Alfred Street Baptist Church Virtual Worship Service Gets 19K Views –“Thank you for this amazing word today!! God Bless!” [Facebook]

Hospital Nurses Play Games With COVID-19 Patients — “Inova Nurses are helping our patients any way they can during these challenging times, from medical attention to a friendly game of tic tac toe. #InovaHeroes” [Facebook]

Early Giving Begins For Spring2ACTion Fundraiser — “Because of the current crisis, organizations have had to cancel fundraising events and programs that generate revenue. Classrooms and theaters are dark, and programs are cancelled in adherence of social distancing guidelines. Many nonprofits are depleting their reserves to purchase emergency food and supplies for their constituents.” [Spring2ACTion]

Sales of Titan Senior Magnets and Yard Signs Going to Relief Fund — “Don’t have a senior but want to show your support? Buy a community sign! All proceeds will support the PTSA’s new initiative [the] Titans Care COVID Relief Fund!” [tcwallnightgradparty.com]

ALIVE! Thanks Community For Food Giveaway Support — “Huge THANK YOU to Old Blue BBQ for purchasing and donating 500 pounds of potatoes for this weekend’s Truck-to-Trunk food distribution! They came to help pack 4000 grocery bags, but when they realized there wouldn’t be enough produce, left and came back with fresh produce for Alexandria’s neediest.”[Facebook]

Alexandria Symphony Reschedules Performance — Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, the Alexandria Symphony has rescheduled its “Brandenburgs and Brew” concert to Friday, June 12, 2020. [alexsym.org]

Sales From Alexandria Restaurant Partners T-Shirts Going to Staff — “T-shirt sales end on Monday, April 6, so be sure to purchase yours today!” [Facebook]

Atlantis Pizzeria and Family Restaurant is Open For Carryout — “Jimmy and Bill are brothers who opened Atlantis 38 years ago. They have built up a loyal customer base that continues to support them during this difficult time. They remain open each day because they never want to disappoint their customers. They could use all the help they can get right now. Open for carry out only. Order a pizza and come pick it up. It’s easy. Plenty of room to keep your distance and they are keeping it clean as a whistle. Hope to see you soon!” [Facebook]

Landmark Mall Redevelopment Uncertain — “An official from Howard Hughes Corp., a Texas-based company that owns the 51-acre property and has been working on redevelopment plans for several years, said in response to email inquiries from Alexandria Living Magazine: “Sorry, no update for now, but we’ll let you know when we have a good update.” [Alexandria Living]

Volunteer Alexandria Needs Volunteers — “For those who are eligible to volunteer, we encourage to take measures and bring their own sanitizer, wipes, and keep distance from other people.” [Volunteer Alexandria]

Alexandria Restaurant Partners Donating 50% of Gift Cards to Staff — “Purchase a gift card today and 50% of all sales will be donated directly to an ARP employee relief fund. Plus, you’ll receive a 20% bonus gift card with all gift card purchases of $25 or more as a thank you for your support. Gift cards can used immediately at both Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap and Mia’s Italian Kitchen.” [Facebook]

City Asks Spring Cleaners to Leave Big Stuff Alone — “It is certainly a tempting time of year to start “spring cleaning” but we ask you to help protect our workers and not overwhelm the waste stream. Please hold on to bulky or excess household items and help us reduce excess waste generation as much as possible during this time.” [Facebook]

Inova Assures Safe Conditions to Deliver Babies in Hospitals — “We’re still delivering bundles of joy to families at Inova every day. We understand you might be concerned if you’re expecting in these rapidly changing times. But, please be assured Inova is leading the way to help you bring your little one, or ones, into this world as safely as possible.” [Facebook]

Alexandria Wedding Showcase Pushed to June 28 — “One lucky couple will win 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy Travel Points, good for a week-long honeymoon to one of thousands of locations worldwide from The Westin Alexandria Old Town.” [Alexandria Wedding Showcase]

Old Newspaper Clipping Documents Spanish Flu in Alexandria — “Spanish influenza is increasing in the city at an alarming rate. There are few houses in the city where there is not a case of the disease… Doctors are working overtime but are performing their duties heroically. Druggists are doing their share for the general good filling prescriptions.” [Facebook]

VIP Alexandria Magazine Going Digital in April — “Does this mean we are going ALL DIGITAL? HECK NO! 😀 We LOVE print! And VIP Alexandria Magazine will be back, in your beautiful hands, by May when we release our Annual Health & Beauty Issue! Hang in there, Alexandria! We’re all in this together!” [Facebook]

Del Ray Creates Stuffed Animal ‘Zoofari’ — “The idea is for homeowners to put out stuffed animals in their front yards, porches, trees, flower boxes, gardens, and places where they can be seen. The kids and parents can then walk around the neighborhood locating them and checking off, creating a safe Zoofari scavenger hunt walk.” [Zebra]

Following the shutdown of nearly all of its locations last week, Alexandria Restaurant Partners (ARP) has reopened Mia’s Italian Kitchen (100 King Street) for take-out and delivery.

The Italian restaurant will offer a limited menu available for delivery through Postmates, GrubHub and UberEats. Take-out orders can be placed through ChowNow.

The menu consists of a variety of pizzas with a handful of pasta, salads and appetizers. The company is also offering toilet paper as an extra on the menu.

Mia’s reopened yesterday (Monday) and is scheduled to be open daily from 12-8 p.m.

Photo via Mia’s Italian Kitchen/Facebook

Alexandria Hospital Suspends Visitation — “Exceptions to Inova Health System’s Visitation Guidance can be made in extenuating circumstances and with prior approval from a care site’s administration.” [Zebra]

Man Convicted for 2016 Rape — “[P]olice in Alexandria — for the first time — ran DNA through public genealogical databases and developed a family tree based on known DNA profiles, which pointed to Bjerke as a suspect. After Bjerke was arrested, a buccal swab of his DNA matched DNA found on the victim.” [WTOP]

Major COVID-19 Budget Impact, Mayor Says — “In FY 2010 (Great Recession), we adopted a budget that dropped spending by 2.2%. It would now appear the projected impact of COVID-19 on OUR CURRENT FISCAL year (now through June 30th) will be almost 5% down. Next year will be much worse.” [Facebook]

City Facilities Closed or Open by Appointment Only — “To promote social distancing during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, all City of Alexandria facilities are now either closed to the public or open by appointment only, until further notice.” [City of Alexandria]

City Closes Rec. Centers, Parks, Playgrounds — “The Alexandria Health Department (AHD) has recommended these changes because public play areas have continued to attract groups of more than 10 people despite earlier warnings against this practice.” [Alexandria Living]

Eateries Support Employees During Pandemic — “With five of their six restaurants closed, ARP is using Lena’s kitchen to prepare meals for four, distributed to employees three times a week along with boxes packed with food, toilet paper and small cash stipends.” [Zebra]

Old Town Books Doing All Business Online — “Thank you for staying connected, for the tweets, the shares, the kind words of encouragement. We need them. We love them + you + books + we’re not giving up. No matter how bleak things get a book can do some good, for someone, somehow. We’re determined to keep on with our virtual book clubs, $1 shipping, NEW forthcoming virtual writing classes. As long as you keep ordering we’ll keep on keeping on. Thank you. LONG LIVE THE BOOKSHOP.” [Facebook]

Online Ordering Only at Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow, Sushi Bar — “We greatly appreciate the support and know that every order keeps our doors open and most importantly KEEPS JOBS!” [Facebook]

Alexandria Restaurant Partners on Wednesday will shutter all of its businesses and stop work for 450 of its employees at all of its locations in the city, with the exception of Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap.

The closure is in response to Governor Ralph Northam’s recommendation on Tuesday that establishments within the state enforce 10-person gathering standards, which effectively shuts down indoor dining.

“Restaurants are going to face significant, devastating losses,” Scott Shaw, a partner with ARP told ALXnow. “It closes our business. We will reopen when we can, but this is going to be a significant financial hit. “Right now our top concern is our employees, and we are heartsick at not being able to help them more, but with no revenue coming in it’s not possible.”

Shaw added, “It’s a real hardship for them. We’re doing everything we can do help them with benefits and expedited unemployment insurance.”

ARP closed Palette 22 in Shirlington and The Majestic in Old Town this morning and planned to have limited service at its other locations until Northam made his recommendation.

ARP will subsequently also close Mia’s Italian Kitchen, Vola’s Dockside Grill, and Theismann’s Restaurant and Bar until further notice. The company is asking that customers buy gift cards for the restaurants, and 20% of the proceeds will go to an employee relief fund.

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson on Tuesday, also issued guidance to the city manager’s office to consider suspending the city’s dining tax collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, the Homegrown Restaurant Group has only closed one of its locations – Whisky & Oyster. The company, which includes Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow Del Ray, The Sushi Bar, Sweet Fire Donna’s and Tequila & Taco is still open for business.

“We are encouraging social distancing in our restaurants and complying with the 10 person maximum,” said Bill Blackburn, a partner with the Homegrown Restaurant Group. “We encourage customers to order via our websites and pickup at our curbside tents in front of the restaurants.”

There are now 67 cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Virginia, including two presumptive positive cases in Alexandria.

Photo via Mia’s Italian Kitchen/Facebook

After seven years on the Alexandria waterfront, Vola’s Dockside Grill is set for an expansion. On Tuesday, City Council will consider adding 30 outside seats for the restaurant’s outdoor seating area.

The location at 101 N. Union Street is notable since it is a highly traveled area of the waterfront and is next door to the Torpedo Factory Art Center and Waterfront Park. The restaurant currently has 87 outdoor seats, and the proposal calls on 114 outdoor seats.

Vola’s is owned by Alexandria Restaurant Partners, which also owns Mia’s Italian Kitchen and The Majestic.

Upon approval, the license would be in effect from April 1, 2020, and end on March 31, 2023. The annual fee to be paid would be $50,386.09 in the first year, $51,895.90 in the second year and $53,457.78 for the third year.

Brandon Whitestone is at his best working with a team of people in the kitchen. After a career running kitchens in restaurants around the country, the 35-year-old has made Northern Virginia home in his newest job as regional executive chef for Alexandria Restaurant Partners.

“Kitchens are kind of controlled chaos,” Whitestone tells ALXnow. “It’s exciting to be a part of that and the feeling you get to see your team fight through battle together and grow with each other. You know, a lot of people visit restaurants for special occasions and to commemorate something, so it’s really important to make sure that goes properly for them.”

Whitestone, who recently moved to the area with his wife and young son, has his work cut out for him. In addition to making sure that quality is maintained at ARP’s nine restaurants, which include Mia’s Italian Kitchen and The Majestic, he’s also overseeing the menus that are going into the company’s new locations at the former Robinson Terminal South property.

A native of the Boston-area, Whitestone has a degree from the New England Culinary Institute, and has spent the last 13 years running kitchens at award-winning restaurants in Florida and Georgia. His credits include stints at the now-closed Chef Allen’s, Rosa Mexicano and The Olde Pink House.

Whitestone knew he was going to move to Northern Virginia when he was hired by ARP a year-and-a-half ago, and in the interim helped open Mia’s Italian Kitchen in Orlando, Florida.

“The plan always was for me to come up to Virginia, because most of our restaurants are here,” he said.

Whitestone, who traveled to Virginia once a month from Florida since being hired, works closely with the executive chefs of each ARP restaurant, in addition to more than 50 kitchen staffers.

‘You can’t just hand somebody a recipe and say, ‘Here you go.’ That doesn’t create a lasting change and a quality product. You have to get in there and teach them and show them and work with them and develop them,” he said. “And it’s amazing to watch your people grow, because sometimes the first time someone brings you something that needs more finesse. And then, you know, over time you’re able to mentor that person, grow them to the point where they’re bringing you something awesome every time.”

Whitestone’s favorite dish on the menu is the Sunday gravy at Mia’s.

“It’s kind of an old school Italian thing,” he said. “Traditionally, on Sunday morning we throw a bunch of meats into a pot, cook it all together and make this great stew. Ours is fresh sausage, braciole, meatballs, chicken thighs all cooked down with San Marzano tomatoes. It takes about six to seven hours, and all those juices come out and marinate, and then we serve it over house-made pasta. It’s delicious.”

If you’ve followed the recent widespread war over the best chain-restaurant fried chicken sandwich on the market, there’s a new homegrown player in Old Town.

Reston-based Thompson Hospitality, the owner of Hen Quarter at 801 King Street, has converted the first floor of the restaurant into the southern-style restaurant The Rub. While the second floor is still devoted to Hen Quarter, the new establishment, which opened on Thursday (Jan. 17) offers five fried chicken sandwiches with fries ranging in price from $8.50 to $12.50. The sandwiches are all made to order and take about eight minutes to prepare.

“We couldn’t ignore the recent explosion of the fried chicken sandwich,” Craig Carey, Thompson’s vice president of marketing strategy, told ALXnow. “We’re really motivated by bringing awesome creative food that is inclusive of everyone’s budget.”

The sandwiches were created by Chef Graham Duncan, formerly of Alexandria Restaurant Partners.

Carey is also the founder of Big Buns Damn Good Burger Co. in Shirlington, and partnered with Thompson Hospitality a year-and-a-half ago. He said that Thompson, which includes Austin Grill, Matchbox and American Tap Room among its brands, plans to open many more restaurants throughout the region over the next two years. Those new restaurants include a new Big Buns in Reston by this April, and a Big Buns in the Navy Yard in June.

The company plans to open three to five Matchbox and Big Buns locations per year, we’re told.

Carey said that the fried chicken sandwich was the most popular item on the menu when it debuted at Big Buns in 2015.

“The Rub is really about the customer, and I think it’s a really cool space to have fun with,” he said. “The fried chicken sandwich is really something that has exploded for us. Soon we will be coming out with a new fried chicken sandwich every month.”