BCBG Bethesda closed

Sur La Table, H&M, Red Door Spa, hot pots and bagel balls

September 8, 2016 By Store Reporter 1 Comment

New tenants for Pike & Rose

Pike & Rose is building an impressive list of tenants for its second phase, now under construction at Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road. In addition to REI and a Pinstripes bocce and bowling center, here’s who else is heading to Pike & Rose:

Sur La Table: This high-end kitchen store will fill the void left by Williams-Sonoma’s departure from the doomed White Flint Mall.
H&M: The fast-fashion retailer, which also lost its home when White Flint was demolished last year, is making a welcome comeback to North Bethesda.
Red Door Salon & Spa: This is the second Bethesda location for Red Door, which also can be found at Wildwood Shopping Center.
Sephora: It’s also the second Bethesda location for the beauty retailer, which just expanded its presence at Westfield Montgomery Mall.
Taylor Gourmet: The D.C.-area hoagie chain is known for its made-from-scratch ingredients, including vegetarian and gluten-free options.

A “town square” vibe for the Apple Store?

While everyone is busy obsessing over the iPhone 7, we’d also like to mention that the new Apple Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall is going to be even bigger than we thought. In addition to taking over the spaces that previously belonged to BCBG and Teavana, the expansion is now expected to include a portion of the former Sephora store as well. Apple hasn’t revealed what it’s going to do with all that square footage, but Fortune reports that the company’s new stores are going for a “town square” vibe with visually inviting Genius bars, expanded seating areas, free Wi-Fi and even live music. To read more in Fortune’s interview with Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts, click here.

Chinese hot pot heading to Rockville

Taking over the Noodles & Company space at Rockville Town Square: Little Dipper Hot Pot, a locally owned restaurant that’s scheduled to open early next year. Little Dipper serves Chinese-style soup with noodles and vegetables, accompanied by a plate of raw beef, pork, lamb or seafood that’s cooked right at your table via a flame beneath your bowl. This will be the second restaurant for owner Kevin Lui, who opened the first Little Dipper last winter in Falls Church. “Rockville has the right demographics and a market that needs this type of cuisine,” Lui says. For more on Little Dipper, click here.

Teen beat: PacSun, Aéropostale and Allure

Teen retailer PacSun emerged from bankruptcy this week after closing only 20 of its 590 stores and reducing its rents at others. The PacSun store at Westfield Montgomery Mall has remained open throughout the process — as has the mall’s Aéropostale store, which has been in bankruptcy since May. But the mall did lose one teen retailer over the summer: Allure, which carried special-occasion dresses, closed its doors in August.

Starbucks rolls out Bantam Bagels

This week Starbucks added a new grab-and-go food option: bite-sized bagel balls in three cream cheese-stuffed flavors, priced at $2.95 for two. Bantam Bagels are made in New York by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Elyse and Nick Oleksak, who came to national attention after a 2015 appearance on Shark Tank and a $275,000 investment from shark Lori Grenier. Click here for more on the Bantam story.

What went down while you were out of town

With Labor Day behind us and the kids back in school, Store Reporter will be landing in your inbox every Thursday once again. If you missed our summer issues, and you’d like to catch up on what opened and closed while you were away, you can find it all at our website: www.storereporter.com.

Beefsteak opens, Apple Store update, Flora’s flies the coop

June 23, 2016 By Store Reporter Leave a Comment

Beefsteak ready to open at the mall

Beefsteak, the new veggie-centric restaurant from celeb chef José Andrés, is set to open next week in the Dining Terrace at Westfield Montgomery Mall. A fast-casual concept from the man who brought us Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel and Minibar, Beefsteak has rolled out five locations in its first 15 months as Andrés sets his sights on a national expansion. (Investors include actress/health guru Gwyneth Paltrow.) The menu isn’t entirely vegetarian — you can choose to 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. Click here to check out the menu for yourself.

Apple Store closing pushed back again

It’s been almost three months since we broke the news that the Apple Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall would be closing for a major expansion. But while the other predictions in our April 4th report have all come to pass (see story below), the start date for the Apple renovation has been pushed back from late April to early May to a new projection of “sometime this summer.” Apple will be taking over the adjoining storefronts once occupied by BCBG and Teavana, rolling the whole space into a massive new store that was supposed to be ready before the holidays. The longer it takes for construction to begin, the more challenging that timetable will become. Either way, Apple fans will likely find it worth the wait: Click here for a Bloomberg report on the company’s striking new store in San Francisco.

On the move: Sephora, Teavana & Kay Jewelers

While the Apple Store expansion is on hold until later this summer, construction is moving forward on three other stores in the Macy’s wing at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Sephora is moving into a larger space across the hall from its current location, which will remain open during construction. Teavana, which closed in April to make room for the Apple expansion, is building a new store of its own just down the aisle. And Kay Jewelers, as we predicted in our April 4th report, will be moving out of its corner spot to a new home next to Swarovski. All three stores should be open by early fall.

Flora’s flies the coop

Closing this summer after 12 years: Flora’s Feathered Nest, the artsy Potomac gift shop in a quaint two-story house at 12211 River Road. Flora’s fans appreciated the store for its creative displays and one-of-a-kind gifts, from herb gardens in the summer and holiday decor in the winter to giant clocks, nautical accessories and farm-themed artwork. “I loved my customers and made some great friends along this journey, but the square footage here is just too big to maintain,” says owner Marcia Copenhaver, who is contemplating whether to retire or reopen in a smaller space. “I simply need to take a break and reevaluate how much time and energy I want to devote to my passion.” In the meantime, three-year-old JT Interiors will have the Potomac Village gift-shopping market to itself.

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Why Blaze closed, World of Beer, Hardwood Artisans and Sport Authority

May 26, 2016 By Store Reporter 1 Comment

Why Blaze closed — and what happens now

This week Blaze Pizza fans were shocked by our May 23rd report that the restaurant had closed its doors at Westfield Montgomery Mall. But take heart: A Blaze rep tells us the California-based chain is looking to open elsewhere in this area. The decision to close at the mall was made “after lease negotiations proved unsuccessful, and with respect to a combination of other factors including alterations to mall entrance signage,” says Blaze spokesman Joshua Levitt. In the end, he says, “We felt moving this location was the best strategy to the long-term health of the brand.” Stay tuned to Store Reporter for the latest on what’s cooking at Blaze. In the meantime, superfans can visit the next-closest locations in Laurel, College Park and Baltimore.

Other mall departures

Cleo’s Oil Bar, which opened just a year ago at Westfield Montgomery Mall, made a quiet exit last month after sales didn’t pour in as expected. Cleo’s had featured a winery-inspired layout where visitors could belly up to the bar for samples, then sip them from a seating area near the Godiva store. “Just didn’t fly,” sighs co-owner Linda Cameron, who continues to operate her original store in Annapolis. Cleo’s isn’t the only business to depart the mall in the last few weeks. Others include BCBG and Teavana, whose spaces will be taken by the expanding Apple Store (click here for more), and the restaurants Jamaican Mi Crazy and Lobster ME, which both closed on Monday along with Blaze Pizza (click here for more).

World of Beer opens in Rockville

Opening on Memorial Day in downtown Rockville: World of Beer, with 4,200 square feet of indoor/outdoor seating on the ground floor of the new Upton apartment building on Maryland Avenue. This will be the third Maryland location for the Florida-based company, with a fourth to follow in downtown Bethesda later this year. General manager Patrick Costello says customers can expect “a lively, fun and casual atmosphere, with 50 rotating taps, a great selection of locally made beers, an old-fashioned cask engine, and an infusion tower for making beer flavored with fruits and herbs.” The tavern-style menu is focused on burgers, wings, flatbreads and giant Bavarian pretzels. To check it out for yourself, click here.

Hardwood Artisans exits Rockville

The changes keep coming at Federal Plaza on Rockville Pike, where Ruby Tuesday closed last week and Hardwood Artisans is on the way out after nearly two decades at the same location. Demand for custom furniture has diminished in the current economy, a spokesman tells us, and business at the Rockville store had been slow for several years. Maryland customers can visit Hardwood Artisans at its recently opened location on St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda, which showcases a new line of space-saving condo furniture (click here to check it out). The Rockville store will close at the end of June. Who’s moving in? Payless.

Sports Authority’s final exit

This week Sports Authority kicked off its nationwide going-out-of-business sale, which will continue through the end of August. Returns and exchanges can be made through June 25th, store gift cards will be honored through the 28th, and extended warranties on Sports Authority products will remain in effect via a third-party company. But if you were planning to redeem the points accrued from your Sports Authority Loyalty Program, you’re out of luck: They just expired.