The Chamber ALX has released the finalists for the Best in Business Awards, and the top businesses will be announced at a gala in Old Town next month.
It’s no secret that Don Simpson, Jr. is the chamber’s 2023 business leader of the year, since that cat was let out of the bag last month. Just who will receive the other highly coveted awards, however, is still secret. This year’s nominees are listed below, and winners are determined by a panel of previous awardees.
The Best in Business Awards, presented by Burke & Herbert Bank, will be held at the Westin Old Town Alexandria (400 Courthouse Square) from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Octo. 12. The event costs $125 for members and $150 for non-members.
Land use attorney Cathy Puskar was named business leader of the year last year. Read more about last year’s event here.
Alexandria’s 2023 Best In Business finalists
Small Business of the Year
- 9Round Fitness
- Cualtzin Salon
- Jillian Keck Hogan Group
- Salon deZEN
- Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine
- The Wise Family
- Wine Gallery 108
Medium Business of the Year
Large Business of the Year
- George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- United States Senate Federal Credit Union
- Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
Rising Star Business of the Year
- Ada’s on the River
- BeeLiner Diner
- Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe and Wine Bar
- Silk Rose Spa
- VIP Alexandria Magazine
Nonprofit & Association of the Year
Get your costume ready, because the Halloween pop-up bar ‘Nightmare On The Avenue’ is opening early next week in Del Ray.
The pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue is currently being decorated, and staff are concocting a spooky craft cocktail and food menu for the space that was home to the 80’s themed Miami Vibes popup bar during the summer.
Expect the bar to open on Monday or Tuesday of next week, Owner Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group told ALXnow.
“As the name suggests, ‘Nightmare on the Avenue’ is going to get you in the holiday spirit,” Blackburn said.
The pop-up is located between HRG’s other Del Ray restaurants Pork Barrel BBQ and Holy Cow Del Ray on Mount Vernon Avenue.
After Halloween, the bar will be transformed into the Christmas-themed “Joy On The Avenue.”
A 25-year-old Alexandria man was arrested after a terrifying incident early Sunday morning in which he allegedly drove his SUV into multiple vehicles and almost hit bystanders in an Arlandria parking lot.
Mike Vasquez Lopez is being held on a $3,500 bond after being charged with reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and two counts of hit and run property damage.
At around 1:15 a.m., Lopez was filmed allegedly driving erratically through a parking lot in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. Police said via scanner that he was “kicked out” of Ricky’s Sports Bar at 4124 Mount Vernon Avenue, and that he then allegedly struck multiple vehicles with a dark blue GMC SUV.
No one was injured in the incident.
While the suspect allegedly drove through the parking lot, people in the lot pelted his SUV with rocks and tried to stop it, according to the video. The suspect then allegedly drove away from the scene shortly before police arrived, and he was arrested near the intersection of Mount Vernon Avenue and S. Glebe Road.
Lopez was also found guilty in June of driving without a license and failing to yield to pedestrians and is past due on paying the court more than $200 in fines. He is scheduled to appear for his arraignment in court today (Monday).
Time to roll up your jacket sleeves, because it’s going to be an 80s summer in Del Ray.
Tonight is the soft opening for Miami Vibes, a Miami Vice-themed pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray. The party starts at 6 p.m., and the drink menu is full of summer drinks like frozen daiquiris, mojitos and even an Old Fashioned with watermelon rum.
Miami Vibes is the sixth pop-up at the space by owners Bill Blackburn and “Mango” Mike Anderson of the Homegrown Restaurant Group since closing their Sushi Bar restaurant at the end of 2021.
Final touches were still being added to the restaurant interior on Thursday night, like a back-lit mural of Miami’s South Beach, neon lighting and painting. Anderson says that the pop-up will be ready to go by Friday. He also says that a date at Miami Vibes should run you about $60 to $100.
“We just wanted to have an 80s place with 80s music and with a Miami Vice vibe to it,” Anderson said.
Bar manager Mari Luffey wasn’t born in the 1980s and had to research the decade.
“Working under Mango Mike I’ve learned some things and I did a lot of research watching Miami Vice,” she said.
The drinks are named after the show, like the “Crockett and Tubbs” and the “St. Vitus Dance,” and the menu is full of small appetizers like coconut shrimp and spinach and crab dip.
Miami Vibes will be open until October, when it will once again be transformed into their Halloween-themed restaurant Nightmare On The Avenue. In December, it will be turned into their Christmas-themed pop-up bar Joy On The Avenue.
This upcoming Independence Day, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is bringing back the SoberRide program.
The program runs from 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4th, to 4 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5.
“During this twelve-hour period, area residents ages 21 and older celebrating with alcohol may download the Lyft app to their phones then enter the SoberRide® code in the app’s ‘Payment’ tab (under the ‘Add Lyft Pass’ option) to receive their no-cost (up to $15) safe transportation home,” WRAP said in a release. “WRAP’s 2023 Independence Day SoberRideⓇ promo code will be posted at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4th on www.SoberRide.com.”
Last year, 435 people used SoberRide on the 4th of July.
“Nearly 40% of U.S. traffic fatalities during the Independence Day holiday involve drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s president, said in the release. “And July 4th’s nighttime hours are of particular concern as 82% of fatal drunk driving crashes in the U.S. during the Independence Day holiday occur at night.”
As another quick safety reminder: fireworks are allowed in Fairfax and Arlington but not in Alexandria.
It’s a beautiful spring morning in Alexandria!
Today’s weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 72 degrees during the day, and cloudy with a low of 56 degrees tonight.
🚨 You need to know
Alexandria has been named one of the best places to visit, Patch first reported.
Money Magazine listed the city as a top destination, and called the city a “lux jumping-off point for D.C.-area visits.“
According to Money Magazine:
Along the King Street Mile in Old Town, you’ll find charming cobblestone streets lined with lanterns, outdoor cafes, Instagram-worthy murals and trendy bars. There’s also a vibrant art community — explore the many galleries or peek in at artists at work at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Other local coverage
- Custodian ‘Heart And Soul’ Of Alexandria Schools For 42 Years
Patch (Friday at 12;57 p.m.) - PHOTOS: 180 Alexandria Schoolkids Play to Sell-Out Crowd in Annual ‘Night of Stars’ Talent Show
Zebra (Monday @ 10 a.m.) - The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar is coming to Alexandria VA this Summer
Zebra (Sunday at 2 p.m.) - Foody Newz To Look Forward to In Alexandria This April 2023
Zebra (Monday @ 8 a.m.) - Del Ray Farmers’ Market Announces Monthly Kids’ Club
Zebra (Monday at 8 a.m.)
Tweets of note
#Spring is in full bloom and so are the cherry blossoms. Now until April 16 enjoy a direct water taxi from Old Town to The Wharf development in Washington D.C. to see the blossoms in all their glory. Learn more from @AlexandriaVA: https://t.co/Xpk5SeJ5Du #ALXVActivities pic.twitter.com/L0JVFvabEQ
— AlexandriaVAGov (@AlexandriaVAGov) April 2, 2023
On this date in 1928, Alexandria legend Earl Lloyd was born. He is best remembered for breaking the NBA color barrier. We remember and honor Lloyd's legacy every day, but especially on his birthday. #ACPSBlackHistory #ACPSLegends pic.twitter.com/dFCTKJkee3
— Alexandria City Public Schools (@ACPSk12) April 3, 2023
A Fairfax County man goes to court this week for allegedly crashing his car into an Alexandria Police cruiser while driving drunk.
The incident occurred at around midnight on Sunday, Feb. 26, near the intersection of S. Washington Street and Green Street. There were two officers in the cruiser at the time of the crash. While the airbags were deployed, no one was injured in the crash, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The suspect, a 33-year-old Fairfax County resident, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving. He was released that same day on a $5,000 unsecured bond and goes to court for the offenses tomorrow (Wednesday).
There have been 24 people charged with driving while intoxicated this year in Alexandria, compared to 47 during this same time period last year, 24 in the same time period in 2021, 47 in 2020 and 36 in 2019, according to Alexandria’s crime database.
Map via Google Maps
More than 200 people have signed a petition against ABC Virginia opening a new location on S. Washington Street in Old Town. At the same time, another Change.org petition has gotten about 75 signatures in support of the new liquor store.
A Change.org petition from “Southwest Quadrant Neighbors” has garnered more than 200 signatures, with petitioners complaining that the location at 825 S. Washington Street is “ill-suited as it is located in the middle of a tight-knit residential neighborhood, close to several schools and family and child-oriented establishments, and is without dedicated parking for ABC to secure.”
Virginia ABC is considering the 3,000-square-foot building for a new store, and posted a notification for public comments for two weeks.
“We have received comments both in favor and against the proposed location,” Valerie D. Hubbard, a senior public relations specialist with Virginia ABC, told ALXnow. “We do not have a lease agreement currently.”
Hubbard said that Virginia ABC weighs a number of factors when determining the location for new stores and expanding customer access.
“These include a location’s demographics, traffic patterns, rental rate and population density,” she said. “It also considers the distance of a location to existing stores, sales at those stores, tenant mix at the shopping center, and the accessibility and deliverability to the location. This process has led to the creation of 398 stores throughout the Commonwealth, with 92% of Virginians living only 10 minutes from a Virginia ABC store.”
Those petitioning against ABC moving into the 3,000-square-foot property say that there are four other ABC stores located within two miles of 825 S. Washington Street. There are, in fact, three ABC stores within two miles of the proposed location.
The nearest ABC stores are at 501 Montgomery Street in Old Town North (1.4 miles away), at 3161 Duke Street (about 2.6 miles away), at 5940 Richmond Highway (about 1.4 miles away) in the Huntington area of Fairfax County, and at 1524 Belle View Boulevard in Fairfax County (about 2 miles away).
Opponents say that the new store will result in a crime increase, are “not neighborly,” and will result in decreased parking and increased traffic, but proponents say that there are no ABC stores on the southern section of Old Town.
“It’s a long walk to the north side store that is inconvenient and puts one at risk to other crimes,” states the pro-ABC store petition.
The store is the former home to the Queen Bee Designs pop-up, and is on the same block as Faccia Luna (823 S. Washington Street) and Southside 815 (815 S. Washington Street).
Vienna-based Rosenthal Properties is managing the leasing for the space, which is owned by Writ Limited Partnership.
A 23-year-old Lorton man was charged with driving while intoxicated after allegedly crashing into four cars in Old Town.
The crash occurred near the intersection of S. Patrick Street and Gibbon Street at around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21. Three people suffered minor injuries and went to the hospital, and the driver was released later that day.
The driver failed a field sobriety test, refused medical attention and admitted to police that he drank four Modello beers before the crash, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
“I shouldn’t have driven tonight,” the suspect allegedly told police, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was charged with driving while intoxicated (first offense) and goes to court on Feb. 2.
Map via Google Maps
BARtanical, a botanical and herbal inspired bar, will open as the newest pop-up at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray by the end of the month, its owners tell ALXnow.
The new bar is the fifth pop-up for the space, and owners Bill Blackburn and his partner “Mango” Mike Anderson of the Homegrown Restaurant Group have decided to keep going with the pop-up themes instead of opening a permanent restaurant.
Blackburn and Anderson closed the Sushi Bar — located between their other restaurants Holy Cow Del Ray and Pork Barrel BBQ — in December 2021 after nine years in business. Shortly after closing, the restaurant was transformed into the Christmas-themed pop-up bar Joy On The Avenue, followed up by a Tiki Bar that lasted for eight months, a Halloween-themed pop-up in October and then back to the Christmas-themed bar last month.
The windows of the pop-up are currently covered, and the interior of the space has been gutted.
Blackburn says that when it opens, the pop-up will be a “potted plant lover’s paradise,” featuring an “explosion of plants an greenery.”
“Sticking to the craft cocktail heavy formula, BARtanical’s beverage program will be botanic and herbal inspired, with a nibble and snacks menu that is on the crisper and lighter side,” Blackburn said. “It’s a limited time pop-up and perfect for girls night out, casual happy hour or late nightcap surrounded by rich green agricultural décor and Del Ray’s most entertaining bartenders.”
Anderson said that the next iteration of the pop-up is a secret.
“You’ll have to wait and find out,” Anderson said. “New concepts are like first dates. First dates are new and exciting, and every three months we’re going to provide the residents of Alexandria with a fresh experience.”
Mari Luffey, a former bar manager at HRG’s Whiskey & Oyster in Carlyle, is the manager for the pop-up and is creating a cocktail menu.
“The spring-feel of the bar will translate nicely during the winter months,” Luffey said. “It’s going to be beautiful and cozy in here.”
