria woman draws from personal experience to write book about finding inner strength

By Emily Leayman
Smiling woman with glasses sits in a pink armchair indoors, holding two blue book covers titled 'Source of Happiness' and 'La Femme Source du Bonheur'.
Alexandria-based author Tania Dalia Kiboko (via Tania Dalia Kiboko)

An Alexandria woman originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo is focused on empowering women with the publication of her first book.

Tania Dalia Kiboko published “Woman: Source of Happiness,” a story of self-discovery and finding inner strength geared toward women who have faced adversity and haven’t put themselves first. She drew from her own experiences and testimonies of women from Africa, Europe and North America as well as inspiration from biblical women.

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Around Town

Restaurant Week, Bands & Brews, Sidewalk Sale top busy weekend of Alexandria events

By Emily Leayman
Mezze platter on a black tray with flatbread, sesame falafel balls, chickpea curry, tomato and feta salad, beet yogurt, and pastry bites.
Food at Elaine’s (via Cynthia Higgins for Visit Alexandria)

If you’re staying in town this weekend, there’s plenty to look forward to from Alexandria’s lineup of events.

Between the Summer Sidewalk Sale in Old Town, Bands & Brews in Del Ray and the ongoing Alexandria Restaurant Week across the city, there’s no shortage of event options.

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News

Boat passage to prompt another drawbridge opening on Woodrow Wilson Bridge this weekend

By Emily Leayman
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

If you missed the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge’s drawbridge opening last night, there’s another chance to witness — or avoid — it.

The drawbridge on the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) will open from 11 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 16), according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The opening will allow the boat My Podium to pass underneath the bridge.

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News

Man cut with scissors during altercation at Van Dorn Street Metro station

By Emily Leayman
Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

An attack with scissors led to two arrests at the Van Dorn Street Metro station early Friday (Aug. 14).

Metro Transit Police responded around 12:30 a.m. to a report of a potential stabbing at one of the station’s bus bays. A police investigation determined two men had an altercation, and one was attacked with scissors and received a cut on the elbow.

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