Old Town | ALXnow

Alexandria entrepreneur creates SnapSpaces app to collect wedding photos from guests

Published August 12, 2025 at 6:30PM

Photo via SnapSpaces/Instagram

After a wedding, graduation, or significant event, wouldn’t it be nice if folks could upload their phone pictures and videos to a single gallery?

Alexandria-based entrepreneur Elizabeth Kukla did just that. In the spring of 2021, Kukla’s cousin was getting married. As a gift to the happy couple, Kukla designed a card based on the wedding invitations and printed out cards with QR codes to be placed on the guest tables for the reception. Guests who scanned the code uploaded their favorite pictures to one place, and a week later, the bride’s younger sister reached out and asked for the same services at her own nuptials that summer. With that, SnapSpaces was born.

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Four D.C. women linked to organized retail theft ring that hit Old Town Lululemon

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 6:30PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Four women arrested and charged with shoplifting in Maryland have been linked to the theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from a Lululemon store in Old Town.

On Feb. 19, the Gaithersburg Police Department arrested Precious Spivey, 18, Mone Herndon, 27, Shawn Stewart, 27, and Tanaysia Stewart, 18, all of Washington, D.C., for stealing more than $10,000 in merchandise from Bath & Body Works in Germantown and a LensCrafters and Lululemon store in Gaithersburg. The department said the group was engaged in an “organized retail theft ring.”

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Virginia Tech seeks approval for accessibility upgrades at Old Town architecture center

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 4:30PM

Virginia Tech's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center at 1001 Prince Street in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

Virginia Tech plans to renovate its Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center in Old Town to improve accessibility with a new elevator, sprinkler system, and handicapped-accessible ramp, according to a request going before the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The building at 1001 Prince Street was loaned to Virginia Tech by Alexandria in 1980, and the school bought it in 1989, according to city records.

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Old Town office building plans entry, plaza renovations

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 3:30PM

Renovations are planned for the rear courtyard and front vestibule (on right) at 100 N. Pitt Street in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

A quiet off-the-beaten-path area just off King Street in Old Town is getting an upgrade.

Simpson Development Company recently filed plans from Louis Barbieri, Cole & Denny Architects to renovate the entry vestibule at 100 N. Pitt Street and the small, rear plaza adjacent to 115. N. St. Asaph Street in Old Town. The request for alterations and signage will be presented to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, September 3.

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Alexandria man sentenced to 12 years in drug conspiracy case

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 2:30PM

The Alexandria courthouse in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

An Alexandria man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a “high-level drugs conspiracy that shipped significant amounts of narcotics” into Virginia, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.

Adrian Bryce Roberts, 41, was sentenced to 12 years of active incarceration on July 28 after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl, and transporting more than an ounce of narcotics into the state, according to Porter’s office.

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Developer proposes 30+ townhomes to replace office building in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 12:30PM

Proposed townhomes at 333 N. Fairfax Street in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

More than 30 four-story townhouses have been proposed to replace a 46-year-old office building in Old Town.

Alexandria land-use attorney Ken Wire is listed as the applicant for the project at 333 N. Fairfax St. The property is home to the Essex Building, an office building constructed in 1979.

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Developer seeks approval for 3-story mixed-use Old Town building

By James Cullum

Published August 11, 2025 at 11:30AM

The view looking northeast in a rendering of a three-level mixed use apartment building at 220-224 S. Peyton Street (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria developer Windmill Hill is seeking the city’s approval for a three-story apartment building with ground-level retail in a parking lot in Old Town.

The developer has submitted a concept review for a new building at 220-224 S. Peyton St. for evaluation by the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published August 8, 2025 at 3:30PM

Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita will open at 529 E Howell Ave in Alexandria (via Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita Mexicana on Facebook)

We made it to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at this week’s top stories.

Our most-read post is on a proposal to open a 24-hour Mexican restaurant in the city’s Del Ray neighborhood. The effort is facing some pushback from neighbors wary of potential crime and safety issues. In July, Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita officially announced in a special use permit application that it wants to open at 529 E. Howell Avenue, the former home to Bark Social. It would be the fourth restaurant for the local chain, and while the restaurant won’t serve alcohol, outside patio hours would be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to the application. The inside area is proposed to be open 24 hours a day.

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French bakery and cafe files paperwork to open at 701 King Street in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published August 7, 2025 at 10:30AM

A lease has been signed at 701 King Street, the former home to Le Pan Quotidien. (Courtesy Google Maps)

A new French cafe wants to open in a prominent location in Old Town.

New York City-based Maman Coffee Baking Kitchen has filed a special use permit application to operate a cafe, bakery, restaurant, and accessory event space at 701 King Street. That’s the former home to Foxtrot, which closed in 2024, located at the corner of King and N. Washington Streets.

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Old Town coffee shop and wine bar wants more outdoor seats and expanded hours

By James Cullum

Published August 4, 2025 at 2:30PM

LaPluma Coffee & Wine wants more outdoor seating and expanded hours for its operation at 1000 Cameron Street in Old Town (via Instagram)

There’s good news for Old Town coffee enthusiasts, as a new coffee shop and wine bar is asking the city for expanded hours and extra outdoor seating.

LaPluma Coffee & Wine Bar opened in May at 1000 Cameron Street in Old Town, and now its owners are asking the city to expand their operating hours only on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and add 12 more seats and two tables to the outdoor patio, for a total of 40 seats.

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Notes: Over 20 Old Town shops cover sales tax this weekend

By ALXnow.com

Published August 1, 2025 at 8:00AM

Tax Free Weekend at Select Old Town Boutiques (via Visit Alexandria)

Good morning, Alexandria! 👋 Today is Friday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2025. There are 152 days left in the year.

⛈️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers, mainly before 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77 degrees. North wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%.