There’s a new indoor playground for infants to eight-year-olds in Del Ray.
Bluemont Local opened Sunday at 376A Calvert Avenue. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., parents and kids are asked to take off their shoes and have fun in the “soft play” landscape crafted with Scottish pine from UK-based Tigerplay.
There’s a rush of business at Bar 86 in Old Town after midnight, after most of Old Town’s nightlife has died down.
Business is in full-swing at Alexandria’s newest speakeasy. By day, the venue is home to French bistro Café du Soleil, serving coffee, croissants and crepes. But at 5 p.m., a transformation occurs. The business closes, dim green lightbulbs are installed and tables are rearranged and set for 6 p.m. evening service at 215 S. Union Street.
Get your Santa hat ready, because the Del Ray Pop-Up Bar plans to reopen with a Christmas-themed “Joy on the Avenue” concept in two weeks.
The bar aims to return during the weekend of Friday, Nov. 21 at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue, replacing its spooky “Nightmare on the Avenue” pop-up that closed after Halloween, owner Bill Blackburn told ALXnow.
Five Alexandria eateries are highlighted in Northern Virginia Magazine’s new list of the area’s top 50 restaurants.
The magazine’s food critics highlighted Alexandria restaurants offering Italian, modern American and Mesoamerican fusion food in their annual list, released late last month. Here’s a look at the city’s featured spots.
Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.
The most-read post is about Benny DiForza’s Pizza, which closed in Del Ray after being served with a legal notice barring access to its shop at 1504B Mount Vernon Avenue. The notice of no trespass, dated Oct. 26, was filed by a petitioner.
Abel Meri wants to make life easier for his business clients, but at what cost?
Meri is CEO of the Old Town-based Notice Enterprises, an automation company he founded in 2019. Notice has seen exponential growth over the last few years by using artificial intelligence to revolutionize how small businesses manage nearly every aspect of their workflows, from AI receptionists to the composition of lengthy legal documents.
A local entrepreneur is kicking off preparations to launch a new Del Ray event space with a “Wicked”-themed Halloween party and fundraiser this week.
Lee Raynes, the former owner of Bellies & Babies consignment shop, is hosting the party to preview her next business model, an event space called Together Creative Studio. The party starts at 4 p.m. on Friday at 2603 E. Randolph Avenue.
Since it was announced in August, it was no surprise that the Chamber ALX‘s 2025 Business Leader of the Year Award was presented Thursday night (Oct. 23) to the Virginia Tech DC Area Launch Team.
Still, there were a number of other contentious business awards, and ALXnow was at the Westin Alexandria Old Town (400 Courthouse Square) to see them handed out. Below are the winners of the micro, small, medium, large, rising star, non-profit, and overall businesses of the year in Alexandria.
Nowadays it’s as if Gabriela Bell needs her own virtual assistant.
In 2016, the Alexandria-based mother of four kids was getting divorced from a 20-year marriage and needed extra income. As a military spouse, she tapped into her experience working as a virtual assistant and marketed herself as a cost-saving option for small businesses. The following year, she founded Organized Q virtual assistant services, scaling up incrementally until the pandemic in 2020 brought a wave of unexpected business.
Yelyzaveta Pyvovarova is looking for happiness in her portraits. It’s a feeling she’s been trying to recapture in Alexandria since leaving Ukraine after the outbreak of the ongoing war with Russia.
Lyza, as she’s formally known, escaped from Oleksandriya, Ukraine, with her two daughters shortly after the war broke out, and moved to the Alexandria area of Fairfax County in July of 2022. Her husband later joined the family, and since then she launched her own portrait photography business and manages events for ALX Community in Old Town.
An annual Alexandria City High School alumni fundraiser at Chadwicks (203 Strand Street) on Oct. 22 (Wednesday) will benefit the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, and will feature some special guests.
Starting at 6 p.m., former ACHS Executive Principal Pete Balas will act as bartender, along with current teachers Andrew Orzel and Matt Zahn. The event, which includes raffles, is a great way to reconnect with former classmates, according to the online event announcement.
