New seafood market may be on the way
Good news for fans of fresh seafood: We hear that a new gourmet fish market will soon be setting up shop near the border of Potomac and Rockville. The owner, who has many years of experience in the seafood industry, has his eye on a location that’s convenient to both areas — but not too close to Potomac Village, which already has two gourmet markets of its own. Stay tuned to Store Reporter for more details when the deal is done.
White Flint Mall — finally ready to come down?
The owners of White Flint Mall won a victory in federal appeals court this week when a judge ruled against Lord & Taylor’s attempt to stop the property from being redeveloped. The department store, which owns its own building and has no plans to leave, is the only tenant left at the once-luxurious mall after owner Lerner Enterprises allowed all the other leases to expire. Lerner plans to demolish the property and replace it with an open-air mix of retail, restaurants, offices and living space. Lord & Taylor took Lerner to court in an effort to force the company to repopulate White Flint Mall instead of tearing it down. But an appeals court judge said that plan wasn’t realistic. The redevelopment project still has some governmental hurdles to clear, but this week’s decision means it’s now just a matter of time before the wrecking ball arrives.
Congrats to our Stella Barra gift card winner
Congratulations to Store Reporter readers Tammi Cortez, Helaine Shabrin Groeger and Scott Reilly, who each won $25 gift cards to the new Stella Barra Pizzeria at Pike & Rose. Keep reading Store Reporter for a chance to win more great giveaways. And scroll down to our Sales & Events section to find out what restaurant is opening at Pike & Rose this weekend.
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Costco says goodbye Amex, hello Visa
Just weeks after announcing its impending breakup with American Express, Costco has moved on to a new credit card partner. Starting in April 2016, Visa will be the only credit card that Costco accepts. Also on the way out is the the Costco American Express TrueEarnings card, which will be replaced next year by a co-branded Costco Visa. Still to be determined: whether that new Visa card will offer the same level of generous cash-back rewards.
Goodbye — again — to Konplott
Speaking of goodbyes, this week we bid adieu for the second time to Konplott at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The four-year-old store had been the first U.S. location for the European retailer, which sells an eye-catching line of colorful crystal pieces by designer Miranda Konstantindou. This was the second exit in less than a year for Konplott, which vacated its store near Macy’s last spring but later resurfaced in the form of a kiosk outside Nordstrom. This time the departure appears to be permanent: Konplott’s phone number is no longer in service.
Reader Favorite: French baguettes at Breadsmith
Our Reader Favorite section is the perfect place to tell us about that dish you dream about, that dessert you crave, or that go-to gift from your favorite little shop. Click here to share your favorite — and read on for a recommendation from one of your neighbors. Sheila Weiss of Potomac can’t get enough of the crusty French loaves at Breadsmith in the Cabin John Shopping Center (not to mention the store’s delicious fresh-out-of-the-oven aroma). “They stock authentic French baguettes ($2.50), soft and chewy inside with a wonderful crust,” says Weiss, who works as chief science officer for DrugLogic in Reston. “I always skip the soggy supermarket version and head over to Breadsmith for the real thing.”
At the corner of Wooten Parkway and Tower Oaks, a building has a big sign that says “Stanford Grill” coming soon. It has been that way for a while. Any information on it? Will it be a real restaurant or will it be one of those typical office building cafe’s?
That’s a good question; we’ve been wondering the same thing. Stanford Grill is a well-regarded restaurant in Columbia, MD. The Rockville restaurant will be its second location, but it does seem that construction is taking longer than expected. We’ll follow up on this and will report back in a future issue.
You are so right, there is no other breads as good as the ones at
BREADSMITH, all of them, the real thing,just like breads should taste, delicious, a pleasure to sink your teeth into,
Missing them, and wondering if any news on a new location for The Original Ambrosia, the Greek restaurant that used to be at Montrose Crossing?
The last we heard, they were still looking for a new location in the area. We’re not sure if or when that will happen.
I love your newsletter. It has great information.
I like your newsletter. I have learned a lot of interesting things about new restaurants and what’s going on at malls.
Thank you so much. We’re working hard to build our subscriber base, so please tell your friends about us!
Any insight into who is opening the seafood store in white flint? I live right around the corner and I love seafood but it’s hard to find goood seafood around here.
Can you give us a little more detail? We can’t yet reveal the location of the store that we wrote about this week. We haven’t heard of a seafood store opening in the White Flint area — but if you know of one, please let us know.