Almost exactly two years after it opened, Loyal Companion (923 N. St. Asaph Street) in Old Town North will be closing for good.
The location’s closure is part of a broader sweep of closures following Independent Pet Partners filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All stores outside of Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois will close.
Staff at Loyal Companion said they learned about the closure last Thursday. Pet grooming well end on Feb. 18 and the store will be closed by the end of the month, with all merchandise in the store set on sale before them.
According to a message on the company’s website:
To our Loyal Companion community,
With a heavy heart, we want to inform you that we’ve made the tough decision to close our Loyal Companion stores. We have loved serving the community and supporting you on your pet wellness journey.
Our stores will be open through the end of February. We will be offering liquidation discounts and we encourage you to take advantage of these great offers to get all the supplies you need.
While it’s hard to say goodbye, it’s easy to say thank you. Thank you for being part of our family. Thank you for caring about pet wellness. And thank you for supporting your local community.
We’ve enjoyed all the hugs and belly rubs along the way.
~ Your Loyal Companion Team
Updated at 10:45 a.m. Toppers Pizza officially closed its doors at 3827 Mount Vernon Avenue last month and there is now only one of the Wisconsin-style pizza locations left in Virginia.
Toppers opened in 2017 to great fanfare in Arlandria, and was supposed to be the flagship location of a 22-store deal with locations popping up throughout Northern Virginia. In 2018, the second store opened at 6676 Richmond Highway in the Groveton area of Fairfax County, and it remains the only location in the state.
The pizza shop was located in the Del Ray North Shopping Center, which has a number of vacant units and is managed by Finmarc Management, Inc.. In August, ALXnow reported that a plan to redevelop the shopping center was scrapped due to “worsening economic conditions,” and that Finmarc would instead continue leasing on the property.
A Toppers representative said that the company does not have future development plans for the area.
The phone number for the Groveton location is out of order, but the shop at 6676 Richmond Highway is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to midnight.
Updated 4:15 p.m. — After nearly 30 years in Old Town, Deli News & More closed last month for the last time.
The 7,800-square-foot space at 1406 King Street has since been leased to Ed McIntosh, one of the founders of Chop Shop Taco (1008 Madison Street). The shop will remain a convenience store, and it will be reopen in March as Eddie’s Little Shop and Deli.
“We will be specializing in prime rib sandwiches and handmade mozzarella along with a few other highlights,” McIntosh said.
The former owner of Deli News & More left a note of thanks on the front door of the business.
“It has been a privilege to be a part of this community,” owner Jong Suk Choi wrote. “Thank you for letting us serve you and please be well.”
Deli News & More opened as a newsstand in 1994, and served light breakfast fare, sandwiches and more. The “more” got the convenience store into trouble, prompting a City Council action approving the sale of alcohol on the premises in 2019.
After 10 years, EagleBank is closing its Alexandria branch on Friday, March 3.
The EagleBank branch at the Atrium building (277 S. Washington Street) will then transfer all its accounts to its Ballston Branch (4420 N. Fairfax Drive).
Customers received the news in a Dec. 27 letter from Conchita Lumpkins, EagleBank’s director of community banking.
“It has been an honor and pleasure to serve your banking needs at this location for many years,” Lumpkins wrote. “We look forward to continuing to serve you at the Ballston location or any of our branch offices.”
EagleBank CEO Susan Riel told the Washington Business Journal in November that the company faces staffing issues, real estate lending challenges and rising interest rates.
Last year, EagleBank and its former CEO Ronald D. Paul were fined millions for violating insider lending regulations, and Paul was banned from banking.
The Old Town branch opened in 2013. No official reason for the closure was provided. The bank, which lists 25 branches on its website, reportedly closed two other locations in 2022.
Old Town sweet shop Fleurir Chocolates (110 S. Payne Street) is closing for the last time on Christmas Eve, owner Ashley Hubbard announced on Instagram.
“Word on the street is true — after 14 years, Robert and I are permanently closing the shop December 24th and moving to warmer climates,” Hubbard wrote.
The 1,160-square-foot location will be available for lease on Jan. 15.
Hubbard and her husband, co-owner Robert Ludlow decided to close after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The couple will be moving to a warmer climate to be near family, she wrote.
“Last summer my body decided to stop working and I wa diagnosed with MS (that’s right, I’m in the cool kids’ club with Selma Blair and Christina Applegate),” Hubbard wrote. “Thanks you all for your generosity and support! Stop by this week to grab some holiday chocolates and say goodbye!”
Photo via fleurirchoc/Instagram
With redevelopment on the horizon, Wheel Nuts Bike Shop (302 Montgomery Street) owner Ron Taylor said it’s time to close up shop and ride into the sunset — specifically to West Virginia.
The store’s final day is set for tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The store is in the middle of the Montgomery Center, which developer Carr Companies is in the process of redeveloping. Taylor said the writing had been on the wall for a while.
“We were given significant advance notice that the building was being sold,” Taylor said. “My lease happens to run out in December. Demolition of the building is slated for maybe the end of the second quarter of next year, [around] June to October. At that point, all tenants will need to vacate.”
Taylor said he knew the development was coming sooner or later.
“There’s never any question that the Montgomery center will not be developed, we all knew that they had plans for the building,” Taylor said.
Wheel Nuts has been a fixture for local cyclists for over twenty years, with a location easily accessible from the Alexandria portion of the Mount Vernon trail. The business’ website said the shop opened in 1999, but by Taylor’s count it’s been around 25 years.
“We’ve been in business 25 years,” Taylor said. “It’s bittersweet. I’m the owner of the shop — my wife and I own the shop, and my wife just retired from the Fairfax County Park Authority, so it’s nice that we were able to tie it in with when she retired.”
Taylor said since announcing the store’s closure, he’s gotten a flurry of emails and texts and phone calls both from past customers and neighbors sharing just how important the shop was to them.
“I’m going to miss the work, I’m going to miss my staff, going to miss the community, going to miss cyclists that came off the trail,” Taylor said. “I’m saddened by it, but I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Taylor said he’s looking forward to new adventures when the pair move to a new home in West Virginia.
“We’re both into the outdoors and looking forward to mountain biking and skiing,” Taylor said. “We plan to do a lot of traveling and we’re excited to visit national parks, and do biking: we want to practice what we’ve been preaching for many years.”
Clay Queen Pottery officially closed its doors last Monday, October 24.
The shop at 2303 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray is nearly vacant, and small renovations are being made to the building interior.
The business closed due to the retirement of owner Renee Altman, as first reported by Alexandria Living Magazine. Clay Queen Pottery sold pottery and jewelry, and provided pottery classes.
There’s no word of what will go into the space, but Paul Haire, owner of The Dog Store — next door at 2301 Mount Vernon Avenue, would like to use the space for an expansion.
“I would love to use the spce for an expansion,” Haire said. “I’d like to do that. Let’s see what happens with that in the future.”
The big news this week was some favorite local restaurants and bars going away.
Both Mackie’s Bar and Grill and Elizabeth’s Counter are set to close in the next couple weeks. Owner Rob Krupicka is planning to replace the latter with a new comfort food restaurant called Railbird Kitchen sometime later this year, but the spot’s famed handmade donuts won’t be returning.
Further west, local bar Alley Cat is also closing next month, though the bar is scheduled to reopen in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of D.C.
- Last call: Mackie’s Bar and Grill closing in Old Town next Tuesday
- SCOOP: Elizabeth’s Counter closing, leaving donut hole in Braddock neighborhood
- 70 local restaurants are participating in Alexandria Restaurant Week
- Poll: Should the Victory Center be demolished?
- Alexandria Mayor says Youngkin’s affordable housing reform comments are positive step forward
- Robbery suspects allegedly threatened Alexandria Home Depot employee with pepper spray
- Momo Sushi & Cafe in Old Town and a number of other businesses are up for sale
- Alexandria releases guide to surviving the upcoming Metro shutdowns
- Alexandria puppy with incurable cancer finds loving home for final months
- Son allegedly pistol-whips dad over trash dispute in West End apartment
Landmark neighborhood sports bar Alley Cat is closing early next month, local news site Annandale Today first reported.
The bar first opened in 2009 and, according to the bar’s website, the last day of business will be Sunday, Sept. 4.
“We regret to inform you that Ally Cat has decided to close down its business,” the bar’s website said. “Our last day of business will be on 9/4. Stay tuned since we will reopen at the new location. We are forever grateful for all of the great friends and customers we’ve had over the years.”
Alley Cat’s Facebook page said the band Chapter 11 will be playing a “Farewell to Alley Cat” show on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Annandale Today reported that the bar is planning to reopen at 5247 Wisconsin Avenue in Friendship Heights later this year. The bar’s current location is planned as the site of the mixed-use Landmark Overlook development
In 2015, former Virginia state Del. Rob Krupicka left state politics to focus on running a donut shop in Alexandria. Seven years later, a combination of economic factors is forcing Krupicka to give up the dream and leave a donut hole in the Braddock neighborhood.
Krupicka announced on Twitter that Elizabeth’s Counter (formerly Sugar Shack), will close on Sunday, August 28. Krupicka is planning on shutting down the store and reopening with a new restaurant called Railbird Kitchen later this year.
Railbird Kitchen will focus on comfort food and cocktails, Krupicka said, while continuing Elizabeth’s Counter’s emphasis on offering good vegan options. Gone, however, are the handmade donuts that made Sugar Shack a local icon.
After 7.5 years, I’m ending my dance with the donut business this Sunday. Elizabeth’s Counter will have its last day on Sunday and a new concept, @RailbirdKitchen will launch late fall/winter. Donuts have been fun, but it’s time for a change. More here: https://t.co/9cX198ulPl
— RobKrupicka (@RobKrupicka) August 24, 2022
“We will have a number of vegan options to build on the customer base,” Krupicka said. “We’ll have more vegan options than a normal restaurant has, but more traditional options as well… Vegan options aren’t going away, but vegans have non-vegan friends, so we want something for them, too.”
The comfort food selection will include fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, and the sides that go with it.
Krupicka launched the Northern Virginia branch of Richmond-based Sugar Shack in 2015 to great local acclaim. The little Braddock shop’s hand-made donuts with a wild array of flavors were popular enough that Krupicka was able to expand into Arlington and D.C.
As the franchise further south started to get embroiled in infighting, Krupicka relaunched the Northern Virginia franchise as an independent chain called Elizabeth’s Counter. Elizabeth’s Counter continued producing handmade donuts but added more traditional restaurant fare with an emphasis on vegan options.
Around the same time, Krupicka launched Captain Gregory’s, a speakeasy adjacent to the main restaurant.
But that relaunch hit in March 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting down restaurants — many of which would never reopen. Elizabeth’s Counter remained open in Braddock, but the other locations closed within a year. Two years later, Krupicka said rising costs coupled with an office market that never fully returned has made handmade donuts unfeasible.
“The restaurant industry has changed a lot since the pandemic,” Krupicka said. “We have rising labor and ingredient costs. It got to a point where the labor and ingredient costs didn’t make sense for a handmade donut. We never used machinery in our kitchen, we made everything by hand, but it contributed to a higher-cost product.”
Krupicka said one of the big markets for donuts were local offices, but offices haven’t filled up the way they did pre-pandemic.
“People haven’t been going back to the office, and we’ve lost our going to the office donut business and it hasn’t come back,” Krupicka said. “I love donuts. My kids love donuts. This is entirely a business decision. I don’t have any regrets. I’ve loved the last seven and a half years doing donuts [and] we’re excited about the new business that’s coming.”
Krupicka said throughout September and October, he’ll be testing Railbird Kitchen menu items at Captain Gregory’s. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s Counter will close for a couple months for cosmetic interior changes. Krupicka says he hopes to reopen in late fall or early winter.
