The End and (Almost) End: Steak and Ale and Topgolf Alexandria Update

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Earlier this year in February, I traveled down Seminary Road in Alexandria near the I-395 Interchange to snap some pictures of the abandoned Steak and Ale Restaurant at the intersection of Kenmore Avenue. I wanted to do a story about the building and the restaurant chain itself. I talked about how Steak and Ale was a symbol of the dying existence of Chain Restaurants in the United States. I ended the article with this statement: 

“The Steak and Ale in Alexandria will eventually go away entirely. Its property will be swallowed up by gentrification. For businesses, this is the circle of life. COVID has only accelerated the process.”

Well, it seems that the time has come. 

The decaying restaurant was torn down today. I got the tip from some pictures that were taken on a community page about Northern Virginia history on Facebook. It was nice to see so many personal stories about that establishment dating back to the 1970s in its heyday. Anyone who has ever eaten at a now-defunct chain restaurant knows exactly what the sentiment is. You don’t miss it, but you miss it. In a post-COVID world slowly approaching reality, how many of the chains still standing will be around to open their doors at the end of the year? 

The pictures from the Facebook group showed the building still in the process of being torn down. I had to work until 4pm, so I hoped that some of it would be left standing when I got there. By the time I zipped up the few miles up the road to the intersection of Seminary Road and Kenmore Avenue, it was no more. Several construction vehicles were in the vicinity, now dormant after their day of labor. A few workers could be seen at the end of the roped-off parking lot, chatting amongst each other.

The building, dormant and abandoned for nearly two decades, was finally gone. Walking to the site, I could smell the old wood, dust, and debris in the air. The only thing still standing from the establishment were the two signs that anchored the restaurant at the entrance to the parking lot and behind the back of the building near the bridge that looped over I-395. I snapped as many pictures as I could, thanking my former self that a trip to the site on a cold day in February was a good idea. Today, the weather was over 94 degrees at 4:30 in the afternoon. 

Surely, the Landmark area will look entirely different in ten to fifteen years. With news of Landmark Mall finally reaching a new plan as a new hospital, it’s hard to tell what that section of Alexandria will look like. Much of that area, Landmark and Little River Turnpike, has remained untouched by the tidal wave of gentrification felt in other areas of Northern Virginia. 

“Not with a bang, but a whimper…”

Driving home down Van Dorn Street in Alexandria, I decided to make a day of it. How did the other abandoned building we wrote about for Offbeat NOVA, the original Topgolf in America, fare today? 

Not great. The parking lot, completely empty save one big-wheeler at the edge of the large lot, had accelerated its process of neglect since I last visited it at the beginning of the year. The building and its surrounding area, once known for its lush and well-kept landscaping, is entirely overgrown and unkempt, even if the area just outside of the complex is manicured (no doubt by Fairfax County). The main clubhouse is entirely boarded up, with the surrounding complex showing severe signs of decay in the year and a half since it closed down. In some cases, it was worse off than Steak and Ale ever was. 

Topgolf was still standing…for now. 

On the way out, I noticed a large board at the entrance to the building. The board was a notice of a hearing from the Fairfax County Planning Commission for Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Part of the hearing will deal with the proposed plan for the Topgolf site, originally brought forth in 2015. The proposal is for a mix of residential and commercial use, with up to approximately 275 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail. So it seems it is only a matter of time for before Topgolf meets its end in similar fashion to what I saw today. The DMV moves so fluidly, and the rapid acceleration of closed business during COVID has only made the prying eyes of developers hungry. 

Drop a comment about your memories of Steak and Ale and Topgolf Alexandria.