New Coffee Guide To Highlight Alexandria's Local Coffee Shops Over Large Chains

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Around Alexandria's Potomac Yard shopping center, there are four Starbucks locations alone — a standalone Starbucks at the shopping center, one inside Target, one inside Barnes & Noble and one inside Starbucks.

If a resident or visitor didn't know any other options, they might settle for the large chain. But now, new guide being compiled by an Alexandria resident will inform them about all the city's coffee options that aren't large chains.

Damon Swisher, a government contractor pursuing publishing on the side, told Patch the Alexandria Coffee Guide will likely be released on Sept. 15 by Joyful Tern Publishing. The guide spotlights different neighborhoods around Alexandria and its local coffee shops.

Swisher, an Alexandria resident for five years, used to live in San Antonio, Texas and tested out drink flavors for Starbucks. After a while, he realized there might be better options out there for quality coffee.

"You don't have to try the good stuff to know there's better stuff. And that's sort of where I fell into and I started trying to find the better stuff," said Swisher. "And through that process, I was running into a lot of local businesses, small businesses, mom-and-pop places that actually had great quality coffee."

Swisher began reviewing coffee shops in his community and started a website. When he moved to Alexandria, he continued that same concept.

By 2020, he was ready to publish the first version of the Alexandria Coffee Guide. But with the COVID-19 pandemic causing in-person business to drop, he decided to wait.

Swisher noted how the drop in visits have hit local businesses, including coffee shops.

Now that in-person visits to coffee shops are increasing, Swisher believes it's time to share the guide to encourage more visits to coffee shops.

"It's pretty incredible the growth that's been occurring, I think, as far as coffee consumption goes on the consumer level," said Swisher. "Those numbers have reached pre-pandemic numbers, which is excellent. But you can imagine where we'd be if the pandemic didn't happen."

Alexandria's vibrant coffee scene gave Swisher plenty of businesses to spotlight, and he even observed several more open during the process of compiling the guide. The guide is broken down into sections by neighborhood: neighboring Crystal City, Old Town North and Del Ray, Old Town/King Street, and the West End.

In the guide, Swisher wanted to profile businesses rather than subjectively rate them.

"I think people can make up their own minds about the flavor of the quality," said Swisher. "But I think what they really want to know is, is it a place that I want to go to, that I feel like it's worthwhile for me to spend my time there."

Each coffee shop is listed with different hashtags to describe it, such as being near Metro, having outdoor seating or making their own coffee.

Swisher sees the guide as a useful tool for residents and visitors alike.

"In a highly transient area like this, it's a benefit for folks who are coming in who are going to be a short term...If they're coming in for the first time, or they're, they're visiting to find their home, whatever period of time they plan to be in the area, this is something that would be extremely valuable to them," he said. "The same thing goes for tourists, if they're, if they're going through the city, and they're coffee fans, some even have coffee tourists, this is a huge benefit for them."

For locals, they can stay informed on what businesses are open in their city. The guide includes a page in the front for residents to check off or rate coffee shops they've been to.

For anyone, the guide is an alternative to searching for coffee shops on a map app, where results will be flooded with Starbucks and Dunkin' locations. He points to the example of four Starbucks within a small area of Potomac Yard. But Swisher still has hope for Potomac Yard, as planned zoning for green space would allow for street vendors like a coffee cart.

So which coffee shops are his favorites? Swisher, a Del Ray resident, tends to frequent the coffee shops in his neighborhood. But he also enjoys places like For Five Coffee for making a "really great espresso blend" and gives a nod to unique experiences like Turkish Coffee Lady.

Along with the Alexandria Coffee Guide, Swisher is also putting together a DC coffee guide. That is a larger project to take on, as DC has about 160 local coffee shops to Alexandria's dozens.

When the Alexandria Coffee Guide is published, Swisher plans to sell it at places like the DC Coffee Festival on Sept. 30 and DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival on Oct. 7 and 8. He is also working with local places like Made in ALX, Shop Made in VA and local bookstores to promote it. He will also encourage Airbnb hosts to carry the guide, which can be a resource for visitors.

"I really do hope that folks who use this guy just have a lot of fun," said Swisher. "I hope it just really provides a nice activity for them, filling up the catalog. I hope folks get a good kick out of that and are able to enjoy that. If one person goes through the whole catalog, that would just be awesome."