D.C. bar Death & Co. near Mount Vernon Square closed earlier this summer for repairs, but will make a surprise return as a pop-up inside Hotel Heron (699 Prince Street) in Old Town.
The bar is reopening today for a limited run inside what will eventually be Hotel Heron’s own bar, Francis Hall.
After years of food trucks, Port City Brewing Company is getting its first fully-fledged restaurant: La Tingeria.
The Alexandria location at 3950 Wheeler Avenue will be the third for La Tingeria, which also has spots in Falls Church and Spotsylvania. The taqueria is expected to open at Port City in October.
Braddock neighborhood bar and speakeasy Captain Gregory’s (804 N. Henry Street) is making a new menu and tattoo designs in partnership with a local tattoo shop.
The bar is partnering with nearby Madison Street Tattoo (1012 Madison Street) for a new crossover menu with cocktails inspired by tattoos and flash tattoos inspired by cocktails.
Hard Times (1404 King Street) is scheduled to close sometime this year to undergo extensive interior renovations, but a new Special Use Permit said those plans could now include new second-floor outdoor porch seating.
The SUP says the plan is to “add new second floor outdoor porch with seating for 30, located in rear of the existing restaurant.”
Alexandria’s Summer Sidewalk Sale is returning to Old Town and Del Ray next month, followed shortly by Alexandria Restaurant Week.
The annual Alexandria Summer Sidewalk Sale is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10, according to Visit Alexandria. The streets around Old Town and Del Ray will likely be lined with local boutiques setting up shop outside of their storefronts and offering discounted summer merchandise. A list of participating shops is available online.
One of the most popular stories on ALXnow this week has been a link to a Zebra article about a lobster food truck near the Bradlee Shopping Center.
While this is possibly more of a testament to this being a relatively slow news week in Alexandria, it raises the question: do Alexandrians yearn for a better food truck culture?
Ethiopian spot Feru Bar and Restaurant in the Van Dorn Shopping Center (512 S. Van Dorn Street) recently won a spot on Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s top five great affordable restaurants around the region (shoutout to Patch for spotting it).
Sietsema praised not only the awaze tibs — a meat stew dish — but the down-to-earth atmosphere of the restaurant and the hard work of owner Firehiwot Bireka. Sietsema also praised the vegetarian kitfo with diced mushrooms, jalapenos and mitmita.
A local coffee shop mere steps from the federal courthouse in Alexandria is no more.
Sprig’s Coffee and Pastry Cafe, which opened only two years ago at 2050 Ballenger Avenue, has closed.
Del Ray bakery Taste of Eurasia (428 A Hume Avenue) closed last month after seven years serving cuisine from the Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond.
In a post on Alexandria Dining — a popular group dedicated to Alexandria cuisine run by The Zebra Press — owner Shohina Touraeva said the restaurant was closing as she pivoted back to work in real estate.
Regional restaurant chain Founding Farmers is one of three restaurants announced for the in-development Oakville Triangle project and it could include extensive outdoor dining.
An application filed with the Planning Commission for the September meeting outlined plans for outdoor dining along Swann Avenue and Route 1 in an L shape around Founding Farmers.
The Tall Ship Providence Foundation will soon be floating an expansion plan past the Alexandria Planning Commission. The proposal would add outdoor dining with alcohol and live entertainment to its offerings along the waterfront.
The proposal by the nonprofit to amend its special use permit would expand its current footprint along the Potomac River at Waterfront Park to accommodate a portable bar, 78 seats, and an area for live music performers.
