News

(Updated 4:20 p.m.) Del Ray will soon have its own underground record shop, as Crooked Beat Records expects to reopen in a basement on Mount Vernon Avenue in February.

Owner Bill Daly has been looking for a new location for his new and used record store for more than a year, and found it in the basement of the same building that houses Cheesetique at 2411 Mount Vernon Avenue. The building is also home to to the Del Ray School Of Music and Piece Out Del Ray.


News

Danielle Romanetti takes most of the credit for Plaid Friday.

It all started back in November 2009, just a few months after she opened her knitting shop fibre space (now at 1319 Prince Street). As the holiday season approached, Romanetti realized that no local businesses in Alexandria recognized Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving and the first day of the holiday shopping season.


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As the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership works through programs aimed at helping to strengthen the city’s business communities post-Covid, some in the organization and partnering groups are working to ensure there’s a greater diversity of voices in the new order.

A new grant program, the ALX B2B Business Association Grant Program, aims to help prop up business associations across the city to make them more active and helpful for their communities. The city-funded grant program is in the process of distributing $535,000 in grant funding across eight associations.


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Alexandria land use attorney Cathy Puskar was named the 2022 Business Leader of the Year by the Chamber ALX at its annual Best In Business awards on Thursday night (Oct. 27), and restaurant Chadwicks (203 Strand Street) was named Overall Business of the Year.

Puskar, a well-known attorney with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, thanked a packed ballroom in the Westin Alexandria Old Town, and said that it means a lot since she’s a native Alexandrian.


News

Black, indigenous and people of color-owned small businesses are about to get a small boost in Alexandria.

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership just awarded $535,000 in grant funding for businesses, and to create two new groups — the Social Responsibility Group and the Alexandria Minority Business Association.


News

At an upcoming meeting, the City Council will consider releasing $500,000 in funding for a program to help incubate Black, indigenous and people of color-owned small businesses.

The funding is considered as part of the BIPOC-Owned Businesses Grant Program, which can then award a one-time grant of up to $7,000.


News

As Alexandria moves into fall, it’s likely locals will want to nurse a cup of hot coffee at their local shop or curl up at home on the couch with a good book. If you’re not sure what that book should be: Ally Kirkpatrick has a few ideas.

Kirkpatrick, owner of Old Town Books (130 S Royal Street), said in some ways Alexandria follows national trends on what’s popular, but there are other titles that catch on specifically with the local clientele.


News

After complaints of inescapable barking creeping into the neighborhood, Brewski’s Barkhaus might not go ahead with its special use permit (SUP) request to expand outdoor seating.

Barkhaus (529 E. Howell Avenue), the D.C. Metro area’s first-ever dog-friendly bar and restaurant with an off-leash indoor and outdoor dog park, opened two years ago. The business wants to add 20 seats to the outdoor seating area, which already has 20 outdoor seats.


News

Alexandria Hyundai‘s special use permit has been extended to 2045 — with conditions.

After nearly three hours of deliberation on Saturday (October 15), City Council approved three special use permit requests to allow the dealership to continue operating until 2045, with the caveat that Council will take another look in 2040 at the permit for a service and storage parking lot.


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