BCBG closed Westfield Montgomery Mall

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.

Addie’s comeback, Apple update, new Irish restaurants and another retail bankruptcy

April 21, 2016 By Store Reporter 1 Comment

Addie’s heading to Park Potomac

Addie’s, the beloved Rockville restaurant that closed its doors three years ago, is making plans for a comeback. Owners Jeff and Barbara Black have signed a lease for 4,000 square feet at Park Potomac, where they’ll try to recreate the old Addie’s magic with indoor/outdoor seating and some of their original menu items. The Blacks, who own a half-dozen restaurants including BlackSalt, Black’s Bar & Kitchen and Black Market Bistro, have said they closed Addie’s primarily because the little yellow building was in such disrepair. That issue also caused delays for their successor, D.C. caterer Helen Wasserman, who spent two years on renovations before opening Helen’s Bar & Grill just last week. For more on Helen’s, click here for our April 7th edition.

New closing date for the Apple Store: May 7th

The Apple Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall has pushed back its closing by a week, setting May 7th as the new date for the start of its expansion in the Macy’s wing. Apple is taking over the space formerly occupied by BCBG and Teavana, with a reopening planned for this fall. The neighboring Sephora store also is expanding this summer, but in Sephora’s case the current store will remain open while the new one’s under construction across the hall. For more on these and other changes to the Macy’s wing, click here for our April 4th special edition.

Two Irish openings

It’s a month too late for St. Patrick’s Day, but two new Irish restaurants have opened their doors in the Rockville/Potomac area. Lahinch, from the owners of the Irish Inn at Glen Echo, offers a menu of Irish and American dishes in the former Benny’s space at Cabin John Shopping Center. And over at Rockville Town Square, Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub has opened for business at the Gibbs Street space formerly occupied by Carbon Peruvian Chicken.

Another sports store files Chapter 11

In the wake of last month’s Chapter 11 filing for Sports Authority, this week we noted the bankruptcy of Delaware-based Vestis Retail Group, parent to Eastern Mountain Sports, Sport Chalet and Bob’s Stores. None of those chains had a presence in Montgomery County (although Eastern Mountain does have a store in Virginia), but this latest bankruptcy suggests that the shakeout of big-box sporting goods stores isn’t over yet. In our area we’ve also seen the demise of City Sports (which lasted just a year at Pike & Rose before the whole chain filed Chapter 11) and local retailer Hudson Trail Outfitters, which closed all of its stores last fall.

Spring shakeup at the mall: Apple, Sephora & more

April 4, 2016 By Store Reporter 4 Comments

Mall moves

While many of us were spending spring break in the Big Apple, Westfield Montgomery Mall was busy planning a Big Apple of its own. Insiders tell us the mall’s Apple Store is about to undergo a huge expansion, setting off a major reshuffling of the Macy’s wing that involves Teavana, Sephora, BCBG and possibly Kay Jewelers. Neither Apple nor mall officials would confirm anything just yet, but we hear the spring shuffle is already a done deal — and we couldn’t wait until Thursday to tell you. Here’s a rundown of what’s ahead:

The Apple Store will take over the space currently occupied by its next-door neighbor, Teavana, as well as the storefront where BCBG just closed. If you have any Apple items that need attention, you’d better move quickly: We’re told that the store will be closed during the renovation, which could begin as soon as next week. The bigger and better Apple Store will make its debut this fall.
Teavana will close its doors as the Apple expansion begins, with plans to return in late summer with a new store just across the aisle. There’s plenty of available space in that section of the Macy’s wing, where Hollister recently closed and Abercrombie & Fitch moved downstairs. When Teavana does reopen, it will face a formidable new competitor: Canadian retailer David’s Tea is about to open just around the corner.
Sephora also is moving across the aisle to a larger space that’s expected to be ready by August. But Sephora fans can relax: Unlike its neighbors, we hear the glam makeup store will remain open at its current location until moving day arrives.
BCBG Max Azria has closed to make way for Apple’s expansion — and it appears the fashion retailer won’t be coming back.
Kay Jewelers, which occupies what will soon be a prime corner next to Sephora and Teavana, is tentatively scheduled to relocate this summer to the onetime Caché space next to Swarovski. No word yet on who might take over Kay’s corner… but we won’t be surprised if it’s a big name.

Pair these changes with last month’s news about the addition of a Lucky Strike Social bowling alley, and it looks like this will be quite a fall for our local mall.