After the permanent closure of the 200 block of King Street to vehicular traffic was approved last year, Alexandria is making upgrades to the block.
The Alexandria Department of Transportation & Environmental Services announced plans to add permanent improvements to the pedestrian block. The last city budget allocated $350,000 to make improvements to the 200 block pedestrian zone.
The King Street corridor in Old Town is gaining another coffee shop as Mudhouse Specialty Coffee Roasters opens its doors this week.
Mudhouse will open on Wednesday (July 29) at 1119 King Street, staff confirmed to ALXnow. This will be the Charlottesville-founded coffee roaster’s sixth location, joining two in Charlottesville, and ones in Richmond, Crozet and Charleston, S.C.
Foodies will have the chance to try new eateries or return to old favorites during the next Alexandria Restaurant Week in August.
Alexandria Restaurant Week, held twice a year in January and August, will be held over 10 days from Friday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 23. Full-service restaurants will serve prix fixe dinner menus at $35, $45 or $55 per person, and fast casual restaurants will have their own offers.
Old Town stationery store Penny Post is getting ready for its biggest day of the year.
Penny Post (1201 King Street) will hold its fifth annual Stationery Store Day, an in-store-only event to celebrate all things pen, paper and analog. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.
The Fish Market, a fixture on lower King Street in Old Town, will celebrate its 50th anniversary this Thursday (July 23).
The one-night-only party starts at 5 p.m. with live music, a throwback menu and 32-ounce beer schooners.
The Old Town Pub Crawl, a sold-out show with The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, historical tours and other events will keep Alexandrians busy throughout the weekend.
After a Code Purple Air Quality Alert on Friday, conditions should somewhat improve for outdoor events this weekend. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is predicting a moderate air quality index on Saturday.
A man was injured when he accidentally discharged his gun Friday morning (July 17) inside a home in Old Town.
The 66-year-old man called 911 around 6:15 a.m. to report that he was alone at home in the 300 block of Wilkes Street when he shot himself in his left hand with a handgun, according to Alexandria Police Department radio dispatches.
The Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden has announced the appointment of Jenny Waters as the new museum director in the midst of preservation efforts for the historic property.
The promotion was made by the museum’s board of directors. Waters first joined the Lee-Fendall House as a collections management intern in summer 2022 to catalog and care for the museum’s collection. She was named collections assistant in fall 2022 and the collections and programming manager in summer 2023.
A 21-year-old Alexandria man goes to court next month after allegedly stabbing a man twice in the bus loop area of the King Street-Old Town Metro station.
On May 5, the victim called 911 to report he’d been assaulted at the King Street Metro station. At the scene, the man told an Alexandria Police Department officer that he was punched in the head, “but upon further examination by medical staff it was determined that he had been stabbed twice,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Italian restaurant Floriana is set to occupy restaurant space in the Atrium Building in Old Town, but permitting has delayed the opening.
Floriana is leasing space in the Atrium Building at 277 S. Washington Street, replacing a vacancy left by Virginia’s Darling and Mae’s Market. This will be Floriana’s second D.C.-area location, joining the original D.C. location that opened in 1979 and later moved to 1602 17th Street NW. The new location is being led by owner Jamie Branda and co-owner Dino Tapper, son of restaurant founder Floriana Nestore.
A fireworks show tops the list of events happening around Alexandria for the city’s birthday weekend.
While many communities around the D.C. region held their fireworks last week, Alexandria’s event falls on the weekend after July 4. This year, Alexandria celebrates its 277th birthday and America’s 250th birthday. Alexandrians have the option to attend the full event with performances and vendors at Oronoco Bay Park or catch the fireworks in a less crowded spot.
