Store Reporter

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

Pike Central Farm Market

Tara Thai, Apple update, Coach and a Sugo giveaway

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Tara Thai shrimp dish

 

Tara Thai opens at the mall

Tara Thai finally made its debut at Westfield Montgomery Mall this week after nearly a year of construction at the former Legal Sea Foods space, which has been redesigned to resemble a beach resort in Thailand. This is the ninth location for Tara Thai and the third new Asian restaurant to open at the mall in the past few months, following Shanghai Bao Kitchen and B/Bop/Q near the Dining Terrace. Next up on the Montgomery Mall restaurant scene: Beefsteak from celeb chef Jose Andrés. Read more about that here.

 

 

Apple store at Westfield Montgomery Mall

 

A little more time to visit the Genius Bar

The closing date for the Apple Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall has been pushed back yet again, pending the resolution of construction issues for its upcoming renovation and expansion. The store was originally supposed to close on April 30th, then May 7th, but now it appears the doors may stay open for a couple more weeks. All parties are motivated to get going on the project quickly, as construction could take six months and Apple wants to reopen before the holidays. For more on the expansion of Apple and its neighbor Sephora, click here for our April 4th special edition.

 

 

2016 Cabin John dog ad: http://shopcabinjohn.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8944a71ff48e2ec948a748b4c&id=df4eb12359

 

 

 

Sugo Interior 600

 

Vote for your favorites — and win dinner at Sugo

For our next Store Reporter Favorites section, we want to know where our readers like to go for the best appetizers in town. From deviled eggs and roasted beets to fried calamari and tuna tartare, which restaurants do you think have the best light bites in greater Rockville and Potomac? Click here to comment on our Facebook page, or click here to email our editors directly (subject line: Best Appetizers.) Everyone who weighs in will be entered in our drawing for a $60 gift card to one of our favorites: Sugo at Park Potomac.

 

 

Founding Farmers Wine Dinner ad: http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/let-mocos-founding-farmers-wine-dine-you/

 

 

 

Coach handbag with Snoopy logo

Is Coach cool again?

If you’ve noticed the lack of logos on Coach bags this year, it’s not your imagination: The 75-year-old company is moving away from its iconic “C” branding — which now represents just 5 percent of overall sales — to focus on quality and craftsmanship of its leather goods. Customers will “have a hard time finding a logo brand” at a Coach store these days, CEO Victor Luis said this week in an interview with thestreet.com. Coach has been renovating hundreds of its stores, including the one at Westfield Montgomery Mall, in an effort to modernize its image and make room for more footwear, outerwear and an increasingly popular collection of men’s products. Also on the horizon: More cross-marketing efforts like this year’s Coach x Peanuts collection, and an upcoming $150 strap for the Apple Watch.

 

 

2016 Ad - Bagel City grad party

 

 

 

Westfield Montgomery Mall exterior

 

Good news for riders and drivers

Last week marked the opening of a new Metrobus and Ride On Transit Center at Westfield Montgomery Mall, replacing the aging bus depot with safer and more comfortable accommodations for those who use public transportation. This is also good news for those who get to the mall by car: The new bus setup will allow room for 55 new parking spaces on the mall’s north side. That project is expected to get under way next week.

 

 

2016 Activity Rocket ad: https://www.activityrocket.com

 

 

 

DC Dills pickles

Farmers markets make their debut

May is the month when the farmers markets get started, and this year there are plenty to choose from around the Rockville area. On Saturday mornings at 6001 Executive Boulevard, the Pike Central Farm Market features regional vendors including All Things Olive, DC Dills, Lobster Maine-ia and Undone Chocolate. Also on Saturdays starting May 14th, the Rockville Farmers Market at Route 28 and Monroe Street has goodies from Brookeville Beer Farm, Ev & Maddy’s, Praline Bakery and Zeke’s Coffee among others. And on Wednesdays from 11 to 2, Dawson’s at Rockville Town Square hosts its own outdoor market showcasing local businesses like Canela Bakery and Holly Crepes.

 

 

 

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. Click here to check out the Woodhouse website.

 

 

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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 RESC ad

 

 

 

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind ad

 

 

 

Topshop, Kate Moss, Venus and a farmers market

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Norstrom Topshop Suede Fringe Jacket, Spring 2014

 

Topshop at Nordstrom

Topshop, the trendy British fashion chain, made its Maryland debut last week as a store-within-a-store at Nordstrom in Westfield Montgomery Mall. The POV department moved upstairs to make room on the store’s first floor for Topshop’s fast-changing mix of up-to-the-minute styles. The Nordstrom/Topshop partnership is designed to grab the attention of younger women with tighter budgets who typically shop at cheap-chic stores like H&M and Forever 21. Starting April 30, Topshop also will feature a higher-end clothing line from model Kate Moss with vintage-style pieces like the $420 suede fringed jacket shown here. If you like Kate’s taste, move fast: Her first collection for Topshop, back in 2007, sold out almost instantly.

 

 

Venus_Williams_jamba_juice

 

 

Juicing with Venus

Jamba Juice has finally started up the blenders at its new Rockville store, next to Ruby Tuesday at Federal Plaza on the Pike. In addition to smoothies, the menu includes breakfast foods, sandwiches, wraps and baked pretzels. The Rockville store is a joint venture between the smoothie chain and tennis star Venus Williams, who is working with Jamba Juice as a celebrity spokesperson and D.C.-area franchisee. Williams already has opened two stores in Washington and a third at Westfield Montgomery Mall. She’s expected to make an official appearance at the Rockville store by summer.

 

 

Pike Central Farm Market, Pike & Rose

 

Farm fresh on the Pike

The Pike Central Farm Market makes its spring debut this weekend, featuring 40-plus vendors from Maryland and surrounding states. Participants will be selling everything from hormone-free meats, artisanal cheeses and local produce to live Maine lobsters, Chinese dumplings, New York-style pickles and goat milk soaps. This year the market will be held at a new location — the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Executive Boulevard — due to construction at the nearby Pike & Rose project. When Pike & Rose is finished, developers say the Farm Market will have a permanent home there. For now, it’s open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until late November.