Photo by David Colman
Cooper Mill 10 Duke St Old Town
The Cooper Mill restaurant is now open at Alexandria's waterfront.
Alexandria restaurant Cooper Mill along the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, recently received recognition in Preservation Magazine, published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which highlights places of local and national importance that have recently been restored. Here's what the magazine had to say:
Restored: Alexandria Flour Company Cooper Shop
When builder and developer Murray Bonitt saw the structural report for a historic waterfront warehouse in Alexandria, Virginia, he knew saving it wouldn’t be easy. The building had severe water damage and was too unstable to be restored in place. In 1856, the Alexandria Flour Company had commissioned a cooper shop on the site to produce flour storage barrels. An 1896 cyclone is thought to have destroyed that structure, but it was rebuilt soon after. The building served different uses through the decades, including as a machine shop and later as an office for Southern Ironworks in the mid-1900s.
After purchasing the property in 2019, Bonitt made his case to the city, which approved his plan to deconstruct the building and then rebuild it using as many of the original materials as possible. Members of Bonitt’s team carefully dismantled the structure and stored the pieces nearby. They poured a concrete cap atop the old brick foundation, allowing the new steel frame to sit on the original footprint. Designed by Winstanley Architects & Planners, the rebuilt project incorporates the original brick on the interior and exterior walls. The first-floor ceiling is clad in reclaimed wood flooring from the upper level, and the building’s antique trusses were reused on the second-floor ceiling. Now called Cooper Mill, the 6,400-square-foot tavern and event space was unveiled in December 2024. “It was a huge undertaking, but it came out so well,” says Bonitt. “It was definitely a legacy project.”
Cooper Mill owners replied on Instagram to its recognition:
We’re honored to be featured in the Fall 2025 issue of Preservation Magazine for the restoration of our home, the historic Alexandria Flour Company Cooper Shop — now Cooper Mill.
What started as a collapsing 19th-century warehouse is now a 6,400 sq. ft. tavern + event space built back board-by-board, brick-by-brick, beam-by-beam — using the original materials whenever possible. A true legacy project, thoughtfully brought back to life.
Huge thanks to @bonittbuildersinc and everyone who helped revive this piece of Alexandria’s waterfront history. The past isn’t gone — you just have to raise a glass to it. 🥂
