Nothing punctuates your feelings like throwing an ax, and now there’s a new place to do it while drinking a beer in Alexandria’s West End.
Bad Axe Throwing opened at 617 S. Pickett Street in October, offering walk-in and appointments for customers to hone their axe and knife-throwing skills. After signing a waiver, it costs between $30 and $40 per-person to hurl the sharp objects at the wooden targets.
Staff joke that the experience is cheaper than getting therapy, but just as rejuvenating. The business also serves alcohol and some food.
“We’re all about getting people out of the house, the office, and having fun together,” said Skylar Mills, Bad Axe’s operations manager. “We’ve got team games, mini tournaments, and even a reoccurring league to get those competitive juices flowing. More chill and laid back? Our trained staff will always show you the ropes, make sure everyone’s throwing safely, and will gladly serve you some drinks and food on-site.”
Manager Alissa Henkel and her staff teach customers one and two-handed throwing techniques.
“It’s all about finding your throw, your technique,” she said. “Once you get it’s a lot of fun, and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is awesome.'”
The Canadian-based company has more than 40 locations, with 21 locations in the U.S. The nearest to Alexandria is the Fairfax location, which opened in 2019.
Alexandria’s location has seven lanes and 14 wooden targets.
Bad Axe Throwing is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m., on Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. It is closed Monday.
A 30-year-old man is being held without bond for allegedly stealing juice drinks and assaulting an employee from a West End 7-Eleven.
On Feb. 7, the employee at the store at 6120 Lincolnia Road called 911 to report the incident, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The victim told police that the suspect walked into the store, took three-to-four juice bottles and then walked out without paying and sat across the street at a bus stop.
“The victim followed the unknown suspect outside the store to the bus stop across from the 7-Eleven,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The victim demanded the suspect return the merchandise. The suspect put the bottles down on a nearby parked vehicle. As the victim leaned forward to grab the bottles the suspect punched him several times in the face. The suspect then took the bottles and fled the scene.”
The victim sustained a broken nose, a hematoma on his forehead and lacerations near his left eye and nose, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Churchill Oluwole Hamid was arrested on Feb. 15 for the incident and is being held without bond. He was charged with malicious wounding and petit larceny and goes to court on April 3.
With major developments rolling out in Alexandria’s West End before the end of the decade, residents have until the end of the month to provide opinions on a draft plan that would recommend park and open space expansions.
After months of community meetings, the city’s Alex West Plan is available for public comment until March 31. Once finalized and approved by City Council, the package of documents will guide the city government in land use, transportation and other areas.
With the massive WestEnd mixed use development is expected to unveil several new buildings next year, and Inova at Landmark is poised to open in 2028, the plan is recommending A significant expansion of Dora Kelley Nature Park, a new public park adjacent to the Winkler Botanical Preserve, and a new park at the corner of Seminary Road and N. Beauregard Street.
The plan would comprehensively update the 1992 Alexandria West Small Area Plan with an update and combining it with the 2012 Beauregard Small Area Plan, according to the city.
“Creating an updated community vision allows us to proactively plan for change and prepare for challenges and opportunities in the years to come,” the city said on its website.
Residents can provide feedback through the project webpage, or to city urban planner Christian Brandt via phone at 703-746-3895 or email at [email protected].
The final draft plan is expected to be released this summer.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A man was arrested this morning after a fight at the Covanta Waste-to-Energy Facility that resulted in a handgun allegedly brandished and man getting pepper-sprayed.
The incident occurred at around 8:15 a.m., according to Alexandria Police Department dispatches. An employee of the facility at 53001 Eisenhower Avenue reported to APD that trash truck drivers were arguing with each other, and that one sprayed the victim with pepper spray and that another suspect brandished a handgun.
Three suspects were located nearby in a trash truck, held at gunpoint and then apprehended, according to dispatch.
APD said that one man, Chaka Cook, was arrested and charged with felony assault with a caustic substance. No weapons charge was made.
The victim refused medical attention, according to dispatch reports.
A 29-year-old Washington, D.C. man was arrested last month for allegedly stealing a $1,300 necklace from the First Cash Pawn shop in Alexandria’s West End and then trying to resell it the following day at the pawn shop’s Arlington location.
The 14-karat gold necklace was reported stolen from the shop at 516-C S. Van Dorn Street on August 19, 2023, and the suspect allegedly pawned it the following day at the First Cash Pawn at 89 N. Glebe Road in Arlington, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The suspect and his girlfriend were videotaped at the Alexandria location waiting to be served. The male suspect is seen showing a clerk the functionality of a television that he wanted to sell, while the female suspect then allegedly took an envelope that contained the necklace from the counter, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The female suspect was not arrested. The male suspect was arrested on Jan. 19 and released the following day on a $2,000 secured bond. He was charged with three felonies — receiving more than $1,000 in stolen goods, selling more than $1,000 in stolen property and conspiracy to commit larceny. Each count is a Class 5 felony punishable by one-to-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
The suspect goes to court on March 1.
Sanger Avenue, a West End road that runs from William Ramsay Elementary School to I-395, could be getting some safety and cycling upgrades.
A memo (page 12) from Department of Transportation Deputy Director Hillary Orr to the Transportation Commission included a note that the street could receive some improvements as part of an upcoming paving project.
“City staff is working on providing safety and cycling mobility improvements along Sanger Avenue as part of the upcoming paving project,” Orr wrote. “The focus is on providing additional and safer pedestrian crossings, daylighting intersections due to pedestrian crashes and vehicular angle crashes and providing more buffer space for pedestrians and cyclists under the I-395 bridge near Van Dorn Street.”
Orr said that more information will be shared with the community and a presentation will go to the Traffic and Parking Board sometime this spring.
Image via Google Maps
Four people are in stable condition after being injured in an electrical incident at a construction site in the West End on Monday, according to the Alexandria Police Department (APD).
APD said that at around 11 a.m. they responded to 6336 Stevenson Avenue for a “reported industrial incident involving four males who were working at the construction site.”
“Three victims were transported for medical treatment, two with life-threatening injuries and one with non-life-threatening injuries,” APD said in a news release. “A fourth victim was treated and released on-site. All are currently stable.”
Police at the scene told a dispatcher that the injured workers were erecting scaffolding that hit power lines, resulting in the high-voltage exposures.
APD said that the power was shut off for the entire block to investigate the incident. No official cause has been disclosed.
APD officers are on scene in the 6300 block of Stevenson Ave. conducting an investigation at a construction site where three people have been electrocuted. The adult victims are being transported to a hospital, two with life threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/gLmfoR7Ic0
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 19, 2024
Update: There were a total of four victims who sustained injury. The fourth was treated on-site and released. All are stable. Please see attached. pic.twitter.com/64drVx7EwP
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 19, 2024
Construction of Inova Alexandria at Landmark is expected to be done in four years, and city staff are in favor of the hospital system’s comprehensive sign plan. Here’s what that looks like.
On Tuesday (Feb. 6), the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Inova’s sign plan for the 10.4-acre development on the 52-acre WestEnd property that was formerly home to Landmark Mall.
No electronic signs are allowed in the zoning districts, according to the city’s zoning ordinance.
According to the city:
The Comprehensive Sign Plan proposes to provide clear and consistent guidance on the quality, design, and materials for building, wayfinding, and open space signs in the site. Per §9-103(C), the applicant is requesting the Coordinated Sign SUP to encompass two blocks plus streets within West End Alexandria. Through the SUP, the applicant seeks to increase the number, type, and area of signage to align with the density, scale, and activity expected within the campus.
Inova’s signs at the site must be approved by a special use permit, and include:
- Digital text or graphic signs, Parking ID, that would be up to 58.75 square feet, freestanding, and on approach to the garage entrances.
- Two types of illuminated signs that may be located higher than 35 feet above the grade… only allowing one such sign per building.
- Site identification and landscape signs up to 97.5 square feet and 65.25 square feet, respectively, with heights of 8.67 feet and 7.25 feet, respectively. § 9-202(A)iii.2 restricts these signs to no more than 24 SF and no taller than 6’ in CDD zoning districts.
- The applicant requests window signage for a secondary building entrance
- Freestanding wayfinding signs that exceed the city’s restriction of a maximum height of six feet, freestanding and parking identification signs that are 8.67-feet-tall, and outdoor recreation signs that are up to four-feet-tall.
A 25-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly shooting an adult male in the face with a BB gun on Monday night inside a hotel in the 5000 block of Seminary Road.
Police said that the victim sustained a non-life-threatening wound after getting shot with a BB gun at around 11:30 p.m. and was transported to a local hospital. The victim called 911 and told police that he was shot in the face by a coworker, according to the police scanner.
The suspect, Marcos Santos, Jr., was charged with malicious wounding and discharging an air gun in a public place. APD said that Santos remained at the scene after the incident.
The incident is under investigation, according to APD. Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
NEWS RELEASE: Please see the update concerning the assault that occurred last night in the 5000 block of Seminary Road. A BB gun was used in the incident. pic.twitter.com/CyTD45WLVk
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 23, 2024
Alexandria Police Department is investigating two incidents of gunfire Sunday night, though no one was reported injured.
Eight-to-10 gunshots were reported just before 9 p.m. in the parking lot of the shopping center in the 4000 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. The victim told police that he got into an argument with a Hispanic male in the parking lot and that the suspect fired his handgun at him, striking his car, according to the police scanner.
Two hours after the shooting, APD tweeted that the investigation is ongoing and that the entire block was shut down.
At around 11 p.m., a bullet was fired into the window of a home in the 400 block of N. Armistead Street in the West End.
Anyone with information on these incidents can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
The scene of a shooting in the 4000 block of Mt. Vernon Ave. is now clear.
No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 22, 2024
There is a significant police presence in the 4000 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue in response to a shooting. The block is closed to traffic due to the investigation.
No injuries have been reported.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 22, 2024
Officers are on the scene of an illegal discharge into a residence in the 400 block of N. Armistead. No injuries reported.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 22, 2024