Store Reporter

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

Potomac Village

Moby Dick to Potomac Village, Italian coffee to Park Potomac and a bounty of bankruptcies

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Moby Dick platter

 

Moby Dick heads to the Village

Moby Dick House of Kabob, the D.C.-area chain known for its flame-grilled meats, fresh-baked pita bread and Persian seasonings, is heading to Potomac Village. Look for a September opening at the Potomac Promenade shopping center, where the restaurant will move into the long-empty Toys Unique spot facing Falls Road. Space will be tight, so this location will likely focus on takeout business with a bit of room for inside seating. Moby Dick, founded in 1989, is now approaching 20 locations in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. To check out the menu, click here.

 

 

Filicori Zecchini coffee mugs

 

Italian coffee’s brewing at Park Potomac

Filicori Zecchini, an Italian coffee chain known for its rich espressos and cappuccinos, is the latest tenant to join the lineup at bustling Park Potomac. The century-old coffee company is just now making inroads in the U.S., with several locations in New York and a recent opening in Towson, MD. Filicori also sells tea, cocoa and its own line of chocolates — which you’ll get to sample with your drink order. The coffee shop is now under construction across from Sugo and MoCo’s Founding Farmers, where its neighbors will include a revamped Addie’s (click here for details in last week’s issue) and Gringos & Mariachis (click here for more in our September report). Stay tuned to Store Reporter for more Park Potomac announcements in the coming weeks.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Serenity Fitness Boutique cropped

 

Serenity says namaste to the Village

Leaving Potomac Village at the end of May: Serenity Fitness Boutique, the workout wear retailer that opened just a year ago on Falls Road next to the Sprinkles ice cream parlor. The hidden-away location inside Village Yoga simply didn’t provide enough walk-in traffic to support the business, says Serenity owner Nicole Lipka, who will continue to sell at local trunk shows and is looking for a new storefront in Olney. For operating hours and details on Serenity’s moving sale, call (301) 792-7820.

 

 

On Cloud 9 ad: https://www.facebook.com/On-Cloud-9-252148152907/

 

 

 

JT Interiors photo

 

Gift inspiration at JT Interiors

If you’re shopping for Mother’s Day and graduation gifts, you’ll find plenty of inspiration this month at JT Interiors in Potomac Village. The store has options in every price range, from natural beeswax candles and Swarovski-embellished note cards to Nest fragrances and soft “foutas” (sarongs that double as Turkish towels or baby blankets). JT Interiors, which relocated from The Kentlands in 2013, offers design and renovation services, furniture, home accessories and gifts for all occasions. Visit JT Interiors at 9906 River Road; click here for a virtual tour sneak-peek; or check out the store’s Facebook page here. For hours and other details, call (301) 299-0485.

 

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2016 Bagel City Mother's Day ad 1200

 

 

 

Sports Authority logo

 

Is Sports Authority all played out?

It looks like we’ve reached the end of the line for Sports Authority, which filed Chapter 11 last month but now appears to be heading toward liquidation. At a hearing this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the company’s attorneys said the initial plan to close just 140 locations was no longer feasible and creditors were pressing for a sale. This news comes on the heels of last week’s bankruptcy filing for Vestis Retail Group, parent to Eastern Mountain Sports, Sport Chalet and Bob’s Stores — not to mention last year’s bankruptcies of City Sports and the locally owned Hudson Trail Outfitters. An auction for Sports Authority’s assets is scheduled for May 16th; it’s unclear whether the existing stores will remain open between now and then. So who will benefit from all these bankruptcies? Looks like Dick’s Sporting Goods is poised to snap up some prime big-box real estate.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Aeropostale at Westfield Montgomery Mall

 

Another teen retailer close to bankruptcy

Next up on the ever-growing list of troubled teen retailers: Aéropostale, whose shares were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange last week with bankruptcy said to be imminent. Like PacSun, which filed Chapter 11 just a few weeks ago, and American Apparel, which filed last fall, Aeropostale has a store at Westfield Montgomery Mall that will likely remain open while its finances get sorted out. Also struggling these days is the once-mighty Abercrombie & Fitch chain, which recently closed its Abercrombie Kids store at Montgomery Mall along with sister store Hollister. Last year the mall also lost Wet Seal, another teen retailer that didn’t survive the 2014 holiday season. For a look at the some places where our local kids and teens like to shop, click here for our March 10th Kids & Teens Issue.

 

 

Regency Estates Swim Club ad: http://rescswimpool.org

 

 

 

 

Sears closing more stores

Last week Sears Holding Corp. announced the closing of 78 more stores — including 68 Kmart locations and 10 Sears stores. In case you were wondering: Nope, the Sears store at Westfield Montgomery Mall store is not on that list.

 

 

Jewish Council for the Aging Award Dinner ad: http://www.accessjca.org/programs/productive-aging-dinner/

 

 

 

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.” For more on Caldwell and her crafty plans for the Village, click here.

 

 

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.

 

 

Fitness Together ad: www.fitnesstogether.com

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Sculpt Studio with Mary Farber lungingTry a free class at Sculpt Studio

Are your New Year’s fitness resolutions starting to falter? Sculpt Studio, celebrating its second anniversary in downtown Bethesda, is offering one free class for all new clients through Jan. 31. And just for Store Reporter readers: Sign up for a package of classes and get a free 30-minute private session with Sculpt owner Mary Farber. (Use promo code STOREJAN.) Sculpt is a friendly, brightly lit studio featuring Pilates-based Megaformer machines that work your core and every major muscle group. 4500 Auburn Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle, with easy parking nearby. To book a class, call 240-600-0730 or click here.

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Snow and red shovel

 

Grab some coffee and cuddle up with your iPad

Snowstorms are a great time to catch up with the last few issues of Store Reporter. Did you see our recent stories about the drugstore shake-up in Potomac Village, the empty Giant on Wootton Parkway and the future of Benny’s at Cabin John? Did you know that Roti closed on Westlake Boulevard and the White Flint Mall has officially been reduced to rubble? While you’re waiting out the blizzard — assuming you’ve still got power — grab some coffee and scroll through our website.

 

 

River Falls Tavern update, BBQ at Hank Dietle’s, goodbye Fossil store — plus a Robeks giveaway

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Tavern at River Falls sign

 

Latest on The Tavern at River Falls

Three months after purchasing The Tavern at River Falls on River Road, RW Restaurant Group has begun to put its mark on the Potomac Village institution. “We’ve gotten rid of some dishes that weren’t selling, and put our own spin on the dishes we kept,” says Tavern co-owner Frank Shull, who operates 11 D.C.-area restaurants in a partnership headed by famed chef Robert Wiedmaier. The changes started with the bar, where Shull says customers will find “better beer, better wine, better cocktails.” The menu is getting shorter but higher in quality, Shull says, with new dishes including swordfish, grilled calamari and stuffed baked oysters with crabmeat. Coming soon: nightly drink specials (margaritas, mojitos and blood-orange crushes) and an extensive brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays. Even the restaurant’s name is being streamlined, from The Tavern at River Falls to the shorter River Falls Tavern.  Under the RW umbrella, the Tavern is now a sister to such popular Wiedmaier restaurants as Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck, Wildwood Kitchen and Mussel Bar & Grille.

 

 

Curley's Q food truck

 

BBQ at Hank Dietle’s

Hank Dietle’s Tavern, the Rockville Pike dive bar that celebrates its centennial next year, is serving up a new dinnertime menu from the Curley’s Q barbecue truck. “We’ll be in the kitchen at Dietle’s Tuesdays through Sundays from 5 to 8 p.m. to start,” says Curley’s owner David Cornblatt, whose specialties include St. Louis-style ribs, smoked brisket, and pulled chicken and pork sandwiches. Cornblatt, a Potomac native who hung out at Hank Dietle’s in high school, has been trying to take over the kitchen since last fall. “Typical permitting issues” were the cause of the delay, he says. “We’ve got the food truck and catering down to a science, but there are a lot of nuances in running a kitchen. We’ll probably have a grand opening in June when we’ve got everything just right.” Cornblatt will have some company on the Pike this summer with the opening of Helen’s Bar & Grill, now under construction in the former Addie’s space right next door to Hank Dietle’s. Click here to read more about Helen’s in our May 7 issue.

 

 

Robeks maple water smoothies

 

Win a Robeks gift card

This week we’re giving away gift cards for the Robeks smoothie store at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike. The store is showcasing a new line of “fitness smoothies” made from maple water — a seasonal product that’s only available through June 15, while the maple trees are still producing spring sap. Can’t make it in by then? Don’t worry, the gift cards won’t expire. Update: The winners of this giveaway were Christy Taylor, Ron Gravitz, Margie Ritter, Rhoda Ganz and Amy Pelletier. Stay tuned to Store Reporter for more great giveaways.

 

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Fossil watch

Fossil exits the mall

The Fossil store at Westfield Montgomery Mall closed its doors over Memorial Day weekend, a casualty of the company’s decision to move out of the clothing business and return to its core products: handbags, wallets and watches. “The Montgomery Mall store was huge because it sold so much clothing, and you just don’t need all that space if you’re only selling accessories,” an insider tells us. If you’re fan of Fossil’s retro vibe, the next-closest Fossil store is at Tysons Corner.

 

 

Mars Goodnessknows Snack SquaresHershey Brookside Fruit & Nut Bars

Hitting the sweet spot

Look for some new “healthy” snack bars on the shelves of local stores this summer from candy companies trying to steal market share from brands like Kind and Clif. At an industry trade show last week, Hershey debuted a line of snack bars under its high-end Brookside brand (with see-through packaging to show off the fruit and nut pieces), while Mars showed its own line of Goodnessknows Snack Squares (with bite-sized sections for portion control). All the bars incorporate fruit, nuts, oats, seeds and dark chocolate, with serving sizes below 200 calories and no artificial flavors. Whether they’re really “healthy” is debatable, but they’re clearly designed to get the attention of shoppers who typically skip the candy aisle. Major marketing campaigns are on the way.

 

 

 

New grocer in Potomac Village, Legal Sea Foods closes, steaks in downtown Rockville

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Potomac Grocer

 

New grocer in the Village

Potomac Grocer, an upscale market specializing in local, natural and organic foods, is finally making its long-awaited debut in Potomac Village. “We’re kind of like a Whole Foods or Balducci’s, but much smaller,” says owner Tom Spencer, noting that he’s put a lot of time into hiring the right staff. That includes two chefs — one dedicated to pastries, and the other focused on preparing meals to go. Potomac Grocer is on River Road next to Walgreens, in the space that spent decades serving horseback riders as The Surrey.

 

 

Legal Sea Foods logo

 

Legal no longer

Speaking of seafood: Boston-based Legal Sea Foods has closed its restaurant at Westfield Montgomery Mall. No comment from the company, which also shuttered locations in Florida and New York. As we told you last week, the mall plans to open several new restaurants and a movie theater later this year. But it’s still deciding what to do with Legal’s leftover space.

 

82 Steak Out, Rockville Town Square

 

Steaking a claim on Rockville

There’s a new place to eat in Rockville Town Square: 82 Steak Out has opened on Gibbs Street next to Noodles & Company. The concept is based on the French tradition of steak-and-fry eateries, says co-owner Anna Don, “but with an American twist” of a slightly broader menu — including sides like creamed spinach, cauliflower and sautéed mushrooms. Not to mention Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, which you definitely won’t find in Paris.

 

 

Pottery Barn Kids logo

 

Kids’ Stores R Gone

Toys R Us and Pottery Barn Kids both exited Rockville Pike in recent weeks as their former homes — Mid-Pike Plaza and White Flint Mall — draw closer to dates with the wrecking ball. PB Kids bounced back right away, opening a new location at Mazza Gallerie in D.C. But Toys R Us, which has struggled for market share in recent years, says it has no plans to reopen in this area. The next-closest store is in Gaithersburg.