Store Reporter

Retail & Restaurant news for Rockville, Potomac & North Bethesda. We know it all. And we like to share.

ArcLight Cinema Bethesda

Duck Donuts, David’s Tea, Marmi Shoes & Chopt — plus a Sports Authority update

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 Duck Donuts assortment

 

Don’t duck these donuts

In another week or so, the Krispy Kreme at Fallsgrove won’t be the only place to get a hot donut fresh off the frying machine. Duck Donuts, a familiar name for those who work in Virginia or vacation at the Outer Banks, is set to make its Maryland debut on Rockville Pike. Duck, named after the North Carolina town where it was founded, has built a loyal following for its cakey donuts with unexpected toppings like bacon, chopped peanuts and maple icing — all of which can be mixed and matched to your tastes. Also on the menu: muffins, yogurt, breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Opening day could be as soon as next week at the Sunshine Square Shopping Center, 1327 Rockville Pike, in the former home of the Entenmann’s Bakery Outlet. From the buzz we hear, the lines are going to be long.

 

 

David's Tea Jellybean tea

 

David’s Tea set to open in May

Canadian retailer David’s Tea has confirmed our March 3 report that it will soon open its first Maryland store at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The move is part of a major expansion for David’s, which recently went public and hopes to open 550 stores in the U.S. and Canada. The Montgomery Mall store will carry tea-making equipment and 150 types of tea, from traditional and international infusions to seasonal selections like the Jolly Jellybean blend shown here. “We can’t wait to join this community and for Marylanders to discover our loose leaf teas and innovative products,” says spokesperson Marjorie Roux. David’s will be the third tea store at Montgomery Mall, joining Starbucks-owned Teavana and the independent shop Rumi Tea & Spice. 

 

 

 

Shoes in, hats out, toys back at the mall

Marmi, the women’s shoe store specializing in hard-to-find sizes, opens this weekend in the Nordstrom wing at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Sales and special deals will be happening all weekend long; see the ad below for details. This week also marks the return of the mall’s Smart Toys store, which had been closed for several weeks due to structural repairs. Meanwhile, two other mall tenants have exited in the past few weeks. Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too, a seasonal store that changes locations every year, will likely be back next winter. But the Lids hat store, whose products are now carried inside Macy’s, has closed its doors for good.

 

 

Chopt salad 600

 

Chopt opens at Congressional Plaza

Chopt had its long-awaited opening at Congressional Plaza last week, replacing the Plow & Hearth store near Starbucks. This makes four Chopt restaurants in Maryland and more than a dozen overall in the D.C. area.

 

Sports Authority logo

 

Sports Authority update

Sports Authority, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, has changed its plans for Maryland since our last report. The Gaithersburg store near Lakeforest Mall is now slated for closure, along with three other Sports Authority stores across the state. The Rockville store at Montrose Crossing is safe for now. Nationally, Sports Authority is laying off some 3,400 people and closing about one third of its 464 stores.

 

 

Westfield Montgomery Mall exterior

Who won our ArcLight movie tickets?

Congratulations to Store Reporter reader Emily Weiner, who won a pair of ArcLight Cinema tickets for our March giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered by sending in suggestions for our Kids & Teens Reader Favorites issue, which came out last week. Want to see which stores and restaurants got the most votes from our readers? Click here.

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José Andrés brings veggies to the mall, Potomac Village Deli on the comeback trail, new store for sleepaway campers

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Beefsteak-BEETsteak-sandwich

 

José Andrés brings veggies to the mall

Coming this summer to Westfield Montgomery Mall: a new vegetable-centered restaurant from local celeb chef José Andrés. Beefsteak, a year-old concept with two locations already open and two more on the way to D.C. and Philadelphia, is the newest venture from the man who brought us Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel and Minibar. The menu isn’t entirely vegetarian — you can top your meal with a poached egg or salt-cured salmon — but the focus here is on pairing veggies with grains, nuts, seeds and sauces. Pricing is moderate: Most dishes are less than $10, and the signature Beetsteak sandwich shown here sells for $5.99 with a side of chips. At the mall, Beefsteak will move into the Dining Terrace space that was recently vacated by Qdoba. (See our Feb. 11th issue for more on that.)

 

 

Potomac Village Deli logo

 

Potomac Village Deli on the comeback trail

Potomac Village Deli, which left the Village a decade ago to focus on its catering business, is making a comeback this spring — in The Kentlands. The new deli will take over the Gaithersburg location of its sister business, Potomac Pizza, where the owners say they’ll be serving pent-up demand for a kosher-style deli with matzoh ball soup, fresh-sliced meat sandwiches, lox and baked goods. Bagels will be provided by another sister company, Bagels ‘n Grinds, and the restaurant will continue to offer pizza and calzones in the evenings. Potomac Village Deli was an institution on Falls Road from the late ’70s until it closed in 2006, after which many customers continued to support the catering business. Owners say the pizzeria/deli switcheroo will not affect their other three Potomac Pizza restaurants in Potomac Village, Traville and Chevy Chase.

 

 

 

Bee Bee Designs camp items

 

Camp store on the way to King Farm

The winter weather is far from over, but sleepaway camp is already on the radar for many local parents. Enter Bee Bee Designs, a New Jersey-based camp outfitter that will open a pop-up shop at King Farm Village Center early next month. Bee Bee sells all the camp essentials and plenty of just-for-fun stuff, from packing trunks and personalized pillows to monogrammed stationery and custom camp lip gloss. Most of the business happens online, but the company operated a similar pop-up store in Bethesda last year to serve its sizable customer base in Montgomery County. Many people appreciate the chance to shop in person, says co-owner Brian Bailey — especially the parents of first-time campers. “A lot of our staff is made up of camp moms who just went through this themselves,” Bailey says. “For parents who aren’t quite sure what their kids will need, we offer one-on-one shopping appointments where they can get all of their questions answered.”

 

 

ArcLight Cinema, Westfield Montgomery Mall

 

Congrats to our ArcLight winners — and keep sending us your family favorites!

Congratulations to Store Reporter readers Marilyn Feldman and Jennifer Primerano, who each won ArcLight Cinema movie tickets in our February drawing. And thanks to all who entered by contributing suggestions to our upcoming Store Reporter Kids Issue. We are still taking nominations, and we’d love to hear your thoughts about the best kid-friendly businesses in the greater Rockville/Potomac area: restaurants, toy stores, children’s clothing stores, after-school classes… all the local places that you and your kids enjoy. To post your comments on our Facebook page, click here. To email your suggestions to us directly, click here.

 

 

Sorry, Jersey Mike’s

More than a few sharp-eyed readers caught our mistake in last week’s article about The Habit Burger Grill and Jersey Mike’s Subs. The two fast-casual chains are still scheduled to open at Wintergreen Plaza this fall, but we were wrong when we said that both were new to Maryland. It turns out that Jersey Mike’s already has several restaurants here, including one in The Kentlands. If you’d like to read the updated version of that story — plus some other news for burger fans from our Feb. 11th issue — you’ll find it by clicking here.

 

 

 

New businesses in Potomac Village, new direction for Coach, Tara Thai nears opening

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Fiber Arts Studio interior

 

Potomac Village shopping center goes family-friendly

Potomac Promenade, the Giant-anchored shopping center in Potomac Village, is finally bringing some new tenants to its long-dormant mini-mall. This week saw the openings of Kicks Karate and FiberArt Studio, joining the recently opened Kumon learning center as the mini-mall transforms into a family-friendly place where parents can drop off their kids while they pick up the groceries. “This used to be the mall that nobody goes to, but that’s changing now,” says fiber artist Anja Caldwell, who relocated her studio from Glen Echo Park. Caldwell will be teaching “everything grandma used to know,” from knitting and crocheting to sewing and felting. “This will be a happy place where we make hats, dolls, pillows, hair clips and jewelry,” she says. “I don’t allow glue or glitter. Everyone who leaves here will at least be able to sew on a button.” 

 

 

Old Coach store at Westfield Montgomery Mall

 

New direction for Coach

The Coach store at Westfield Montgomery Mall will reopen next month with a new look that reflects the company’s push to move beyond handbags into the world of “lifestyle brands.” Coach, which has struggled to regain its former caché with people who love purses, is renovating some 150 stores to showcase its expanding range of clothing and accessories for men and women. The new store will likely devote more space to footwear, reflecting the company’s recent acquisition of shoe manufacturer Stuart Weitzman. And you can expect fewer discounts, as Coach critics have complained for years that excessive markdowns were cheapening the brand.

 

 

 

ArcLight snacks

 

Who won our ArcLight tickets?

Congratulations to Store Reporter reader Rashmi Kalla of Potomac, who won last week’s giveaway for tickets to the ArcLight Cinema at Westfield Montgomery Mall. We’ll be handing out more ArcLight tickets in the weeks to come. Want to enter our next drawing? Just forward an issue of Store Reporter to your friends, then click here to tell us their names. For every one of your friends who subscribes, we’ll enter you AND them to win the next pair of ArcLight tickets. If you’d rather enter via our Facebook page, click here to find out how. Update: We’ve named the winners for this contest, but stay tuned to Store Reporter for more great giveaways.

 

 

Tara Thai logoNew Tara Thai to open next month

Tara Thai is putting the final touches on its new Bethesda restaurant, scheduled to open late next month in the former Legal Sea Foods space at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The 85-seat eatery, styled to resemble a Thai beach resort, will replace another Tara Thai that closed last spring in downtown Bethesda. This will be the 10th location for the popular chain, with five restaurants in Maryland and five in Virginia.

 

 

Potomac Village drugstore shake-up, Wootton Parkway grocery update, Marmi to the mall

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Walgreens Potomac Village

 

Potomac Village drugstore shake-up

The acquisition of Rite Aid by larger rival Walgreens will soon have a direct impact on Potomac Village, where the two stores stand across from each other on either side of River Road. One of those stores will almost certainly be gone by this time next year — but the question is, which one? Across the country, Walgreens is expected to shed as many as 3,000 stores over the next 18 months. In Potomac Village, we hear that execs are weighing the merits of the drive-through lane at Walgreens vs. the recent renovation at Rite Aid. Either way, about 25 people will likely lose their jobs.

 

 

Rockshire Village Center Giant

 

No Asian market for Wootton’s empty Giant

Here’s one question we get asked all the time: Is an Asian market really coming to the Rockshire Village Center across from Wootton High School? This rumor has been going around since the Giant store exited three years ago, leaving a few small tenants and lots of empty space at the ’70s-era shopping center. But so far, neither an Asian market nor anyone else has shown much interest in opening there. Bob Harris, an attorney for the property’s owners, says Giant still has one year left on its long-term lease — and after that, it’s likely the property will be torn down to make way for more housing. “This is a poorly located center that’s too small and has no visibility,” Harris says. “The community has asked us to go get another grocery store. But at this point, it doesn’t appear that’s going to be feasible.”

 

 

ArcLight Cinema interior

 

Win tickets to the ArcLight Cinema

Want to win some FREE tickets to the ArcLight Cinema at Westfield Montgomery Mall? All you have to do is share the scoop about Store Reporter! Forward this (or any) issue to friends who might not know about us, then click here to tell us their names. If your friends subscribe, both you and they will be entered into our ArcLight drawing. The more friends you tell, the more chances you have to win! Want to enter our ArcLight drawing via Facebook? Click here to find out how. Update: We’ve named the winners for this contest, but stay tuned to Store Reporter for more great giveaways.

 

 

 

Vaneli Jara bootFire & Ice out, Marmi to the mall

Moving out of Westfield Montgomery Mall after more than a decade: Fire & Ice, the gift shop on the second level near California Pizza Kitchen. The Baltimore-based chain says its lease is up at the end of January, and there are no plans for another location in this area. All remaining inventory of art glass, fossils, jewelry and handcrafts is now on clearance at 30 to 70 percent off. Moving into the space this spring: Marmi, the women’s shoe store that some may remember from Tysons Corner. Marmi specializes in hard-to-find sizes from Vaneli, Sesto Meucci and Eric Javits. For a sneak peek of what the store will carry, click here.

 

 

 

Solidcore logo blueNew gym opens at Wildwood

D.C.-based Solidcore just opened its first Maryland location at the Wildwood Shopping Center on Old Georgetown Road. This makes eight locations for the two-year-old chain, which features intense 50-minute workouts on Pilates-based Megaformer machines. Another Solidcore is set to open on Wisconsin Avenue this spring. To read more about Solidcore, click here for our Oct. 8th edition.

 

 

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Would you wear this scarf to temple?

The H&M store at White Flint Mall is long gone, but we couldn’t help noticing this week’s brouhaha over the beige fringed scarf with black stripes that was pulled off store shelves in Israel. The move came after critics charged that the scarf bore an uncomfortable resemblance to a tallit, the prayer shawl worn at synagogue by many observant Jews. H&M apologized over the controversy, stating that its only intention was to embrace this season’s fondness for stripes. The scarf is one of several tone-deaf fashion moves for H&M in recent years, following a tallit-inspired poncho and a tank top that layered the image of a skull on top of a Star of David.

 

 

New spa on the way to North Bethesda, Potomac jeweler returns, and another Asian market for Rockville — plus a Leila Jewels discount

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Woodhouse Spa massage

 

New spa on the way to North Bethesda

The Red Door Spa at Wildwood is about to get some serious competition: Woodhouse Day Spa, a Texas-based chain with more than three dozen locations nationwide, is on its way to the North Bethesda Market on Rockville Pike. The 6,000-square-foot spa will open this fall with a wide range of services from massages and mani/pedis to facials and “sleep treatments” (guided naps with aromatherapy and heated herbal compresses). The spa should mix well with some of the other health-oriented tenants at North Bethesda Market, including Whole Foods and Seasons 52. 

 

 

Robert Bernard Jewelers

 

Robert Bernard Jewelers partner to open new store

George Kaufmann, former co-owner of the Robert Bernard jewelry store at Potomac Woods Plaza, will soon be back in the jewelry biz. His new venture, Kaufmann Jewelers, is set to open in August on the ground floor of a condo building at Park Potomac — just around the corner from his former digs. Kaufmann, who closed Robert Bernard Jewelers last December after his business partner retired to California, says he wanted a fresh start as he brings son Corey into the business. “My own father, Herbert Kaufmann, had a store in D.C. from the 1940s on,” he says. “When I started doing business in Potomac in 2004,  I still had customers coming in who had gotten their engagement rings and bar mitzvah rings from my father. He would have been very happy that I’m bringing back the name in this new business.”

 

 

Leila gemstone necklace

 

Join us for some Pre-Mother’s Day shopping at Leila Jewels


Would you like some Mother’s Day gift inspiration — plus a chance to talk shop with the Store Reporter? Join us on Sunday, May 3rd from 2:00-4:00 p.m. for our Pre-Mother’s Day shopping event at Leila Fine Gifts & Jewels in the Cabin John Shopping Center. Say hello to the Store Reporter, enter a jewelry raffle, and take 15 percent off everything you buy — or 25 percent off a single item (like this gold vermeil “shaker” necklace with ruby crystals, $135). Use the discount for your mom, or buy something for yourself — we won’t tell. 

 

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New York Mart storefront

 

Asian market replaces Magruder’s in Rockville

New York Mart, an Asian grocery store based in Manhattan’s Chinatown, is scheduled to open this spring in the former Magruder’s space at College Plaza on Rockville Pike. We couldn’t find out much about New York Mart — their website is written entirely in Chinese, and no one answers the phones —  but the flagship store gets mixed reviews on Yelp, and it could be tough to win over new customers in an area that already has several Asian markets. Magruder’s, a family-owned grocery chain with a long history in the D.C. area, closed its last remaining stores in 2013. There’s still one store with the Magruder’s name in Washington, but it has new owners and sells only beer and wine.

 

 

ArcLight snacks

 

Congrats to the winners of our ArcLight Cinema ticket giveaway

Congratulations to Store Reporter readers Benjamin Alpert, David Chu and Andrea Savada, who won last week’s ticket giveaway to Beyond the Reach at the ArcLight Cinema at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Stay tuned for more great giveaways in upcoming issues of Store Reporter.

 

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