Mexican food

Thanksgiving shopping, Black Friday specials, new restaurants for the holidays

November 22, 2018 By Store Reporter Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving — and let the shopping begin

Just about the time you’re finishing that last piece of pumpkin pie, lots of stores will be opening their doors for the earliest Black Friday shoppers. Westfield Montgomery mall will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday — although some of the biggest stores, including Apple and Nordstrom, will be sitting it out until Friday. Most of Rockville’s major retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving, reopening as early as 6 a.m. for Friday morning door-busters. If you prefer a stress-free shopping experience, pay a visit to your local retailers like the ones at Cabin John Village. Many will be offering terrific Black Friday deals, and they’ll even handle the gift-wrapping for you. Scroll down for details.

Last hurrah for Sears and the Macy's Home Store

This will be the last Black Friday for Sears at Westfield Montgomery mall, and likely for the Macy’s Home Store as well. From what we hear, there’s a new Life Time Athletic fitness club and eventually a whole new Macy’s store on the way. More on these plans in our Oct. 25th edition. And stay tuned for next week, when we have some news about a big change happening on Rockville Pike.

Realtor Jacqueline Band-Olinger of Greystone Realty

New restaurants for the holidays

What’s new on the holiday dining scene? Flower Child, the new fast-casual restaurant at Travilah Square Shopping Center, offers a healthy, veg-heavy menu that makes a great counterpart to all those Thanksgiving calories. Nada, specializing in tacos and cocktails, opened its doors on Monday at Pike & Rose. We haven’t tried it yet, but the interior is lovely. And Julii, a new French/Mediterranean restaurant from the founders of Cava, will be opening down the street in about a week. This week we took a sneak-peek tour with chef Sasha Felikson, who’s supervising every detail from the Moroccan tagine cookware to the chocolate soufflés. Check out our Facebook page for photos of all three places.

Did you miss these issues?

Lululemon, beer and a new veggie restaurant — plus the return of Dawson’s Market

Holiday shopping at the mall: new stores, new sweets, new gift ideas — plus our November raffle winners

Julii and faux snow at Pike & Rose, Sugo is sold, Untuckit and tires at the mall

New eateries for Pike & Rose, Westfield Montgomery and Travilah Square — plus a fabulous holiday boutique show

What’s next for Cabin John Village, first look at Aldi, virtual reality at the mall

New eateries for Pike & Rose, Westfield Montgomery and Travilah Square — plus a fabulous holiday boutique show

November 8, 2018 By Store Reporter 2 Comments

New restaurants & more for Pike & Rose

This fall will be a busy one for Pike & Rose, with the Mexican restaurant Nada arriving this month and the much-hyped Julii not far behind. Nada, which calls itself a “taco and cocktail joint,” is set to open Nov. 19th across the street from Pinstripes. We’ll keep you posted on the opening date for Julii, a new venture from the founders of Cava that should be here before the holidays. Meanwhile: Seasons Oil & Vinegar Taproom, one of the first tenants to open at Pike & Rose, will be exiting after four years. Taking its place will be Olive & Loom, a gift shop specializing in Turkish towels and olive oil bath products. Opening is set for next spring.

Mall restaurant update: From the steakhouse to 7-11

This week we checked in on the dining scene at Westfield Montgomery mall, where Urban Plates and Poke Papa are now under construction in the former Naples space. But what’s up with Viva Japanese Steakhouse, which was supposed to have opened months ago across from the ArcLight Cinema? A peek through the windows reveals that little progress has been made since last summer, and the restaurant’s owner has not returned our messages. The mall says Viva will open around Christmas, but we have our doubts. Moving along to the other side of the Dining Terrace: A 7-11 (of all things) will be opening next to Chick-fil-A, and the gourmet popsicle shop we told you about last month is changing its name from Pop Culture to Frozen Stuff on a Stick. That one should be open in a few weeks.

Flower Child blooms at Travilah Square

Flower Child has opened its doors at the Travilah Square shopping center on Darnestown Road, offering a health-conscious menu in a fast-casual setting just across from the new Trader Joe’s. Created by the founder of True Food Kitchen, the restaurant caters to special diets from vegetarian and vegan to paleo, sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. Flower Child will open a second MoCo location next spring at the Wildwood Shops. For a look at the menu, click here.

Washington Hebrew Congregation Holiday Boutique

Join us for shopping, fun & a chance to win our raffle

The holiday season kicks off in Potomac this week with the annual Holiday Boutique & Silent Auction sponsored by the Women of Washington Hebrew Congregation. The show is just two days this year — Sunday, Nov. 11 and Monday, Nov. 12 — at the Julia Bindeman Suburban Center at Falls Road and Tuckerman Lane. We’ll be there both days at the Store Reporter table near the entrance. Stop by, say hello and enter to win one of our fabulous raffle prizes from show vendors. Participants this year include The Boho Eye, Elana Designs, Faye Mendelsohn Cosmetics, R Boutique, Stella M’lia, Susan Koehn Designs, Sweet Charma and Valerie Nahmani Designs. There’s no charge to enter our raffle, just drop your name in our jar at the show.

Did you miss these issues?

Lululemon, beer and a new veggie restaurant — plus the return of Dawson’s Market

Holiday shopping at the mall: new stores, new sweets, new gift ideas — plus our November raffle winners

Julii and faux snow at Pike & Rose, Sugo is sold, Untuckit and tires at the mall

What’s next for Cabin John Village, first look at Aldi, virtual reality at the mall

Swimming pool at the mall? Plus Anthropologie and a new Asian food hall

Adiós Mi Rancho, goodbye Taylor Gourmet, so long Silver Moon… and hello to Sweetgreen & a new boutique

September 20, 2018 By Store Reporter Leave a Comment

Here’s your retail & restaurant scoop for the week of Sept. 20, 2018.

Taylor Gourmet out, Sweetgreen in at Pike & Rose

Last week it was speculation, this week it’s a done deal: North Bethesda’s Taylor Gourmet will exit Pike & Rose just four months after it opened. Doors are scheduled to close Sept. 27th, although it could happen sooner. Last week the D.C.-based sandwich chain said it wanted to reduce real estate costs by ditching some of its larger locations, but this week it became clear that the entire chain is shutting down. Meanwhile, salad chain Sweetgreen announced plans to open at Pike & Rose next year on the ground floor of the new Canopy by Hilton/930 Rose hotel/condo complex. The health-oriented chain will provide a welcome counterpoint to its upcoming neighbors, BurgerFi and Sunday Morning Bakehouse. (Details on those in our July 26th and Aug. 30th editions.)

So long Silver Moon

One of our last remaining local gift shops, Silver Moon Jewelry & Accessories, is closing its doors at Congressional Plaza. Originally known as Tiara Galleries & Gifts, the 60-year-old retailer specialized in housewares and collectibles from the likes of Lladro, Swarovski and Waterford. As figurines and formal place settings fell out of fashion with younger buyers, the store rebooted in 2015 with a new name and a new focus: handbags from Vera Bradley and Spartina, jewelry from Pandora and Alex & Ani. With the recent passing of Irv Losman, son of founder Ruth Losman, Tiara/Silver Moon has run its course. The store will close on or before Nov. 30th.

Gym & Tonic athleisure boutique is now open at Park Potomac

Athleisure boutique opens at Park Potomac

Park Potomac has a new boutique: Gym & Tonic, featuring high-end workout wear and clothes that transition from the barre to the bar. The store opened last week next door to Addie’s, where it’s well-positioned to capture the crowds from Orangetheory Fitness on one side and Life Time Athletic on the other. For more on Gym & Tonic, click here.

Adiós Mi Rancho

Tex-Mex restaurant Mi Rancho has closed its red and green doors after a decade on Rockville Pike, where it sat between Party City and Yekta. Owners said they failed to reach a new lease agreement for the Rockville location, but they have no plans to close their other restaurants in Silver Spring and Germantown.

Indian food & sushi for Pike & Rose — plus bubble tea and more mall closings

March 8, 2018 By Store Reporter 5 Comments

More new restaurants for Pike & Rose

Pike & Rose is adding two more restaurants to its lineup, filling the empty spots left by the recently departed La Madeleineand Carluccio’s. Moving into the former La Madeleine space on Old Georgetown Road: Commonwealth Indian, serving beer, wine and cocktails along with a selection of Indian dishes. The Carluccio’s space next to Owen’s Ordinary will be home to Kusshi Sushi and Sake Bar, a new venture from the owners of Bethesda’s Hanaro Sushi. What else is scheduled to open at Pike & Rose this year? A ramen bar called Jinya (click here for more); a Mexican restaurant called Nada (click here for more); and Julii, a new concept from the founders of CAVA (click here for more).

Kung Fu Tea and Tutti Frutti at Pike & Rose

Kung Fu Tea kicks butt

The Tutti Frutti yogurt shop at Pike & Rose is now a Tutti Frutti/Kung Fu Teacombo. That makes three Montgomery County locations for the fast-expanding bubble tea chain, which also can be found in downtown Rockville and Westfield Montgomery Mall. A competitor, Boba Station, closed its doors at the mall last week. But another New York bubble tea chain is coming to test the waters: Gong Cha will open in Rockville this year as part of an all-Asian food court called The Spot. For more on The Spot, click here. For other bubble tea stores in our area, click here.

M. Gemi shoe bus at Westfield Montgomery Mall

Latest exits at the mall

More changes in store at Westfield Montgomery Mall, where some of the last remaining independent retailers will be among those exiting before summer. Shafa Blends, which opened three years ago under the name Rumi Tea and Spice, has relocated to Gaithersburg. Boba Stationis also out (see story above) and other longtime tenants like Solsticeand Pen Boutique are getting ready to leave. Hoamgar, an Asian chain that was testing the U.S. market, will close its doors this spring. Some of those empty spaces will likely be filled with attention-getting pop-up shops — like this minivan filled with Italian shoes.

Vince & Dominic’s no more

See that empty space to the right of the Bubbles hair salon? That’s where the Vince & Dominic’s pizzeria used to be. Home Depot, which owns that shopping center, has torn down some of the empty storefronts to make room for more parking.