Upper King Street Grows as Specialty Food District

King’s Street’s waterfront may draw the most tourists, but specialty food enthusiasts are flocking to the street’s upper end for fresh meat, cheeses and wines.

“There’s a lot of people from the neighborhood, a lot of locals, that appreciate good food,” said Sebastien Tavel, owner of La Fromagerie, an upper King Street specialty cheese store. “And I know for a fact that on weekends they do their little rounds. … So there’s definitely a crowd of foodies, food enthusiasts, I should say, that just go around and patronize all of us, which is great.”

opened in 2009 and recently completed a renovation that allows for indoor bistro dining. Tavel estimates about 60 percent of La Fromagerie shoppers are regular customers.

In recent years, stores offering fresh cuts of meat, exotic oils, fine wines and other delicacies have opened shop in the upper King Street area, serving both tourists and a growing number of loyal, local customers. The new shops add to Alexandria’s reputation as a culinary destination, said Stephanie Pace Brown, president and CEO of the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, in a statement.

“The increase in specialty food stores adds another rich dimension to our foodie brand, which is an enticing hook that attracts visitor spending to our local businesses and generates tax revenue for the city,” Brown said.

, an olive oil and vinegar tasting room and shop, opened in June. Mike Willimann, co-owner, said one reason he and his wife chose to locate the shop on upper King Street was to attract local customers. Upper King Street is also more accessible for shoppers than the lower end, he said.

“Parking is readily available,” Willimann said. “You can get in and out and relatively quickly, and it has a little bit of something for everybody.”

An estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of Olio’s customers are repeat local customers, he said.

Willimann also likes that the district is filled with well-established businesses and boutiques. The specialty food stores are also collaborating to produce cross-promotions, he added.

“It’s becoming almost a community of retailers working to promote business, as well,” he said. “They’re not just in it for themselves. They’re in it for all of us.”

The upper King Street area is seeing a resurgence of interest from consumers, particularly fine food and wine enthusiasts, said Bryan Smith, wine specialist at , which opened in November 2010.

“Our clientele is almost solely neighborhood traffic,” Smith said. “Most people live within walking distance of the wine shop. Most people pick up five or six bottles per trip, and most of our business is being a neighborhood wine shop.”

Le Tastevin and Olio ran a cross-promotion in December. When customers made a purchase at Le Tastevin, they received a discount coupon to use at Olio, and vice versa. Smith said the two shops plan to continue the promotion on a Saturday-only basis for the foreseeable future.

“It works so well,” he said. “It’s a very similar clientele – those who cook and those who consume fine wine.”

—a sister business to the restaurant Brabo that opened in 2009 – carries breads, meats, cheeses, Belgian beers, wines, prepared food and take-home meals. Manager Pamela Doherty said the shop benefits from both tourists staying in the nearby hotels and locals.

“We’re sort of first thing (tourists) have an opportunity to see, so it’s a great thing,” she said. “They don’t have to go down to the water. … But we are very much a part of the neighborhood. We are a butcher’s shop, so we definitely have the regulars we see three, four, five, six times a week.”

The Butcher’s Block and nearby food shops benefit from a growing, national “foodie” movement among people in their 20s and early 30s, Doherty said.

“There’s a movement of people wanting to be more connected to their food source and wanting to be more connected to nourishing themselves,” she said.