RSS FeedNew Retail Coming To Downtown DC: Gap, Peets Coffee & Tea (opening date update), Walgreens
Above: Shuttered Guess store at 12th and F St NW
Our ever eagle eyed PQ Living readers alerted us to a few new retailers bringing their names to downtown DC. We’ll go in alphabetical order:
1) Gap (664 11th St NW) – The Gap will open in the 600 block of 11th St NW next to Crumbs Bake Shop and across the street from H&M. This ground floor space has been vacant since the building was renovated. The store will be two levels and clock in at 14,000 square feet, according to the Washington Post. To see the shambles the building was in as it was being renovated, visit this PQ Living post from 2007. The 42 Bus website has a great photo of what it looks like now.
2) Peets Coffee & Tea (435 11th St NW) – The Washingtonian published an opening date for the Peets Coffee & Tea at the corner of 11th and E St NW [photo]. It is…drum roll please…Monday, April 28.
3) Walgreens (1155 11th F St NW) – The now closed Guess store at the corner of 12th and F St NW (see photo at top) folded up shop recently without much fanfare. It will become a two story, 19,000 square foot Walgreens after it’s combined with another retail space reports the Washington Business Journal. Frankly, we never saw more than five people at once in that Guess store including sales and security staff so this news is not surprising. We hope the same outcome doesn’t befall the retailers at CityCenter a year or two into their leases; we’ll be keeping an eye out.
Muffin Top
Just up the street in Shaw, a brand new bakery and lunch spot has recently opened. Uprising (1817 7th ST., NW) promises a delicious selection of homemade muffins, locally roasted, small-batch coffee and lunch bites made from fresh, local ingredients.
Potomac River Running Store Taking Old Cowgirl Creamery Space (919 F St NW)
Above: New signage at 919 F St NW (hat tip: Anon PQ Living reader)
We now know the business replacing the former Cowgirl Creamery at 919 F St NW. It’s the Potomac River Running Store, a shop focused on providing shoes and accessories associated with the very healthy practice of running. Potomac River is a DC regional chain with nine outlets spread across DC, Maryland, and Virginia; currently, their only DC store is in Cleveland Park.
We reported the sad news that Cowgirl Creamery was closing at the end of 2013 and now we know what the next chapter brings to this block of retail on F Street.
Smithsonian Craft Show Ends Sunday April 13
One of our favorite annual events in the neighborhood is visiting the Smithsonian Craft Show where juried artists exhibit and sell the fruits of their labor. Here’s just one example, James Borden, who doesn’t make clocks but rather sculptures uniquely artistic clocks out of wood where learning the time seems like it’s just a byproduct of looking at the timepiece.
A notice from the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association reminded us that this event ends Sunday, April 13 at the National Building Museum. On to the e-mail:
Smithsonian Craft Show
www.SmithsonianCraftShow.orgThursday – Sunday, April 10th – 13th
At the National Building Museum401 F Street, NW
Metro: Judiciary Square, museum exit122 Artists
12 Craft CategoriesThursday & Friday 10:30am – 8:30pm
Saturday 10:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday 11:00am – 5:00pmTickets
One Day at the Door $15
Two-Day Ticket $25
Children under 12 no charge
World Market Announcement Inside Bed Bath & Beyond In Chinatown
The Chinatown Bed Bath & Beyond (709 7th St NW) will be adding a World Market “store inside a store” concept and it will be “coming soon” according to the sign that greets customers at the top of the escalator of the BBB in Chinatown. The signage says ethnic favorites, sweets, snacks, sauces, pasta, condiments, crackers, beverages, and more will be available; World Market’s food offerings are plentiful.
BBB bought Cost Plus, which operates World Market, in 2012 and the closest World Market to downtown is actually in Pentagon Row although we’ve only been to the Friendship Heights WM inside the Chevy Chase Pavilion (Wisconsin Ave NW).
As long as we can get some Charles & Charles Red Wine and chocolate covered pretzels, we figure we’ll be in good shape.
To Market, To Market
April 3 marked the opening of the annual FreshFarm Markets Farmers’ Market (8th and D Sts. NW). Most of the regular favorites are back, but there are also some interesting new faces like No. 1 Sons, as well as live music and a new CSA program.
With the recent openings of Menu MBK (405 8th St., NW) and Red Apron/Partisan (709 D St. NW), this corner of the neighborhood has become a rich and diverse source for both weekly kitchen stocking and delectable specialty items for home entertaining or personal indulgence.
Industry Takeover Night Tonight At Graffiato (707 6th St NW)
The first Monday of each month means we have one thing penned into our evening calendars and that is Industry Takeover Night at Graffiato (707 6th St NW).
Up tonight in the open kitchen are Haidar Karoum of Doi Moi, Estadio and Proof,
Industry Takeover Nights are open to the public. From 10 pm to 1 am, guest chefs serve complimentary late night snacks at the first floor pizza bar, and the bar offers drink specials, including some libations from guest mixologists. A $10 cash-only cover charge is requested at the door, and 50% is donated to a different charity benefactor each month. This month the Isabella Fitness Tour will be the beneficiary.
