A Pennsylvania man was arrested for his third driving while intoxicated offense in five years and driving on a suspended license after allegedly crashing his car into The Majestic Restaurant’s outdoor patio and a number of other cars in Old Town on Thursday, Dec. 28.
The incident at The Majestic occurred at around 1:30 a.m., and the 25-year-old suspect was later arrested at around 6:30 a.m. after allegedly crashing a 2002 Camry with temporary tags into two unoccupied parked vehicles near the intersection of Commerce and S. Payne Streets.
The damages are estimated at around $15,000, according to Scott Bogue, the restaurant’s manager.
“That includes propane tanks, heaters, crowd control barriers, planters, not to mention the time it too the gardener to buy the plants and plant them,” Bogue said. “He hit every single table, every single chair. You would have thought that an 18-wheeler plowed into the restaurant.”
Bogue said that police linked the suspect’s car by a portion of the front bumper that was left in front of the restaurant. Bogue said that Alexandria Restaurant Partners, which owns The Majestic, is not pressing charges and is getting compensated through the suspect’s insurance.
The suspect was charged with driving on a suspended license and for his third DWI in less than five years, which is a Class 6 felony punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine. He was released on a $1,000 bond that afternoon and has his first court appearance on Friday, Jan. 5.
First National Bank is coming to 704 King Street in Old Town.
The 4,200-square-foot retail building has been vacant since Nando’s Peri-Peri moved from the location last July.
The new bank, which underwent a significant interior renovation over the last year, is also a block away from the new Chase Bank that opened at the corner of King and Washington Streets last month.
The move is part of an FNB expansion from seven to 11 banks in the Northern Virginia and D.C. Metro area by this year, according to a 2023 news release. The Pennsylvania-based bank has been acquiring local banks in order to fill in the gap between D.C. and North Carolina, according to the Washington Business Journal.
An opening date for the new branch has not been announced.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe is opening on Jan. 24 at 515 King Street, staff tell ALXnow.
A sign that the restaurant will open in winter 2024 was recently posted outside a main window. Staff inside the confirmed that it will open on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
By the time the bakery opens, it will have been more than a year since the company filed permits with the city.
There are 24 Tatte Bakery & Cafe locations in Massachusetts and the D.C. Metro area. This is the first Alexandria location.
The cafe will be open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and serve approximately 400 customers per day.
French and Italian tableware and home goods boutique Crème de la Crème will open at 907 King Street in March.
The Middleburg-based retailer recently signed a five-year lease with building owner EastBanc for the 2,200-square-foot property formerly home to Mackie’s Bar and Grill. The Old Town store will join the company’s two locations in Virginia — in Middleburg and Richmond — and one store in Frederick, Maryland.
Crème de la Crème was founded in 2000 by Tara and Ben Wegdam. The couple also own three other retail shops in Middleburg — Loulou, Zest and Brick and Mortar.
“We have been looking for years at expanding our presence into Alexandria and finally found a place that will work for our format,” said Tara Wegdam. “We have so many customers from the D.C. and Alexandria area that have been asking us for a retail location closer by, so we are extremely excited to open our doors at 907 King Street next Spring.”
Philippe Lanier, a principal at EastBanc, said that the neighborhood is perfect for the boutique.
“We have no doubt that their unique store experience and carefully-curated goods will attract locals and visitors alike looking for one-of-a-kind gifts and tableware,” Lanier said.
Image via Facebook
(Updated 4:20 p.m.) The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a dead woman found inside a parked car at a gas station in the West End of the city.
APD was notified of an unresponsive woman sitting in the parking lot of the Liberty gas station at 3468 King Street at around 8:15 a.m.
Police found an unresponsive person inside a black Hyundai with dealer tags, according to the police scanner. APD said in an update later that the person in the car was a woman, despite earlier reports the person was male.
At 10:55 a.m., police notified the public to expect a moderate police presence in the area.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in response to a deceased adult male being found in a vehicle in the 4300 block of King Street. APD is on the scene investigating at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency line at 703.746.4444. pic.twitter.com/f6aTs1UFF4
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 27, 2023
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of self-harm, call 911 or the Department of Human Services’ emergency services line at 703-746-3401. CrisisLink also has a 24-hour crisis hotline at 703-527-4077 or 800-SUICIDE, or text 703-940-0888.
The owner of a number of coffee shops in and around Alexandria just got into the pizza business.
Last month, Nga Ho submitted paperwork with the city requesting a change in ownership after buying RedRocks Old Town (904 King Street) from Firebrick Food Group, Inc., which opened the 2,400-square-foot, 98-seat restaurant in 2009.
Staff at RedRocks Old Town say that the restaurant will continue as-is, just under new ownership.
Ho also owns four Java Loco & Bubble Tea locations in the area, one of which is in Alexandria (289 S. Van Dorn Street), as well as Ocha Tea in Annandale.
Firebrick Food Group still owns its Columbia Heights location in D.C.
The details of the sale were not publicly disclosed. ALXnow has reached out to the new owner for comment.
Alexandria’s David Martin has spent the last 35 years making the city brighter, from creating jewelry at his Old Town shop to convincing city leaders to keep the holiday lights up year-round along King Street.
In 1989, Martin saw Old Town as a sleeping giant, especially on the block where his shop Gold Works USA would be located at 1400 King Street. The King St-Old Town Metro station had opened a few years before, and he sensed that the area would get busier.
“I sat on this doorstep all day on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I knew things were going to change,” Martin told ALXnow. “Everything on the northwest side of Old Town back then was used car shops and empty lots. Now they’re all associations and businesses.”
Up to this point, Martin’s secret to success has been by making himself known to the players in the city, from its politicians to the Chamber of Commerce. An Alexandria Living Legend, he was able to convince then-City Council Member Del Pepper to champion the year-round holiday lights along King Street in Old Town.
“I know all the police chiefs all the way from when I first got into the chamber of commerce,” Martin said. “I knew every police chief or mayor before that, and they all have something I’ve made. (Former Congressman) Jim Moran and (former Mayor) Bill Euille — I gave Bill a three-inch disc with a city seal, and he gives it to (Mayor) Justin (Wilson) to wear at parades every year.”
Martin said that the last few years have been tough, forcing him to adapt.
“When I opened the store I swore to open one that would pay the bills and support me and provide a retirement,” he said. “Between the economy, Covid, the city opening and closing streets, it has been difficult. With customers, every year there’s a new generation of people living here, moving in and out with the military and administrations.”
Nowadays, instead of relying on a steady base of local traffic, he’s been turning his efforts online, as the tastes of his clientele have shifted even more away from in-person purchases.
“The older generation is disappearing and the younger generation is doing most of their shopping on Amazon, Ebay and Etsy,” Martin said. “I’m going bigger online every day, and now I’ve got three people doing my social media.”
Martin was born in 1943 in Chicago, Illinois, to a military family. After high school, he spent three years in the U.S. Air Force, and was trained as a clinical lab technologist. After the Air Force, he took a year of pre-med at the University of Miami, but his ambition to be a doctor ended due to his day job of working with a pathologist to identify the remains of U.S. soldiers. This was during the Vietnam War, and Martin said he then reverted to a lifelong obsession of creating with his hands.
Martin apprenticed with the Montgomery College School of Art and Design, and then with D.C.-area jeweler Frank Smith before spending years as a jeweler with Fleisher Jewelers of Virginia. He also sold his own jewelry from booths at festivals in Alexandria for five years before opening Gold Works.
Martin said that the most important business meeting of his life happened at a mixer with the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce.
“I had lunch and was sitting between banker, a Virginia State Delegate and a Virginia Senator and I said I wanted to open a jewelry shop,” Martin recalled. “The banker asked if I owed my condo, and she said she could get me a $50,000 home equity loan and the senator said he knew just the place I could open a shop in Old Town.”
Martin said that his customers are like him.
“It’s a cross section of people who are agreeable, friendly and spiritual,” he said. “They’re like me.”
There is good news for those grumbling about potholes along King Street and Duke Street: repaving season will sweep over the two arterial roads this month.
Repaving work is scheduled to run this month from Tuesday, Oct. 10 to Friday, Oct. 27.
King Street’s eastbound side is being repaved from Janneys Lane to Russell Road, ending where the city is also working on a redesign of the intersection at the foot of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
Duke Street will also get some work from Dulany Street — just south of the King Street Metro station — to S. Patrick Street.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramps are also being added to Clyde Avenue and Cameron Mills Road.
As part of the repaving work, new stormlets are also being installed on King Street, Commonwealth Avenue, and a few other locations.
Residents on streets being repaved should receive a notice one week in advance of repaving. Temporary no parking signs will be installed on the blocks and vehicles on the street in work areas will be towed.
Here is a list of streets and concrete work scheduled to be completed by October 27. Work may be adjusted depending on weather, equipment, and other circumstances. Visit https://t.co/iT7QKwdUSR for more information. pic.twitter.com/O3jy2xxOut
— Alexandria Transportation & Environmental Services (@AlexandriaVATES) October 3, 2023
Work is finally getting underway next week on a complete overhaul of the busy King/Callahan/Russell intersection.
Work is expected to start the first week of October. Drivers going through the intersection could expect delays and limited access from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday. Residents and commuters are warned to plan for potential delays.
“The City of Alexandria will begin construction on the King/Callahan/Russell Intersection Improvements Project starting in October,” Project Manager Reginald Arno said in a letter. “This project will redesign the intersection of King Street, Callahan Drive, and Russell Road to enhance mobility, access, and safety for all roadway users, as well as improve access to Alexandria Union Station and King Street Station.”
Work on the intersection is scheduled to run through spring 2024.
Plans for the intersection include upgraded sidewalks, new crossings, and a new bike lane. According to a report, changes include:
- A new pedestrian crossing of King Street on the west side of the intersection
- Safer, more direct pedestrian crossings across King Street and Callahan Drive
- Removal of the slip ramp to reduce vehicle turning speeds and improve safety
- Removal of the concrete median islands
- Converting the Masonic Temple service road from two-way to one-way southbound
- A leading pedestrian interval (LPI) for all crossings, a safety measure that provides a head-start for people using the crosswalk
- Upgraded sidewalks to provide more space, accessible ramps, and connection to the steps that lead to the Masonic Temple
- Bike lanes on King Street to help people biking safely position themselves and navigate the intersection
- New pedestrian signals where they are currently missing
- Signal timing improvements to minimize delay
Like one of the many oversized trucks stuck there over the years, a regional partnership will impact the long-troubled Virginia Railway Express (VRE) bridge over King Street and other nearby infrastructure projects.
At an open house next week, the City of Alexandria, the VRE and Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) are planning to discuss the broad range of projects around the area where the rail lines cross over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
The VRE bridge has been the scene of a few collisions as vehicles hit the structure while trying to pass under it, but a new project proposed last year could involve full replacement of the bridge. According to the city’s website:
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), in collaboration with CSX, will design and construct replacement rail bridges over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Alexandria. The intent is to improve safety and reduce maintenance for these structures. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2024 and finish in mid-2026.
That project is currently in the design phase.
It isn’t the only infrastructure overhaul planned for the area, though. The VPRA is working on an Alexandria Fourth Track project to add six miles of railroad track between Arlington and Alexandria and add capacity to the regional railway bottleneck.
According to the website:
The Alexandria Fourth Track project will design and construct 6.0 miles of a fourth railroad track and related infrastructure between Arlington, VA, and Alexandria, VA. The project will connect to the southern end of the Long Bridge Project and will construct one additional track within existing railroad right-of-way to accommodate more railroad capacity between Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2024 and finish in early 2027.
The open house event is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Platform of Alexandria VRE Union Station (110 Callahan Drive).
Infrastructure upgrades along King St & Commonwealth Ave strive to move Alexandria forward! Attend an open house to learn about upcoming projects and talk to City of Alexandria, @VaRailExpress, and @vapassengerrail staff about projects. More info>>https://t.co/FjEpUIJNwc pic.twitter.com/Rf60R1jaXa
— Alexandria Transportation & Environmental Services (@AlexandriaVATES) September 25, 2023
