Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect a mostly sunny day with a high of around 37 degrees and a northwest wind blowing at 10-14 mph, gusting up to 23 mph. For Friday night, the skies will be mostly clear and the temperature will drop to around 24 degrees, with a west wind at approximately 7 mph.
There’s a new craft cocktail bar in Old Town.
Yesterday (Thursday) was the grand opening of the craft cocktail bar Francis Hall in the Hotel Heron (699 Prince Street) in Old Town.
Like trains pulling into a station, regional transportation leaders converged in Alexandria today to cut the ribbon at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s new technology hub, the Metro Integrated Command and Communications Center (MICC).
The new 14-story MICC, located at 2401 Mill Road in the city’s Carlyle neighborhood, will hold up to 1,400 Metro staffers, and is home to the system’s data center, cybersecurity operations, bus and rail video teams, communications, and administrative support.
Bad Axe Throwing‘s new West End location at 617 S Pickett Street is having a grand opening celebration this weekend, Alexandria Living Magazine first reported.
A representative of the ax-throwing bar said the location is currently open, but is planning a grand opening celebration this Friday and Saturday.
Leave your stress behind, because a new luxury spa is holding its grand opening in Old Town next month.
MAI Glo Spa will formally open to the public on August 1 at 803 Franklin Street. The spa is located in the southwest quadrant of the city, directly across the street from the 7-Eleven at 800 Franklin Street.
Need an eyelash extension? A new studio just opened up in Alexandria’s West End that will keep your lashes lush for weeks on end.
April Nickens opened her first Amazing Lash Studio franchise in the West End Village shopping center at 374 S. Pickett Street on March 24.
After relocating from the Braddock neighborhood, Alexandria Lighting + Design is hosting a grand opening in the West End today.
The opening is the debut of the shop’s new showroom and coffee shop at 444 S. Picket Street.
The City of Alexandria has announced that the long-awaited Freedom House Museum (1315 Duke Street) is scheduled to reopen near the end of this month.
The museum is scheduled to fully reopen on Friday, May 27, with a grand opening event scheduled for Monday, June 20, which is Juneteenth. The opening comes a little over a year after the museum was originally scheduled to reopening.
After nearly 20 years of catering to women in Old Town, Elizabeth Todd’s men’s boutique Yellow Jacket is finally where she wants it to be.
Yellow Jacket (301 Cameron Street) had a soft opening in November while it briefly shared space with Todd’s women’s boutique The Hive, which she opened in 2016. The Hive has since moved down the street to its new location at 315 Cameron Street. Todd also owns The Shoe Hive, which she opened in 2003.
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.
Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon is planning a grand opening celebration on Monday, Feb. 28, with a week of deals lined up for different menu items.
The restaurant opened last month in the Bradlee Shopping Center (3690 King Street), which is referred to somewhat bafflingly in a press release as “the heart of Old Town Alexandria.”
