Visit Alexandria’s What’s New annual presentation Thursday morning didn’t disappoint — the tourism organization revealed a variety of new restaurants and businesses coming to Alexandria this year that will excite residents and visitors alike.
Here are just some of the highlights (click on the links for more information):
For caffeine lovers, a few new options are on the horizon: Lady Camellia’s Tea Room will open next to Salon Monte and Hotel Indigo along the waterfront later this year. Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, which originated in Charlottesville, has plans to open in Old Town.
Breakfast fans also have much to look forward to, including upcoming openings of Matt & Tony’s in Del Ray, the Beeliner Diner in the Bradlee Shopping Center (The Bun Papa is operating out of the space now) and Bob & Edith’s near the King Street Metro, right across the street from a second location for the Chewish Deli. In addition, Call Your Mother will be opening in Old Town this spring, as will the Fresh Baguette and Foxtrot.
in the West End, the Electric Café is in development from the team behind The People’s Drug and Chop Shop Taco — a combination design gallery from Alexandria Lighting and cafe — and Hangry Joe’s Chicken will be opening in the West End sometime this year, too.
Frank Pepe’s pizza will be opening on Duke Street in the Alexandria Commons shopping center.
Back in Old Town, the spring season will bring new more rooftop dining options, including an above-ground patio at Hank’s Oyster Bar as it moves to Old Town North. The Village Brauhaus on King Street will also open a rooftop patio.
Old Town will also welcome back the Potomac Paddle Club with a bigger boat to accommodate parties of 10 to 20 people. The Freedom House Museum will also be reopening this spring following a renovation with three new, power exhibits. And, a new art installation is coming to Waterfront Park.
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For all the excitement, there was an elephant in the (virtual) room during Thursday morning’s meeting: COVID-19. About two years into a pandemic we all hoped would be long over by now, the pandemic is still affecting the local economy.
The recovery and overall health of the economy nationwide is better than it was before the pandemic, however some sectors are still reeling as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing some labor shortages. In addition, consumer concerns about inflation remain high and supply chain issues are hurting some economic activity, with a bit more than one-third of people surveyed by CivicScience buying less.
However, data from tourism research firms show that people are still ready to travel for leisure, as long as the destination they travel to takes coronavirus safety protocols seriously. Work travel (for conventions and meetings) is slower to bounce back. Here in the D.C. metro area, travel remains down about one-quarter compared to where it was at this time in 2019.
Importantly, hotel occupancy is making a recovery from a year ago and slowly getting closer to pre-pandemic levels. Leisure travel is expected to return to “normal” this year, while work travel may not return to its pre-pandemic levels until 2024.
While hotel occupancy tax revenue is lower than it was in 2019 here in Alexandria, sales taxes (which includes online orders from national brands) and meals taxes (which tend to be more local by nature) are higher than they were before the pandemic arrived.
Development Continues to Increase
There’s one major economic area in Alexandria that the pandemic has not slowed down — development.
The much-anticipated Wegman’s will open this spring at Carlyle Crossing, a massive new residential and retail neighborhood in the Eisenhower East neighborhood.
New developments are also planned for the Montgomery Center in Old Town North, the former American Physical Therapy Association complex and the former GenOn power plant.
Waterman Place will convert from office space to residential and retail in the coming years.
And, construction has already started in both Potomac Yard on the new Virginia Tech Innovation Campus and on the neighborhood surrounding the coming Inova Healthplex across from the Potomac Yard Shopping Center.
Expect to see more cranes in the sky, particularly over Old Town North and the Potomac Yard area, this year.
