PASSION FIN

SUSHI

RESTAURANT

UNDER

CONSTRUCTION

Work is underway to transform a former clothing store into a sushi bar at the Sumner Place shopping center in Bethesda.

A banner-style sign announced the early 2012 opening. Out front, there was a large dumpster on Thursday evening.

When it opens, Passion Fin won't be competing directly with Sushi-ko, Sushi Taro and Kushi. Its main competition will be other sushi bars in the West Bethesda area like Yirasai Sushi in the Westwood Center II, and a couple of places on Macarthur Boulevard in Palisades.

With Passion Fin, Kicks Karate (in the former Potomac Video space) and Subway (in the former Jerry's Subs and Pizza space), The Shops at Sumner Place has filled some rare vacant storefronts.

The former Little Falls Mall has endured some recent challenges, with the Geospatial Intelligence Agency moving from its longtime home across Sangamore Road to Virginia. Agency employees were always a major part of the shopping center's customer base.

Fortunately, new intelligence-related personnel will be deployed at the site in the near future. That and an end to the recession would bode well for the future of this much-loved retail center.