Friday, May 10, 2013

BRADLEY PARTY & VARIETY OPENS IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Bradley Party & Variety had its long-awaited opening yesterday, in the legendary Bruce Variety space at Bradley Shopping Center.

The revamped interior - by the Bethesda architectural firm of Bruce Lawson - retains a retro atmosphere, but is brighter and more colorful and spacious. Most notably, exposed hardwood floors play an integral part in the design.

New automatic front doors are a nice touch, as well as being practical when carrying large shopping bags out to the car.

Bradley Party & Variety's hours are:

Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Regular readers will recognize the new BP&V logo, chosen in a design contest sponsored by the owners, which I gave you an exclusive preview of months ago.

Now the competition begins in earnest. With the original Bruce Variety open at 8011 Woodmont Avenue, both stores will compete for your business.

Feel free to post your opinions in the comments below. Have you visited both stores? Which one comes out on top for interior design, prices, customer service, and inventory? Or is it a draw?

14 comments:

deemaglee said...

I'm rooting for their failure. Go Bruce Variety!! I have even stopped going to Strosniders because their nasty business practices have rubbed me the wrong way one too many times.

Anonymous said...

The new Bradley Party & Variety looks to be well stocked and I plan to visit them!

Robert Dyer said...

I guess I can put your vote safely in the Bruce Variety column!

Robert Dyer said...

They do. Let us know what you think after you visit.

Anonymous said...

You have the wrong logo for their company mr Dyer.

Robert Dyer said...

I have no idea what you're criticizing me for. You have a photo above from their actual storefront sign. And here is my preview of the logo from months ago: http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2013/03/bradley-party-variety-logo-revealed.html Same logo. What in the world do you mean I have "the wrong logo?"

Anonymous said...

It has different colors, no tagline and a green backing. I am excited to check out the new store though, it looks great!

Anonymous said...

thanks for clearing up that misunderstanding over the logo Mr/Ms. Strosnider...er, i mean "Anonymous"!

Anonymous said...

How much did the Strosniders pay to get the writeup?

So ridiculous that they would strong-arm Bruce's Variety out so that they could have the space for their own variety store.

While not a fan of Bruce's Variety, I sure as hell am not going to shop at Strosneiders or Bradley Party and Variety.

They have a ton of investors so as soon as they force out their competition they'll jack their prices up and gouge.

They pretend to be a family business but they have outside investors, have a very corporate feel to all their businesses, and only care about money.

Robert Dyer said...

Nobody pays anything to be written about on this website. There is no paid content on this website. Everything is written by me, and I have complete editorial control. I did a a similar writeup on the opening of Bruce Variety that actually had even more photos than this one did. Please do your homework before posting false and negative attacks on my integrity here.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Dyer:
Thanks for this update about the NEW Bradley Party and Variety. The bright colors and open space with neat shelves are a welcome sight compared to the old cramped shelves with stuff thrown everywhere. The cheerful staff are also a new addition that is welcome compared to the old Bruce's grumps. Welcome BPV and best wishes for a world of success.
Negative comments from competitors should be withdrawn. Everyone knows who they are and it just makes them look even worse than they already did!

Anonymous said...

Big fan of the new store good service and friendly faces!

Anonymous said...

Bruce Variety was not strong armed out of the Center. They wanted to pay rent for only a fraction of the space. Their sales had dropped off to a point that they could no longer afford to be in the Center. Do not hold this against the new Party and Variety store.

Anonymous said...

I would love to See some new pictures and Updates on the New Bradley Party and Variety stores, ive been hearing great things so far thanks for the updates mr Dyer. Hearing first hand from one of the owners and managers would be cool to see what that see about peoples reactions to the new store.