Thursday, September 08, 2016

Dean & DeLuca opening in Bethesda (Photos)

I've unofficially known Dean & DeLuca was moving into the new retail building at the 4747 Bethesda Avenue project for some time. You may recall I mentioned almost exactly two months ago that I had asked Dean & DeLuca to confirm or deny the information I had. They declined to respond. The JBG Companies leasing agents for the building did respond, but said they could not tell me who the tenants were.

Now there is an official press release about the opening from JBG, announcing Dean & DeLuca will open in the fourth quarter of 2017. The company promises the Bethesda Dean & DeLuca will have the same inventory and quality as the existing store in Georgetown.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to offer Dean & DeLuca to the downtown Bethesda neighborhood," JBG Executive Vice President Robin Mosle said in a statement this morning.  "As incredibly rich with restaurants and shopping as the area is, Dean & DeLuca with its phenomenally curated offering of gourmet items, prepared foods and gifts is something that does not currently exist. It is always our goal to enhance the lifestyle of the neighborhoods in which we work, and this will certainly be a delightful addition to the community.”

The unique architecture of the retail building, by Morris Adjmi of New York, is designed to evoke 19th century rail stations. That is certainly appropriate, as the building is adjacent not only to a former railroad right-of-way, but also to the future Purple Line station that will be behind it.

Dean & DeLuca will not only be inside the building, but will also have space on the rooftop deck. Sources have told me at least one more tenant will take space in the building, as I previously reported in July.

"We are looking forward to deepening our commitment to the Capital District with a foodie footprint in the sophisticated Bethesda area,” Bayani Lauraya, Global President of Dean & DeLuca said.  “Our hope is that Dean & DeLuca will become known as the finest local food market for the Bethesda community, meeting the same great response as we’ve received in Georgetown.”

The Dean & DeLuca addition fits well with the high-end kitchenware of Williams-Sonoma down Bethesda Avenue, and the "chef kitchens" being marketed by the new residential buildings opening in the area.

Interestingly, the JBG press release also announces that the office tower portion of the 4747 development will have a ground floor restaurant. This detail suggests that JBG is going to be tremendously successful in its planned transformation of that block of Bethesda Avenue. You'll have Dean & DeLuca, then a restaurant, and then the future World of Beer, as you proceed up the block toward Bethesda Avenue. That will activate the streetscape that is currently poorly lit and lightly traveled after dark there.

One intriguing coincidence with the announcement - yesterday on Twitter, a man asked Chef Jose Andres where he could get "a good sherry vinegar in D.C." Andres suggested A&H/Pescadeli, which is two blocks down Bethesda Avenue from 4747, and - meaning the Georgetown store - Dean and DeLuca.

Now Bethesda will have both.

85 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we've reached peak grocery store. Downtown Bethesda has a Giant, 2 Safeways, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe's, and now D&D and Target on the way.

Anonymous said...

And another Trader Joe's on the way

Robert Dyer said...

Except for the high-end retailers, it should translate into lower prices with all of the competition. I am shocked at what Giant charges for some items. They can't keep doing that with Harris Teeter and Target aggressively moving in.

Anonymous said...

This is pretty cool. Dean and Deluca is a nice addition to Bethesda Row. If Montgomery County was smart they'd figure out a way to make parts of Elm, Woodmont, and Bethesda avenues pedestrian only on the weekends. They now have plenty of parking on the perimeter, and it could become a hotspot to spend weekend days.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Prideful article. Unofficially knew. Previous post.

Anonymous said...

I went to Harris Teeter last weekend to check it out. Giant is better price-wise, at least on items I purchased like organic milk, yogurt, and avocados. With the exception of produce, all were the same brand name at both places, so I think my comparison was fair. HT also had a poor fish selection which surprised me -- only one variety and cut of salmon. Salmon is the most popular fish! Giant has 2-3 varieties on offer.

HT has much better prepared food than Giant, I will say that.

Oh and in the brand new HT, their credit card readers don't take chip cards. It has the slot, but it doesn't work.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait until Dyer trespasses through this construction site for some more illegal photos. #creeper

Anonymous said...

HALL HAIL HANS RIEMER ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

Anonymous said...

11:35 AM says Reamer is great. He is not (according to The Washington Post).

Anonymous said...

He's probably not great, but he's sure better than a whack-job like Dyer on the Council!

Anonymous said...

Agreed.

Anonymous said...

11:48 doesn't understand that commentors don't specifically like Riemer but are making fun of Dyer and how upset him and his supporters get in the comments here.

Anonymous said...

Harris Teeter's prices for fresh meats and cat food are higher than Giant. However most other items are competitive.

To Dyer's horror, HT does not carry any Hostess products, and their selection of Banquet and Hungry Man dinners is extremely limited.

Anonymous said...

when that other Bethesda blog gets scooped by Dyer, they credit him and share his link. Why isn't that done here? They had the story yesterday.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Poppy will be shopping exclusively at D&D

Anonymous said...

12:32 PM Dyer should credit someone's self published blog for a press release?

Anonymous said...

@2:03 no, it's just funny that Dyer whines and blows a gasket when someone's self published blog publishes press releases when he beats them to it.

Anonymous said...

With all these comments, theres more analysis of Dyer's reporting and how he runs his news sites than any local news publisher in the country.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Dyer's website a "self-published blog"?

Robert Dyer said...

12:32: I wasn't scooped. I knew about Dean & DeLuca months ago. But you can't print a story if the tenant and landlord won't confirm it (unless you have some alternative piece of hard evidence to pin it on beyond a third-party source).

I'm not privy to the behind the scenes conversations, but the leak to a competing website 24 hours early was intentional, and designed to steer traffic toward that website.

This is hardly the first time the other site has engaged in this type of unethical behavior.

Moreover, it was foolhardy of the person who made the decision to favor the other website. PR 101 pro-tip: The editor you anger by intentionally snubbing him to benefit a competitor is the same editor who decides how much coverage your business, project or event gets in the future. You deny yourself free publicity to my thousands of daily readers. Not smart.

Leaks as part of some quid pro quo with a competitor? Not a scoop. Sorry, punk.

Speaking of unethical, Ken Hartman had a whole breakout box in his taxpayer-funded email newsletter this morning to promote that same website using taxpayer funds for the private profit of that website.

Not ethical. Not legal. Not journalism.

The picking of winners in the Bethesda media market must stop, particularly when taxpayer money is involved.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Robert Dyer said...

4:12: No more than The Other Website. And your point is?

Robert Dyer said...

The main difference is that my website doesn't have angel investors who are secret and create potential conflicts of interest. Maybe you should try to find out who those secret sugar daddies are, and what political and financial interests they represent. #facts

Anonymous said...
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Robert Dyer said...

9:24: Laughable claim. I can unequivocally state that my website has received no outside funding from anyone. The other website has acknowledged it has angel investors. Big difference.

Anonymous said...

It's easy to publish a website free of money when you still live in your moms basement

Anonymous said...

The only bad thing about this blog: the people who post mean spirited comments. Hey folks, get a life! If you don't like this blog, just go away. Robert does a nice job providing a free (!!!!) community service, and it's purely OPTIONAL for you to read it. If you don't Robert Dyer, just GO AWAY. It's time to grow up and act like a civil adult.

Anonymous said...

4:43am tired, old joke. Grow up please.

Anonymous said...

And @5:23AM is such a beautiful, intelligent, wonderful person.
Oh I’m sorry, I thought we were having a lying competition.

Robert Dyer said...

4:43: I don't live in anybody's basement. But I understand why you have to divert from the real story - the mysterious angel investors that fund the competing website, thereby creating conflicts of interest. Who are they? Why are you scared? And most of all, why do you keep bringing up the topic for discussion, when it is so unflattering to the The Other Website? Seems like shutting up would be your best course of action.

5:30: No one even commented at 5:23 AM.

Anonymous said...

haha!!

Anonymous said...

Yeah it's weird people are so mean to s guy who is able to devote all his time to a free blog. Such a great service he is able to provide. We are very fortunate that he isnindependently wealthy and doesn't need to have a business case for the blogs, otherwise we wouldn't be getting such unbiased reporting. That's what happens when you have to run a news site as a business. we are fortunate dyer doesn't have to bend his morals for any of the typical business reasons.

Anonymous said...

Just as tired as it is for someone to keep banging on Moribund MoCo, Riemer's failed nighttime economy, paid trolls that are the same person that happens to work for the MoCo political cartel as well as developers as well as any number of additional people dyer is against but is all the same person, calling people IDIOTS, yelling FACT without supporting evidence or references, etc.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

5:58am you're funny. How does skepticism and critical coverage of elected officials compare to anonymous trolling, insults and personal threats against a journalist (Mr. Dyer). There is no comparison.

Maloney Concrete said...

Interesting that the only journalist that covers the Council with skepticism gets so many personal threats.

Anonymous said...

Bethesda Magazine is self published too. What's your point?

Anonymous said...

Folks are just envious that Dyer sets his own schedule, can do what he wants when he wants. Maybe they want to be able to wander Bethesda at 2AM and take pictures. Who knows?
If 5:58 is so tired of it, why do they keep reading and posting? Because they're addicted to the Dyer.

Anonymous said...

Let's embrace small business people like Dyer.
Is it official Council policy to put down small business owners?

Dyer is filling the needs of the news deserts of MoCo.

Anonymous said...

@ 6:33 AM: "Why do they keep reading?"

For the same reason that people watch "Interventions" or "Hoarders".

@ 10:58 AM: How can an endeavor that generates zero revenue be called a "business"?

Anonymous said...

It's not a business it's a hobby. He's good at his hobby.

Anonymous said...

I doubt Dyer is building this network of local MoCo news sites as a "hobby". His audience is surging.

How do you know Dyer's business plan? Did he share it with you or are you making shit up again? Stick to facts.

Anonymous said...

Dyer might hire Leventhal to write a column here after he's term limited.

Robert Dyer said...

3:33: I'm not sure I'd want to give Mr. Leventhal a platform to continue his insulting critique of the "body language" of female County employees.

Alan said...

It's not a traditional business in the sense that he doesn't have revenue.

If he uses his blog network as a platform for his campaigns that could certainly be a smart investment of his time and money.

But by no means is his blog network a business in a normal sense of the term.

A campaign platform, certainly.

Goals to sell it later, sure. So that might make his time and expenses and investment into a startup business with no revenue. I could buy that. But like you said, you and I don't know his business plan and Dyer certainly isn't sharing.

Calling something a business versus a hobby is making shit up?

What facts are you referring to?

Anonymous said...

How would 3:17 have any idea if audience is surging?

Much less know the industry baseline for what a surging audience is?

Much less understand the metrics and data if he had it?

Anonymous said...

Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?

Anonymous said...

@ 7:48 AM - perhaps it's because you've never provided even one milligram of documentation of your claim.

Anonymous said...

I'm 7:48 and I'm just asking a question. You have me confused with someone else.
Nice try at diversion.
And I'm still asking:
Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?

Anonymous said...

@ 11:21 AM -

You're engaging in the Argument From Ignorance yet again.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance

Anonymous said...

No, I'm just asking a question. That's it.
An answer might be nice too.

So I'm once again still asking:
Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?

Anonymous said...

OK, I'll "just ask a question", too.

Why is it so hard to believe that Robert Dyer is the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler?

Anonymous said...

It's not difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing.

I'll ask a question too.
Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has limited traffic and is decreasing?

See how this works both ways?

Anonymous said...

Ah 7:28 beat me to it. 7:28 gets it.

Anonymous said...

Saying you have unofficially known something announced first elsewhere is like saying you knew who was going to win any sports game after the game has already been played. Sure you did..... Ha.

Anonymous said...

It is funny dyer feels the need to say that at the beginning of his post.

I unofficially knew about every scoop ever. I just kept it to myself.

Anonymous said...

But *I* haven't claimed anything. Nor have I disputed anything.
I'm just a reader who doesn't understand what the fuss is all about.
Since I've recently chatted with my neighbors about the property tax increase, I know of a few more people who are now reading this site.
Logically, it translates to increased traffic.
So, I'm curious why my question is such a big deal.
Once again, you reply with deflections. And lunacy.

I'm still asking:
Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?

Anonymous said...

@ 8:59 AM - Because you still have provided zero evidence. Without evidence, your claim is nothing more than your own wishful thinking.

Anonymous said...

Evidence of what? I have no claim.
It seems to me, through my own face-to-face conversations with neighbors that a few more people are reading this site.

So why don't YOU think it's true?

Anonymous said...

Did he not just claim multiple times "Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?"

Anonymous said...

Oh for god's sake. How simple does it need to be?
Person A claimed increased traffic
Person B said they didn't believe Person A knew what they were talking about and it wasn't true

Person C (me) is asking Person B why they disagree. I could just as easily have asked Person A why they thought it was increasing. But, because I know a few people who just recently have started reading this blog, I had an understanding of why they might think that way.

I am trying to get an understanding of the other position.

Why is it so difficult to believe that Dyer's site has a lot of traffic and it's increasing?


Anonymous said...

In other words, you've still got nothing.

#DodgingDyer

#UnsignedDyer

Anonymous said...

When did Shill's talking point change from "third party analytics" to "a few people I know"?

Anonymous said...

Oh my god. I wouldn't know the what or the where of "third party analytics."
I am not shilling for anyone or anything?
I'm just a local lady with what I thought was a normal & reasonable question.
If you don't have an answer or don't want to answer then just say so.
You don't have to be so mean.
Acting like one won't make yours any bigger.

Anonymous said...

The falsetto was a nice touch.

Anonymous said...

Continue on with your ignorance.
The only one it's hurting is you.
Peace out

Anonymous said...

"Peace out"

Followed by the loud slamming of a door.

LOL

Andrea said...

I'm a local lady also so I don't know what you're referring to as making any bigger. Sexist much thinking it's a man who finds flaw in your logic?

Robert Dyer said...

8:08/8:50: I linked right to the article where I mentioned Dean & DeLuca over two months ago. You're still "Dumass material all the way."

Anonymous said...

should have been mic drop

Anonymous said...

Andrea
Asshole.
You're the one making assumptions and bringing sexism into it

Andrea said...

Um, 4:15 said "Acting like one won't make yours any bigger."

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure 10:27 understands how that phrase works.

The correct answer in that saying would be "d*ck" or similar. The implication is acting like a d*ck don't make one's d*ck any bigger.

A**hole wouldn't make sense in that context.

Anonymous said...

10:35. It's stage slang. Maybe ruder than 10:27 intended.

Anonymous said...

Pretty sure that's wrong.

https://www.google.com/search?q=acting+like+a+dick+won't+make+yours+bigher

Vs

Pretty sure that's wrong.

https://www.google.com/search?q=acting+like+an+asshole+won't+make+yours+big

Anonymous said...

Ignoring the typos in the searches ;)

Anonymous said...

Exactly why that is the wrong word for the phrase.

Anonymous said...

4:25, You accuse others of acting like a d*ck to grow theirs and then tell others not to be so mean??

Anonymous said...

Shame on all of you.
Bitch at, make fun of, name call and tear someone a new one (keeping on topic,) all for what? Do you feel better? I give them credit for waiting so long and answering you directly.
I'd hate to be you. Karma knows who's behind the keyboard.

Anonymous said...

We're not Hindu you twat.

Anonymous said...

Romans 12:19
Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord."


Deuteronomy 32:35
'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.'

Robert Dyer said...

5:51: I have to assume you're talking about the County Council, and the term limits "hastening upon them." Now if we could just find out who is funding the expensive attorney for the lawsuit against Ficker's ballot question.

Anonymous said...

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hansriemer1

https://www.facebook.com/hans.riemer

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/riemer/

http://hansriemer.com/

http://councilmemberriemer.com/

Anonymous said...

Interesting you should mention that. I've recently gotten emails from 2 local business organizations recommending voting "YES" to term limits.

Anonymous said...

7:20 wants to be Riemer. Note the talking points without any real solutions. All talk, no action.