A block party involving numerous independent boutiques is coming to Old Town this weekend.
The Old Town Boutique Community, an organization of 30 small businesses in Old Town, will host the Spring Fling: An Old Town Block Party, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday (May 2). The family-friendly block party will feature activities for all ages, including tarot card readings, build-your-own flower bouquets and other hands-on crafts, outdoor yoga sessions and snow cones.
A longtime Italian restaurant in Old Town is celebrating its rebranding with a special dinner tomorrow night (Thursday).
Il Porto Ristorante is working on “refreshing the brand” at 121 King Street, with plans for a new logo, revised website and updated menus “to reflect a more modern look while staying true to what Il Porto has always been,” a spokesperson told ALXnow.
A proposal to completely replace the Old Town Pool and bathhouse and make landscape improvements is heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
On Tuesday, May 5, the Planning Commission will weigh in on the proposal by the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities to completely renovate the pool facility, to fully renovate the pool facility, which has not had a major update since it opened in 1975. The meeting follows a unanimous recommendation from the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which endorsed the project in a letter to City Council.
One minor injury was reported after a vehicle crashed into a building at the corner of King and Washington Streets in Old Town.
The Alexandria Police and Fire Departments were called to the 600 block of King Street at 1:34 p.m. and found a two-vehicle crash involving a green SUV with Maryland tags and a gray sedan with Virginia tags. The gray vehicle had come to rest against the side of 631 King Street, home to Lily’s Chocolate and Coffee. Staff at the shop said they are still open and that nothing was damaged.
There’s much to do in Alexandria on this last weekend of April.
Here’s a guide to what’s going on this weekend around the city:
A Mediterranean restaurant in Old Town North has reopened after temporarily closing for renovations.
The Perfect Pita reopened earlier this week at 951 N. Fairfax Street. The restaurant’s previous plans for a second level and additional interior seating never materialized, but the newly renovated space features an expanded kitchen, a new shop counter and forthcoming outdoor seating.
Alexandria’s waterfront will get a taste of the Polynesian islands for much of the warmer season.
The Tiki Pop-Up Bar opened today (Thursday) in Vola’s Dockside Grill’s Hi-Tide Lounge (101 N. Union Street), which Alexandria Restaurant Partners owns. The pop-up is decked out in tropical decorations and serves Tiki cocktails and bites. Reservations are not accepted for the pop-up.
On Saturday (April 18), Alexandria City Council approved an office-to-residential conversion that will bring 32 four-story townhomes to Old Town.
Without discussion, City Council unanimously approved the Planning Commission’s recommendation to tear down the Essex Building — an office building at 333 N. Fairfax Street built in the 1970s — and replace it with townhomes. A parking garage and lot will also be demolished. Plans for the 1.4-acre site from EYA and Simpson Development reveal four-story homes with two-car garages and roof decks just a few blocks from King Street and the Potomac River waterfront.
A sweet new release is coming soon to Old Town Books — although it isn’t the latest summer romance or nonfiction read.
The independent bookstore is preparing to enter the confectionery world this summer with Fabled Ice Cream, a new ice cream brand by store founder Ally Kirkpatrick. The brand is planning weekly drops of literary-inspired flavors, available in small-batch pints at Old Town Books (130 S. Royal Street).
A family-owned bakery and café from Arlington has officially expanded to Old Town, offering French pastries with Lebanese flavors.
Eclairons held a soft opening in February at 430 S. Washington Street and is now spending its first spring in Alexandria. The business replaced a vacancy left by Firehook Bakery, bringing a fresh look to the space with new outdoor pergolas and flowers.
A new owner wants to take over operations at a pet grooming and boarding facility in Old Town.
Delaware-based Pet Resort Hospitality Group has filed new ownership paperwork with the city to convert the former Board Hound at 133 S. Peyton Street into an Olde Towne Pet Resort. The company, which also owns Olde Towne Pet Resorts in Springfield, Sterling and North Bethesda, Md., is proposing to increase daycare and boarding capacity at the site.
