After nearly a year in development, a new café and wine bar in Old Town is soft opening this week.
Owner Ksenia Varakina is opening Cherry On Top at 1021 Queen Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday (June 24), and told ALXnow the grand opening will be on July 10. The shop is expected to offer selections of wine, espresso beverages, charcuterie and pastries.
As it prepares to open later this month, Little Birdie in Del Ray wants to add more outside seating.
Restaurant owners Matt Sloan and Eric Brannon are asking the city for permission to install 16 additional outdoor seats in an unused alley, adding to the 10 seats already approved. In March, the city approved the change in ownership at the venue. The space at 1504B Mount Vernon Avenue was formerly occupied by Benny DiForza’s Pizza, which opened in February 2024 and closed last October.
State Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-39) and her business partner are launching a new maternity and children’s consignment boutique in Del Ray this weekend.
Bennett-Parker and Allie Rubinoff, who both live in Del Ray, will launch Little Chickadee with a pop-up event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (June 13) at Gustave Boulangerie (2213 Mount Vernon Avenue). Bennett-Parker said that the boutique will operate mostly online from a space above Mulberry Lane.
A local cafe with an emphasis on spirituality and artistic endeavors celebrated its grand opening in Eisenhower East over the weekend.
Good Spirit Cafe held a ribbon cutting during the second annual Eisenhower Block Party at 2361 Eisenhower Avenue on Saturday (June 6), commemorating its new presence in the neighborhood over the past few months.
In honor of the Croatian National Football Team making Alexandria its home base, boutiques in Old Town will be decked out in the Croatian checkered flag and offer specials inspired by the country.
Old Town Boutiques, a coalition of independently-owned boutiques in Old Town, will host Shop the Checkers Boutique Week from Sunday, June 14 through Sunday, June 28. Participating retailers will display special Croatian red-and-white checkerboard crest flags at their storefronts and offer experiences drawn from Croatian culture.
Spice Kraft Indian Bistro‘s butter chicken pot pie and avocado bhel chaat won both the Judges’ Choice Award and the People’s Choice Award at the 17th annual Taste of Del Ray on Sunday (June 7).
Under a hot sun, 17 local restaurants competed at the sold-out event in the Mount Vernon Recreation Center athletic fields. This year’s celebrity judge was Todd O’Leary, CEO of Visit Alexandria.
The owner and chef behind a longtime French restaurant in Alexandria is introducing a new galetterie and crêperie in Alexandria this week.
Maison Breizh is a new concept launching behind Bastille Brasserie & Bar, with a “soft opening” starting tomorrow (June 4) at 1205 Pendleton Street. The galetterie’s eponymous menu item, the galette, is a French-style savory crepe made with a buckwheat-based batter.
The West End Business Association continues to look for ways to raise the visibility of West End businesses with its returning festival in a larger-than-ever format.
Best of the West will return for a third year from 12-6 p.m. Saturday, June 6 in Ben Brenman Park (4800 Brenman Park Drive) in the Cameron Station neighborhood. The free event will have restaurants and other business vendors, community organization booths, a Port City Brewing Company beer garden, arts and crafts and a live music stage. Ben Brenman Drive will be closed for booths leading up to the park’s gazebo.
Thai Peppers Restaurant will say farewell to Del Ray after more than 27 years.
The restaurant, located at 2018 Mount Vernon Avenue and dating back to 1998, announced it will have its final day of business on Monday, June 15. The owners cited their plans to retire and “hopefully relax on a beach in Phuket sipping Singhas and Mai Tais.”
An earlier version of the story said “Analog Bag Weekend” would occur this weekend, but businesses have updated the event timing to June 12-14.
Five local businesses in Old Town are hosting a weekend of discounts to encourage hands-on, screen-free activities.
After 20 years in journalism, Beth Lawton says she’s traded the stress of deadlines for the stress of owning a business in Old Town.
In addition to being a mom with two kids, Lawton has spent the last five years selling handmade items from dozens of local artists at her shop, Made In ALX. At the end of 2024, she had to hang up her journalism hat as the publisher of Alexandria Living Magazine and at least temporarily left behind a long career in journalism.
