Store Reporter

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

Fish Taco

Hello David’s Tea, Goodbye Costco Amex & Redskins Team Store

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David’s Tea makes its debut

David’s Tea, a Canadian retailer that’s in the midst of a major U.S. expansion, has opened its first Maryland location at Westfield Montgomery Mall. Founded eight years ago by a Quebec student and his retail magnate cousin, David’s is known for its whimsical packaging, seasonal product changes and unusual flavor infusions. (This summer’s selections include Grape Freeze, Chocolate Covered Banana and Strawberry Colada.) David’s, which has more than 150 locations in Canada, went public in 2015 with plans for 80 U.S. stores by the end of this year. At Montgomery Mall, where Teavana is temporarily closed while its new location is under construction, you can find David’s in the Macy’s wing right next to Starbucks — or click here for a sneak peek online.

 

 

Cabin John Shopping Center dog ad: http://shopcabinjohn.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8944a71ff48e2ec948a748b4c&id=df4eb12359

 

 

 

Costco:American Express collage 2 600

 

Costco to Amex: You’re dead to us

This weekend marks the official end of Costco‘s longtime partnership with American Express as the company begins a new relationship with Citibank Visa. The Costco Amex was known for its generous cash-back rewards program, but the Costco Visa raises the bar even higher: 4% cash back on gas purchases, 3% on restaurants and travel, 2% at Costco and 1% on everything else. American Express, which stands to lose nearly 10% of its customer base with the dissolution of the Costco deal, is now trying to lure back lapsed cardholders with a sweet $250 cash-back offer. For an informative Motley Fool report on the benefits of both cards, click here. And no matter what you decide, this Sunday (June 19th) is the last day that any kind of Amex card will be accepted at Costco.

 

 

 

Third Fish Taco to open next week

Just two months after the debut of Fish Taco at Wildwood Shopping Center, the burgeoning chain is set to open its third location next week at the former home of City Burger in Chevy Chase. The Fish Taco concept has been a winner for local restaurateur Francis Namin, who also created City Burger as well as the Don Pollo chicken chain and the much-missed Red Tomato Café in downtown Bethesda. Namin’s upscale Bethesda restaurant, Food Wine & Co., closed its doors a few weeks ago after its building was marked for redevelopment.

 

 

Jenny Camps Personal Training ad: http://www.jocpersonaltraining.com

 

 

Redskins Team Store:Liberty Socks collage

 

Goodbye Redskins Store, hello flag socks

If you were planning to stop by Westfield Montgomery Mall this weekend to pick up some Father’s Day gifts at the Washington Redskins Team Store, we have some bad news: The store has closed, and the next-closest location is at Tysons Corner. Perhaps Dad would be willing to settle for some flag-fashion footwear? Liberty Socks, a new kiosk in the Macy’s wing at Montgomery Mall, sells eye-catching patriotic patterns designed by a U.S. Army vet. Liberty Socks is a pop-up tenant that will close after July 4th. Click here to check out all the stars and stripes.

 

 

 

Bed Bath & Beyond buys One Kings Lane

This week Bed Bath & Beyond bought One Kings Lane, the online retailer whose ads you may have noticed as you browse around online. One Kings Lane, a once-hot company whose fortunes have cooled in the past two years, sells an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories via flash sales and photo vignettes that make mixing and matching look easy peasy. (Click here to see for yourself.) Bed Bath & Beyond hasn’t explained its game plan here: Will its stores start carrying furniture from One Kings Lane, or is this all part of a strategy to diversify the retailer’s online presence? Stay tuned to see how this deal plays out.

 

 

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Habit Burger in, City Burger out, subs on the way and goodbye Qdoba

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Habit Burger and Jersey Mike's Subs

 

Burgers & subs on the way to Rockville Pike

Two popular fast food restaurants are on the way to Rockville Pike, opening this fall outside Wintergreen Plaza in the space once occupied by Ted’s 355 Diner. The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-growing chain from California that’s making its Maryland debut, offers a Shake Shackish menu of burgers, fries, onion rings and ice cream-based drinks. Jersey Mike’s Subs, with nearly 200 locations nationwide, has a extensive selection of subs and wraps plus gluten-free and carb-free options. Both chains ranked among the top fast food restaurants in this recent survey from Consumer Reports.

 

 

Qdoba chips and guacamole

 

Adiós Qdoba

Qdoba, a food court staple here for most of the past decade, has cashed in its tortilla chips at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The closing comes almost exactly a year after the arrival of Mexican juggernaut Chipotle, one of the most popular additions to the mall’s recently renovated Dining Terrace. Chipotle, which appears to be on the comeback trail after its recent food safety scare, will now have the mall’s black-bean-and-burrito crowd to itself. Qdoba fans can visit the chain’s Rockville restaurant on Rollins Avenue or click here for a list of other D.C-area locations.

 

 

Counseling Center of Maryland ad: www.counselingcenterofmaryland.com

 

 

 

The Bottle Shop Valentine's Day tastingsValentine’s tastings at The Bottle Shop

Planning a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at home? The Bottle Shop at Potomac Woods Plaza has two tasting events to help you prepare for the big day. On Thursday (Feb. 11) from 5 to 8 p.m., the store will be sampling chocolate and raspberry beers from vendors like DuClaw and Samuel Smith. On Friday (Feb. 11) from 5=8 p.m., try five different wines from Opici and delicious locally made chocolates by Chouquette. Find something you like? During the tastings, take 10% OFF any product that’s being sampled.The Bottle Shop, 350 Fortune Terrace, 301-738-9463. For more info, click here.

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Fish Taco rice bowls

 

Goodbye City Burger, hello Fish Taco

Local restaurateur Francis Namin, who’s about to open his second Fish Taco restaurant at Wildwood Shopping Center, has made a surprising decision about where to open Fish Taco #3. Namin tells Store Reporter that he’ll soon close City Burger, his two-year-old eatery on Wisconsin Avenue, with plans to convert it to the Fish Taco concept. The rebranding will take about two months, Namin says, with a grand reopening scheduled for April. The Wildwood location, as we reported in last week’s issue, is expected to open in early March.

 

 

Sears sign

 

Sears says it will close more stores — but not here

This week Sears Holdings announced it would shutter another 50 unprofitable Sears and Kmart stores across the country. This follows several previous rounds of store closings for the once-mighty chain, whose equity now is said to lie primarily in the value of its real estate holdings. But Sears says the closings will not affect its Bethesda location at Westfield Montgomery Mall. “That store will remain open,” company spokesman Howard Riefs told us this week.

 

 

Girl and boy on swings

 

Tell us about your kids’ favorite places — and win ArcLight movie tickets

For our upcoming Store Reporter Kids Issue, we’re asking readers to help us choose the best kid-friendly businesses in the greater Rockville/Potomac area. We want to hear about your kids’ favorite restaurants, toy stores, clothing stores, after-school classes… all the local places that you and your kids enjoy. Send us your suggestions, and we’ll also enter you into this month’s drawing for FREE tickets to the ArcLight Cinema! To post your comments on our Facebook page, click here and scroll down to the ArcLight photo. To email them to us directly, click here. Update: We’ve already named the winners for this contest, but stay tuned to Store Reporter for more ArcLight giveaways coming up.

 

 

 

City Sports out at Pike & Rose, Fish Taco and fitness at Wildwood, new jeweler at Park Potomac

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Rockville_StoreFront

 

City Sports throws in the towel at Pike & Rose

The year-old Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda has suffered its first casualty: City Sports, one of the first tenants to open there last November, says it will close up shop by the end of this month. The decision follows last week’s Chapter 11 filing for the Boston-based chain, which is also closing its Silver Spring store and possibly other D.C.-area locations. This is the second sporting goods retailer to go belly-up on Rockville Pike this fall; Hudson Trail Outfitters called it quits last month and is currently liquidating its store at Montrose Crossing. But it’s a whole different story for the Pike’s thriving REI store, which recently signed a lease for 36,000 square feet in Phase II of Pike & Rose. This week we heard some speculation that REI might take over the much-smaller City Sports space instead of waiting until 2017 for its new store to open. But Federal Realty, the developer of Pike & Rose, says that’s not going to happen. “We’re confident we will replace City Sports with a great retailer or restaurant that will be additive to the Pike & Rose neighborhood,” a company spokesman tells us.

 

 

Fish Taco tacos

 

Fish Taco swims toward a winter opening

If you’re one of those Fish Taco fans who can’t wait for the gourmet Mexican restaurant to open at Wildwood Shopping Center, we’re sorry to tell you that the wait will be a couple of months longer than expected. “Nobody wants to open sooner than I do, but now I think we’re looking at the middle of January,” says owner Francis Namin, who opened the original Fish Taco on MacArthur Boulevard and also owns Food Wine & Co. in Bethesda. Namin signed the Wildwood lease this summer and had hoped to open by fall, but plumbing and electrical issues got in the way. Still, he promises the new restaurant will be worth the wait: modern decor, seating for up to 80 people, a streamlined takeout counter, and a “lighter, brighter and happier” look than the one on MacArthur Boulevard.

 

 

Solidcore logo blue

 

New gym heading to Wildwood

Also on the way to Wildwood Shopping Center this winter is Solidcore, the D.C. fitness chain known for its high-intensity workouts on Pilates-based Megaformer machines. Founded two years ago in Adams Morgan, Solidcore promises a personalized, boutique atmosphere with 50-minute classes that are designed to exhaust every muscle. The Wildwood location, set to open after Thanksgiving, will have 14 machines that must be reserved and paid for online before you arrive. At peak times, those slots can fill up quickly. “Our typical clients are hard-working, hard-driving individuals who like to be challenged,” says Solidcore vice president Erika Elko. “Many are athletes and former athletes who have been very successful in their lives and careers.” At Solidcore’s price point, they’d have to be successful: The gym charges upwards of $35 for a single class, with one-year unlimited memberships going for nearly $3,500.

 

 

On Cloud 9 Butter sweatshirts, background removed

 

Still time for a gift from On Cloud 9

It’s not too late to enter our giveaway for a super-soft Butter jacket from On Cloud 9 at Potomac Woods Plaza, 1085 Seven Locks Road. The winner will get  to choose from an array of cute styles like these, available in sizes 4 to 16. On Cloud 9 caters to fashionistas of any age — babies, girls, teens and women — with the latest looks from Vintage Havana, So Nikki, Malibu Sugar, Wildfox, T2 Love and many more. Update: Jill Mendelson Rodriguez won this giveaway; keep reading Store Reporter to see what we’re giving away next.

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Kaufman Jewelers

 

Potomac jeweler is back with a new store

Potomac jeweler George Kaufmann, formerly with the now-closed Robert Bernard Jewelers at Potomac Woods Plaza, opened a new store at Park Potomac last week with son Corey as his partner. Kaufmann has been in the jewelry business for most of his life, learning the trade from his own father at a Kaufmann store in D.C. that dated back to the 1940s. The new Kaufmann Jewelers, 12500 Park Potomac Avenue across from Sugo and MoCo’s Founding Farmers, will offer repair service and custom work on gold, diamonds, gemstones and watches.

 

American ApparelBankruptcy filing for American Apparel

American Apparel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, a move that had been expected for months as the troubled company fought with its ousted founder and saw its sales continue to slide. The retailer plans to close some of its 227 stores, but there’s no word yet on the fate of the one at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The past 12 months have been tough for teen retailers, with Wet Seal, Delia’s and Deb Shops going out of business while once-popular chains like Abercrombie & Fitch face an uphill battle to win back their fickle customer base.

 

 

 

 

 

Fish Taco, As Kindred Spirits, Alex and Ani, White Flint and a Wildwood Kitchen Giveaway

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Fish Taco fish tacos

 

Fish Taco on the way to Wildwood

Fish Taco, the homey Mexican restaurant from the owners of Bethesda’s Food Wine & Co., is heading our way with a new location in the Shops at Wildwood. Like its sister restaurant on MacArthur Boulevard, the new Fish Taco will offer a gourmet twist on the usual Mexican fare of tacos, quesadillas, burritos and chopped salads. Doors are set to open this fall next to Chop’t, in the space that once housed the home furnishings store Pierre Doux.

 

 

As Kindred Spirits airplane clock

 

As Kindred Spirits opens — with 15% OFF

As Kindred Spirits, the popular gift shop at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike, will open a new location August 1 at Westfield Montgomery Mall — taking over the former Aveda space on the upper level near Godiva. “We started many years ago with a kiosk at that mall, so things have really come full circle for us,” says owner Wendy Rukmini Walker, who also has a store at Reagan National Airport. As Kindred Spirits specializes in home decor, jewelry and art-to-wear “from unique artists that could never be represented in a department store,” Walker says. “We use our profits to help with fair trade, women’s initiatives and other projects around the world.” Want to check it out for yourself? Store Reporter readers get 15% OFF from August 1-9. 

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Alex and Ani bangle bracelets

 

Alex and Ani heading to the mall

Heading to Westfield Montgomery Mall this fall: Alex and Ani, the white-hot jewelry chain known for its stackable bangle charm bracelets and its mission to “spread positive energy.” Made in the U.S. from recycled materials, with prices starting at $28, the eco-conscious line also includes fan jewelry for sports teams, the armed forces, various universities and the Disney parks. Alex & Ani will replace the mall’s Things Remembered store, which departed earlier this month.

 

 

Wildwood Kitchen grilled vegetable marinara

 

Win a $75 dinner at Wildwood Kitchen

This month we’re giving away dinner for two at Wildwood Kitchen, in the Shops at Wildwood off Democracy Boulevard and Old Georgetown Road. Top picks from the menu include Amish Chicken with scallion potato cake and glazed carrots; Heirloom Tomato Salad with basil pasta and burrata; and the summer special shown here: Grilled Vegetable Marinara over pappardelle pasta. Update: Store Reporter reader Sharri Freedman won our $75 gift card for Wildwood Kitchen. To see what contests we have going on currently, click here.

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White Flint Mall with bulldozer

 

The wrecking ball arrives at White Flint

The wrecking ball finally arrived at White Flint Mall this month as demolition began on the parking garage behind the long-empty property. Plans call for White Flint to be reimagined as an open-air complex of retail, restaurants, apartments and offices. Most of the mall’s tenants have been gone for a year or more, with only Lord & Taylor still in business. Details of the new White Flint are still under wraps… but count on Store Reporter to do some digging this fall.

 

 

NYAJ Bethesda

 

First look at Not Your Average Joe’s

Last week we got a chance to check out Not Your Average Joe’s, newly open in the former Hamburger Hamlet space at Georgetown Square Shopping Center. The dishes we sampled were most definitely above average — especially the Chicken Piccata, Ahi Tuna Wontons, Mango Shrimp Summer Rolls and Gluten-Free Carrot Cake. (Not to mention the fresh-baked focaccia bread that’s delicious enough to ruin your appetite.) Next up for the Boston-based chain: Reston and Silver Spring. “The D.C. market is similar to our own area in food preferences,” says executive chef Jeff Tenner. “We think the corridor from Boston down to D.C. is going to be our sweet spot.”