Pure Barre in Potomac
Good news on the fitness front in Potomac Village: Pure Barre is on the way. The popular barre fitness chain is moving into the old Verizon space at 9935 Falls Road, in the same shopping center as Tally-Ho. Erin McNeill, a new franchisee for the Potomac area, says she fell in love with the Pure Barre format after trying every fitness craze during her nine years as a fashion buyer in New York City. “These classes were transformative for my physical fitness, my mental health and my overall well-being,” she says. McNeill hopes to open Pure Barre in the Village around October.
New pet store on the Pike
Say hello to Loyal Companion, a newly formed pet store chain that’s making a big move into the D.C. area. The company has spent several years acquiring regional businesses like Bark!, Whole Pet Central, Dogma and Kriser’s, all of which will now operate under the Loyal Companion umbrella. Fifty-two stores in Maryland, Virginia, D.C. and New England will hold grand reopening parties this weekend. In Rockville, that includes the former Bark! at Congressional Plaza and the former Whole Pet Central on East Gude Drive.
A comeback for Taylor Gourmet?
Taylor Gourmet, the sandwich chain that went out of business last fall, may be poised for an unexpected comeback. Washingtonian reports that a newly formed company has purchased the assets of Taylor Gourmet and is negotiating to reopen some locations. That could be good news for Pike & Rose, where Taylor Gourmet closed its doors last September after just four months in business. Stay tuned to Store Reporter as this story develops.
Straighter teeth at CVS
Weeks after the closing of a dozen Invisalign stores across the country, upstart competitor SmileDirectClub announced plans to open hundreds of shops inside CVS locations. SmileDirectClub offers a lower-cost orthodontia system in which patients receive their aligners by mail and doctors supervise their progress remotely. Invisalign closed all its stores, including the one at Westfield Montgomery mall, after arbitrators found that they were violating a noncompete agreement with SmileDirectClub.
Popsicle shop is frozen out of Maryland
Remember Frozen Stuff on a Stick, the gourmet popsicle shop that had a brief run last winter at Westfield Montgomery mall? Owner Joel Rogozinski, who had hoped to open elsewhere in this area, says his plans melted away once he realized the price of doing business here vs. his original location in northern Virginia. “The costs on anything from Pepco, minimum wage, business license, insurance, everything is much higher,” he says. “Although we love Maryland… it is financially too straining for a small business like ours.”
Hi, I was wondering if you know if the dental centers which CVS are opening our owned by Invisalign? Thanks!!
HI Yvonne, Invisalign has a small ownership stake in SmileDirectClub but it does not sound like Invisalign will be running these centers.
Can’t wait for pure barre!! So happy to have it close to home. Nothing like it