Monday, August 28, 2017

True Religion closes, Kung Fu Tea opening at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

Westfield Montgomery Mall is losing its True Religion. The high-end denim retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this summer, and had promised it would close at least 27 of its stores in the financial reorganization. Employees were boxing up the store yesterday afternoon.

Whenever I stopped in, I was usually the only person in the store; it didn't seem like mall patrons were clamoring for expensive jeans. The location was also infamously robbed by a gang, who assaulted an employee during the lucrative $12000 heist (and - frankly - probably set a record for most people in the store at one time).

Meanwhile, popular bubble tea chain Kung Fu Tea will soon karate-chop its way into the Dining Terrace at the mall. The company is expanding this year, after hugely-successful openings in Rockville and downtown Silver Spring. They also will open a new location in Germantown.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like you saw that the store was closed, sometime over the weekend. Are you delaying your stories just so that you can meet your daily quota of two articles?

"Whenever I stopped in, I was usually the only person in the store"

Did you buy anything when you were there?

Looks like this is the 23rd shop or restaurant to close at Montgomery Mall year-to-date.

Anonymous said...

Did you get invited to the Purple Line groundbreaking, Robert?

Robert Dyer said...

5:27: You're nominated for ultimate moron, old sport. I discovered the store was closed last evening. Why would I immediately post a report when traffic is low on a Sunday night? You obviously know nothing about news or publishing, so it would be smart to just keep quiet.

5:58: Yes.

Anonymous said...

"You're nominated for ultimate moron, old sport."

First, that use of passive voice is weird, as if you're suggesting that anyone but you is doing the "nomination". And second, I can't picture Jay Gatsby ever saying that. LOL

"[I]t would be smart to just keep quiet."

That sounds like a threat. I am calling the MoCo Machine Police.

Anonymous said...

So you use print media tactics as a groundbreaking up to the minute news site?

Anonymous said...

"ultimate moron." This is how you talk to people just because you can't stand them? You are so rude. You have no potential to be anything but a grumpy frumpy blogger.

Anonymous said...

"Why would I immediately post a report when traffic is low on a Sunday night?"

Traffic was even lower when you were providing "live updates" of the move of the hardware store at 3 AM last Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Switching around the passive and active voice...

"I nominate you for ultimate moron, old sport. It was discovered that the store was closed last evening."

Anonymous said...

Wonder if they are moving to a Mall in Fredericksburg?

Anonymous said...

Frustrated blogger attacking Dyer. Next up: debating blog templates :)

Dyer's sites exist because the legacy media wasn't doing the job.

Robert Dyer said...

6:37: The fact that you believe True Religion closing is of the significance of Community Paint & Hardware being relocated in a massive operation with historic and real-time traffic impacts proves that, yes, you are a moron, and most importantly, a carpetbagger with no sense of Bethesda history.

6:39: Using 3 of your tired old critique phrases in one article's comment section doesn't help you refute the fact that you are the lone troll paid to troll here as part of your duties for the MoCo political cartel.

6:33: You apparently missed the clown's comment I was responding to. Otherwise, you would understand the term "moron" was indeed warranted.

Anonymous said...

You write a local blog. It makes no difference if you follow a news cycle or not. You stories aren't time-sensitive. Furthermore, blogs are more related to radio and cable broadcast than print media, which still runs on hard "deadlines."
So, old sport, it seems others do know a thing or two about publishing and news.

Anonymous said...

So how many people viewed your live coverage of the move of the hardware store?

"6:39: Using 3 of your tired old critique phrases"

I think you meant 6:43.

Roald said...

Excited to hear about Kung Fu Tea!

Every morning I get up and Robert Dyer has a story on a new restaurant or store!

Anonymous said...

Don't hate the Dyers, hate the Robert.

Anonymous said...

The closing of True Religion was first reported by Patch. This story does not attribute their original reporting. Therefore this is plagiarism.

Anonymous said...

"was first reported by Patch"
Lol...

Anonymous said...

https://patch.com/maryland/bethesda-chevychase/true-religion-close-bethesda-store

July 6. 53 days ago. Also gives a reason for the closure - the company filed for bankruptcy.

Deb Belt publishes 100 articles in the time it takes Robert Dyer to publish one.

Robert Dyer said...

8:19: That was just a national story they convert for each local Patch. It WAS NOT a story announcing the store was NOW CLOSED in Bethesda. National story saying all would close at some point. Totally different story. God help you if you're relying on Patch for Bethesda news!

Anonymous said...

Patch's biggest franchise at this point is posting restaurant inspection data.
Literally dumping the reports.

They have no one on the ground in MoCo and one person populates the local sites from a Baltimore office. It's almost as bad as BethesdaNOW, which was run from an Arlington apartment building.

Not real news.

Anonymous said...

@9:06 Patch just pulls wire reports and press releases, and if "Bethesda" is in the article, they re-post it on Bethesda Patch.

They used to have a real reporter with feet on the street. I forgot her name, but I was her doing an interview once. Anyway, they shut that down a few years ago. I believe Patch's parent company was AOL and they're not doing well, so they phone it in now.

Anonymous said...

R, did you report the Panera in Friendship Heights is closing? September 29 is last day. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

@ 9:11 AM - AOL spun off Patch in 2014, and AOL itself was acquired by Verizon in 2015. Patch has actually been doing better, and expanding, since it left AOL.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you deleted this:

6:43 "Dyer's sites exist because the legacy media wasn't doing the job."

No, they exist because he puts them online.


Anonymous said...

I check this blog for news every single day. Dyer has been a great source of information on certain issues and at least attempts to cover things other media outlets don't. However, I do not understand his notion on posting information when people most check, since its not like I the information he posts would delete itself or I wouldn't notice a new article had been posted.

Anonymous said...

"Patch just pulls wire reports and press releases, and if "Bethesda" is in the article, they re-post it on Bethesda Patch."

You mean like Dyer does with his crime reports on his four blogs?

Anonymous said...

Not just crime reports! The moribund Sam Eig blog is an excellent example. Only a fraction of the posts have anything to do with the area the blog purports to cover.

Anonymous said...

Remember when Dyer used to run for office LOL.

Robert Dyer said...

1:15: I had breaking restaurant news on Sam Eig just this morning. You're asleep at th switch again.

1:37: Remember when Hans Riemer said he was an expert on open data and cybersecurity? LOL

Anonymous said...

So, Robert, what exactly is your expertise in open data and cybersecurity?

Between the opening of a bubble tea restaurant in Germantown, and the sale of Lakeforest Mall for pennies on the dollar, I'd say the latter is the far bigger story.

Robert Dyer said...

6:21: Clearly superior to that of Hans Riemer. Perhaps you missed my report on the astonishing cybersecurity flaws at MCPS schools? Do you know what Hans Riemer has said on that topic, which directly puts students at risk every day? Zero! Also, unlike Hans Riemer, I would not allow the County government to operate on Windows 2000, as it was caught doing in 2014(!!). That had to be one of the most vulnerable platforms in the world, yet your "cybersecurity guru" Riemer had been in office FOUR YEARS at that point.

Sale of Lakeforest was handed to the Business Journal, then copied by the small and slightly-failing magazine. Not expecting Pulitzers to go to either. Now my story exposing a covered-up underground fuel spill in Bethesda...that's real journalism.

Anonymous said...

We’re all puzzled and challenged by your unique point of view.

Anonymous said...

Back to the question at hand, This time without the distractions, distortions and irrelevancies, please.

Robert, what exactly is your expertise in open data and cybersecurity?

Anonymous said...

Dyer, you can't just write "I'm not Hans Riemer" and "I'm a lifelong resident of Bethesda" 20 times each on a sheet of paper and call it a resume.