Sunday, February 25, 2018

Redwood repairs moving slowly at Bethesda Row (Photos)

Redwood Restaurant & Bar at 7121 Bethesda Lane remains closed, after an exploding pipe caused apparently-extensive water damage throughout the restaurant. Two months have passed, and the restaurant has ceased posting updates on social media. They had advertised a Valentine's Day event, but failed to finish and reopen in time, and did not retract the ads for the romantic evening. No word if any couples broke up that night as a result...
The work appears more extensive than the damage visible from the exterior suggested. As you can see, the dining room walls appear completely demolished, as if a whole new business were being constructed from scratch.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

During the two months that Redwood has been closed, have you made any attempt to contact any live person involved with that restaurant, to ask what's going on, or are you just content to peep in the windows twice a month at 3 AM on a Sunday?

Anonymous said...

From walking by the last two months, I have not noticed any construction work going on. I suspect a problem with their insurance claim regarding the “reported” water leak. It can’t take two months to fix a problem like this, even with extensive damage. I think a larger issue might exist, as I have often seen very few folks dining or drinking there in the past six months. I have not found their food to very compelling, and was rather high priced.

The concept of a skinny and shallow linear restaurant with a large part of their extensive exterior glass facade utilizing operable folding storefronts was quite progressive when built. The interior dining really opens up to the public lane, and expands the dining experience into the sheltered walkway. A great people watching space.

Hey Federal Realty, wouldn’t that be a great location for a Shake Shake, with lots of adjacent outdoor dining? Give Five Guys a run for our money in Bethesda Row. What would the unique Bethesda Concrete ingredients include? As I recall, didn’t that corner have a concrete plant at one time?

Anonymous said...

Maloney Concrete was where Tio Julio's Rio Grande is now.

I suspect that Federal Realty has an agreement to exclude a competitor such as Shake Shack from leasing within a certain radius of Five Guys.

Anonymous said...

7:04 AM Redwood has made public statements, Dyer has reporting on those.

Anonymous said...

9:05 - These are Dyer's reports on Redwood. It looks like Dyer has only talked to one live person the whole time, "an employee", on January 4. All the other "updates" have been from reading signs, peeping in windows, and reading Facebook.

February 25 - This article

February 3 - "Redwood still hasn't reopened since a pipe burst got 2018 off to a soggy start for the Bethesda Lane restaurant. They haven't posted any updates on the remediation since January 9, the same day they also promised to host a Valentine's Day Four Course Dinner, which means they've got about a week to finish the job. Stay tuned!"

January 7 - Redwood Restaurant and Bar on Bethesda Lane remained closed yet another night. A new sign posted offers a conflicting message to the more optimistic one currently on their Facebook page. The sign says they now hope to reopen "early next week" (which is now early this week, given that today is Sunday). They say a remediation crew is scheduled to work inside the restaurant until then. Last night, coiled hoses were visible on the floor of the dining room. There is one bit of good news - Redwood is promising free soup when they reopen. With these temperatures, I'm sure many will be taking them up on that offer.

January 5 - Redwood Restaurant and Bar was closed again last night on Bethesda Lane, after being closed two previous days due to a burst water pipe. A wet-dry vac could be seen inside the dining room last night. There is a schedule posted on the Redwood website showing the hours they will be open each day through January 7. No explanation is given, and they were actually not open on January 3 and 4, contrary to the hours shown for those evenings. According to the schedule, they will be open regular hours today and tonight, so we'll have to see what happens.

January 4 - "Redwood was not able to reopen yesterday, following a burst pipe on Monday. They will try again today, according to an employee."

Anonymous said...

This is code for out of business.

Anonymous said...

8:24 AM is right, this restaurant has a huge space and I also observed only a handful of diners in recent months during dinner hours.

If they re-open, I expect they'll pin their hopes on warmer weather. There is much more business for this restaurant in warmer months with the wonderful outdoor space.

All of the businesses in this area have seen decline in business with the loss of the Regal Cinemas. The subsequent demolition/construction hasn't helped. Barking Dog is on the record with the Post saying business is down 20%.

Anonymous said...

With that level of renovation, they certainly need to file for permits. Dyer, have you checked those online? That may provide some clues as to what's really going on.

Anonymous said...

"Two months have passed"

No they have not.

Anonymous said...

"All of the businesses in this area have seen decline in business with the loss of the Regal Cinemas. The subsequent demolition/construction hasn't helped. Barking Dog is on the record with the Post saying business is down 20%."

To clarify, the owner of Barking Dog referred specifically to the closure of Elm Street and did not mention the Regal Cinemas, in the Post article.

Anonymous said...

...plus dirt, noise and construction from the project. But not the Regal.

Boyce Bowles said...

2:09 PM Let's be clear: The closure of the Regal Cinemas has had an impact. Less foot traffic to the area = less business for restaurants. Several restaurants even had "dinner & a movie" discount programs :)

Mazza Gallerie, Montgomery Mall, Pike & Rose, Silver Spring, et al. are packing in crowds for Black Panther right now. Bethesda Row restaurants won't benefit at all from folks seeing Black Panther. Regal would have had those crowds, dining at Barking Dog, Redwood, the Tap Room, etc. before and after the film.

Anonymous said...

Obviously this is more serious than water damage - the ceiling is gone, for god's sake. Hopefully BethesdaBeat looks into it so we get some actual reporting on the issue.

Anonymous said...

3:36 PM Dyer is on top of it. Bethesda Magazine already regurgitated Dyer's original reports.

Robert Dyer said...

3:36: You need them to tell you again what you learned from these pictures? You really are dense. Pizza Pass ever open again for you? How's that "deli" where the BBQ place was on Elm Street, punk?

Anonymous said...

@2:33: When making casual conversation with family and coworkers, do you also begin every statement with the phrase, “let’s be clear”?

Anonymous said...

5:14 AM - Only when he's signed in as Boyce Balls. Gotta keep the personalities separate, ya know.

Anonymous said...

Redwood does business under the name Independent Concepts, LLC. According to MD court records a tax lien of nearly $211k was filed against them by the Fed on 11/7/17 for taxes between 2015-2017.

Anonymous said...

And another one was filed on 9/18/17 for an additional $913k.

Anonymous said...

Re: 3:36 PM "Bethesda Magazine Nominated for FOLIO Award for News Website
Bethesda Beat among finalists including NBC’s Meet the Press". This is out of your league.

Anonymous said...

7:07/7:09: Nice sleuthing.

Anonymous said...

$1.124 million in back taxes? That's 200 times Robert's allowance for the past 25 years.

Anonymous said...

6:05 PM You have a singular wit.

Anonymous said...

That's what Redwood looks like? How many restaurants around here are going to make up stories about why they are closed and that they will be reopening soon when it's a total and complete lie? No one really cares about this restaurant so why not say we are closing and thank you for your patronage? This place will never reopen if I were a betting person.