Around Town

A new Olympic weightlifting gym is opening its doors in Alexandria’s West End on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Gym owner Brian Leung is opening Monument Weightlifting at 614 S. Pickett Street. The 6,800-square-foot gym will teach clients that want to learn Olympic lifts, or to continue developing their training.


News

Two restaurants are still temporarily closed and without power since a delivery truck driver hit a power line behind the Shoppes at Foxchase on Tuesday night, Aug. 25.

That’s more than three weeks ago. The fire that destroyed a pickup truck, two dumpsters and fencing has also shuttered La Casa Restaurant (4551 Duke Street) and Hong Kong Express (4545 Duke Street).


Around Town

For the fifth consecutive year, a Halloween-themed pop-up bar will soon open in Del Ray.

Nightmare on the Avenue is opening at the seasonal Del Ray Pop-Up Bar this Saturday (Sept. 19) at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue. Customers can expect Halloween-themed cocktails and bites, culminating with a spooky party on the big day itself, Saturday, Oct. 31.


Around Town

More than a dozen shops and salons will team up to offer specials in Alexandria’s first-ever beauty crawl.

The Old Town Beauty Crawl will run Friday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sep. 27 at participating businesses in Old Town. Shops and salons specializing in cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, haircare or beauty treatments will offer promotions and prizes throughout the three-day weekend.


Around Town

Diners in Alexandria will have to look elsewhere to find the flavors of Uzbekistan and Russia.

Rus Uz closed at Alexandria’s Hoffman Town Center (210 Hoffman Street) on Aug. 31 at the lease end, owner Ismoil Rakhmatullaev told ALXnow. The Uzbek family-owned restaurant’s other locations remain open at 1000 N. Randolph Street #3a in Arlington and 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in D.C.


Around Town

Bon appétit! Bastille Brasserie & Bar (606 N. Fayette Street) is celebrating a milestone this Thursday, Sept. 17.

It’s the French restaurant’s 20th anniversary, and the evening features a one-night-only, $155 per-person four-course dinner with wine pairings. Chefs and owners Christophe and Michelle Poteaux opened the restaurant in 2006, and they’re calling the anniversary celebration “Icons at 20.”


Around Town

Mobius Records is opening shop in Del Ray this Saturday (Sept. 12).

The new record store by Neighborhood Restaurant Group replaces Mulberry Lane Play Café at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue, and will be one block away from Crooked Beat Records, which plans to open soon in its new location. Mobius Records will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.


News

Alexandria is looking for ways to relieve businesses from the years-long renovation impacts of City Hall and Market Square in Old Town.

With parking temporarily halted on the streets next to the property at 301 King Street, sidewalks closed and the sound of continual construction, businesses in a one-block radius of the building are feeling the effects.


Around Town

As I’mPossible Wellness founder Loretta Richardson reflected on Black Business Month in August, she thought of her late grandfather who died last year. A graduate of Howard Medical School, her grandfather ran a dermatology practice and started a real estate business.

Coming from a doctor-heavy family, Richardson is honoring her grandfather in her own way through her mobile Pilates and wellness business in Alexandria.


Around Town

A popular South Korean coffee shop chain is opening its first U.S. location in Alexandria in mid-October.

Twosome Place was founded in 2002 in South Korea, and there are now more than 1,750 locations around the world. The cafe will open at 404 King Street on the ground level of the Alexandrian hotel.


News

Alexandria city officials are taking aggressive action to attract and retain businesses large and small, the city’s mayor said at an Aug. 26 gathering of regional officials.

“We want to be a city where businesses feel their ideas are heard and implemented,” Mayor Alyia Gaskins said at the 11th annual Northern Virginia Regional Elected Leaders Summit.


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