As another Fresh Market store in the Northern Virginia region prepares to close, the Alexandria location isn’t going anywhere.
A Fresh Market spokesperson told ALXnow no changes are planned for the Alexandria store at Bradlee Shopping Center (3680 King Street). The store is one of the anchor businesses at the shopping center, adjacent to a Safeway grocery store to the east.
Alexandria’s Amy Decker can’t say exactly what happens in her upcoming appearance on Food Network’s new show “100 Cooks.” Still, she felt comfortable enough to say that she didn’t win the $250,000 final prize but told ALXnow, “I got pretty damn far.”
Decker lives in Old Town with her husband and started cooking in 2020 while working as a staff operations officer for the CIA’s director of operations. She says she learned everything from cookbooks and that same year started Decker Delights, creating how-to videos for people stuck at home during the pandemic. That same year, she applied to be on a Food Network show hosted by Valerie Bertinelli, but it didn’t get picked up.
Tickets are now on sale for the Taste of Del Ray food festival, a yearly event spotlighting the neighborhood’s food scene.
Now in its 17th year, the event put on by the Del Ray Business Association is scheduled from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center fields (2701 Commonwealth Avenue). The event will feature samples and live music by Mars Rodeo as attendees vote on their favorite bites.
The 19th annual Alexandria Community Cookout series launches today (Thursday), bringing weekly events with free food, activities and giveaways across the city.
More than 50 city agencies and nonprofits are participating in the weekly cookouts, which are expected to reach thousands of Alexandria residents this spring and summer. The first cookout, delayed by yesterday’s weather, will take place on its rain date today at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center from 6-7:30 p.m.
Taco Tuesday this week promises to be something special in Alexandria as it coincides with Cinco de Mayo.
At Tequila & Taco (540 John Carlyle Street), the celebration of Mexico’s defeat over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 begins with 5-cent frozen margaritas from 9-10 a.m. The restaurant will also give out hundreds of straw sombreros and allow outdoor patio drinking until 10 p.m.
An Italian takeout and delivery spot in Old Town with customizable pastas is preparing to celebrate the launch of its new dine-in service.
Hank’s Pasta Bar, located above Hank’s Oyster Bar at 600 Montgomery Street, is officially launching dine-in service this Thursday, May 7, with a grand opening celebration scheduled next Thursday, May 14. The restaurant, an “elevated casual eatery,” has a full bar and offers a menu of “traditional Italian fare with contemporary touches,” according to a press release.
A longtime Italian restaurant in Old Town is celebrating its rebranding with a special dinner tomorrow night (Thursday).
Il Porto Ristorante is working on “refreshing the brand” at 121 King Street, with plans for a new logo, revised website and updated menus “to reflect a more modern look while staying true to what Il Porto has always been,” a spokesperson told ALXnow.
An Alexandria-based food tour company is celebrating two years of teaching people about the local Korean culinary scene.
Alexandria resident Soomin “Mina” Kim spends her weekdays immersed in the world of law as a paralegal in Old Town. But her weekends are reserved for Annandale in Fairfax County, where she guides culinary Koreatown adventures for her small business, Virginialicious.
A Mediterranean restaurant in Old Town North has reopened after temporarily closing for renovations.
The Perfect Pita reopened earlier this week at 951 N. Fairfax Street. The restaurant’s previous plans for a second level and additional interior seating never materialized, but the newly renovated space features an expanded kitchen, a new shop counter and forthcoming outdoor seating.
A family-owned bakery and café from Arlington has officially expanded to Old Town, offering French pastries with Lebanese flavors.
Eclairons held a soft opening in February at 430 S. Washington Street and is now spending its first spring in Alexandria. The business replaced a vacancy left by Firehook Bakery, bringing a fresh look to the space with new outdoor pergolas and flowers.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s cafeteria has reopened under new management, coinciding with a busy season at the federal campus that recently welcomed the National Science Foundation.
USPTO’s Roundhouse Café officially reopened to the public March 30 at 600 Dulany Street in Carlyle, offering sushi, a made-to-order deli, salad bar, self-serve hot entrées and a hot bar, the agency announced. The venue plans to serve a rotating variety of “chef-curated” menus, seasonal promotions and guest restaurants.
