There’s a room stacked floor-to-ceiling with archives in the headquarters of the Alexandria Gazette Packet overlooking King Street. The back wall of the second-floor conference room, where editorial meetings have been held for years, is lined with volumes ranging from the latest publications to the early 19th century.
It’s a quiet testimony from an award-winning newspaper as it launches a GoFundMe to survive the economic impact of the pandemic.
It’s been a rough year all around and local businesses faced a difficult recovery from the pandemic, but there were also some islands of good news as well.
ALXnow asked the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) and The Chamber ALX what they saw as the highs and lows for local business this year.
Old Town Books has found a new home.
The lease for the shop, which started as a pop-up at 104 S. Union Street in September 2018, expires at that location next March.
Buying an existing business can be easier than starting from scratch.
The latest listings on BizBuySell show a number of businesses for sale in and around Alexandria. Many are restaurants, which have been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Alexandria Cupcake owner Adnan Hamidi likes to wash his hands so much that he just bought a natural soap company.
Hamidi’s got big plans for his Scentual Soap Co. and envisions eventually opening a brick and mortar location in Old Town.
Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Annie Lennox… It’s been sounding a lot like Christmas inside Crooked Beat Records for the last month. Even though the record shop missed a few beats when it closed in April and May, sales have increased due to a new generation of hobbyists.
The hobbyists have turned sales back on the right track, according to Crooked Beats’ Paloma Alcala.
(Updated 4:25 p.m.) Alexandrians are being urged not to travel or gather in groups for the holidays, so Alexandria Restaurant Partners is putting together a series of specials to diners to take home and enjoy in 2-4 sized groups.
“Always committed to providing a total guest experience, this year’s ARP Christmas menus feature a la carte, Prix fixe, and packaged to-go menu options highlighting innovative twists on classic holiday dishes,” a spokesperson for the restaurant group said.
Sometimes buying an existing business is easier than starting from scratch.
The latest Alexandria listings on BizBuySell show a number of businesses for sale. Many are restaurants, which have been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
New Torpedo Factory Art Features Local Waste — “The AlexRenew Wastewater Treatment Facility treats a mix of sewage and storm water. The facility runs the wastewater through a series of settling tanks and treatment processes to remove nutrients before discharging it to tributaries of the Potomac River. The brown-colored media was crowdsourced from thousands of area toilets, according to Len.” [WWD Magazine]
Work Resumes on the Fairfax Building with the Massive Fire — “It’s been 10 months since a devastating fire at the South Alex construction site near Alexandria, Virginia, but the project is back up and running.” [WTOP]
A fall in late November at indoor climbing gym Sportrock (5308 Eisenhower Avenue) led to a hospitalization for one climber.
On Nov. 29, a climber lost control during a climb and fell, at which point the belayer lost control of the rope and was unable to stop the fall, according to Sportrock. Fire Department spokesperson Raytevia Evans confirmed the department responded to a medical call at the facility for a fall.
Buying an existing business can often be easier than starting from scratch.
We looked through Alexandria listings on BizBuySell and found a bunch of businesses for sale. Many are restaurants, which have been heavily impacted the last several months due to the pandemic.
