Rendering courtesy of City of Alexandria
A rendering of Eclarions bakery and coffee shop, coming to Alexandria.
Eclarions, the new bakery and coffee shop coming to 430 S. Washington in Old Town Alexandria, recently submitted plans for some architectural and design upgrades before they open their doors, with new windows, new signage and upgrades to the roof as well as some interior updates.
"We aim to preserve the existing facade while giving it a clean, modern update that aligns with the tenant's brand. The design will maintain key historical elements while introducing sleek new features to enhance the building's overall appearance," writes FORMDesign, LLC in a letter to the City.
The proposed design is slated to go before the City's Board of Architectural Review on May 7.
If the 430 S. Washington St. location looks familiar, it's where Firehook Bakery was located before it closed its doors in December, after more than 20 years in business.
The new Eclarions bakery hopes to open within the next four months.
Rendering courtesy of City of Alexandria
Rendering of Eclarions, 430 S. Washington St., Alexandria
"We're excited to come to Old Town!" says Maya Srour, who runs the family business with her parents. "We will be opening no later than the end of July," she said, noting that the opening date will depend on how quickly they can get through the city permitting process.
The family is not new to the bakery business. The new Alexandria location will join the Eclarions sister property located at 1737 Wilson Blvd., in the Colonial Village Shopping Center in Arlington. The bakery has earned 4.5 stars on Yelp.
Rendering courtesy of City of Alexandria
Eclarions plans to make some upgrades to its space before opening this summer in Alexandria.
The Alexandria bakery will offer the same features and menu as the Arlington location: A coffee bar, breakfast (croissants, egg sandwiches, quiche, breakfast burritos and more), lunch (short rib sandwich, turkey panini and more), cookies, bars, pastries and of course, eclairs. Other specialties include whole cakes including one named "Alexandria," which is described as almond coconut macaron, pistachio cream and white chocolate pistachio glaze. Other flavors include Dark Chocolate Raspberry and Black Forest.
The bakery owners also operate Pastry Xpo in Falls Church.
Maya's father, pastry Chef Toni Srour has more than 40 years of baking and management experience. After immigrating from Lebanon at the age of 26, and after learning the business of baking from his father, Chef Toni opened his first wholesale business, Maurice Pastries, Inc. in 1993 followed by Pastry Xpo Café in 2008 and the newest addition, Eclairons in 2020.
His business and food philosophy is to keep evolving, continuously perfecting recipes and creating new ones with sometimes unexpected flavors.
