Sunday, May 17, 2015

New strategy for vacant retail/restaurant space on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda (Photos)

The space once occupied by City Cafe & Caterers has sat vacant since last May. Now landlord Lincoln Property Company has posted renderings in the windows at 7514 Wisconsin Avenue, showing prospective tenants what it could look like for retail use. In this particular case, it is as a fashion boutique.

It is located by the revamped office building at 7550 Wisconsin Avenue, and very close to the Bethesda Metro station.



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dyer reads signs for us. No one from the glossy magazine ever does that.

Betsy said...

Too bad City Caterers couldn't make it to the Akridge building getting filled out with Sandy Spring and others. :(

Would boutique retail really work there? Busy road surrounded by no other retail... Who's gonna go there? I guess Mustard seed does it, but bargain seekers are willing to go the extra mile vs high end shoppers perhaps?

Anonymous said...

This would be a good place for an "adult" store.

Bethesda just hasn't been the same since Night Dreams shut down.

Robert Dyer said...

6:05: No, I not only broke the story about the closure of City Cafe last year, but also brought you this update on a long-vacant space. Nobody else but you is complaining about hyperlocal coverage of what's going on in Bethesda.

Robert Dyer said...

Betsy, it seems like a lot of these home remodeling studios are opening on Wisconsin Avenue lately. Maybe something like that, which is less of a "window-shopping" business, could work here.

Anonymous said...

"Window shopping" means that you look around without actually buying anything.

What kind of business model is a "window-shopping business", exactly?

Anonymous said...

The guy with his failed Bethesda blog is going to tell Dyer how to run a Bethesda news site? Lol. You can't make this stuff up.

Anonymous said...

I was walking around today and noticed a bunch of vacant retail spaces. For example, the Bainbridge's main floor has no retail -- just retail for lease signs. Then there's the spot where Pittze is/was -- is that back in operation or just sitting due to unpaid rent?

The Bainbridge one is most puzzling. They build the housing with great fanfare about amenities, but can't even sign any tenant to the ground-floor retail space?

Anonymous said...

Yeah the thoroughfare was their highly touted amenity wasn't it?

I heard a tenant is in the works? Hope it works out - and activates the alley!

Can't wait for the Lenkin combined alleyway.

Anonymous said...

8:24, how are you assuming that the first poster is any way related to bethesdanow?

And isn't a sale considered a good thing in some circles?

I like both blogs! :)

Robert Dyer said...

8:24: It means something like a boutique vs. a professional architectural studio. Customers at the former pass by on Bethesda Lane and make an impulse purchase. Customers at the latter are wealthy clients who live nearby, and are seeking to make a 5 or 6-figure remodeling investment - not something you decide while window shopping.