It was just before midnight on Tuesday night when Two Nineteen Restaurant was forced to temporarily close down.
Really it was more like three businesses closing at once since the building at 219 King Street is home to The Bayou Room, an upstairs cigar lounge and the New Orleans-style French Creole restaurant. Old Town was quiet by the time the doors shut at 11:59 p.m. and there were hardly any cars or people outside.
Following the shutdown of nearly all of its locations last week, Alexandria Restaurant Partners (ARP) has reopened Mia’s Italian Kitchen (100 King Street) for take-out and delivery.
The Italian restaurant will offer a limited menu available for delivery through Postmates, GrubHub and UberEats. Take-out orders can be placed through ChowNow.
Alexandria Hospital Suspends Visitation — “Exceptions to Inova Health System’s Visitation Guidance can be made in extenuating circumstances and with prior approval from a care site’s administration.” [Zebra]
Man Convicted for 2016 Rape — “[P]olice in Alexandria — for the first time — ran DNA through public genealogical databases and developed a family tree based on known DNA profiles, which pointed to Bjerke as a suspect. After Bjerke was arrested, a buccal swab of his DNA matched DNA found on the victim.” [WTOP]
Alexandria has officially entered into the community spread phase of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dr. Rina Bansal, president of Inova Alexandria Hospital.
That means that direct exposure to the virus can not be traced back to its source.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic woes afflicting Alexandrians, there’s a rare bright spot today: the art project at Waterfront Park in Old Town is nearly complete and on-course to be finished next week.
The designs for the new art project from Olalekan Jeyifous at the park were first unveiled last year. They depict silhouetted figures representing the city’s history of slavery and its role in building the industries Alexandria was later known for.
With only five reported cases in the city so far, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on Alexandria residents, businesses and the city government.
There has been one reported instance of price gouging, with packages of 10 rolls of Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper being sold for more than $60 at the Food Star at 206 W. Glebe Road.
The Alexandria City Public Schools will not be tracking student attendance for online learning during its month-long COVID-19 shutdown.
Alexandria City Public Schools announced on Friday that all schools would close until April 14 — after spring break. Every elementary school student was given instructional packets to take home, and students in grades 3-12 went home with Chromebook laptops.
Businesses, nonprofits and hotels around the city are feeling the initial effects of COVID-19.
Many businesses are offering contact-less service, delivering goods from door-to-door, and providing workouts and other services online for customers who would otherwise have to venture from home.
The Alexandria City Council on Tuesday sent staff the proposed King Street Place pedestrian pilot program back to the drawing board.
The original plan would have turned a section of King Street near the waterfront into a pedestrian-only zone between Lee Street and Union Street on weekends, but more recent plans have included a single lane of traffic through the area that was going to be car-free.
(Updated 3/12/20) The Campagna Center in Old Town could be getting a facelift and a new addition as the local early learning organization struggles to find a way to make good use of their historic, but in many ways outdated, building.
Plans submitted to Alexandria’s Board of Architectural Review show a new expansion of the building at 418 S. Washington Street.
The Gables Old Town North/EDEN project (525 Montgomery Street) is bringing a new suite of retail, restaurants and services to North Old Town.
The new openings at the development are planned to be staggered across the next few months, however, so nearby residents will have to wait a little longer for some of the new spots listed as “coming soon.”
