There’s a new Honduran restaurant in town.
Como En Casa (Just Like Home) opened last month at 4112 Mount Vernon Avenue in the former home of Ferman’s Bar & Grill. It’s the first restaurant for owner Jury Vaquedano, who brightened the interior by painting the walls, and adding large televisions, as well as a fresh menu and staff.
In recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month in June, Del Ray’s seasonal pop-up bar will open in early May as Pride on the Avenue, it’s owners tell ALXnow.
Bill Blackburn and his business partner “Mango” Mike Anderson of the Homegrown Restaurant Group and their staff gutted the space that was home the last few months to their ski lodge concept, Aspen on the Avenue. Just what they’re planning for the interior is still under wraps, as is the menu, but Blackburn said that renovations will be extensive.
Del Ray’s ski lodge is closing after this Saturday night, and its owner says he’ll be throwing a party like snowbody’s business.
Aspen on the Avenue popup bar owner Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group says that Saturday night will be the last chance for customers to enjoy delicacies like the ski lemon meringuetini.
After nearly a year of extensive renovation and expansion, Piece Out Del Ray is reopening next month, it’s owner tells ALXnow.
The expansion from 2,700 to 4,600 square feet includes a large, center-focused bar area, a brand new dining room in what was previously a neighboring yoga studio, booths, dart boards and 21-and-up-only shuffleboard. A small area for outdoor seating is still being leveled and rails need to be put in place, but otherwise the restaurant was ready enough to open for a March Madness pop-up event on Wednesday night.
Mediterranean restaurant La’Baik should open in the next several weeks in the former Rubia’s Tacos at 2309 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray, its owner tells ALXnow.
Rubia’s, which was previously Stomping Ground for eight years, closed in January, and new restaurant owner Mohammad Abdel-Hay is keeping the interior and equipment and tables and chairs as-is, only changing the menu, staff and signage.
There’s a new hair salon in Del Ray and it’s named after a Taylor Swift song. Enchant Hair Co. opened at 2202 Mount Vernon Avenue in January, and it’s named after Swift’s song Enchanted.
“I love Taylor Swift,” owner Monica Frias told ALXnow. “She’s like a reflection of my personality.”
There’s nothing like numbing your aching body with a hot toddy after a long day on the slopes.
That’s the vibe that the owners of the Aspen on the Avenue popup (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue) have in mind. There’s a two-seat gondola parked outside the restaurant and bar greeting customers as they walk into a warm environment with a fake fireplace, a fake brick wall, lots of skis and two giant backlit photos of idyllic snowy scenes.
Got dinner plans for Super Bowl Sunday? Benny Diforza’s 28-inch pies will be available in Del Ray starting this week.
The restaurant has been in the works since last summer in the former home of Sicilian Pizza at 1504B Mount Vernon Avenue. Manager Hayden Ko says the restaurant is waiting for one more permit approval from the city before the pizza oven gets fired up. She also said that the restaurant will open this week.
Liquor store thefts jumped more than 200% in Alexandria in 2023, according to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
There are six Virginia ABC stores in Alexandria. The store with the most incidents is the Arlandria store at 3815 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray North Shopping Center, which saw 43 incidents of theft last year, up from just eight reported incidents in 2022. The store with the highest amount of theft is at 501 Montgomery Street in Old Town North, which saw 23 incidents.
If you need a break from those harsh winter conditions, Del Ray’s seasonal popup bar will resemble a ski lodge in Aspen, Colorado, when it opens early next month.
“Aspen On The Avenue” is the latest effort from Homegrown Restaurant Group owners Bill Blackburn and “Mango” Mike Anderson. The bar and restaurant is being outfitted with skis on the walls, fake fireplaces and more.
A Del Ray restaurant is planning on expanding its footprint with a 750-square foot patio addition.
Noe Landini, owner of Junction Bakery & Bistro (1508 Mount Vernon Avenue), wants to build on the northern end of the restaurant on a repurposed area of the parking lot used for outdoor seating the last several years.
