Around Town

Numerous restaurants and sports bars in Alexandria are gearing up for March Madness this week, with plans to offer specials on drinks and bites while the games play on.

Fans will get to see how their March Madness brackets fare when the NCAA men’s tournament’s first round begins Thursday (March 19) and women’s tournament follows on Friday (March 20). Games run until the final championship games on April 5 (women) and April 6 (men).


News

Alexandria Police are seeking a suspect in a Tuesday, March 10 assault of a woman around Tarleton Park in the West End.

Police confirmed to ALXnow that officers responded to the assault in the 4400 block of Vermont Avenue around 12 p.m. on March 10. According to scanner traffic, the victim reported she was walking home when a man pulled her pants down. The caller told police the suspect exposed himself.


Around Town

Alexandrians can now get falafel with their cheesesteak, as a Falafel Inc. franchise soft-opened this week in the longtime home of the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory at 3060 Duke Street. Its new owner plans on running with both concepts, according to staff at the new restaurant.

The restaurant officially opened on Sunday, March 9. A grand opening event is currently in the works, but a date has not been set, staff told ALXnow.


Around Town

The National Industries for the Blind (NIB) is celebrating a special anniversary — 15 years as a member of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (The Chamber ALX).

NIB is the largest employment resource for people who are blind in the U.S. and is an active participant with the chamber. In 2024, NIB and its associated agencies provided employment to 5,142 people who are blind, culminating in more than $172 million in wages and benefits.


News

A 33-year-old Alexandria man is facing a felony charge after allegedly shooting a gun in his Landmark area apartment last month.

The man was arrested Feb. 13 and charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm in an occupied building, in connection to an overnight incident reported at his residence in the 100 block of S. Van Dorn Street.


News

The executive director of Sheltercare, a short-term group home that provides services to youth in the city’s West End, says she may have to consider cutting staff, services or beds, despite nearly $2 million in funding included in the city’s proposed 2027 budget.

The city manager’s budget fulfills a funding request from the Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia, which oversees the 14-bed Sheltercare facility. However, the program’s planned budget of $2.14 million is scaled down from executive director Annie Reiney’s initial $2.7 million proposal, which included a 40% increase in funding to pay for extra staffing and building improvements.


Around Town

Whiskey from a new distillery in the West End will soon be sold at ABC stores in the city, the company’s owner tells ALXnow.

Motherwell Distilling Co. launched operations at 877 S. Pickett Street in December, led by business partners Vince and Marcy Crisler and Andrea and Adam Bennett. The new distillery, which is the first of its kind in Alexandria since the Prohibition era, now has its sights set on distribution.


News

A developer is proposing to construct 11 three-to-four-story townhomes on a vacant lot that is shared with a church in Seminary Hill.

Development company 614 Westbrad, LLC, wants to build 45-foot-tall three-story townhomes with roof-level lofts, terraces, and parking garages at 11 N. Quaker Lane, 21 N. Quaker Lane and 3369 Duke Street.


News

A long-vacant office property along Eisenhower Avenue is slated for conversion into a 377-unit all-affordable apartment building.

The redevelopment of the 9.73-acre Victory Center at 5001 Eisenhower Avenue site was approved in late 2024. Now property owner Stonebridge, the City of Alexandria and Amazon’s Housing Fund have announced the “unprecedented” full conversion for the 11-story building, with completion estimated by 2027.


Around Town

Celebrations are in order this week for a stretch therapy center that recently relocated to a larger space in the West End.

Movement in Science has moved to Suite 228 at 50 S. Pickett Street, a little under a mile from its previous location 648 S. Pickett Street. The business has planned a “Wellness Open House” from 9-11 a.m. Thursday and a ribbon cutting on Friday.


Around Town

Foodies will have two opportunities to score dining deals from restaurants across Alexandria in the coming weeks.

In Alexandria, 11 eateries plan to offer prix-fixe menu deals through the Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week, which returns Monday, Jan. 19 through Sunday, Jan. 25. Hosted biannually in the winter and summer by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, the week features multi-course meal deals at participating D.C.-area restaurants.


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