Swing's Celebrates Opening of New Coffee Bar

Elected officials lend a hand in Del Ray Business Association ribbon-cutting on E. Monroe Avenue.

M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters celebrated the opening of its new coffee bar on E. Monroe Avenue Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was attended by Mayor Bill Euille, Councilmembers John Chapman, Tim Lovain, Del Pepper and Justin Wilson and Sheriff Dana Lawhorne. The coffee bar, which serves coffee by the cup, espresso drinks and has iced coffee on tap, has been open for two weeks—the first week for a soft opening and then a following week of full service. • See: Swing's Prepares New Cafe • See: Swing's Officially Opens Coffee Bar The bar also offers selections from Alexandria Pastry Shop and coffee beans are available by the pound. Staff at the new facility is hosting coffee cupping events each Friday at 10 a.m. Neil Balkcom, a …

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Swing's Officially Opens Coffee Bar

Del Ray Business Association holding ribbon-cutting at coffee roastery Saturday.

The coffee bar at M.E. Swing’s Coffee Roasters on E. Monroe Avenue is officially open for business, the company announced Monday on its Facebook page. The bar held a soft opening last week. Swing’s will keep hours of 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and appease youth soccer parents at nearby Simpson Stadium Park on Saturdays with hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cafe, anchored by a long bar and featuring a variety of repurposed furniture, offers Swing’s signature blends of coffee, seasonal espresso drinks and a limited menu of non-coffee drinks. The bar includes cold-brewed iced coffee on tap. “We will be featuring pastries and a few savory items, but will not be doing any food prep,” Swing’s CEO Mark Warmuth told Patch in April…

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Swing's Coffee Roasters Prepares New Cafe

After opening its new coffee roasting facility in Del Ray in January, Swing's is preparing to open the doors on its new cafe.

M.E. Swing’s Coffee Roasters will officially open a cafe at its new facility on E. Monroe Avenue in the next week or so, according to Mark Warmuth, Swing’s president and CEO. The cafe, anchored by a long bar and featuring a variety of repurposed furniture, will offer Swing’s signature blends of coffee, seasonal espresso drinks and a limited menu of non-coffee drinks. The bar includes cold-brewed iced coffee on tap. “We will be featuring pastries and a few savory items, but will not be doing any food prep,” Warmuth said. “Look for items from Alexandria Pastry Shop for starters.”  Swing’s opened its new roasting facility at 501 E. Monroe Avenue in January, and the focus is squarely on coffee. • See: M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters Opens New …

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Gayle R.

1:10 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Agree with Amy - nicely said Nora. Seventeen years ago when Nora & Scott opened St. Elmo's, there were a lot of boarded up store fronts and besides 7-Eleven, there really weren't many places to walk to besides besides Los Amigos, Snuggery, store front churches, hair places, etc. Am thankful to St. Elmo's for having the vision and investing in Del Ray and am excited to see Swings open. We are very…   more ›

The Week's Top Story: Construction of Bell Del Ray Continues

Five-story, 276-unit luxury apartment complex expects to be completed by the second quarter of 2014.

Construction of Bell Del Ray Continues Along Monroe Avenue

Five-story, 276-unit luxury apartment complex expects to be completed by the second quarter of 2014.

Construction of a five-story, 276-unit luxury apartment complex titled Bell Del Ray by developer Woodfield Investments continues near the corner of E. Monroe Avenue and Main Line Boulevard. Crews began work on a parking garage for the complex in November. At the time, project planners were aiming to complete a six-level (one level below grade), 368-space parking garage by May 2013. • See: Construction of Monroe Avenue Development to Begin in November According to the Woodfield Investments website, the residential units—70 percent of which will be one-bedroom—will be completed by the second quarter of 2014. The apartments will be constructed around the garage, shielding it from view from the street. The complex will include a courtyard …

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Matthew Braun

1:27 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

It won't be any closer to the street that buildings on Mt. Vernon.   more ›

Busboys and Poets in Del Ray?

Del Ray Citizens Association President Bill Hendrickson believes Busboys and Poets would be a good fit on East Monroe Avenue.

By Bill Hendrickson President of the Del Ray Citizens Association  Busboys and Poets in Del Ray? That was the intriguing possibility raised at a meeting I had last fall with staff at the City’s Department of Planning and Zoning. The idea came up after I asked staff to examine reuse or redevelopment options for the Giant supermarket and CVS pharmacy sites on East Monroe Avenue. Giant plans to open a much larger supermarket in Potomac Yard in about three years, and it thus may close the much smaller store on Monroe. Staff is not optimistic about coordinated redevelopment of the Giant and CVS properties for the next several years to a decade or so. But staff took a look at possible options for a new tenant of the supermarket space if Giant …

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amy lu

10:24 am on Friday, March 8, 2013

Sean - I believe Bill is trying to start a community discussion about what Bill would like to see in Del Ray; quite similar to his effort of 12 years ago to rid Mt. Vernon Avenue of Jack Taylor Toyota (or any other automotive use). In the process of starting a community discussion, he's cut DRCA Land Use Committee members out (by withholding information). That too is just like he did 12 years ago…   more ›

M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters Opens New Facility in Del Ray

Monroe Avenue roastery currently open only for wholesale business.

M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters opened its new facility on Monroe Avenue in Del Ray on Monday for wholesale business. Customers looking to purchase a hot cup of Swing’s Coffee are going to have to wait a few more months until the facility’s café section is completed. Customers can visit the facility at 501 E. Monroe Ave. and purchase coffee by the pound from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. The building previously housed Gold Crust Baking Company. Swing’s Coffees, which has roasted beans in the Washington, D.C. area since 1916, had operated out of a roastery on S. Pickett Street in Alexandria’s West End since 1989.  “We just need a better area to conduct our business,” Swing’s owner Mark Warmuth told…

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Construction of Monroe Avenue Development to Begin in November

New 276-unit luxury apartment building with some retail space expected to be completed in late 2014.

Construction of a five-story, 276-unit luxury apartment building near the corner of Monroe Avenue and Main Line Boulevard will begin in November. The complex, which is referred to as Monroe Square at Del Ray East by developer Woodfield Investments, will include a six-level (one level below grade), 368-space parking garage and 3,500 square feet of retail space. Seventy percent of the units will be one-bedroom apartments. The retail space is not expected to house a restaurant. “We’ll take all-comers, but we want an amenity [for our residents],” Todd Jacobus of Woodfield Investments said at a meeting with neighbors on Monday at the Reingold office on Monroe Avenue. Jacobus said there is the potential to split the retail space into two …

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amy lu

12:17 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012

fyi, the YMCA parking lot is on private property but - in 1994 the Y verbally agreed to share their lot with City sponsored athletic uses in exchange for creating consolidated driveway, receiving a parking reduction, and allowing Y users to park in the Simpson Field parking lot. So feel free to park in the Y's underutilized lot. (I get a kick out of watching folks going to the Y to work out, as …   more ›

Swing's Coffee Aims to Begin Operations in Del Ray By End of Year

Wholesale operations at new Monroe Avenue facility will begin first, with a cafe opening sometime in the first quarter of 2013.

Mark Warmuth, president and owner of M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters, says he hopes to get his company’s new Monroe Avenue roastery open for wholesale business before the end of the year.  In June, Swing’s Coffee received approval from Alexandria City Council to open a new facility in the former Gold Crust Baking Company building located at 501 E. Monroe Avenue. While he hopes to get the wholesale business running before the end of the year, Warmuth said he is aiming to open a cafe section at the new facility perhaps sometime in the first quarter of 2013. Warmuth said he is still sorting out issues with contractors to get the interior of the facility constructed. He also has to transport the coffee-making equipment from Swing’s current facility…

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Swing's Coffee Set to Make Move to Del Ray

Coffee roaster receives approval from City Council to move into old Gold Crust Baking Company building.

M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters is moving from the West End to Del Ray. Swing’s Coffee received approval from Alexandria City Council on Saturday to move into the former Gold Crust Baking Company building located at 501 E. Monroe Ave. Swing’s will turn part of the space into a cafe.  The company has roasted beans in the Washington, DC area for almost a century and, since 1994, has operated out of a roastery on S. Pickett Street.  The Monroe Avenue location will be for coffee roasting, storage, wholesale distribution and office space. The floor plan also includes a coffee cupping room for wholesale customers to test and sample various roasted coffees. The cafe, which will face E. Monroe Avenue, is also expected to sell premium chocolates and …

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