It’s been a year since Old Town coffee shop ESP Tea and Coffee (1012 King Street) reopened under new ownership following a spectacularly bad collapse.
Killer E.S.P closed in 2020 after its entire staff quit — twice — after alleged misconduct from former owner Rob Shelton. New owner Erik Muendel said the last year has seen extensive menu changes and an effort at revitalization.
You won’t find Zoom wine tastings at Le Vintage Wine Shop.
The new shop is opening at 1218 King Street on Tuesday, and owner Benjamin Kuna says there’s something about an in-person tasting that gives the experience an extra kick.
Ever since he was five years old, local muralist Patrick Kirwin has been drawing on walls. The artist behind the Dogs Of Del Ray mural has been busy during the pandemic, and his work is mostly positive.
Kirwin says that’s what his clients want these days.
Getting hungry? A number of new restaurants are slated to open this year in Alexandria, according to the city’s tourism bureau.
Visit Alexandria highlighted many of these new businesses in their annual “What’s New in Alexandria” update, which was held Thursday morning (Dec. 27).
There’s a new coffee shop on King Street. Turkish Coffee Lady officially opened its doors at 1001 King Street in Old Town, joining a handful of neighboring coffee-inspired hangouts.
The space at the corner of Patrick Street (also Route 1) and King Streets is the former location of Blüprint Chocolatiers, and the second floor was notoriously once home to white nationalist Richard Spencer.
A group of activists pushing back against city plans to overhaul the Torpedo Factory Art Center have accused city leaders of working with developers to astroturf a pro-overhaul faction, but city leaders said the goal wasn’t to mislead.
A Change.org petition with 7,694 signers at time of writing has become an online hub for those opposing the city’s plans to reduce artist studio space in the Torpedo Factory and replace it with alternative arts spaces (like glassblowing) or restaurant space. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made public by the petition organizers highlighted city emails with and about the “Torpedo Factory for All” initiative spearheaded by developer Route 66 Ventures — one of the developers pushing to lead the overhaul.
Sixteen months after being forced to closed due to bankruptcy reorganization, Seattle-based kitchenware retailer Sur La Table is planning to reopen at 326 King Street.
The company won’t say exactly when the reopening will happen, but ALXnow was tipped off after Sur La Table posted a $70,000 a year job for a full-time manager for the store.
Women’s activewear store Athleta is opening today at 607 King Street in Old Town.
The store opens at 10 a.m. (so now-ish) and it open until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, Athleta is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
This week, the City Council is docketed (items 27 and 28) to review a proposal for the city to, in a round-about way, be involved in the financing of a new luxury hotel in Old Town.
With hotel revenue going into freefall during the pandemic, the prospect of building or renovating hotels in Alexandria hasn’t been a particularly financially appealing option, but a report prepared by Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) and city staff said that’s going to be a hit to tourism in the city as people travel again.
After six months of waiting for the city’s Permit Center to approve an expansion of her nail salon, Kathleen Le was ready to throw her hands up in resignation.
“I tell my staff that if they hear me talk about opening another location or expanding to please kill me instead,” Le told ALXnow. “Don’t let me do it.”
Faced with a drastic disruption in foot traffic, Alexandria-based Comfort One Shoes had to pivot. The pandemic forced the company to focus its energy on online sales, bringing in more casual merchandise and closing the Union Station location in D.C.
Company President Garrett Breton says the efforts made 2021 sales higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
