New gym for Park Potomac
Orangetheory Fitness, a group-training gym that opened in The Kentlands two years ago, will head to Park Potomac this summer with a new location across from MoCo’s Founding Farmers. The fast-expanding chain, which offers heart rate-monitored workouts with intervals of cardio and strength training, will provide new competition for the eight-year-old Life Time Athletic club just around the corner. Orangetheory is the latest addition to Park Potomac’s growing list of upcoming tenants, which now includes a revamped Addie’s, Gringos & Mariachis, and the Italian coffee house Filicori Zecchini. Click here for more in our April 28th edition.
Outdoor craft market pops up in Potomac
Also on the way to Park Potomac this summer: URBNmarket, a pop-up showcase for vintage and locally made goods that’s making its first move outside downtown Bethesda. Modeled after similar shows in Philadelphia and Atlanta, URBNmarket features one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories, vintage and handmade clothing, beauty and pet products, gourmet foods, and home decor like these colorful table runners from Hen House Linens. “We’re really excited about this new location,” says co-founder Julie Greenstein, who created URBNmarket in 2014 with business partner Debbie Sonnenreich. Forty-plus vendors have signed on for the Park Potomac event; they’ll set up shop on the grassy area near Harris Teeter on Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th, accompanied by live music and a beer garden. A second show is slated for mid-July. For more info, click here.
New Trader Joe’s for Travilah?
Is Trader Joe’s heading to Darnestown Road? The Washington Business Journal says plans are in place for the grocery store to open at Travilah Square Shopping Center, where it would replace an existing Burger King and a small office building. This would be the second Rockville location for Trader Joe’s — hopefully with easier parking than the always-crowded lot at Federal Plaza on the Pike. When we spoke with Trader Joe’s this week, a spokesperson said the company wasn’t ready to disclose plans for Travilah just yet. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.
Dance company heading to Rockville Town Square
Opening next month at Rockville Town Square: A second home for Dawn Crafton Dance Connection, the Gaithersburg company that’s building out four new studios on Gibbs Street next to Bar Louie. Crafton, who’s been teaching dance since 1954, says she’s been eyeing downtown Rockville since her students started performing holiday shows there several years ago. The new space “has a real small-town community feel” that will allow parents to run errands while their kids are in class — something they never could do at her other space on Airpark Avenue, Crafton says. “It’s a big move for us, but there’s so much more for people to do here and I think it’s going to be fabulous.”
Share your favorites and win dinner at Sugo
For our next Store Reporter Favorites section, we’re asking our readers to tell us who has the best appetizers in town. From deviled eggs and roasted beets to fried calamari and tuna tartare, which restaurants do you recommend for the best light bites in greater Rockville and Potomac? Click here to comment on our Facebook page, or click here to email our editors directly. Everyone who weighs in will be entered to win a $60 gift card for one of our favorites: Sugo at Park Potomac.
Krispy Kreme deal is hot off the fryer
Krispy Kreme changed hands this week in a $1.35 billion deal that could turn the donut chain into a major player in the coffee market. The company’s new owner is JAB, a European firm that also controls Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee, Keurig Green Mountain and several other American coffee retailers. That means Krispy Kreme, which never was known for its coffee, will likely start serving one or all of those brands in the next 12 months. There’s also speculation that the new owners will finance a major expansion for Krispy Kreme — and that could spell trouble for Dunkin’ Donuts, which currently earns most of its profits from coffee sales.
Staples + Office Depot: The wedding’s off
Staples and Office Depot called off their merger this week after a successful protest by the Federal Trade Commission, which had warned that the deal would impair competition and lead to higher prices. Staples, the nation’s largest office supply chain, now has to pay Office Depot a $250 million “breakup fee.” Even so, analysts say it’s unclear whether Office Depot can survive over the long term.
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