What a week it’s been in Alexandria.
Our top story this week was the report that Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. sends one of his children to Bishop Ireton High School. In case you missed it, the story first broke in Theogony, the T.C. Williams High School newspaper.
As the first-ever Old Town Oyster Week draws to a close in Alexandria, an oyster eating contest with Del Ray and Old Town business owners resulted in a tie.
Bill Blackburn, of Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray and Trae Lamond of Chadwicks in Old Town tied by both eating 103 sea stone oysters in the Pearl of Alexandria Oyster Eating Contest held at Whiskey & Oyster on Thursday, October 15. The competition ended when the restaurant ran out of oysters.
Alexandria will release a draft action plan for revitalizing the Torpedo Factory Art Center today (October 16), and the proposal on the table includes a front entrance on the waterfront and a more interactive experience for families.
The city took over operations of the Torpedo Factory in 2016, and the art center traditionally sees more than a half a million visitors every year. But Diane Ruggiero, the city’s deputy director for recreation, parks and cultural activities, says that it doesn’t have a family-friendly atmosphere.
Virginia Voter Registration Deadline Extended to Thursday Night — “BREAKING: Virginia’s voter registration deadline has been extended until Thursday, October 15 at 11:59pm. If you still need to register or update your information, you can do it online at vote.virginia.gov–you can also register and vote early at your registrar’s office.” [Twitter]
City Asks for Feedback on Adding Affordable Housing to Arlandria — “At a virtual meeting Tuesday night (another meeting is set for Wednesday night), members of the Alexandria Office of Planning and Zoning presented their vision to improve affordable housing in the Arlandira-Chirilagua area.” [Alexandria Living]
There’s a new tobacconist on King Street in Old Town, and it’s right across the street from another tobacconist.
Old Virginia Tobacco Company unsuccessfully tried last year to buy the The Scottish Merchant/John Crouch Tobacconist at 215 King Street. The deal was in the works for months, and ultimately fell through. Instead, Old Virginia Tobacco moved across the street to the vacant storefront at 210 King Street.
It’s the end of a busy week in Alexandria.
Once again, crime and public safety stories were the most read on ALXnow.
Aw, shucks. Oyster fans will be pleased to learn that next week marks the first-ever Old Town Oyster Week.
The event, which runs from October 12-17, was created by the Old Town Business Association and Guinness Beer. Participating restaurants will offer two Guinness products and an assortment of oyster dishes.
Expect stand-up comedy to continue in Alexandria while the weather holds out.
For more than a month, friends Mike Kurtz of Cry Baby DC and Jack Coleman of Capital Laughs have put on stand-up shows in an Old Town parking lot, and the performances have been a welcome relief for the comedians since gatherings have been restricted.
Even after an unforgettable year stricken by a pandemic, Alexandria has been named one of the best small cities in the United States.
Alexandria took the fifth spot in the Condé Nast Traveler’s 33rd annual Readers’ Choice Awards. The city placed third last year and fourth the year before that.
Alexandria’s Black residents have lived and worked along the Alexandria waterfront years before the city was founded in 1749, and a new African American Waterfront Heritage Trail helps to tell their stories.
The self-guided tour of the trail, which is a community initiative supported by the the city’s African American Heritage Trail Committee and the Office of Historic Alexandria, should take folks about 45 minutes to complete at a leisurely pace.
In the market to buy a business? Sometimes it can be easier than starting from scratch.
We took a look through Alexandria listings of the website BizBuySell and found a number of businesses for sale. Many are restaurants, which have been heavily impacted the last several months due to the pandemic.
