Sports Authority Montrose Crossing

Goodbye Timpano, Sports Authority successor, American Tap Room taps out

December 15, 2016 By Store Reporter 1 Comment

Timpano closes, Sports Authority space is filled

The new year will bring some big changes to the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike. Timpano Italian Chophouse, a fixture in the area for more than two decades, is exiting to make room for some new fast-casual eateries. Timpano will close on New Year’s Eve, with demolition to follow shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, the former Sports Authority space didn’t stay empty for long: Value City Furniture, an Ohio-based chain with a growing presence in Maryland, is now under construction with plans to open early next year. For a look at the company’s merchandise, click here.

American Tap Room taps out

American Tap Room closed its doors over the weekend at Rockville Town Square, joining a growing list of restaurant casualties that now includes Oro Pomodoro, Cosi, Pho & Rolls, Carbon Peruvian Chicken and 82 Steak Out in just the past two years. Execs at American Tap Room say the Rockville location was owned by a franchisee, and its closing won’t affect their other restaurants. Federal Realty, which owns Rockville Town Square, says it already has a new tenant in place but can’t share the name yet. Stay tuned to Store Reporter for more.

German bath and body store opens at the mall

Kneipp, the newest addition at Westfield Montgomery Mall, opens its doors tomorrow (12/16) on the second level near Godiva. This is one of eight new retail stores for the German company (pronounced K-nay-p), which makes plant-based, preservative-free products for bath, body and skin care. “Until now, these products have only been available in the U.S. at little spas and apothecaries,” says regional manager Valerie Curcione. “But the customers who have found this brand are incredibly loyal to it.” For more on Kneipp and its founder, a 19th century pioneer of natural medicines, click here.

Pandora jewelry at Silver Moon

The Pandora jewelry line is a perennial favorite, and Silver Moon at Congressional Plaza is a great place to shop the whole collection. The Poinsettia charm on the left, adorned with red pavé cubic zirconia, is available in limited quantities this season and priced at $75. Also popular is Pandora’s new Vintage Allure line, featuring sterling silver and pavé cubic zirconia in a striking geometric design. Silver Moon carries a Vintage Allure necklace-and-earring set for $150 and a matching bracelet in a decorative case for $195. See these pieces in person at Silver Moon Jewelry & Accessories, 1659 Rockville Pike. For details, call 301-468-1122 or click here.

A charmed gift at As Kindred Spirits

As Kindred Spirits, now open next to Nordstrom in the lower level of Westfield Montgomery Mall, is a great source for gifts that are both special and unexpected. Take this new line of gold Lulu DK charm necklaces, priced from $68 and up, with hidden messages of love, peace, faith and sisterhood. The hidden part? The charms are etched with decorative markings that reveal their messages only when spun. (Note that Westfield Montgomery Mall is now the only place to find As Kindred Spirits, which has closed its other locations at Congressional Plaza and Reagan Airport.) As Kindred Spirits, Westfield Montgomery Mall, on the lower level next to Nordstrom. For details, call 301-365-1008 or click here.

Congressional Plaza, URBNmarket, As Kindred Spirits, Nike Store and a Target debut

July 14, 2016 By Store Reporter Leave a Comment

New look, new tenants for Congressional Plaza

Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike is getting a summer mini-makeover. The bustling center is renovating its towers, upgrading landscaping and signage, and expanding the outdoor courtyard between Chopt and Starbucks. The extra seating will provide more space for socializing and also help to accommodate overflow from the center’s growing list of fast-casual restaurants, including the upcoming Modern Market (click here for more on that in our June 9th issue). Also heading to Congressional this fall is Saks Off 5th, the discount branch of Saks Fifth Avenue that’s building out the former Tiara space between Performance Bike and Oxygen Salon. For more on Saks Off Fifth, click here for our Nov. 5th issue.

This weekend: Gifts and fab finds at Park Potomac

URBNmarket, a pop-up showcase for vintage and handmade goods, returns to Park Potomac this Friday and Saturday (July 15th and 16th) for its second show of the summer. URBNmarket’s founders, Julie Greenstein and Debbie Sonnenreich, are hoping to make Park Potomac their permanent home after trying out a couple of different locations in downtown Bethesda. This weekend’s show will feature 40 D.C.-area merchants offering furniture, clothing, home accessories, jewelry and unique finds like these hand-sewn bags from Boîte. Show hours are 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; click here for more info.

Changes in store for As Kindred Spirits

As Kindred Spirits exited Westfield Montgomery Mall last week after less than a year in business near the Godiva store. But fans of the eclectic gift shop can take heart: Owner Wendy Rukmini Walker says she’ll return to the mall this fall with a much larger store — most likely in the Nordstrom wing, where her customers tend to congregate. “That space we had was really too small for us and was always intended to be temporary,” says Walker, who also operates a large store at Congressional Plaza and a small one at Reagan National Airport. “The new store will have more of everything,” she says. “More gifts, more clothes, more unique jewelry, more of who we are.”

Nike Store to open next month

The Nike Store has set an August 18th opening date for its new location at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, where it’s taking over the former City Sports store that closed last fall. That should soften the blow for Sports Authority fans who are mourning the retailer’s final days at Montrose Crossing. Also on the way to Pike & Rose is a new REI store, scheduled to open next year, which will replace the company’s current location on Rockville Pike. For more on that, click here for our Oct. 22 edition.

Circo and Cherokee out, Cat & Jack in

This month Target launches a new kids’ clothing line, Cat & Jack, as it says goodbye to the Circo and Cherokee lines that have defined its children’s department for years. Those snoozy brands “hadn’t evolved much from the look of the Olsen twins on Full House,” reports Bloomberg.com, and they didn’t align with the company’s current goal of reviving the “chic” part of its cheap-chic image. The Cat & Jack brand aims for sophisticated designs, unusual color combinations, gender-neutral T-shirts and slogans that stress collaboration instead of competition. For more on how Target is targeting kids (and their parents), you can find the Bloomberg article here.

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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.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday & Sports Authority, Hello Mellow Mushroom

May 19, 2016 By Store Reporter Leave a Comment

Sports Authority exiting Rockville Pike

Sports Authority, which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, is now expected to close all 450 of its stores after failing to reach a deal with its creditors and lenders. That will mean another major vacancy for the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike, which also lost Hudson Trail Outfitters last fall when the D.C.-area chain went out of business. Also moving out of Montrose Crossing is the Chinese restaurant Tony Lin’s, whose owners told Bethesda Magazine that they’re retiring after 29 years.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday made a quiet exit from Rockville Pike this week after two decades as a tenant at Federal Plaza. Reps for the restaurant chain weren’t available for comment, but owner Federal Realty says it already has a new restaurant lined up to take the space. Stay tuned to Store Reporter to find out who’s moving in.

Mellow Mushroom opens in Rockville

The bright spot in a week full of closing news was the long-awaited opening of Mellow Mushroom at Rockville Town Square, taking over the former Oro Pomodoro space at 33 Maryland Ave. Fans of the Atlanta-based pizza chain have been pouring in since Saturday, says franchisee Danny Trehan, who also operates the Mellow Mushroom in Herndon. The Rockville restaurant has a pop art theme, with indoor/outdoor seating for more than 300 and delivery service coming soon. To check out the menu, click here.

Sephora move is official

Sephora has now officially announced what we reported here last month: The glam retailer at Westfield Montgomery Mall is moving across the hall to bigger and better quarters. Promotional signage has been splashed across the second floor of the Macy’s wing, where the existing Sephora store will remain open until the new one debuts this fall. Meanwhile down the hall, the Apple Store still hasn’t confirmed a timeline for its own upcoming expansion. Two adjoining storefronts have been emptied and blocked off for construction, but Apple remains open for the time being. For more on what’s happening in the Macy’s wing — including the recent departures of BCBG and Teavana — click here.

Last chance to win dinner at Sugo

Last call to place your vote for our next Store Reporter Favorites section, where we name our readers’ and editors’ picks for the best appetizers in town. 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. Everyone who weighs in will be entered to win a $60 gift card for one of our favorites: Sugo at Park Potomac.

Goodbye Timpano, Sports Authority successor, American Tap Room taps out