New Chinese restaurant for Rockville Pike, goodbye Bose & Papyrus, more closings ahead

Finally a new tenant for the onetime REI space at 1701 Rockville Pike: Da Yu, a high-end chain of Chinese hot pot restaurants, is moving in this spring. This will be the second U.S. venture for the China-based company, which has hundreds of locations overseas and debuted in New York last fall. Plans call for 190 seats in the former REI space, which has been empty since 2017 when the outdoor retailer moved to Pike & Rose. For more detailed renderings of the future Da Yu, check out Store Reporter on Facebook and Instagram.

Audio manufacturer Bose, an early pioneer of “experiential” shopping, is closing all 54 of its U.S. showrooms. Many of these stores have been open since the early 1990s, when Bose made a bet that audiophiles would pay more for its products if they could hear the difference for themselves. These days the company’s speakers, earbuds and noise-canceling headphones are mostly sold online. The Bose store at Westfield Montgomery mall is expected to close in June.

That’s a wrap for paper chain Papyrus, which is closing its 254 retail stores and will exit Westfield Montgomery mall in the next few weeks. The 70-year-old company, known for its elaborate greeting cards, gift wrap and stationery, has faced an ever-shrinking market in the 21st century. Although the stores are closing, Papyrus says its products aren’t going away; they will still be sold online and at other retail outlets.

Madison Reed Color Bar, an up-and-coming chain of hair salons, is on the way to Congressional Plaza. The shop will open this spring next to the new Barnes & Noble store, selling its own brand of hair color products and offering on-site coloring services for $30 to $60. (What won’t it offer? Haircuts.) This will be the second Montgomery County location for Madison Reed, which arrived in downtown Bethesda last month. Meanwhile, there may be more shakeups ahead on the hair scene: Hair Cuttery and Bubbles will be closing multiple locations in the next few weeks.