Tag: Alexandria

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Alexandria Businesses Fairfax County Matthew Eng

When One Door Closes, Another Door Stays Open (For Now): Rudy’s and Red Lobster 

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

It’s been a rollercoaster for recreational golf in Alexandria, but the journey is likely over. We’ve been tracking the story of the 17-acre property since the closure of the original stateside Topgolf location in early 2020. The 2022 launch of Rudy’s, an entertainment golf center similar to Topgolf’s, had its share of challenges. In the first year, I often drove down Van Dorn Street and saw the lot nearly empty on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It’s no easy task to attract business to a location that appeared neglected and abandoned for years. The empty and abandoned Ruby Tuesday restaurant on the property (still empty today) didn’t help the situation. 

Over time, however, I noticed more cars in the lot. You could see several families playing mini-golf on the property, with the lot over half full with cars. Unfortunately, whatever momentum the owners gained over the last two years will likely be for nothing. Throughout the entire period dating back to 2015, developers and Fairfax County Supervisors have considered the acreage a prime location for residential and mix-use development: just what we need in Northern Virginia. Look anywhere in the area, especially on the Richmond Highway corridor nearby, and you’ll see the development of large, uncharacteristic residential/commercial combos with little regard for necessary infrastructure. 

A shot of the redevelopment (Alexandria Living Magazine)

Alexandria Living published an article on January 25 of this year about the possibility of Rudy’s closure. The article noted the vote by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to allow a townhouse redevelopment to move forward. By March, the publication confirmed the suspicions, with the business set to close to make way for 174 new townhomes. The only positive? The Board of Supervisors amended the agreement to reduce the size of townhomes built from 275 to 174. 

Via Fairfax County – Proposed Townhome Design (FFX Now)

The area around Kingstowne, where Rudy’s sits today, is already busy. I can imagine that residents’ protest and petitioning derives from the fact that the already choked area for traffic will be much worse. The opening of Chick-fil-A a few years ago in the shopping center across the street did nothing to alleviate the traffic tensions. Nearly 900 people have signed a petition to save the area “so that other kids have the same opportunity to have fun and learn how to play golf.” Unfortunately, the petition will likely unchange what is already in motion like all machinery. If you want the feeling of hitting a golf ball into a brightly colored hole for points this summer, you’ll need to travel up the road to the National Harbor location or points west in Northern Virginia. 

Of course, if you would have no idea about the imminent closure if were a patron of Rudy’s, you would have no idea they were closing. There is no mention on their website or social media about the closure of their business, which I applaud. Damn the man: save the Empire.  

They say when one door closes, another opens. In this case, the other door is open…for now. If you have followed the latest in the news, Red Lobster, the casual dining seafood restaurant and purveyor of cheddar bay biscuits, is considering filing for bankruptcy after the debacle of their $20 endless shrimp promotion. The offer that started last June lasted weeks before the company realized its mistake. Who knew a promotion for endless food would backfire in the United States? One individual managed to eat 108 shrimp in four hours. You can’t sit in a Golden Corral and transition from breakfast to lunch or dinner. Don’t test the intestinal fortitude of Americans. You will lose every time. 

“I am become death, the destroyer of shrimp” – Oppenheimer would have loved Red Lobster

Locations around the country are closing and auctioning off items in the wake of this business blunder. Around 100 stores have closed recently, a large proportion of their 700 active locations. However, in the Northern Virginia area, the only locations closing are focused in Maryland: Gaithersburg, Columbia, Silver Spring, and Laurel. The only locations throughout Virginia currently closing (or “temporarily closing”)  are further south towards Richmond, Williamsburg, and Hampton Roads. If you still want the hit of the Red Lobster, you can drive less than a mile down the roads from Rudy’s location on Van Dorn Street.  Other area locations in Northern Virginia are Fredericksburg, Woodbridge, Manassas, Fairfax, and Sterling. 

Insanely sexual Open Table for Red Lobster Alexandria (Open Table) – Step Red Lobster, What are you doing?

Northern Virginia remains a bastion for two things: the extremely high cost of living and Red freaking Lobster. If there is any plus side to living here, it is the notion that you can drown the sorrows of your rent check with a greasy cheddar biscuit or Sysco-delivered coconut shrimp. 

If you want to follow the full saga of Topgolf saga, here are all of the articles in order of publication:

America’s First Topgolf: Abandoned in Alexandria (January 7, 2021)

The End and (Almost) End: Steak and Ale and Topgolf Alexandria Update (June 28, 2021)

Rudy’s: New Life for Former Topgolf Location (March 23, 2022)

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Alexandria food Matthew Eng northern virginia

Defining the “Irish Exit:” Fiona’s in Kingstowne 

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

“Irish Exit” – Leaving a social gathering without saying goodbye. Also known as an “Irish Goodbye.”

Picture this. It’s Saturday night. You’re in your late twenties at a party with your friend. You only know a few people. It’s been over half an hour since you talked to somebody you knew. Every attempt to converse with strangers near the beer cooler had mixed results. Most of the time, you stare at your phone while the people you know engage in meaningful conversations. And then it happens: an idea. At that moment, you see the door to the apartment, with some delicious takeout and reruns of The Office within an hour in the comfort of your own home. You take your chance. You rush towards the door…to your freedom. 

You did it. You performed an “Irish Exit.” 

Now, you only have time to think about that brief moment before COVID-19 when a local Northern Virginia restauranteur performed the perfect LITERAL “Irish Exit:” Martin White and Fiona’s Irish Pub. 

Fiona’s Irish Pub opened at 5810 Kingstowne Centre in May 2014 in Alexandria, across from America’s first Top Golf. The new restaurant replaced one of the area’s King Street Blues locations. Martin White, owner of King Street Blues, chose to shutter the barbecue and southern food experience for something more authentic to his native Ireland. White is no stranger to local eateries in the region. Arriving in the United States from Ireland in 1986, White quickly started working in the restaurant business at the Hamburger Hamlet. Since then, he worked his way up in the industry, eventually buying four King Street Blues locations and developing Donato’s Pizza (several still exist in the area). He became a U.S. citizen on St. Patrick’s Day in 1996 and served as the parade’s Grand Marshal that year. According to an Eater DC article, opening an Irish Pub has always been his dream. “My desire is to continue to pass my good fortune forward through ongoing support of the local and Irish community,” White said. 

His wish finally came true with the opening of Fiona’s. From the start, the reviews and responses to his menu were favorable. White modeled the food and decor from his hometown of Dublin in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. The description of the restaurant read: 

“Catch the Irish Spirit at Fiona’s Irish Pub. Fresh, authentic Irish Fare—fresh seafood stew, lamb chops… 14 draft beers, 20+ bottles, extensive Irish Whiskey and Scotch collection.”

A Yelp review from “Marissa D” boasted about the restaurant’s family-friendly atmosphere on top of the Guinness stew and Dublin mixed grill. The restaurant maintained a four-star rating throughout its time in service. As the business owner, Martin commented on people’s food ratings on Yelp, from the positive to the slightest of negativity. Despite some negative reviews, the Dublin transplant operated well on the surface.

The Guiness Stew looks….good?

Things were going so well that White opened a second Fiona’s location on 23rd Street in Arlington’s Crystal City, along the busy row of restaurants in April 2019. According to an Arlington Now article, White stated that things were “going gangbusters” at the Kingstowne location. 

Things were not going well. Fiona’s official social media accounts last posted on April 29, 2019, primarily about the opening of the new establishment. Within two months of opening a new location in Arlington, Fiona’s in Kingstowne closed without warning. 

Patrons (and employees) came to work on June 10, 2019, to locked doors. A small printed sign on the door read: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Fiona’s Irish Pub is permanently closed.” Their website also had a short message thanking patrons for their support. According to a report from Alexandria Living, an employee of a tenant next door did not know why they closed either. The biggest news was that the owner of Fiona’s exited the company. No explanation. 

The Crystal City location on 23rd Street in Arlington was also closed, but they initially reported that it would reopen after resolving some issues with the building. To say the closure was unexpected and abrupt is an understatement. After everyone lamented the closure of their favorite local watering hole, questions began to arise as to WHY. Thanks to Nextdoor and Reddit, some of the proposed questions have answers. 

Some users on Reddit said the lease was up, and White could not pay the high rent due to the raised prices in recent years. Others said it was as simple as a lease agreement. With the other Fiona’s restaurant closed, the questions kept coming. Some claimed he went to Florida to start fresh. User “Technoslave” had a much more concise (and plausible) reasoning:

“The owner absconded with rent money, plus whatever else, since I think October, probably back to Ireland. Landlord/Management/Owner of the property finally went through all the processes necessary to get the place shut down. Sheriffs came in and closed the place.”

Reddit User “Technoslave” re: Fiona’s Irish Pub Closing

According to a user on Nextdoor, Martin was over $450,000 in arrears on his rent “based on the judgment entered against him in Fairfax a few years ago.” If that is true, the opening of a completely new restaurant in a busy and expensive area of Northern Virginia makes it sound all too wild and financially irresponsible. But everybody has to dream. Mr. White dreamed a little too big.

Former Fiona’s location under construction for new “mystery” project, 2022.

Whether he left back to his home country or not, Martin White, the once-celebrated pillar of the Irish community in Alexandria, made an exit for the ages. To this day, no information exists on his whereabouts or location. Only months after its closure, the second Fiona’s location never reopened, with its reporting that it had closed for good by June 12. The location remained an Irish pub, albeit mediocre, called McNamara’s. 

What happened to the Kingstowne location?

In February 2022, Fairfax Now announced that, despite delays, Chick-fil-A planned to open a 5,200-square-foot location in the former location of Fiona’s, a formerly popular Irish bar. Plans to build the Chick-fil-A at this specific location date back to April 2020, when plans were initially filed. The plans were to include a wrap-around drive-thru similar to the nearby Springfield location. 

The new restaurant opened on May 26, 2022, with a balloon arch with black and white “cow” balloons, reminding you, amongst other things, that their advertising works. Eat More Chicken. The Yates gas station across from the new restaurant even put a large banner on the back of their garage welcoming Chick-fil-A into the shopping center.

Individuals who purchase food there can bring a receipt for special discounts. When I saw that, I couldn’t help but think of the George H.W. Bush “Mission Accomplished” banner aboard USS Abraham Lincoln back in 2003 when I saw. And for the restaurant chain, maybe the mission is done. If Martin White exited the area without a word, fast food chicken made an entrance that greets countless customers today. Unfortunately, the fast food chain does not sell Guinness stew or shepherd’s pie. That is a distant and fond memory for all who once went to Fiona’s.  

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. When you leave a party without letting anyone know this year, remember to do it without skipping out on the bill like Martin did. 

Categories
Matthew Eng northern virginia weather

Looking Back at the 1993 March “Storm of the Century”

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

It is the middle of March. Today’s temperatures crept up to 74 degrees, and tomorrow’s will be similar. After a freezing and dreary winter filled with lots of rain, this warmup, albeit way in advance for my global warming consciousness, felt amazing. 

Twenty-one years ago, however, the weather in Northern Virginia was anything but warm. A massive system from Florida to Maine dropped a foot of snow in this region. The warm air and moisture from the Gulf region hit the cold air from western Canada with a shallow barometric pressure that yielded terrifying weather results. The storm caused 11 tornados in Florida and over 200 deaths after its hurricane-force winds finished ripping through the East Coast and Canada on March 14th. According to some news reports, snow drifts in Northern Virginia measured upwards of 12 feet in height. The storm left thousands of travelers and citizens without heat and electricity for days. 

The Superstorm of March ’93, sometimes referred to as the “Storm of the Century” or snowicane,” did not have as significant an impact as many previous or more recent snow events in the region. The most recent event, the snowstorm of 2016, dumped over two feet of snow into the area. However, according to Accuweather, that snowstorm was not a Category 5 storm on the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) scale. Accuweather’s article on the event said the 1993 blizzard was “one of the most devastating storms of the 20th century.”

Steve Marvill, a senior forecaster for Accuweather back in 1993, said in a Washington Post article that the event “had all the conditions for a powerful storm. It was as if there was a hurricane, but in the winter.” 

It certainly felt like a hurricane to many who lived through it. At the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge near Dahlgren, VA, the wind speed topped out at 73 mph. When the dust (and snow) settled, the storm caused nearly $6 billion in damage in 1993 USD. That’s over double the $12.8 billion in today’s money. That’s enough to build four new stadiums for the Commanders. That gives them four chances to win a game, right?

AP Photo – WTOP News
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Alexandria Matthew Eng northern virginia Postscripts sports

Offbeat Postscripts: This Isn’t the First Time a Sports Team Wanted to Play at Potomac Yard

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard about the recent news of the potential move for two major Washington, D.C., sports teams to northern Virginia. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin reached a tentative deal two days ago with the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals (via Monumental Sports & Entertainment) to move the team’s sports venue from the Capitol One Arena to a “visionary sports and entertainment venue” at Potomac Yard in northern Alexandria. The proposed development would include a new arena for the two sports teams, as well as a practice facility, performing arts center, hotels, convention center housing, and shopping.

The proposed stadium/complex area (JBG Smith)

Naturally, most people in the area are split on the potential move. On one end, the location of the team at Potomac Yard near the new metro would mean potential job creation and a boom for surrounding real estate property values. With that, however, comes the traffic hassles in an already crowded area. This of course does not account for what D.C. natives feel for losing two major sports teams, leaving just the Washington Mystics, D.C. United, and Washington Capitals as the only pro-level teams vying for a competition in the nation’s capital. Mayor Muriel Bowser offered a very hefty counter offer which raised the eyebrows of locals wondering where the substantial figure came from.

A very poignant comment (AlxNow.com)

This would be a major deal for Youngkin and his administration. However, this is not the first time a pro sports team tried to play in Potomac Yard. In the early 1990s, then-Redkins owner Jack Kent Cooke attempted to move the franchise from RFK Stadium in Washington to “Kent Cooke Stadium” at Potomac Yard. The huge announcement came on July 9, just several months removed from what would be the last Redskins Super Bowl Win (a game I remember watching fondly as a 7-year-old). On that day, Jack Kent Cooke made the announcement with Virginia Governor K. Douglas Wilder for a plot of land in the approximate area where the shopping area resides today next to Richmond Highway.

Like today, the announcement was highly controversial. The Washington Post reported that many Alexandria-area residents and several City Council members expressed their distaste for the plan, adding that they were “angry that Wilder and Cooke hatched the proposal without consulting the city.” Given that the Metro official was also not notified by Youngkin or the investment firm about the newest iteration of the sportsplex, history repeats itself.

Cooke proposed a 78,600-seat stadium with plans to be ready for the 1994 season. Ultimately, the plan fell through after Cooke “rejected concessions that Wilder said were necessary to keep the proposal alive,” just three months after the initial announcement in October 1992:

“I still believe that Potomac Yard is an ideal site for the new Washington Redskins stadium. I thank the governor for his valiant efforts to bring this plan to fruition, but in light of the dramatic changes which were proposed that I cannot abide, I now have no further interest in the Potomac Yard site.” – Redkins Owner Jack Kent Cooke

Washington Post (Thursday, October 15, 1992; Page A01)

The Redkins later received their long-awaited replacement stadium in Maryland, Fed Ex Field, which is (in my humble opinion) a poor replacement for RFK and considered one of the worst stadiums in pro sports.

Will Youngkin forge a new history and ink a deal for pro sports history? Given what happened outside of Reagan National (just up the street from the proposed site) at Thanksgiving, I am personally finding it hard to fathom what would happen to the stadium when somebody like LeBron James and the Lakes comes to town. Ample parking has never been a strong suit for Alexandria, and I don’t see that happening here.

What do you think about the proposed deal?

Categories
Alexandria Matthew Eng retail

Adios, Landmark Mall

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Landmark Mall has remained closed near Interstate 395 in Alexandria, VA, for more than five years.

The mall, anchored by Sears, Lord & Taylor, and Macy’s, was opened in 1965 as the first major mall in the DC metro area to feature three anchored department stores. Over the years, the 675,000-square-foot outdoor center was eventually enclosed in 1990 to its current form. 

That is until the wrecking ball came last Thursday. 

On May 12, 2022, a small crowd of spectators looked on as a wrecking ball plowed into the Mall’s iconic sign at the top level of the food court. Seeing the news on social media, I traveled down Van Dorn road to snap a few pics of the demolition. By the time I got there, a giant hole was left in the building. If you looked hard enough, you can see into the top level of the food court. The neon sign was gone — and soon the Mall will be. But demolition is slow-moving, and it seems it will be a while before it is all gone. The location will be redeveloped into a mixed-use space, including a new INOVA Alexandria Hospital. I wanted to make sure I at least got all of the signs preserved in digital format, even though they will most likely be the last remnants of the old former location to go.

We will see if it stays that way. Sometimes, plans don’t work out. Remember when the first Top Golf down the road in Alexandria was supposed to be a mix-use facility? Nope. It’s still a golf entertainment complex. Old habits die hard, and real estate in Northern Virginia never seems to die. 

My own personal memories of Landmark Mall are limited. Moving to the Northern Virginia area in 2013, I only managed to go to the mall a few times. Like most people did towards the end of the mall’s life, the mall served as a giant retail mausoleum that housed the only Chick-Fil-A in the area (located on the top floor food court). When I last went to the mall in 2015 to get a space heater at Sears, the mall was almost entirely abandoned, earning the no-to-coveted “Dead Mall” status in the years before its closing. The mall received a little life after its closing when it served as a brief set for the movie Wonder Woman 1984. 

I was able to go to the mall after production wrapped to take pictures of the abandoned mall after Covid hit. They were some of the first pictures I took after Offbeat NOVA started. Back in 2020, the mall was left completely empty, save for the Sears anchor (closed in July 2020). After waiting two years for a good story on the mall to materialize, it seemed appropriate to share now that the mall is breathing its last breaths. 

It will be interesting to see how the demolition progresses. It’s hard to say if the mall was ever “iconic” like Tyson’s Corner or the Galleria, but it did serve as a hub of diversion, shopping, and entertainment for over fifty years. In its absence, malls like the Springfield Town Center are only getting more crowded (even in Covid times). 

Do you have memories of Landmark Mall to share? We’d love to hear from you. 

Categories
Alexandria Matthew Eng

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. 

Categories
Alexandria Angela H. Eng

A Walk in the Ruins: Alexandria’s Promenade Classique Park

By Angela H. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

One day last summer, Matt and I were in Old Town, trying to find a spot for takeout. We took a turn down a road named River Canal Way and stumbled into some kind of corporate conglomeration of office buildings and gazebos. However, as we turned around in the loop at the end of the road, I noticed a strange-looking fountain that was spewing water not up, but out towards the waterfront. 

So like any amateur history bloggers that keep a keen eye out for the weird and usual, we parked and got out of the car for a closer look. 

I was totally unprepared for what we saw. 

Photos by Matthew Eng/Offbeat NOVA

It was a giant pair of stone lips, made of marble and styled after a neoclassical statue. The water from the lips flowed forward in a small river of sorts, and cascaded over the edge of a small shelf. Two giant slabs of marble perched on top of columns on either side of the shelf, and one read “DCVLV MEMOR.” They framed, perfectly, a small-scale obelisk just like the Washington Monument. The Potomac glittered behind the obelisk, creating a picture-perfect view.

We had to pick up our food, so we got in the car and I did some research. It turns out that the fountain is part of a larger art installation called “Promenade Classique.” It is also part of Tide Lock Park, which is known for containing remnants of the old locks that once passed through Alexandria on the way to Washington, D.C. 

The installation is described by The Washington Post as

the first large-scale American commission for the renowned French sculptoral team of Anne and Patrick Poirier. Working with landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, the Poiriers devised a succession of neoclassical sculptural elements, starting with a bronze lightning bolt, which, except in winter, launches the flow of water. From there, the water makes its way past gargantuan sculptural fragments, through a reflecting pool and into a heap of “ruins” (shown at right) under a waterfall at the river’s edge.1

The Washington Post (Dec. 23, 1990)

So there was more? Given the surreal nature of the odd lips, we had to go back and see the “gargantuan sculptural fragments” that made up the “ruins.”

The only experience with hyperreal ruins I ever had was at Busch Gardens’ Escape from Pompeii or Roman Rapids rides, so I was excited to see what the park had in store for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it back to the park until the dead of winter, but that added an even more surreal layer to the park—all the water was drained from the fountains and there was a slightly dirty sheen to the marble. 

We walked past the giant bronze arrow and to the massive lips, which now stood in an empty pit with decaying leaves at the bottom. This time, though, we walked to where the water used to pour over the edge and discovered two curved sets of stairs. The stairs led to a lower level of the promenade, with the obelisk sitting on a dais at the waterfront. In between the sets of stairs were sections that looked amphitheater-like, broken up by small dark runnels. 

Going down the amphitheater levels was a little more treacherous than I thought it would be (the steps were steep!), so I stuck with the stairs. At the bottom of the waterfall was a jumble of sculptural ruins, with two large eyes standing out more than the rest. The large slabs at the top of the columns also had eyes, and more lips stood at the top of the runnels, where more water had no doubt flowed in the summer. 

I can’t help but think of our visit to the park as an allegory for this whole time in quarantine. Fragmented. Disruptive. Drained. However, winter is almost over.

Footnotes:

  1. “Promenade Classique.” The Washington Post. Dec. 23, 1990. Accessed on March 8, 2021. LINK. 
Categories
Alexandria Angela H. Eng

From Old Town Grudge Break to New Mutiny: Alexandria Spite Houses

By Angela H. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Have you ever done something out of sheer spite? 
If the answer is yes, have you ever taken it to the next level? 
Like building a house?

A “spite house” is built with the intention of irritating a neighbor or as an act of revenge against another landowner.1 You’d think these sorts of houses would be rare, but it turns out there’s a lot of spite going around—especially in Old Town Alexandria, which has not one but four spite houses.

Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but these spite houses actually have another name: alley houses. As Alexandria Living points out, a lot of these “spite houses” are actually alley houses. Alley houses were built between two existing structures in an alleyway. In fact, “an alley house would have been a cheap way to build, since the owner would only have to construct the rear and front walls and a roof.”2 

We stumbled on a 2018 blog post that not only highlighted the famous spite house on Queen Street, but three more alley houses that were hidden in plain sight. Built out of spite or not, they sounded interesting. So we decided to check them out. 

  1. 523 Queen Street (Map)

By far the most famous of the spite houses, 523 Queen Street has the distinction of not being the narrowest spite house in Alexandria; it is the narrowest house in America, period.3 Prior to the home’s construction, there was an alleyway between the two houses. However, as the story goes, the owner of the homes, a Mr. John Hollensbury, was tired of the riffraff hanging out in the alleyway and the oversized carriages leaving gouge marks in the buildings when they tried to squeeze though.4 So, to keep people out, he put brick walls up and a roof over the alleyway. Though this version of the events is probably the most well-known, a couple of local bloggers did a wonderful job of researching the three different stories they’ve heard. Supposedly, however, you can still see the pockmarks from those wagon wheels on the walls in the living room.5

Spite House, 823 Queen St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)

The Old Town Home bloggers actually visited the home and measured the width with a laser. The width came in at 7 feet, 6 inches.6 Absolutely tiny. If you Google the home, you can find photos of people standing in front, their arms stretched wide to show just how small the home is. According to Realtor.com, it is only 480 square feet and has one bathroom. It was last sold for $130,000 in 1990 and currently has an estimated value of $579,400.

  1. 205 King Street (Map)

This home is what the Old Town bloggers believe is the oldest. In their research, they found that it was constructed sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s.7 It is now not a residence, but the She’s Unique jewelry and gift shop. It was measured as 11 feet, 9 inches—the biggest of the Alexandria alley houses.8

Spite House, 205 King St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)
Spite House, 205 King St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)

The business has favorable reviews, with one saying, “I love this store! They have some really nice pieces and great design. The staff is very friendly and it’s a cute little shop.”

  1. 1401 Prince Street (Map)

We had to backtrack a little bit to find this one. It’s possible I was just distracted because it’s so close to my favorite yarn shop, or it just blended into the homes around it. This house is the only one story dwelling of all the Alexandria alley houses, and is described as a “mini-me” of the surrounding buildings.9 The Old Town Home bloggers didn’t dig much up on it, only that it might have been built sometime in the early 1900s and it may have been absorbed into an adjoining home. Another source, after consulting Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, states that it was built between 1891 and 1895.10 The bloggers measured it at 8 feet, 2 inches wide.11 

Spite House, 1401 Prince St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)
Spite House, 1401 Prince St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)

Even though this home is the newest of the alley homes, apparently the late 1800s was a common time alley houses were built.12

  1. 403 Prince Street (Map)

The last home we visited, at 403 Prince Street, was a pretty brick home that stood out from the ones on either side. Supposedly built around 1800, Realtor.com lists this home as 608 square feet, with 1.5 bathrooms. It was last sold for $424,000 in 2016 and currently has an estimated value of $618,600. It was measured at 7 feet, 9 inches.13 By comparison to the Queen Street home, it is only a matter of inches—but it has at least  more square feet and an extra half bath. 

Spite House, 403 Prince St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)
Spite House, 403 Prince St., Alexandria, VA (Offbeat NOVA)

Apparently, it is also well known for its holiday decorations.

So what do you think? 

Could you build and live in a tiny home out of spite? 

Footnotes:

  1. Samantha Grindell, “10 unique homes that were built just to annoy people,” Insider, Nov. 10, 2019. Accessed February 20, 2021, LINK.
  2. Sara Dingmann, “The Other Three ‘Spite’ Houses in Alexandria,” Alexandria Living, Oct. 8, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2021, LINK.
  3. Meghan Overdeep, “You Can Find America’s Skinniest Home in this Charming Southern City,” Southern Living, April 2, 2018. Accessed February 20, 2021, LINK.
  4. Overdeep, “Skinniest Home.”
  5. Overdeep, “Skinniest Home.”
  6. Alex Santantonio, “Which of Old Town Alexandria’s Spite Houses is the Narrowest? It’s a Game of Inches!” Old Town Home Blog, February 23, 2018. Accessed Feb. 13, 2021, LINK.
  7. Santantonio, “Game of Inches.” 
  8. Santantonio, “Game of Inches.” 
  9. Santantonio, “Game of Inches.” 
  10. Dingmann, “The Other Three.”
  11. Santantonio, “Game of Inches.” 
  12. Dingmann, “The Other Three.”
  13. Santantonio, “Game of Inches.”
Categories
Alexandria food Matthew Eng

Steak and Ale Alexandria: The End of the Casual Food Chain

“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang, but a whimper.”
– The Hollow Men, T.S. Elliot

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

When I was a kid, I didn’t eat out that often. Most of the meals I ate in the late 1980s and early 1990s were served by my parents at home, often around 6:00 pm with military precision. If we did go out to eat on an evening that: 1. Wasn’t someone’s birthday, 2. Wasn’t a parental work celebration, or 3. Wasn’t an easy alternative with friends our family from out of town, then we would most likely go to a chain restaurant. And you know what, I was okay with that. I’m still okay with it. Hell, even in these times of Corona, our favorite go-to is TGI Friday’s (don’t sleep on the cobb salad).

At some point between going off to college and starting a job, I noticed a large number of these restaurants began to vanish like a Marty McFly polaroid. While some of these establishments are still around and going relatively strong (Chili’s, TGI Friday’s, Outback), others are struggling (Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Red Lobster). There are a few from my childhood, like Bennigan’s, ShowBiz Pizza, Pargo’s, and Chi-Chi’s, that are no longer around at all—relics of a forgotten past.

These are, of course, just establishments that are from my own personal life. A cursory look on Wikipedia shows nearly 100 now-defunct restaurant chains in the United States alone.

One of these chains that have not weathered the financial storms of the past two decades was Steak and Ale.

First opened in Dallas, Texas, in 1966, Steak and Ale was billed a casual dining steakhouse chain that would offer “an upscale steak experience at lower prices.” Popular dishes over the years included the New York strip, Hawaiian chicken, and Kensington club. Notably, it was also one of the first chain restaurants to have a salad bar. Several opened in Northern Virginia over the years, including at least one in Alexandria on the busy intersection of Kenmore Avenue and Seminary Road near Interstate 395. 

Abandoned Steak and Ale in Alexandria, VA (Matthew Eng/Offbeat NOVA)
Abandoned Steak and Ale in Alexandria, VA (Matthew Eng/Offbeat NOVA)

Unfortunately, there isn’t much information available online about that particular Steak and Ale Restaurant. One source about the property’s history said the familiar tudor-style facade was built in 1975, which was likely when the restaurant opened. The entire plot measured 34,848 feet, which included 91 parking spaces. one commenter on a website called menuism.com had this to say about the former establishment: 

“Great location for a new restaurant. I say keep the building and decor and do something interesting with it. German Bierhaus?”1 

menuism.com

The restaurant likely closed around 2008 when the company that owned Steak and Ale, the S&A Restaurant Corp, filed for Chapter 7, 2008. By the end of July 2008, all of the remaining Steak and Ale locations closed as part of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding.2 

Although the restaurant chain folded over twelve years ago, the building and adjacent parking lot still stand today. The restaurant plot is located in the Mark Center area of Alexandria, an area that has no doubt seen better times. Much of the Mark Center of Alexandria is on the verge of reinvention and construction, which are just fancy words in Northern Virginia for “gentrification.” 

The 6,800-square-foot building and its attached parking lot property, according to realty website XOME, is worth approximately $4,667,781 and was last sold in November 2013 for an amount of $3,835,348. The owner is a real estate company known as HSRE-Capmed Alexandria Land, LLC. The plot of land is now known simply as “Colonial Parking Station 483.”  The increase in price and the eventual construction of Amazon just a few miles away in the upcoming years almost guarantees that the projected demolition will not only occur, but will occur soon.3 According to the Construction Journal, as of February 13, 2020, the project demolition of the Steak and Ale building on 4661 Kenmore Avenue is delayed still to this day. One other source online has put in an approved request to turn the area into valet space for the 91 car parking lot.4 

Visiting the location today is eerie. The lot sits abandoned with a hotel, medical officers, and a shopping center nearby. Several apartment buildings can be seen across from Seminary Road near the interstate. Evidence of the valet parking is already evident, as there is one Colonial Parking sign near the vacant valet stand directly under the still-standing Steak and Ale neon sign. Any visible lettering has been removed from the large sign near the valet stand, but you can still see the rivets where the neon lighting for “Steak and Ale” must have connected to circuitry. Still visible beneath it, a smaller sign reads “Immediate Seating.” 

The facade is in fairly remarkable condition, considering it has been closed and vacant for over a decade. The windows are boarded up and much of the roof has been stripped down to the wood. One can only assume there is massive mold and water damage inside. Signs for no trespassing dot the front facade of the building where so many happy families like mine once entered its doors to share a meal. 

There is a elevated walkway leading to the other side of Seminary Road around the back side of the building. Walking up it gives you a great view of the still visible “Steak and Ale” sign, albeit faded, as it once displayed on the roadside. The lettering has been removed, but you can still see evidence of what it once was. in a way, that statement is reminiscent of the entire restaurant — with everything removed, those familiar with the restaurant chain could still pick it out easily.

Elks Lodge #758, formerly the Jolly Ox (Matthew Eng/Offbeat NOVA)
Elks Lodge #758, formerly the Jolly Ox (Matthew Eng/Offbeat NOVA)

You will be incredibly hard pressed to see the inside of a Steak and Ale restaurant nowadays. Although the company, which also owns Bennigan’s, had made plans to revitalize the chain, we have yet to see anything of that bearing much fruit. Thankfully, one such establishment does exist bearing the bones of a former Steak and Ale off Interstate 1 in Fairfax County, Alexandria (7120 Richmond Highway). Back then, the restaurant was known as the Jolly Ox, as it was custom to remove the “ale” from the name in Virginia. Driving by it, however, you can see all the old familiar tudor-style facade wrapped around the building. The building is now the Elks Lodge #758. A look at the Lodge’s facebook page shows that they have retained much of the restaurant’s facilities, including its kitchen and horseshoe bar. Even during a pandemic, the Elks Lodge #758 regularly hosts weekly events, although it mostly sits vacant and unassuming during the day. 

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

Footnotes:

  1. Menuism, “Steak and Ale Alexandria,” LINK.
  2. Jeffrey Mccracken and Janet Adamy, “Dining Chain Shut Doors,” Wall Street Journal, July 30,2008. Accessed 13 February 2021, LINK.
  3. XOME, “4661 Kenmore Avenue, Alexandria,” LINK.
  4. City of Alexandria, “Application for Valet Parking,” LINK.
Categories
Alexandria Matthew Eng Postscripts

Offbeat Postscripts: The Richard Spencer Apartment in Alexandria

Offbeat Postcripts is a series of short posts where we cover small topics of offbeat history in Northern Virginia. 

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

We were going to wait until January 20, 2021, to write this short piece on Richard Spencer and his short stay in Old Town Alexandria. After recent events, however, it just felt like the right time.

On February 5, 2017, the Eng clan got into the family truckster and headed into Old Town Alexandria for a relaxing morning of shopping. It was cold that day, with the temperature hanging somewhere in the forties. Our daughter, Zelda, was just a few days shy of her first birthday. With two teeth poking out of the bottom of her mouth, she was very much the vision of a fussy 1-year-old. Admittedly, Angela and I were also a little fussy too. That morning was less than two weeks after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. As proud as I was for Angela and her friends to take part in the Women’s March the day after Trump took office, we still had to settle into the grim reality of a Trump presidency. We both thought the fresh air would do all of us some good. 

You can basically separate Old Town Alexandria in a two sections, split between the north and south of King Street cut off along its Washington Street intersection. Everything across Washington Street towards the Potomac is the heavy-traffic area of Old Town where most of the restaurants and tourist traps are. Do you want to go to the Old Town Alexandria ghost tours or eat at a restaurant with overpriced appetizers? Head to the water. The other side towards the King Street Metro is much quieter with less foot traffic. There’s still a lot of cool shops and restaurants, just not in the same frequency. 

Sign in front of BLOW Salon (Matthew Eng Photo/Offbeat NOVA)

That morning, I parked on a side street off the main road. Our first stop was the former location of Fibre Space, an excellent place for all your yarn needs if you are thinking about getting into knitting or crocheting. I waited patiently with Zelda as Angela shopped for supplies she needed for an upcoming project. After finishing up there, we decided to stroll up King Street to Misha’s Coffee on the corner of King Street and South Patrick St. Walking on the right side of the road on King, we kept noticing “No Vacancy for Hate” and “Everyone is Welcome” signs in the windows and doorways of shops and businesses. Almost every shop had at least one of these signs. A large dry-erase board in front of a salon called BLOW finally tipped us off to what was going on:

“The people who HATE the most are often the people who hate themselves the most.” 

The sign included a tongue-in-cheek “Let Us Make Your Hair Great Again” slogan complete with a Trump caricature. It was then that it finally clicked why all the signs were up. It wasn’t just because of the recent tenant in the White House. Old Town Alexandria also had a new member to its population: notorious white nationalist Richard Spencer. 

Richard Spencer rented the top two floors of a large white building at 1003 King Street, on the corner of N. Patrick Street, in early 2017. The bottom floor tenant at the time, Blüprint Chocolatiers, had no say in her landlord renting Spencer the space. According to a Washington Post article, however, the owners quickly made it known to residents and visitors that she had nothing to do with their upstairs neighbor. She adorned the front of their shop with red and white ribbons and a sign that read “Everyone is Welcome Here,” which many others in the surrounding area had also done. This, along with the newest addition to Alexandria, was likely in direct response to the then-recent Executive Order banning foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim country from visiting the country for ninety days, and suspending entry of all Syrian refugees into the country indefinitely.1 

Of course, we all remember what happened to Spencer on Inauguration Day: 

Previously, Spencer and the National Policy Institute, his white nationalist think tank, were headquartered in neighboring Arlington, Virginia. Perhaps Trump taking the Presidency gave him the idea to seek classier accommodations on the busy Alexandria intersection. 

Throughout his time there, Spencer had to endure a stable group of protestors and demonstrators below his apartment. He had plenty of time to nurse his wounded face and pride as he watched the throng of protestors through closed blinds and darkened rooms from above like a pathetic “man in the high tower.” According to WTOP, they would congregate to protest twice a month. The protests were organized by Grassroots Alexandria, a citizen-led group advocating for the safety and security of fellow Alexandrians.  

So why did he move there? The Washingtonian said it best:

Why would Spencer, when he relocated from Montana, choose to pitch his tent in a deep-blue city whose diverse population is 51 percent minority? The answer is quite basic, actually. “It’s just a nice place,” he says. Spencer thinks Old Town is beautiful. He likes the restaurants. He likes “how it feels—the whole look.”2

The Washingtonian (August 1, 2017)

Spencer only stayed in Old Town for a year and a half. Throughout the course of his time there, we never saw much movement in the upstairs rooms of the white building any time we walked by or drove through the area. Hopefully he got the hint that he wasn’t welcome. There must have been a strong indication in May of 2017 when Spencer had his membership at the Old Town Sport & Health club revoked after the owner made a “business decision” to pull it. Spencer protested the decision, telling Buzzfeed that he was a “model gymgoer” who didn’t bother anyone. When the general manager, a professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, asked Spencer if he was in fact the same person, he denied it. She published photos of the confrontation in a blog post, adding, “not only are you a Nazi, you’re a cowardly Nazi.” Protests only increased in the wake of the Charlottesville “Unite the Right Rally,” which Spencer attended.3 

Today, the shop beneath the apartment is a sock shop called the Old Town Sock Co. Blüprint Chocolatiers closed their doors on Easter Sunday 2020 after five-years. As of November 5, 2020, the floors above the sock sheet remain without a tenant. 

Jonathan Krall of Grassroots Alexandria had no sympathy after Spencer’s exit from his prime real estate in Alexandria on King Street. In fact, he felt he played a part in him leaving. “Oh, I think we had an effect,” he said in the closing words of a 2018 interview with the Alexandria Gazette Packet. “We did our best.”4 

Donald Trump has been voted out of office. People like Spencer no longer has a platform almost anywhere. His National Policy Institute was banned by YouTube in June of this year for not following the platform’s policies against hate speech. Free speech still (rightfully) exists, but thankfully fewer people are listening to his ilk.5  

For others before him, like George Lincoln Rockwell, their presence was not welcome in this area. Northern Virginia can be many things. A cesspool of traffic. A white liberal cross-section of society filled with unaffordable houses. The bedroom community of government workers. The ends of the yellow, blue, orange, and silver Metro lines. And, most importantly, a suitable substitute for “D.C.” when you tell people you don’t know ask where you’re from because it’s easier geographically. 

It is not, however, a place for fascists, bigots, and small minds. That goes double for the big white house just up the road from Old Town. 

But it’s not over. For now, we can be happy and breathe for the first time in four years. Tomorrow, let’s put our masks on and get back to work.

Donald Trump: You’re Fired (Angela H. Eng Photo/Offbeat NOVA)

Footnotes:

  1.  Patricia Sullivan, “The chocolatiers and the white nationalist, coexisting in Old Town Alexandria, The Washington Post, February 17, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2020, LINK.
  2.  Kim Olsen, “This Virginia Town Can’t Get Rid of Richard Spencer, and It’s Driving Locals Crazy,” The Washingtonian, August 1, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2020, LINK.
  3.  NBC4 Washington, “‘Alt-right’ Leader Loses Gym Membership After Confrontation,” NBC4 Washington, May 22, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2020, LINK.
  4.  James Cullum, “A Vigil to Bid Farewell in Alexandria,” Alexandria Gazette Packet, August 20, 2018. Accessed November 5, 2020, LINK.
  5.  Kaya Yurieff, “YouTube removes Richar Spencer and David Duke a year after saying it would ban supremacists,” CNN (online), June 20, 2020. Accessed November 5, 2020, LINK.