Met Bethesda had visibility issues being tucked away on an upper floor, but Naples had prime real estate and an exterior entrance. The mall still has its biggest dining draw, The Cheesecake Factory, and another large restaurant tenant that was part of the multimillion dollar relaunch of the mall, CRAVE. Taking the mall upscale also included the opening of a 16-screen ArcLight Cinemas theater.
It will be interesting to see what Westfield does with these two large restaurant spaces - bring in even-heavier-hitting brands and chefs, or convert them to smaller or other uses.
#DEADMALL
ReplyDeleteCrave is next.
ReplyDeleteCrave has been doing Uber Eats - they are desperate! I wonder what will happen to Lucky Strike (if they ever open!) when Pinstripes opens in Pike and Rose. The mall is not doing well.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Crave is it's nothing special. They probably get a good chunk of business from people who can't deal with the wait for The Cheesecake Factory. That's how Bertucci's and its predecessors survived in White Flint.
ReplyDeleteI predict that the entire mall will be gone long before the White Flint Lord & Taylor closes.
ReplyDelete#TheDarkSideOfMontgomeryMall
We can all make our dark jokes about everything that closes, but it's kinda scary. With the rents and regulatory costs, it's getting to be impossible to start a business with a hope of profit. Not even with big pockets.
ReplyDeleteBusiness startup discussions begin with "how much are you willing to lose?"
Kind of surprising. It seemed like the dining hall was by far the most successful part of the mall. It's usually packed on the weekend and in the evenings. The rest of the mall by comparison, apart from the Apple store and dept. store anchors, is eerily quiet (like White Flint was before it closed).
ReplyDelete"Apart from dept. store anchors"
DeleteActually just Macy's and Nordie's. Sears is dead, too.
Lush seems pretty busy but yeah without the Apple Store the mall would already be dead!
ReplyDeletePF Changs should follow its old neighbor to Mont Mall.
ReplyDeleteEven Fridays would do well there.
There's probably already at least 10 empty storefronts at the mall. Most have generic "retailer coming soon" signage.
ReplyDeleteI'd love more high end stores. I feel like we have nothing compared to Tysons and my eastern european gf likes the nice stuff in life!
ReplyDeleteIt is Virginia's fault based off of the secret political agenda to sabotage Business growth in the Maryland Suburbs.....
ReplyDelete@9:51 The food cout in general does well, but Naples not so much. Their pizza section was OK and got some traffic, but the sit-down restaurant was empty every time I went by.
ReplyDeleteNext to go: Will it be Crave or Bobby Flay's Burger Palace? Crave is mediocre and sends me $10 coupons (always a sign of desperation). Bobby Flay's is not in a great location, especially after the bus station moved.
Saw this train coming on the first few days of business. Their creations just didn't inspire customers to patronize the place. Yeah the pick-up counter was great for grabbing a slice or other quick chow, but the formal look of the dining room, tacked on to a food-court, was off-putting. NEXT!
ReplyDeleteDefeated wage increase too much for you to handle Robbie? I see your not ranting on about how the CE will drive away more business from the moribund MOCO?
ReplyDeleteNaples was overpriced and not very good. I only went a few times, but each time I felt like I overpaid for a bad meal. God riddance.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that Cheesecake Factory does as well as it does, hidden away in the behind the escalator confines of the lower level. Look what happened to Blaze, not much walk by traffic. I find the food court too loud, it's not a pleasant place to eat. We looked at Naples and the Met before it, and the prices were too high and the ambience needing. Whomever moves into Naples space should block the windows so the diners don't have to look out on the food court. If Westfield continues to charge rents higher than the market will bear, than it will continue to empty out, although I can always do with fewer "signature scents" being pumped in the mall.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising. When I'm in a food court, I generally eat something that I can't easily get elsewhere. Don't think I've ever eaten pizza in a food court.
ReplyDelete2:49: The CEO of Sbarro just passed out.
DeleteWhat a shocker. Whoever said CRA Crave is so correct it isn't even funny.
ReplyDeleteOne thing not being said here is that Westfield is a terrible mall company. Let Lerner take it over. Look at Tyson's. Only difference is Tyson's had more white collar workers coming for lunch. But that's not that big a deal. On every count, Tyson's is bigger than Montgomery Mall.
ReplyDeleteI was at Flay not long ago. Is it great? Is it as good as Shake Shack? No. But it really is pretty good and I like my burger they way I want it which all the "smash" type burger places don't do. If anyone should move it should be Bobby Flay. He'd be more noticed in the Naples spot and it is about the same size as his current place.
ReplyDelete5:30
ReplyDeleteMacerich owns Tysons, not Lerner (which owns the property across the street). Lerner has already torn down two malls in the metro area: Landover and White Flint.
Shopping malls, and brick and mortar in general, are way past their heyday. They simply can't keep up with the juggernaut that is Amazon. In 10 years the only time of physical retail left will be either dining, service, or experiential, and clearly. Amazon is even moving in to compete against grocery stores.
America's love affair with shopping malls is pretty much over. For every successful mall (Tysons), there are five failures (Lakeforest, Landmark, Springfield, Landover, White Flint).
Mall stores have so much going against them- high taxes, high rents, high utilities, high insurance, domestic terrorism threats, increased minimum wage, the costs must seem endless...
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the new capitalism friendly President Trump administration to offer tax relief and an ease in regulations, a repeal/replacement of a failed Obamacare and other measures which will aid the struggling small businesses. There is no doubt in my mind Donald J. Trump will once again "Make America Great Again"
Malls aren't doing badly -- poorly-managed malls are doing badly. Tysons does quite well, because they offer an experience and do it well. Movies, proper restaurants, food court, and retail.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery Mall is doing the same, but not at good as execution as Tysons.
White Flint.. well the Lerners just rode off the 70s glamour and never really did any updates. No wonder they failed. Funny to drive by and see the Lord and Taylor still standing, and surround by wasteland. Does anyone shop there? I sure hope the poor workers aren't paid on commission!
"Malls aren't doing badly -- poorly-managed malls are doing badly."
ReplyDeleteYes, they are. As I said, for every successful mall, you can easily name 5 or more that are struggling or have closed up shop altogether. Westfield is one of the most profitable of the mall/retail REITs, and you can tell that they know how to manage their assets. They sincerely try to deliver a good product no matter the market. They constantly seek ways to add value and pay attention to even the slightest of details. Just compare the states of Westfield Wheaton and Lakeforest which serve similar markets. It's night and day.
Despite the turnover, the theater and food court upgrades were certainly necessary, cost-effective, and successful at increasing traffic.
"Tysons does quite well, because they offer an experience and do it well."
I agree that it's the experience more than anything, but Westfield can't be a Tysons (which is twice the size), even if they tore it down and started over. Even with similar demographics, the region cannot support two upscale mega-malls so close to each other. Not in 2017. One would immediately fail, and odds are it would be Westfield since it doesn't serve as the anchor of a massive business district.
This article was ripped off by Bethesda Magazine and Eater, neither of which attributed the scoop to me. Shameful. Complete violation of journalistic ethics. Plagiarism.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the source told them too.
ReplyDelete11:23, Uh, no, the source didn't tell them. Their story was a day later. This was huge breaking news.
DeleteHow do you know? Is your source exclusive?
ReplyDelete7:07: I know, because:
ReplyDeleteA. Yes, my source was exclusive.
and
B. You never hold a major story like this if you have it. Enjoyed the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson's explanation of that, when he debunked the idea that media outlets had explosive stories they were holding back until the end of the presidential campaign. He said you never sit on a scoop, or else one of your competitors will report it first.
So, yeah, Bethesda Magazine stole my story with no attribution. So did Eater DC, by the way.
Thank you for the actual answer with a decent explanation.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate your not assuming I was someone else and insulting me.