Asylum Skate Shop To Be Replaced By Unnamed Fresh Casual Food Establishment

“Fresh casual food” is a the official phrase often used by Cosi to describe their business model.

noooo not Cosi! dysfunctional & salty!

Jon: I think Vapiano uses the “fresh casual” slogan as well. I’m thinking the “fresh casual” term is meant to be generic.. but, then again, Cosi doesn’t have a presence on this side of Penn Quarter.

If it is Cosi (but I hope it’s something new and different) let’s just hope they make an effort to hire better staff than at the other 2 locations around the neighborhood.

I don’t put very high standards on customer service at a bagel/sandwich joint but I’ve been SO put off by my last couple of experiences with the staff at Cosi. When going up to the counter to order, I’ve been ‘greeted’ with apathetic grunts, mumbled responses to questions, etc. After 15 years of dealing with (and coming to expect) bad DC customer service, I am still amazed at the super-low standards of the Cosi staff.

But heck, their ‘everything bagels’ are so yummy (and a perfect hang-over cure) I will still go back I suppose

I like the idea of another casual place to eat in our neighborhood! Can’t wait to find out what it will be. Also, I think the store’s square footage is a little too small for a Cosi. Does anyone agree?

“Fresh Casual” does sound generic, but it also sounds like the slogan of some type of fast food chain.

Speaking of Vapiano, it looks like recent tear down of China Doll extended into building where the restaurant is scheduled to open. Definitely holes in the side of the wall and a portion of the back has been missing walls.

anon: that’s weird because the china doll building and future vapiano building are owned by two different developers.. maybe it’s a joint demolition?

Damn. I was rooting for “stale formal,” as in yet-another-steakhouse.

Just what DC needs: more chain businesses. Hopefully soon they’ll turn the White House into an IHOP, the Pentagon into a Verizon Wireless store, and the National Mall into a Westfield shopping center. There’s too much charm and culture in this city, so it’s about time we get some homogeneity to conform to!

(Actually, I wouldn’t mind if the first two of those changes I imagine became reality.

I was thinking it might be another “overpriced tapas” or “low-grade Chinese”

There is a reason why chain stores are chain stores – because they are successful businesses that seek to replicate that success to meet consumer demands for their product or service.

I’m getting a little weiry of hearing the same tired lines about chain stores.

I wonder how many people like the nice Busboys and Poets restaurant over near 14th & U Street? Because, they are becoming a chain also. Will people magically stop going because it is now a regional chain with one already open in Shirlington and another one opening up in City Vista in Mount Vernon Triangle? Will the people stop going to this successful and popular restaurant because it is no longer a one location restaurant? I don’t think so.

DC is still an underserved retail market for decades now. If indies wanted to open up in mass the last 3 decades or so at the lower rent prices than today, they were free to do so. Indies are not going to get DC where it needs to be in the retail market alone.

If you need help understanding that, take a look at retail stores per capita in DC compared to surrounding jurisdictions. It is terrible.

Chains have their place in the market capitalistic economy that we live in, and they have been around since the late 1800′s (A&P, Woolworth’s and Sears-Roebuck). So, get used to it! They were around long before you were born, and they’ll probably be around long after you’re not here anymore.

I prefer a mix of both. I like chains, and I like independent stores. I like the value of both in my life.

As far as restaurants go, DC is now one of the top restaurant cities in our country, and the demand for more restaurants – chain and independent – is overwhelming. And, independent restaurants have been opening up in DC as well.

I do indeed hope that something “good” ends up in the former Asylum space, but the whole notion of what is good to you is not going to be the same for everyone. It is all subjective. Just look at the thread about Oyamel, etc.

I saw someone next to Gallery Place metro in a Vapiano chefs outfit yesterday…

It’s almost definitely a Vapiano’s; they are pushing “Fresh Casual” hard, and they’ve even gone so far as to create a fake online magazine at freshcasual.com showing how their Fresh Casual model is the intersection of McDonald’s and Ruth’s Chris. (To me, that would mean low-quality meets overpriced…)

I have nothing against chain stores, but does GP really need yet another “fresh casual food” restaurant? Plus I thought the skate shop was a nice presence for the neighborhood, I don’t skateboard but I thought the store contributed nicely to the diversity of the retail in the area.

It’s definitely a Vapiano, see this WaPo piece from June…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060700631.html

It’s not chain stores I’m against, it’s the homogenization of a neighborhood.

Vapiano’s Chinatown location was supposed to go in at 623-625 H Street NW and Chop’t is going in at 730 7th…

Vapiano is already moving into the store on H between 6th & 7th St. I doubt they would sign a lease for another store just around the corner on the 800 block of 7th St.. but who knows?

“Fresh casual” is an industry term, not one that’s tied to a specific chain.

What this neighborhood really needs is a good place to buy greeting cards, and other gift shops like that that aren’t touristy (in other words, no FBI t-shirts).

We love the new B&P in Shirlington

Update on Vapiano from WP Weekend Chat:
Eve Zibart: Okay, here’s the official scoop on Vapiano (didn’t think I’d forget, did you?) The management is still eager to go into Chinatown, but the construction delays (a whole new basement, among other things) has pushed it back to March or April. So in the meantime, they’re moving faster in Dulles Town Center and expect to be open by the end of November.

Curt Fields: Tying up a loose end from last week’s chat.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/09/07/DI2007090701656.html