(Updated 9:20 p.m.) After a prolonged battle between a Del Ray homeowner and his neighbors over a proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and a single-family home, Alexandria’s City Council struck the plans down in a meeting earlier this week.
The plan (docket item 11) was to create a two-story, single-unit ADU to 404 E. Alexandria Avenue along with a single-family home. The unit would be set off the main street on a vacant lot and accessible by a public alley.
A two-story, single-unit accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on a Del Ray alley is heading to the City Council with a mixed reception from the community and the Planning Commission.
The project is located on a vacant lot at 404 East Alexandria Avenue, surrounded by single-unit, semi-detached, townhouse and multi-unit residential properties.
The Del Ray House and Garden Tour is returning this May for the first time since the Covid pandemic hit.
The tour returns on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and offers visitors an inside look at everything from lavish homes to accessory dwelling units.
Mediterranean restaurant La’Baik should open in the next several weeks in the former Rubia’s Tacos at 2309 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray, its owner tells ALXnow.
Rubia’s, which was previously Stomping Ground for eight years, closed in January, and new restaurant owner Mohammad Abdel-Hay is keeping the interior and equipment and tables and chairs as-is, only changing the menu, staff and signage.
There’s a new hair salon in Del Ray and it’s named after a Taylor Swift song. Enchant Hair Co. opened at 2202 Mount Vernon Avenue in January, and it’s named after Swift’s song Enchanted.
“I love Taylor Swift,” owner Monica Frias told ALXnow. “She’s like a reflection of my personality.”
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating a sexual assault that occurred last night (Tuesday) in Del Ray.
Police said a woman was walking after midnight around Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues when she was attacked and assaulted by a stranger.
After getting after-the-fact permission from City Council to use their outdoor smoker, Del Ray’s Hi/Fi Tex Mex BBQ is now asking after-the-fact for approval of their electric sign.
The restaurant opened in the backyard of Evening Star Cafe (2000 Mount Vernon Avenue) in 2022, and got after-the-fact permission from the City Council to operate their outdoor smoker grills, despite complaints from neighbors. Last December, Washington Post food critic Tim Carman labeled the restaurant as one of the top ten best casual restaurants in the region.
There’s nothing like numbing your aching body with a hot toddy after a long day on the slopes.
That’s the vibe that the owners of the Aspen on the Avenue popup (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue) have in mind. There’s a two-seat gondola parked outside the restaurant and bar greeting customers as they walk into a warm environment with a fake fireplace, a fake brick wall, lots of skis and two giant backlit photos of idyllic snowy scenes.
New pizza restaurant Benny Diforza’s (1504B Mount Vernon Avenue) has been popular since opening last week. The restaurant was well attended this weekend, and according to an application with the City of Alexandria, there could be more space for diners soon.
Benny Diforza’s is part of a Benny’s Pizza chain with locations across Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wyoming.
Washingtonian recently included three Alexandria restaurants in their food critic’s list of 19 favorite pizzas right now.
Washingtonian’s Executive Food Editor Ann Limpert included in her list “Stracci Bianca” at Stracci Pizza (106 Hume Avenue), the vodka pizza at Emmy Squared (124 King Street) and the white clam Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (3231 Duke Street).
The Commonwealth, Ashby, and Glebe Flood Mitigation Project — one of the largest flood mitigation projects in the city other than the huge RiverRenew project — is set to hit a planning milestone sometime this spring.
In a February Flood Action newsletter, city staff said the project is set to hit the “60% of the project design” milestone sometime this spring.
