Need an eyelash extension? A new studio just opened up in Alexandria’s West End that will keep your lashes lush for weeks on end.
April Nickens opened her first Amazing Lash Studio franchise in the West End Village shopping center at 374 S. Pickett Street on March 24.
“I always say super heroes don’t always wear capes,” Nickens told ALXnow. “We wear lashes, too.”
Customers pay between $112 and $140 for membership for two eyelash extension refills every month. It takes about two hours to attach the extensions to individual lashes with a strong adhesive. The lashes stay on for about two weeks. Starting next month, the studio will also offer lash and brow tinting, brow eliminations and brow waxing.
Nickens has eight employees and 12 lash rooms, and says that she has room to grow in the space.
“I wake up every morning feeling beautiful and confident,” Nickens said. “The business part is good. I have a good group of young ladies who work with me, who started with me from the beginning.”
The Alexandria shop is located the former home of PIES Fitness Yoga Studio, (now at 1322 Prince Street). This the first of two franchises that Nickens has opened, and she’s currently shopping around for another location in D.C. and southern Maryland.
“We’re not shopping too aggressively now because we’re getting the Alexandria location up and running,” Nickens said. “We’ll hopefully be opening another studio within the next year.”
Nickens is also the director of operations for a political polling strategy company in D.C. She was drawn to eyelash extensions two years ago after her two daughters gave them as a gift for her 25th wedding anniversary.
“My daughters thought to dress me up with lashes,” she said. “I loved the way it made me feel. Afterwards, when we were looking at a number of franchises, I always came back to the lashes, mainly because of my daughters.”
Amazing Lash was founded in 2010, and is part of WellBiz Brands Inc., a franchise portfolio company operating Amazing Lash Studio, Fitness Together, and Elements Massage. There are more than 250 Amazing Lash franchises around the country, including locations in Ashburn, Woodbridge, Burke, Manassas, Forest and Gainesville.
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. A grand opening will be held on Monday, May 1, at noon.
Z-Burger recently opened on the corner of Pickett Street Plaza, and its owner says the joint also corners the fast-casual burger market in Alexandria’s West End.
Peter Tabibian says Z-Burger is performing better than expected since opening at 684 S. Pickett Street on February 11. The restaurant is visible to drivers on S. Van Dorn Street and S. Pickett Street, but it’s more than just traffic
“We’re really killing it with DoorDash and Uber Eats,” Tabibian told ALXnow. “We can’t keep up with it, and sometimes we just shut it off. I love it. I think it is a very good location. It’s in a corner and based on my experience and all the restaurants I’ve opened, the corner locations always do very well.”
There are nine Z-Burgers scattered throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia. This is the first location in Alexandria and another is planned to open within a month at 509 23rd Street in Arlington, Tabibian said.
The burger chain features hamburgers, hotdogs, Philly cheesesteak subs, chicken sandwiches and 75 hand-spun milkshakes and malts.
“The Crystal City (Arlington) location is going to cater to the hotels in the area, the nightlife and bars,” he said. “That location will be open late until 3 a.m. on weekends.”
Tabibian also owns Maman Joon Kitchen in McLean and a number of My Own Pizza locations, the newest of which opened two days ago in Tysons Corner Center.
“Because of covid, I think this is the best time to open a business,” Tabibian said. ” People can name prices for their rents. If you have a good concept and reputation in the marketplace, landlords will work with you.”
The S. Pickett Street Z-Burger is near McDonald’s (505 S. Van Dorn Street) and a Wendy’s (229 S. Van Dorn Street), but has no nearby competition in the fast-casual burger market, Tabibian said.
“There’s no Five Guys of Shake Shacks around that area,” he said. “I love locations like this because we’re dealing with a lot of blue collar workers, hungry people, folks going to Home Depot, and it’s easy access. Easy in, easy out.”
A native of Iran, Tabibian got his first job at Burger King when he was 14 years old, and worked for 12 years as a general manager of a Jerry’s Subs & Pizza in Capitol Heights, Maryland, before branching out on his own.
Tabibian also says there’s no official expansion plan for his restaurants.
“The plan is giving customers good food and providing good service, doing one restaurant at a time and choosing good locations,” he said.
Z-Burger at 684 S. Pickett Street is open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Saturday when it’s open until 11 p.m.
There’s a new salon in Old Town.
Amber + Slate soft opened — a quieter trial run compared to the more bombastic “grand opening” — in January at 123 N. Washington Street in the former Circe Salon and Spa.
It’s an Aveda concept salon and only uses vegan, cruelty free, plant-powered products.
This is the second salon for owners Sally Frank and her partner Tricia Fisher, who opened their first location in Newport News in 2019. Frank signed a 10-year lease for the Old Town property.
“It’s definitely been a soft opening,” Frank said. “We wanted to be able to ease into it, and as we slowly grow we’re opening this spot up more.”
Amber + Slate is currently open Thursday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and hours will expand as its operation grows. The salon has a grand opening planned for Saturday, May 20.
“We’re capable of handling all textures of skin and hair, for women and men,” Frank said. “It’s really nice for people to come back and get that experience being back in a salon. Having that self care again, being around other people is very disarming for a lot of this anxiety that’s been piled on us over the last few years.”
The salon will unveil its spa this weekend, and will offer facials, waxing, and body scrubs, Frank said. Massages are coming in May.
Frank says she had no plans to expand to Old Town when she opened in Newport News. She’s been a stylist since 2009, when she worked at the former Circe Salon and Spa.
“I wasn’t intending on expanding really, ever,” she said. “I just saw that there was an opportunity for me to either stop working in Alexandria and let go of my clients, or to take a great opportunity with a salon that I had formerly worked for the last several years. So, I talked to the landlord and one thing led to another and now here I am.”
(Updated 3/31) One year after a plan to open at 128 N. Pitt Street seemingly fell through, hyper-popular D.C. bagel shop Call Your Mother Deli says an Alexandria location in Old Town is back on the menu.
Currently, “somewhere” is the best the company can say for the exact location, but a store representative ruled out one location: 128 N. Pitt Street.
“Call Your Mother’s second VA location will be in Alexandria / the historic Old Town district, but it will not be at 128 N. Pitt Street,” said Carly Connor, a public relations manager with a firm representing Call Your Mother Deli, in an email.
Neighbors told ALXnow the new location is likely the new development at 1300 King Street.
Connor said the aim is to open sometime this summer.
“The lease is not yet final,” Connor said, “but it’s looking like mid-summer for the opening!”
The news came alongside an announcement that a new location will also be opening in McLean.
Photo via Call Your Mother/Facebook
One of Alexandria’s last waterfront warehouses is becoming a tavern.
According to a press release, the squat brick warehouse at 10 Duke Street is going to be converted into a market, tavern and event space called Cooper Mill, a throwback to the site’s history of making barrels for the Alexandria Flower Company.
The warehouse — once used as a mess hall and commissary by Union soldiers during the Civil War — is in the Robinson Landing development and was left intact while the rest of the buildings around it were rebuilt.
The release said the new tavern is being helmed by Noe Landini, who operates the eponymous Landini Brothers Restaurant (115 King Street) and Junction Bakery & Bistro (1508 Mount Vernon Avenue), and boutique builder Murray Bonitt.
“When [Bonitt] brought this opportunity to me and asked me to participate, it was a no-brainer,” Landini said in the release. “An incredible building as it stands, but Murray shared his vision, and I simply couldn’t resist. It wasn’t long before we were drawing out a concept on the back of a napkin and before you knew it, we were off.”
According to the release:
The current plans for the two-story 6,400 square-foot warehouse building will consist of a small upscale market at the rear of the building, with a casual tavern on the first floor, and a 3,200 private event space upstairs. The market will feature grab-n-go breakfast foods and coffee, sandwiches, soups, prepared foods, fresh breads, and baked goods from Landini’s various locations, as well as beer, wine, and other high-demand market items. The tavern will have a relaxed casual vibe consisting of repurposed materials from the building to create a warm rustic, yet urban feel. The special event space upstairs will be the crown jewel of the building, Bonitt says, with lots of light, exposed brick, balconies with views of the park and river, repurposed roof trusses and flooring, with the ability to host events up to 120 people.
The project is expected to open sometime in late spring 2024.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii will open this month at 2466 Mandeville Lane in Carlyle.
The location in the Hoffman Town Center is the first of three that owners Michelle and Richard Lee plan to open across Northern Virginia over the next three years.
“Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was a great fit for us for multiple reasons,” Michelle Lee said in a press release. “We were initially attracted to the company culture, community giveback efforts, and meaningful story behind the name. We spent three months doing research to ensure this was the right business decision for us. After trying the product, we flew out to meet the CEO and other team members. That trip was so encouraging and solidified that this was absolutely the right move for us.”
The location was originally scheduled to open in the summer of 2022. The company doesn’t say exactly what day in March the shop will open and its phone number is disconnected. Still, when it does open guests will get their first taste of coffee for free by joining a rewards program.
The company was founded in 1989 in Hawaii “with a goal of sharing American-grown, premium Hawaiian coffee from Kauai, Waialua (Oahu), Maui, and 100% Kona coffee with coffee lovers everywhere,” according to its website. It was sold in 1995 and there are now two dozen franchises around the world, with the nearest to Alexandria being in Virginia Beach.
“We’ve heard for years, from our fans visiting our longstanding Virginia Beach location while on vacation, that they’d love a Bad Ass Coffee to enjoy every day in northern Virginia, and at long last, we’re thrilled to say Aloha to Alexandria,” said Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii CEO Scott Snyder.
What’s with the name? According to Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii:
In addition to premium coffee from the famous Kona region of the Big Island, Bad Ass Coffee also sources from Kauai and Maui. Its name pays tribute to a very important animal in Hawaiian coffee history: The Donkey. Legend has it that for generations, donkeys could be heard bellowing as they carried precious loads of coffee beans down the steep mountains of the Big Island. The people of Kona named these hard-working donkeys the “Bad Ass Ones” because of their reliably strong, but stubborn nature in carrying their precious cargo.
Photo via Facebook
After 15 years, Bloomers (924 King Street) is moving to a new location on King Street in the first week of March, it’s owner tells ALXnow.
Bloomers owner Nicole White says knew that the lease her shop at 924 King Street was expiring in 2023 when she bought the business in 2018.
The 1,500-square-foot space at 706 King Street is the former longtime home of Crown Wigs, which closed last year. It’s located next door to Village Brauhaus (710 King Street) and directly across the street from Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub (713 King Street).
“We’re more than doubling our footprint,” White told ALXnow. “We’re excited to have more space, expand our bra lines and brands and provide a great experience for people.”
Bloomers was founded by Kim Putens in 2008. By 2013, she had locations in Old Town, Shirlington and Georgetown, but the growth was short-lived. In 2014, Putens announced she was closing the Georgetown shop from lack of business, did not renew the lease on the Shirlington location and consolidated everything into the Old Town shop.
White says customers are tired of being comfortable, and that strapless bras and shapewear are selling out, reversing a years-long trend of customers working from home and needing loungewear.
“We had a crazy run on strapless bras this summer, because everyone was going to events,” she said. ” We didn’t sell a single strapless bra during the pandemic. It’s funny how things have turned back around.”
White is reopening the shop sometime in the first week of March, and said that customers should follow the Bloomers Instagram page for updates.
As for her long-term aspirations, White said she hopes to continue running a business that personally fits women with bras.
“I just want to be able to continue being a brick-and-mortar store in a digital world,” she said. “To really get a proper bra that fits, you need to come in person, so we hope to be able to do that for a long time.”
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) Crumbl Cookies, a Utah-based chain of cookie stores, is planning to open its new Bradlee Shopping Center location this summer.
Crumbl Cookies offers a rotating selection of cookies from the classic milk chocolate chip to a “French Silk Pie” cookie. Plans for the new Bradlee Shopping Center location were first announced last year but there was no information at the time on when the store would be opening.
A company spokesperson said the new location will open at 3690-A King Street in Suite 31 sometime this summer, with a specific timeline contingent on construction and permitting.
“The owners look forward to sharing sweet treats and opportunities with the community,” said Cassidy Salisbury, a spokesperson for the company.
The Alexandria location will arrive amid a minor boom in Northern Virginia locations for the chain. Over the last year, new locations opened in Reston, Vienna, Chantilly and Ashburn.
Image via Crumbl Cookies/Facebook
There’s a new smoke shop in Old Town.
Arlington-based vape shop Thicker Cloudz recently opened its third and newest location — just a few blocks from the King St-Old Town Metro station.
The shop opened last month at 1512 King Street, the former location of a Subway restaurant. Their inventory includes delta-8 THC plants, oil, and candy, all of which is legal to ingest since it’s derived from hemp instead of marijuana.
Delta-8 products have a lower THC content than marijuana, and will still get customers high, manager Derek Terry told ALXnow.
“It’s a bit weaker than marijuana,” Terry said. “But delta-8 is psychoactive and will pop any drug tests. It is THC. In the higher milligrams, for example, these (gummies) are 3,000 mg bags. This bag has 10 pieces, so 300 milligrams per-piece. This will blow your head off, I don’t care how much weed you smoke.”
The new shop is also a few blocks from away from Alexandria Vape and Tobacco (1213 King Street).
The shop’s inventory includes:
- Hookas and flavored tobacco
- A small selection of cigarettes and cigars
- Vaporizers and flavored vape juices with nicotine
- Glass pipes, grinders, rolling papers
- Kratom, an herbal substance that creates opioid-like effects
- Cookies with trace levels of psilocybin, creating a euphoric effect
- Incense, ashtrays, lighters and other accessories
Thicker Cloudz is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
(Updated 1:40 p.m.) A coffee shop founded by Iraqi immigrants has filed a permit to open in Old Town.
Lily’s Chocolate and Coffee is coming to 631 King Street at the intersection with S. Washington Street. The site was previously Francesca’s until it closed in 2020.
The shop first opened on Vienna’s Maple Avenue in 2021 and specializes in a pastry called lokma.
“We differentiate ourselves by using the best kinds of chocolate from around the globe,” the owners said in the application. “At Lily’s Chocolate & Coffee, not only do we serve light and delicious desserts, but we also serve a wide range of hot and cold beverages to serve our customers with a unique, unforgettable experience.”
The shop will be open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and open from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Photo via Lily’s Chocolate & Coffee/Facebook
