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.
You’ve got a week to order those last burgers, steaks and chicken wings, because after eight years in business in the heart of Old Town, Mackie’s Bar and Grill is closing its doors for the last time next Tuesday (August 30).
The neighborhood bar and steakhouse was unable to negotiate a new lease, owner Sang Lee told ALXnow.
“It’s the only neighborhood bar in Old Town,” Lee said. “I would hope that some of our regulars, when they find out that we are closing, will be here and support us and make sure that the staff make some money before they actually move on. That’s all I can ask.”
Lee is going to take a break for a few months and then decide on whether he wants to reopen in a new location.
The news is a shock for many of the restaurant’s Old Town regulars, including Stu Robinson.
“I don’t know where I’m going to go hang out now,” Robinson said.
Lee said the building owners are in talks with tenants about putting a salon in the space.
“It’s sad, because we have the best wings and the best burgers in town,” Lee said. “I am grateful to all of my friends and customers who made Mackie’s what it is today.”
Ready to go into business in Alexandria?
The latest listings on BizBuySell show all kinds of companies for sale in the city.
The website aggregates numerous business sale listings, and the names and locations are generally left out.
Reasons for selling, when provided, typically do not mention economic hardship, but more often involve the owner retiring or not having time to actively run the business.
Here are some that are currently listed:
- Dog Boutique Accessories and Food — “Incredible dog boutique store in charming and wealthy Old Town Alexandria. The business has been growing since inception in 2010.The high visibility location draws in hundreds of customers each week. This business does NOT sell or re-home dogs.”
- Nail salon — “Established, nice nail salon/spa with good income available for sale in the Falls Church, Alexandria area. Good rent. Potential for growth if adding more nail techs. Nail services comprise 80% of the business, the rest is hair services. Highly visible from main road. Good reviews. Nice and well decorated. Owner can stay and work on a part time basis. Staff will stay if new owner want. 1,700 square feet. Current lay out has 6 pedicure chairs, 8 manicure tables, 2 hair stations, 2 shampoo stations, 2 rooms for facial/waxing services. Owner prefers cash but can provide short term financing with substantial down payment. Priced to sell. Don’t miss this opportunity.”
- Former hair salon in Fairlington — “Formerly a hair salon by the name of Primary Colors, a hair salon that was in business for twenty years. Now the space is open, and is still built out to be a hair salon, but the space can also be altered to become a different business.”
- Deli with R.E. property — The owner is retiring after 30 years in business. The restaurant is open five days a week for breakfast and lunch.
- Well-established laundromat — “All Washer and Driers in Excellent condition. NO Coin! Card only! Owner stops by the store once a week. 50 washers, 52 Driers.”
- Profitable restaurant for sale — “Great location, great visibility, long lease term, plenty of parking spaces, in a busy shopping center with many other businesses that crowded with customers on the daily basic, this restaurant is built up from the cold cell condition with new kitchen equipment, freezer, cooler, HVAC….., that’s clean and presenting a long useful life for new owner to do business in years to come without any major upgrading. This restaurant can be converting to other cuisine given there is no other restaurant of that cuisine is currently operated within the shopping center.”
- Profitable High Volume Bakery & Cafe MRB VA 1107 — “By purchasing this Bakery, Café, and Catering Company that is for sale in a very busy shopping center in Fairfax County, Virginia and you will be ready for business your first day! This well-known operation produces $1.8 million from its multiple foodservice revenue streams. It is Fully Equipped and gives you the opportunity to serve up a full restaurant menu, special occasion cakes, sweet treat pastries, and baked goods, including gluten-free items, sugar-free treats, and food for allergy-sensitive patrons.”
