Store Reporter

Retail & Restaurant news for Rockville & Potomac. We know it all. And we like to share.

Kids & Teen Stores

Hello Urban Plates and LebTav, goodbye to half The Gap, two more closings at Rockville Town Square

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Urban Plates arrives

The Dining Terrace at Westfield Montgomery mall looks a whole lot different this week: Urban Plates officially debuts on Monday (March 11th), but crowds started lining up on Thursday with tickets to pre-opening events. The restaurant offers a fresh-cooked cafeteria-style menu of soups, salads, and sandwiches along with more elaborate entrées, baked goods and juices. For a look at the menu, click here. For a look at the interior, check out our photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Wink Eyecare Boutique
Realtor Lisa Nasar of Long & Foster

New look for Lebanese Taverna

LebTav, the new version of local favorite Lebanese Taverna, opened its doors this week a few doors down from its longtime home at Congressional Plaza. LebTav is smaller than its predecessor, with a pared-down menu of salads, pita sandwiches, falafel, shawarma, hummus and grab-and-go items. For more on the new format — and lots more about all the changes at Congressional Plaza — check out our Feb. 21 and  Feb. 28 editions.

Trio Jr.

Two more closings at Rockville Town Square

The exodus at Rockville Town Square continued this week when two neighboring businesses on Gibbs Street — Lab Cafe and Little Dipper Hot Pot House — closed their doors within days of each other. Lab Cafe, a bubble tea shop that opened in 2017, is the fifth business to fail at the same address since 2007. (Remember Bobby’s Crabcakes, Tippy’s Taco House, 82 Steak Out and Ev & Maddy’s?) Little Dipper also opened two years ago in the corner spot that once housed Noodles & Company. Add these two to the list of recent RTS closings that now includes Pandora Seafood House & Bar, Mellow Mushroom and LiquidBlue Denim Boutique, along with the neighboring Apollo restaurant. Dawson’s Market also closed last October, but it reopened in December under new ownership.

Realtor Jacqueline Band-Olinger of Greystone Realty

Rolling into Park Potomac

Roll by Goodyear has rolled into Park Potomac, opening a new store between Elevation Burger and The Wine Harvest. This is the space that once housed the Emily Grace boutique, most recently home to the pop-up Pooch Portrait Studio. Roll, which installs tires wherever you are, has blanketed Montgomery County with a half-dozen stores in the past few months.

Churchill Blast
Alice in Wonderland at Herbert Hoover Middle School

Big week for The Gap & Gymboree

Gap Inc. made so many announcements this week that even we found it hard to keep up. Number one, the company said it will close about half of its 500ish Gap stores over the next two years. Number two, it will spin off the thriving Old Navy brand into a separate publicly traded company. Number three, it will purchase the Janie and Jack kids’ clothing chain from bankrupt Gymboree Group. Meanwhile, Gymboree Group got some other good news when rival retailer The Children’s Place announced plans to purchase and “revitalize” what’s left of the Gymboree brand. Does that mean the Gymboree stores are no longer going out of business? The answer isn’t clear yet — and all these plans still have to go through bankruptcy court.

Diener Denim Plus Diamonds
mailto:publisher@storereporter.com

P.F. Chang’s, Old Navy and other mall rumors

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P.F. Chang's

 

A move for P.F. Chang’s?

P.F. Chang’s, one of the last remaining tenants at the nearly-empty White Flint Mall, may not be sticking around much longer. We hear the upscale Chinese restaurant could end up joining its former neighbor, Cheesecake Factory, in making the move to Westfield Montgomery Mall. Insiders say Montgomery wants to add more restaurants to the section where Cheesecake Factory moved last year, which so far includes Bobby’s Burger Palace, Aroma Espresso Bar and the soon-to-open Blaze Pizza. A furniture store in that area recently closed, and other departures are expected as the mall carves out space for more dining options. Even Old Navy is rumored to be on the way out — either leaving the mall altogether, or relocating to smaller quarters in another wing.

 

 

American Classic Clothes

 

Tale of a classic

Another tenant who made the move from White Flint to Montgomery Mall says she couldn’t be happier with her new digs. “My sales are twice what they were at White Flint,” says American Classic Clothes owner Lenore Briskman, who’s been designing and sewing traditional children’s apparel for more than three decades. Briskman opened her original store in Potomac Village after people admired the clothes she made for her own children. “My customers range from Nancy Marriott and other multimillionaires to the waiter at the Cheesecake Factory two doors down,” says Briskman, whose husband Robert was a founding executive with Sirius Satellite Radio. Still a bundle of energy at 78, Briskman says sewing and running the store are her favorite forms of relaxation. “The mall asked me when I plan to retire,” she says. “I told them, ‘When they throw dirt in my face.'”

 

Lilly Pulitzer scarf

 

Loving Lilly

Elsewhere at Montgomery Mall, it appears the new Lilly Pulitzer store is already a hit with all those super-coordinated women who plan ahead for summer family portraits at the beach. “The little girls are coming in with their mothers to get swimsuits, then the mom will get the beach cover-up or a dress in the same pattern, the grandma will get the longer shorts, and then they’ll get ties for the men to match,” says assistant store manager Kelly Fay. “They want to put together a great family photograph to remember their vacation.” Fay says the store also has been “flying through” its inventory of any pattern with a crab motif, including Maryland-themed scarves (sold only in this region) and the pink-and-green Get Crackin’ design shown here.

 

Chipotle in the Village, fresh choices at Starbucks, playgrounds on the Pike

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Chipotle Burrito

 

Chipotle in Potomac Village: Yes or no?

In our Feb. 4 debut issue we reported that Chipotle was heading to Potomac Village, taking over the former Chicken Out space next to Starbucks. But two months have passed now, and that still-empty storefront has seen little action beyond the parade of caffeinated burrito lovers sadly pressing their noses against its window. Meanwhile, Store Reporter has lost count of how many times she’s been emailed, texted and stopped on the street by people who want to know: Is Chipotle still coming? So she checked. And the answer is still yes. But it won’t open in early spring as originally planned; probably closer to late May or the beginning of June.

 

 

Starbucks La Boulange Chocolate Croissant

In with the new at Starbucks

Speaking of Starbucks: If you stopped at one this week, you may have noticed that all the baked goods have suddenly been replaced by a new menu from La Boulange, a gourmet bakery that was acquired by Starbucks in 2012. In other parts of the country where the new menu was rolled out earlier, customer complaints led to the return of a few old favorites like pumpkin bread and lemon loaf cake. And it appears the reception in this market has been decidedly mixed as well: A half-dozen local baristas told us that only the chocolate croissants are getting universally great reviews. So: What do you think of the new Starbucks menu? Tell us your thoughts on Store Reporter’s Facebook page.

 

 

Creative Playthings Swingset, Congressional Plaza

 

Sliding into Rockville Pike

Creative Playthings, the Virginia-based manufacturer of backyard playgrounds, has moved its swings and slides to a new home at Rockville’s Congressional Plaza. The shopping center location marks a new strategy for the company, which previously operated out of a Gaithersburg warehouse space. But the departure of Harry & David opened up a prime spot at Congressional, which caters to families with tenants like The Children’s Place, Child’s Play and Cartoon Cuts. “We certainly are getting a lot of traffic at this location,” says Creative Playthings store manager Dale Rawlings. “All the kids are coming through and pointing us out to their parents.”

 

Blazing fast pizza, Burton’s Olympic buzz, goodbye China Jade

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Blaze Pizza Assembly Line

 

Pizza in a flash at the mall

Blaze Pizza, a hot new concept from the founders of Wetzel’s Pretzels, will make its Maryland debut this summer at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The California-based chain, which has attracted such high-profile investors as Maria Shriver, is known for its Chipotle-style assembly line: Customers watch as their ball of dough is flattened into a crust, topped by their choice of 40 fresh ingredients, then flash-fired for two minutes in a super-hot oven. The Montgomery Mall location, which will open near Old Navy, is just the beginning for Blaze in this market. Virginia and D.C. locations are in the works.

 

 

Burton_patchwork_jacket

 

Olympic buzz for Burton

Excitement about the winter Olympics has been great for business at Burton, the Vermont-based snowboarding company. At its Westfield Montgomery Mall store, which opened last August with a broad selection of boards, boots and winter clothes, “jacket sales have been up crazy amounts” since the Olympics began, says assistant manager Cory Brown. But there’s one item in high demand that the store just can’t provide: the patchwork jackets worn by the U.S. snowboarding team. “Only the athletes can wear them right now,” Brown says. Not for long, though. A civilian version is coming later this year.

 

 

China Jade Bistro, Cabin John Shops

 

No more mu shu

It looks like we’ve seen the last of China Jade Bistro at the Cabin John Shopping Center. Doors have been closed for more than a week at the neighborhood eatery, which replaced the similarly named Jade Billows just a few years ago.

 

 

Mr. Potato HeadToy story

Also closing in the next few weeks, after two decades as a Potomac Village fixture, is the charming toy shop Toys Unique. “I’ve never carried computer games, Xbox or things like that — just good basic toys that don’t get outdated,” says owner Jarunee Chantraparnik, who is retiring. The mix of shops in Potomac Village has changed a lot in 20 years, she says, and her customers’ buying habits have changed too. “Now the younger parents seem to be doing everything through the Internet.”

 

New grocer in Potomac Village, Legal Sea Foods closes, steaks in downtown Rockville

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Potomac Grocer

 

New grocer in the Village

Potomac Grocer, an upscale market specializing in local, natural and organic foods, is finally making its long-awaited debut in Potomac Village. “We’re kind of like a Whole Foods or Balducci’s, but much smaller,” says owner Tom Spencer, noting that he’s put a lot of time into hiring the right staff. That includes two chefs — one dedicated to pastries, and the other focused on preparing meals to go. Potomac Grocer is on River Road next to Walgreens, in the space that spent decades serving horseback riders as The Surrey.

 

 

Legal Sea Foods logo

 

Legal no longer

Speaking of seafood: Boston-based Legal Sea Foods has closed its restaurant at Westfield Montgomery Mall. No comment from the company, which also shuttered locations in Florida and New York. As we told you last week, the mall plans to open several new restaurants and a movie theater later this year. But it’s still deciding what to do with Legal’s leftover space.

 

82 Steak Out, Rockville Town Square

 

Steaking a claim on Rockville

There’s a new place to eat in Rockville Town Square: 82 Steak Out has opened on Gibbs Street next to Noodles & Company. The concept is based on the French tradition of steak-and-fry eateries, says co-owner Anna Don, “but with an American twist” of a slightly broader menu — including sides like creamed spinach, cauliflower and sautéed mushrooms. Not to mention Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, which you definitely won’t find in Paris.

 

 

Pottery Barn Kids logo

 

Kids’ Stores R Gone

Toys R Us and Pottery Barn Kids both exited Rockville Pike in recent weeks as their former homes — Mid-Pike Plaza and White Flint Mall — draw closer to dates with the wrecking ball. PB Kids bounced back right away, opening a new location at Mazza Gallerie in D.C. But Toys R Us, which has struggled for market share in recent years, says it has no plans to reopen in this area. The next-closest store is in Gaithersburg.