A Bad Ass Coffee Of Hawaii franchise will be opening in later summer in Carlyle, but an exact date has not yet been set.
The company website lists the location at 2466 Mandeville Lane as being in development.
“We are still in the early stages of construction for this location, but are hoping to open late summer 2022,” Badass Coffee told ALXnow in an email.
It costs between $304,500 and $620,000 to open a Badass Coffee franchise, according to the company website.
The company was founded in 1989 in Hawaii “with a goal of sharing American-grown, premium Hawaiian coffee from Kauai, Waialua (Oahu), Maui, and 100% Kona coffee with coffee lovers everywhere.” It was sold in 1995 and there are now two dozen franchises around the world, the nearest to Alexandria being in Virginia Beach.
Leasing Starts for Apartments Over Wegmans —Â “Developer Stonebridge and its leasing partner Bozzuto, announced Wednesday the start of leasing for Easton, a boutique-style apartment building offering sophisticated design and amenities located in the Carlyle Crossing neighborhood. The 11-story building is slated to begin move-ins in mid-April just ahead of the anticipated May 11 opening of Wegmans Carlyle Crossing.” [Alexandria Living]
Ukraine Donation Drive Launched — Leaders launched an effort Wednesday to provide donations, such as gently used coats, new blankets, new pairs of sweat socks or heavy socks, and new pairs of gloves at locations around Northern Virginia. “No matter the scale – global to local – humanity is a community unto itself and we must always come to the assist of those in need,” Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said at the event. [Facebook, Patch]
Kingstowne Woman’s Family Raises Funds to Find Suspect — “The family of a missing Alexandria woman, who is presumed dead, is raising money to help catch her alleged killer.”[WJLA]
It’s Thursday — Light rain throughout the day. High of 67 and low of 58. Sunrise at 7:06 a.m. and sunset at 7:25 p.m. [Weather.gov]
Need to get your Irish on? While Alexandria’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been pushed off until September, there are two Irish-themed bar crawls coming to the city in the days ahead.
The Shamrock Stampede will descend on Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood on Saturday, March 12. Participating restaurants include Whiskey & Oyster, Sweet Fire Donna’s, Tequila & Taco, Lost Boy Cider and Joe Theismann’s Restaurant.
The event includes outfit contests, giveaways and raffles. It runs from 2 to 6 p.m. and costs $10. All registration proceeds will be donated to ALIVE!.
On the actual St. Patrick’s Day — Thursday, March 17 — Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant & Bar (112 King Street) will start things off with musician Mike Richards from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by four-piece rock band By All Means from 7 to 11 p.m.
But that’s not all.
On Saturday, March 19, six King Street restaurants will host the fifth annual Lucky’s St. Patrick’s Day Crawl. The event runs from 4 to 10 p.m., and tickets cost $20-25 per person.
“We will shuttle our leprechauns, four-clover wearers, Irish lovers and everyone else on the King Street Trolly between all restaurants,” event organizers wrote on Facebook.
Participating restaurants:
- Augie’s Mussel House and Beer Garden
- Bugsy’s Pizza Restaurant & Bar
- Daniel O’Connell’s Restaurant & Bar
- Mackie’s Bar & Grill
- Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub
- The Light Horse Restaurant
Photo via Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub/Facebook
Another week down in Alexandria.
In terms of stories, this one was a little more optimistically defined by new openings. Wegmans announced its Carlyle location is opening in May, bringing an end to the area’s notorious food desert (the closest grocery stores are the Whole Foods and Giant on Duke Street). New smaller-scale shops are looking to move in as well, like a new wine and coffee shop coming to Old Town.
Top stories:
- Police investigating another eyeglass frame heist, this time in Old Town
- Alexandria and neighboring jurisdictions now experiencing ‘Low’ transmission rate, says CDC
- Proposed development to replace early 20th century King Street buildings
- New wine bar and coffee shop coming to Old Town
- Wegmans to open in Carlyle neighborhood on May 11
- AHDC gets help from Amazon to secure Arlandria apartment building for affordable housing
- Most expensive homes sold in February
- Juvenile apprehended for robbery with fake handgun in Braddock area
- Alexandria School Board drops mask requirement for students
- Beeliner Diner opens in Bradlee Shopping Center
Wegmans Food Markets will officially open in Carlyle on May 11, and the grocery store is still hiring hundreds of employees.
Recruiting started in September for the new 81,300 square-foot space at 150 Stovall Street. The store is part of the massive mixed-use Carlyle Crossing development, and will employ upward of 450 employees.
“Hiring and training are well underway, and we’re looking for more enthusiastic candidates to round out our team before opening day,” said store manager Mike Anthony. “We’re thrilled to begin the countdown to May 11 when we can welcome the Alexandria community through our doors.”
Starting tomorrow (Friday) and continuing through next week, a section of Mill Road in the Carlyle neighborhood will be closed off for nearby construction.
In a news release, the City of Alexandria said the section of roadway will be closed until the end of next week. The construction is likely part of the sprawling redevelopment around the Hoffman Town Center.
“Weathering permitting, on Friday, February 4, 2022 at 5 a.m. through Friday, February 11 at 6 p.m. Mill Road between Stovall Street and the intersection of Andrew’s Lane and Jamieson Avenue will be closed to thru traffic due to construction,” the city said. “Thru traffic will be directed to a detour route along Stovall Street, Eisenhower Avenue, and Mill Road while local traffic and pedestrians will be directed to the safest routes and crosswalks within the work zone via flagmen and signage.”
The release noted that the road closure is weather-dependant any may be rescheduled if the city gets and inclement weather or freezing temperatures.
Getting hungry? A number of new restaurants are slated to open this year in Alexandria, according to the city’s tourism bureau.
Visit Alexandria highlighted many of these new businesses in their annual “What’s New in Alexandria” update, which was held Thursday morning (Dec. 27).
Below is a list with expected opening dates.
Old Town
- Umbrella Dry Drinks pop-up, February
- Hanks Oyster Bar in Old Town North, early 2022
- Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, opening to be determined (TBD)
- Lady Camellia Pastry & Tea Room, spring/summer opening
- Foxtrot, early 2022
- Bob & Edith’s Diner, TBD
West End
- Bonchon Chicken this month
- Roha Ethiopian Restaurant in the West End, opening TBD
- Beeliner Diner, early 2022
- Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, summer
Del Ray
- Matt & Tony’s, March
Carlyle
- Nando’s Peri-Peri, August
- Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, TBD
With the opening of the Carlyle Wegmans right around the corner, the grocery store chain has kicked off a hiring spree for around 300 part-time positions.
The store is scheduled to open in May as part of the mixed-use Carlyle Crossing development. The Wegmans is one of the first grocery stores in the neighborhood.
“Opening this spring, Store Manager Mike Anthony and his team are preparing to hire nearly 300 part-time positions for the 81,300 square foot store located at 150 Stovall Street in Alexandria,” Wegmans said in a press release. “These openings span a variety of positions across every department in the store, from culinary roles to customer service representatives. In total, the store will employ nearly 450 people, most of whom will be new to the company and hired locally.”
A virtual hiring event is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20, from 1-5 p.m. Applicants can submit their information online and will be contacted via phone.
“While our opening is still a few months away, we are excited to begin training and building our team so that they’re fully prepared to deliver incredible customer service from day one,” said Carlyle Store Manager Mike Anthony in the release. “Wegmans has a long-standing reputation as an exceptional employer, with tremendous opportunity for career growth and development.”
A towering project that will bookend Eisenhower Avenue is going through some design changes as it heads through the city’s approval process, but the changes are facing objections from City staff.
The changes are scheduled for review at the Carlyle Design Review Board on Thursday, Jan. 20. Developer Carlyle Plaza LLC has proposed several architectural changes for the project, two connected towers at 765 John Carlyle Street and 1900 Eisenhower Avenue, but staff said virtually all of these changes are a downgrade from what was approved in November.
According to the staff report:
With this request, the Applicant proposes a number of revisions to both towers, including but not limited to changes in height, scale/proportionality, materiality, and general architectural character. The amendments to the approved design for each tower are discussed in more detail below. The changes proposed are not supported by Staff.
Staff outline several objections to the changes in the report, most notably the removal of a distinctive extended open parapet at the top of the northern tower.
“The elimination of the extended open-parapet has visually eliminated an additional perceived floor of the North Tower,” the report said. “Mechanical equipment is no longer screened to the former degree, and the trees at the terrace level have been eliminated.”
Several less notable but, according to staff, architecturally objectionable changes are also made to the south tower. The report said the changes remove depth from the facade and “signature architectural features.” To the untrained eye the changes to the South Tower seem minimal, but the report said the changes result in a “boxier expression” that gives the building a less rich texture.
Overall, staff said the changes from what was approved detract from the building’s design:
Staff find the changes to be significant alterations from the approved design. Chiefly, the loss of the strong vertical expression of the South Tower and the visual loss of three floors with the North Tower result in an undesirable urban design and architecture.
The city is looking for feedback on a planned new trail at the east end of the Eisenhower corridor in the Carlyle neighborhood, though the construction of the trail is still years away.
The plan is to build a half-mile shared use path between Hooffs Run Drive and South Payne Street. Another quarter-mile section will connect it to redevelopment between Mill Road and Hooffs Run Drive.
“This project will help address a major gap in the City’s trail system and provide a key link in the bicycle and pedestrian transportation system,” the city said on the project website. “The goal of this project is to create a more direct and conflict-free connection for people walking and biking between the Eisenhower East and Southwest Quadrant neighborhoods.”
The city was awarded $7.5 million in grant funding in 2016 to design and build the trail.
Construction of the project is still years away, with right-of-way acquisition scheduled to start in spring 2023 and construction not starting until spring 2025, finishing up summer 2028.
Hey, Alexandrians! Share your thoughts with us on the 60% design plans for Old Cameron Run Trail by December 22, 2021. View the updated plans here >>> https://t.co/tVBslR6McZ. pic.twitter.com/HABKNKZ7s7
— Alexandria T&ES (@AlexandriaVATES) December 13, 2021