Captain Gregory's Speakeasy to Open Thursday in Alexandria

Captain Gregory’s will be opening its doors starting Thursday night in Alexandria. The speakeasy is located inside Sugar Shack, the donut shop opened earlier this year by former Del. Rob Krupicka.

Captain Gregory’s, at 804 N. Henry St., is named after Hanson Crockett Gregory, the inventor of the hole in the donut. “One story says that on June 22, 1847, Captain Gregory’s ship hit a sudden storm,” says the Nussbaum teaching Web site. “He impaled the doughnut as a spoke on the steering wheel to keep his hands free. The spoke drove a hole through the raw center of the doughnut. Captain Gregory liked the doughnuts better that way, and the doughnut hole was born.”

(In the second story, he didn’t like nuts, so he poked them out and ordered the ship’s cook to remove the centers from doughnuts, Nussbaum says.)

The Alexandria bar is a small, intimate, unique hand-made food, dessert and cocktail speakeasy hidden inside the Sugar Shack Alexandria donut shop. The bar can only seat about 22 people at a time. The hours this weekend will be from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. (last call at midnight), Thursday through Sunday.

Reservations and walk-ins are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Reservations are accepted via text, at 1 (571) 281-0059. The bar will get back to you in the order your text is received. The bar says in a Facebook post about the opening that “If you don’t receive a text response confirming your reservation, you are free to try and walk in, but we can’t guarantee you a place.”

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PHOTO of Captain Gregory’s courtesy of business, via Facebook page