BUSINESS PROFILE
LANI GERING
Mae’s Market & Café – A South Washington Street Gem
M
any of you readers With the opening of several may not be aware “coffee-centric” establishments of this gem that of late in Old Town, Mae’s has an is just 2 blocks off impressive Espresso/Coffee/Tea/ of the beaten path Kombucha counter on top of a deli, in Old Town Alexandria. Since daily pastries and a self-proclaimed August of last year, Mae’s Market “edited grocery and bodega filled & Café has been occupying the with house-prepared foot and space in the Atrium Building pantry items”. (277 South Washington Street) In researching Mae’s on the where Eat Good Food group ‘interwebs’, I found that there is opened Society Fair several years quite a bit of information on the ago. After the demise of SF in the café/food side of the business but MAE’S MARKET & CAFÉ summer of 2019, the space stayed not much about the grocery and 277 South Washington Street vacant until then. bodega side. I believe that just Old Town Alexandria Mae’s is the brain child of Chef looking at the photos you can tell 703-664-0445 Nicole Jones – think Stomping Mae’s stocks a myriad of products Maesmarketandcafe.com Ground and Bagel Uprising in ranging from eco-friendly cleaning M-S 8am-7pm the Del Ray section of town – supplies to classy cocktail mix. The Sun 8am-6pm and is named for her Lithuanian majority of the pantry items lean great grandmother. I have been toward the healthy side and include told that Great Grandmother Mae taught Jones how many organic, gluten free and vegan options. There to cook and is responsible for many of the original is something for everyone here. recipes used in many of the items in the pastry case. The beer and wine selection at Mae’s is also very
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April 2022
impressive as is the prepared food case. They carry some fun novelty items (they even have Peeps for Easter) that are reminiscent of the old Society Fair. If you were a frequent customer of SF, you will get the same great feeling that you had then when you walk in the door at Mae’s. There is something very welcoming about the vibe. Plans are in the mix to return the bar area into full service and expand the menu to include dinner. As of now, the majority of the seating for the cafe is in this room. This space also opens up directly into the “atrium” of the building so visitors and employees have easy access to the market and café. Living just one block to the south of Mae’s, I feel guilty that we haven’t taken more advantage of the deli and market aspects of the place over the last 7 months. It has always been our intention to do all we can to support local businesses and in the past using the “convenience” excuse was easy but now that doesn’t hold water. In fact, after I was done with my information gathering and fantastic butter croissant, I bought a much needed half gallon of milk to take home.
Old Town Crier
