Store Reporter

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

RadioShack Westfield Montgomery Mall

Vineyard Vines, Johnston & Murphy to the mall — plus restaurant returns and RadioShack

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Vineyard Vines shirt

 

Vineyard Vines swings into town

Vineyard Vines, a favorite store for preppies from Massachusetts to Palm Beach, will make its Maryland debut this spring with a new location at Westfield Montgomery Mall. The company takes its name from Martha’s Vineyard, where it began in 1998 as a tie manufacturer before moving on to clothes and accessories for men, women and kids. The pink whale logo is now a staple at college campuses nationwide, not to mention many of our local high schools — where shirts like the one shown here have become ubiquitous. The new store will move in where Brighton Collectibles just moved out, on the first floor of the Nordstrom wing next to Tesla. If you’re not familiar with Vineyard Vines, click here to check it out.

 

Johnston & Murphy shoe

 

Shoes of the presidents

Also coming to the Nordstrom wing of Westfield Montgomery Mall this spring: Johnston & Murphy, the classic men’s footwear company that has made a pair of custom shoes for every president since Millard Fillmore. Clearly the historic brand is also popular with people who don’t live at the White House: Johnston & Murphy has a half-dozen stores in the D.C. area, including one at Reagan Airport. In addition to shoes, the company also makes luggage, leather goods and clothing for men and women. Click here to see the full line, or click here to see the Lincoln-inspired boots that Johnston & Murphy made for President Obama.

La Madeleine croissant

 

New restaurants opening at Pike & Rose

Two restaurants that were displaced by construction last year are about to reopen at the new Pike & Rose development in North Bethesda. Chipotle will return on Monday (Feb. 9), followed by La Madeleine on Feb. 19. Both had been tenants of the Mid-Pike Plaza shopp
ing center, which was torn down last winter. Stella Barra Pizzeria is also set to open at Pike & Rose next Thursday (Feb. 12).

 

Brighton cube beadSilver Moon makes its debut

Silver Moon Jewelry & Accessories, the new incarnation of Tiara Galleries & Gifts, opened this week at Congressional Plaza in Rockville. The scaled-down shop will carry some items from Brighton, which just closed its store at Westfield Montgomery Mall (see above). Other popular lines include Vera Bradley, Pandora and Endless. Click here to read more about Tiara’s transformation in our Jan. 8 edition.

 

RadioShack logo

 

Radio Shack update

After several weeks of clearance sales, the RadioShack store at Cabin John Shopping Center closed its doors on Monday as the company prepared for a likely bankruptcy filing. Several retailers are rumored to be interested in taking over empty RadioShack stores — including Sprint Corp. and Amazon, which is looking to open storefronts where customers can drop off and pick up their online orders. The RadioShack locations on Rockville Pike and at Westfield Montgomery Mall are still in business… for now.

 

Spotlight on hidden gems, RadioShack over and out?

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Snow news is good news

All the snow this week gave Store Reporter the chance to do some digging. Allow us to shine a little sun on some tucked-away shopping spots you may have missed…

 

Ministry of Silly Walks Watch, Mansion at Strathmore Gift Shop

 

Museum quality

You know how you always find the best gifts when you visit the museum shops in D.C.? Well, here’s a little secret: The Mansion at Strathmore has a terrific shop of its own with a well-curated selection of jewelry, textiles, pottery and other gifts — many hand-crafted by local artists. Highlights include brightly patterned mismatched socks; quirky watches like the Monty Python-inspired one shown here; and herbal soaps wrapped in felted wool that shrinks to fit as the soaps get smaller. “Art for your sink,” says shop director Charlene McClelland.

 

 

Seder Plate, Leila Fine Gifts & Jewels

 

Jewels and Judaica

Nestled between the restaurants at Cabin John Shopping Center is the tiny shop Leila Fine Gifts & Jewels. Owner Deb Shalom seeks out merchandise that’s “unusual, colorful, fun and different from anything you’d find somewhere else.” The two-year-old store is known for artsy Judaica such as the seder plate pictured here, which like many Leila items is made by a local designer. There’s also a great selection of jewelry and decorative household items, including lovely hostess gifts priced below $20.

 

 

Westfield Montgomery Mall Family Restroom

 

Give the kids a break

If you regularly find yourself at Westfield Montgomery Mall with young kids in tow, this snazzy new “family lounge” in the Sears wing is a hidden gem you’ll definitely want to uncover. Inside you’ll find kid-friendly restrooms, a private area for nursing, and children’s movies playing on a big-screen TV. If quality time with Nemo doesn’t fix things, perhaps some French fries will do the trick: A second family lounge is now under construction near the food court.

 

RadioShack logo

 

Radio Shack: Over and out?

On the heels of a hilarious Super Bowl campaign ad promising to shed its stuck-in-the-’80s image, RadioShack announced this week that it’s closing 1,100 stores nationwide. The company has not yet released a list of the doomed stores, and staffers at the Cabin John and Rockville Pike locations say they haven’t heard any news so far. But a RadioShack employee at Westfield Montgomery Mall was quite confident that his store won’t be affected. “No way,” he said. “We’re the number one store in the district.”