Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurel Fisher.
Hi Laurel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I consider my story rather mundane, but it begins here: Born and raised in a small town in New Mexico, I spent my later formative years after my parents’ divorce in the suburbs near Mount Vernon off the GW parkway. After graduating high school, I flew down to Florida to visit a close friend in Clearwater. Much to my family’s dismay, I fell in love with Clearwater Beach and decided to decline going to college in one of my parent’s home states (NM or VA) and took a year off to obtain Florida residency before applying to colleges there. Which I did, but first I worked for a year as a server on Clearwater Beach. That was my first dip into the industry, and I never forgot the people I worked with and my experiences there. It was the first taste of the rush that comes with performing well under pressure in a restaurant setting.
Anyway, I did end up going to college-taking advantage of the cheaper tuition at SPC while I worked full time at Starbucks. I transferred a couple years later to USF and eventually got my degree in Criminology. Along the way, I got married at age 20 and had a beautiful baby boy at 21. Things did not go as planned- this was in the aftermath of the 2008 market crash that affected our area really badly and us personally since my husband was a tradesman. We split up, and within a couple of years I found myself back in the suburbs here trying to find a way forward as a single mom.
It was at this point that I remembered that getting a job as a server or bartender again would give me a fair amount of money for a small amount of time. Another benefit of this work was that I could spend the whole day with my young son and then go to work at night when he was mostly just doing the motions of dinner/bath/bedtime. This worked well for us until he turned 5 and needed to start school. Now my serving job was completely out of alignment with my job as a mom.
I had a friend that heard this struggle and suggested that I apply as a manager at the restaurant she worked at. In fact, she asked me to apply for the position that she had just quit. She told me that Del Ray in general was an amazing place to work and that the hours at DRP would be much more family friendly, so I pursued and got the job here as assistant manager. My time at Del Ray Pizzeria thus began in February of 2016. I fell in love with the “small town” feel of Del Ray and felt strongly that we had the best location on the Avenue. Within a year I was promoted to GM. I then found myself as operations manager for the company’s 4 concepts (split between 2 locations) while the owners were restructuring and dividing the company between them. I stayed working with the owners that kept the original location in Del Ray, and we weathered the pandemic and its aftermath together.
In 2023, the previous owners gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and I became the sole owner of the LLC in 2024. I was able to follow my heart after that and began testing out new concepts in the space upstairs. With the support of many neighbors and friends here, we decided to reboot the restaurant. So here I am, ten years later at the same restaurant – but now it is mine- and we are having a great time building our new identity while remaining respectful of our roots.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I feel like I touched on a couple of these in the last question since I got pretty long winded with it but main struggles were:
– Balancing running a restaurant with being a single mom. This was so hard (the long hours, the missed occasions, the stress and all the rest) and I worried so much about the effects it would have on my child, but I am so proud of the young man he has become. He is now 16 and works on the weekends as one of our best food runners.
– Navigating the pandemic and its aftermath. I would venture to say that the time spent rebuilding the business after the pandemic was even harder than pivoting during it. At least there was a ton of support from the neighborhood, city, and government.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Del Ray Public House?
This is a fresh reboot (April 2026) of DRP, formerly known as Del Ray Pizzeria. Since 2010, we have been serving some of the best pizzas on Mount Vernon Avenue. In our new incarnation as Del Ray Public House we are keeping those legendary pies but moving on to new frontiers of flavor with fire grilled steaks, burgers, and New Mexican specialties. From our website “DRP Celebrates a Century of Community
Welcome to your new favorite local legend. Del Ray Public House is a neighborhood restaurant with a roadhouse soul and a deep love for Alexandria. Our home at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Del Ray avenues has been a center of gravity for this community since 1908—the birth of the Town of Potomac! For well over one hundred years, these walls have witnessed the evolution of Del Ray.
Today, we continue that legacy by serving as a modern-day “public house”—a safe haven where hand-cut steaks and signature pies meet on a mission for good. We don’t just occupy this corner; we champion it. Through our multiple fundraisers and partnerships with local non-profits, we strive to leave the world better than we found it. Whether you’re stopping in for a quiet pint or a rowdy family feast, you’re part of a timeline that honors the past while building a brighter, more connected future.
Grab a seat, grab a glass, and join us in keeping the heart of Del Ray beating.”
We have also have 20 craft brews on tap, great wine and creative cocktails. We host trivia, karaoke, and Nascar weekly and have a great happy hour on weekdays. We also have special themed events advertised on our DRP eventbrite page.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
– Nothing is more important than building relationships with people. In the age of AI this is the only thing that is keeping you relevant, no matter what industry you are in. In the hospitality industry, it is more than relevant- it is your purpose. Take time to talk to people and connect with them. Build rapport with your guests and your neighbors. Network when needed.
– Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you choose to own or run a business for someone else, you are never going to get to the end of the to do list. In a restaurant, things will not always run smoothly and people can’t be perfect all the time. Focus on the big picture, prioritize the things that are actually important. The rest can either wait or be deleted, I promise.
– Find time to take care of yourself and reconnect with what you love beyond your career. Whether you are a solo hiker touching grass to recharge, or you are finally taking that vacation with your family you kept putting off because things kept coming up- do it. You need it. Have a drink with friends when you need. Forget about work for as much time as you can. This time will actually help you in your work because it will refill the cup of creativity that you need to be successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://delraypublichouse.com
- Instagram: drp_og
- Facebook: DelRayPub
