Sure enough, I've learned Prima is from the restaurant group of Boston-based celebrity chef Michael Schlow. You might remember him from Season 1 of Top Chef Masters, or from appearances on The Tonight Show and many other morning and cooking TV shows. Schlow has also been declared the best chef in the Northeast U.S. by the James Beard Foundation, and has won 13 prestigious awards. Here in the D.C. region, he has already launched Alta Strada, Casolare, Nama, Tico and The Riggsby.
Now he'll be opening his latest concept at Bethesda Row, diagonally across from fellow James Beard honoree Jose Andres' Jaleo, and following his Spanish colleague's expansion into the fast-casual market. Prima, as the name suggests, will focus on lower-priced and faster-prepared dishes from the Italian cuisine that has brought Schlow such success in his larger sit-down venues. The menu will be farm-sourced, "vegetable-focused," and include gluten-free options.
Looks like that spot wasn't hurt by the loss of the Regal Cinema.
ReplyDelete"Sure enough, I've learned Prima is..."
ReplyDeleteIs what follows from a press release? How did you come to "learn" it?
First it was Joe & The Juice vs Philz
ReplyDeleteNow it's Gusto vs Prima.
GAME ON
Looks like all three "nightspots" that were supposedly killed by the loss of the theater have found new tenants.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it!
ReplyDelete@ 5:23 - And don't forget Matchbox vs. Mamma Lucia. No non-compete provisions for Federal Realty tenants. LOL
ReplyDelete5:10: That's why people read this blog. #scooped
ReplyDelete5:34: LOL, Taylor Gourmet wasn't a "nightspot," and the closure of 16 nightspots in downtown Bethesda was caused by the disastrous County Council "nighttime economy" initiative that ended up tanking the nighttime economy.
So you're saying it is copied from a press release, which you didn't acknowledge?
ReplyDeleteHow did the initiative tank the nighttime economy?
ReplyDeleteWhat policies were implemented that failed?
Is that when all the closures started, when the policies are implemented?
Or had it already started, hence the need for a task force?
It has to be more than just the DLC, since they've been around before/during/after.
I wonder, now I'm just thinking out loud here, if the construction on every block, and the change to pricy high-rises had something to do with it.
How many people read this blog?
ReplyDeleteNow this could be interesting. Everything is fast causal, yawn. But this sounds really tasty. You did good Bobbie! Scooped em.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure this is in the Taylor Gourmet space and not the much larger Kapnos Taverna space next door? Taylor seems like such a small space for a James Beard affiliated restaurantier. Asking for a friend.
ReplyDelete5:59: LOL - No press release, just a scoop. #scooped
ReplyDelete6:01: All of those questions about how the nighttime economy initiative tanked the nighttime economy in downtown Bethesda were answered on yesterday's thread. Ask any bar or restaurant owner in Bethesda if they think the government liquor monopoly DLC is a major problem (Hint: They will tell you it is). This is off-topic; please get back onto the topic of Prima.
"I've been chasing this story down since mid-November, when I first learned the restaurant would take over the Taylor Gourmet space - but the business was well-hidden in anonymous county and state government filings, suggesting it might be a prominent chef wanting to keep a new concept secret."
ReplyDeleteYou didn't "learn in mid-November that Prima would take over the Taylor Gourmet space". Be honest, Dyer.
6:24: This is for Taylor Gourmet - it's fast casual like TG was. City Paper reports one of Mike Isabella's ex=partners is negotiating with Federal Realty to keep the Kapnos space under a new name.
ReplyDelete"No press release, just a scoop."
ReplyDelete"Prima is from the restaurant group of Boston-based celebrity chef Michael Schlow. You might remember him from Season 1 of Top Chef Masters, or from appearances on The Tonight Show and many other morning and cooking TV shows. Schlow has also been declared the best chef in the Northeast U.S. by the James Beard Foundation, and has won 13 prestigious awards. Here in the D.C. region, he has already launched Alta Strada, Casolare, Nama, Tico and The Riggsby.
Now he'll be opening his latest concept at Bethesda Row, diagonally across from fellow James Beard honoree Jose Andres' Jaleo, and following his Spanish colleague's expansion into the fast-casual market. Prima, as the name suggests, will focus on lower-priced and faster-prepared dishes from the Italian cuisine that has brought Schlow such success in his larger sit-down venues. The menu will be farm-sourced, "vegetable-focused," and include gluten-free options."
Don't insult your readers, Dyer. This is obviously copied from a press release.
6:26: Ask Federal Realty; they have the email I sent on November 19.
ReplyDelete#BabaBooey #Facts #scooped
"All of those questions about how the nighttime economy initiative tanked the nighttime economy in downtown Bethesda were answered on yesterday's thread."
ReplyDeleteNo they weren't. You just responded with your usual mix of questionable sources, diversions, evasions and ad hominems.
6:28: I'm flattered that you believe my article is so well-written that it must have been a talented PR person. The reality is, I wrote this myself based on my own shoe-leather investigating since mid-November. The only quote in the article is from one source. Things not in quotes are my own words. Writing 101. Journalism 101. Sign up for both.
ReplyDelete6:31: LOL - 16 nightspots closed, and the once-vibrant downtown Bethesda is now totally dead at night. What more evidence are you looking for? I know you're hurting that your guys on the Council blew it and tanked nightlife in Bethesda and elsewhere. Just man up and deal with the fact that your guys destroy every sector of business they touch.
ReplyDelete"16 nightspots closed"
ReplyDeleteThe vast majority of which re-opened as other nightspots.
Parker's was closed by Federal Realty because they wanted to move Williams-Sonoma to that spot.
RiRa closed because the chain consolidated their two suburban locations - Bethesda and Arlington into a single one in Georgetown.
6:45: Not even close to 16 ever "reopened as other nightspots." Parker's and Ri-Ra, like the others, closed because they couldn't pay their rent any longer after the Riemer task force tanked the nighttime economy.
ReplyDeleteHeckuva job, Brownie!
When is Prima supposed to start any remodeling / construction? Is there an opening date?
ReplyDelete7:29: Any minute now. Someone was seen going in recently.
ReplyDeleteNo opening date yet, however. Lot of construction to do first.
ReplyDeleteHey Dyer - Union Jack's, The Roof, Hard Times, Urban Heights...all of these re-opened as other "nightspots".
ReplyDelete"Someone was seen going in recently."
ReplyDeleteWhy the weird use of passive voice?
Dyer is deleting posts because he is a child who can't afford to feed himself.
ReplyDelete7:35: Two of those are the same place, which was filled by an existing bar that simply moved over to it. Tapp'd is more of a restaurant than a nightspot. Hard Times and its replacement are both gone! Dyer schooled you again, chump!
ReplyDelete7:36: Cause you're a weird dude, like 7:43.
Don't forget, Hans Reimer also flicked the lit cigarette that took down another nearby nightspot, Hank Dietel's. I heard it from my sources that I won't name, but it's true
ReplyDelete9:57 AM Hans was arrested last year, but not for arson.
ReplyDeleteLike I've said before and will say again...
ReplyDeleteBeing arrested for peace-fully protesting something that harms his constituents is actually a plus, not a negative. It IS the 21st century and all.
I'm sure if Dyer ever got arrested for, let's say, peace-fully protesting the cemetery issue, he'd proudly wear it like a badge.
Anna --
ReplyDeleteWRT Reimer's arrest at a rally for illegal aliens: when will you and other anti-Americans understand that ILLEGAL immigration does NOT help Americans or America, other than benefitting the limousine liberals who want cheap labor to mow their lawns and clean their houses. And corporations who want the bigger profit margin. Promoting illegal immigration is not "humane", as pro-illegal immigration advocates claim, as we have seen (from those who are paying attention) of the children being trafficked who are thankfully intercepted by U.S. authorities and removed from the traffickers, and those who are dying from conditions they must endure while trying to reach the border, as well as women/ girls sexually assaulted on the journey. SMH.
LEGAL immigration HELPS America. Of which we have over 1M/year. We are the TOP country for accepting immigrants https://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/10-countries-that-take-the-most-immigrants?slide=11
Lastly, neither illegal NOR legal aliens are constituents of American elected officials, since they are both ineligible to vote. (Unless you're saying that there is VOTER FRAUD?) Although I know your side is doing all it can to push for that and eradicate any distinction between citizen and non-citizen for one big borderless global family. But until that happens, unless someone was eligible to VOTE for an elected official they are not a constituent. Therefore, Reimer's arrest in support of illegal immigration dishonors his oath of office since illegal immigration is a violation of the U.S. and Maryland Constitutions.
It was a DACA rally. Children, who through no fault of their own, ended up living in this country for most of their lives. This wasn't about the entire immigration system, which does need some updating.
ReplyDelete"your side" - you mean my side as an American-born citizen?
You can tangent or distract from the actual issue all you want. It doesn't change the FACT of the rally...DACA.
This is a country of immigrants, proudly so. Just because we are becoming less blond haired, blue eyed and our skin colors are expanding, doesn't mean that as a country we are losing our character. Hardly so...just the opposite.
5:07: That's actually not true - polls in recent years show that longstanding points of agreement on America's founding documents and ideas are no longer supported to the degree they have been in the past.
ReplyDelete"no longer supported to the degree they have been in the past. "
ReplyDeleteBy whom?
What's actually not true? Please point to the part of what I posted was inaccurate?
You mean the founders did not want this to be a country of immigrants? The founders wanted this country to be all British & French?
"longstanding points of agreement on America's founding documents and ideas are no longer supported to the degree they have been in the past."
ReplyDeleteWut?
7:38: Is English your first language? That's about a third-grade reading level sentence you claim you can't comprehend.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying you don't believe in our Constitution? That you don't believe in the ideas it lays out?
ReplyDeleteThat's not "English". That's a pile of gibberish. Local third graders are scratching their heads.
ReplyDelete"This is a country of immigrants, proudly so. Just because we are becoming less blond haired, blue eyed and our skin colors are expanding, doesn't mean that as a country we are losing our character. Hardly so...just the opposite."
ReplyDeleteAbove is what I said that prompted this reply of yours:
Blogger Robert Dyer said...
"5:07: That's actually not true - polls in recent years show that longstanding points of agreement on America's founding documents and ideas are no longer supported to the degree they have been in the past."
Wow. Scary.
When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. - Sinclair Lewis
5:21: Yes, it is "scary" that the Bill of Rights is less popular and thought to be disposable by 61% of today's college students. And that many in our country today do not understand the genius of the system the founders established, such as the roles of the Congress, Senate and Supreme Court - and how they prevent the very "fascism" you like to talk about.
ReplyDelete"When authoritarianism came to Montgomery County, it was wrapped in the Washington Post and carrying developer cash." - Robert Dyer
Says the guy who keeps losing democratic elections.
ReplyDelete5:46: I have yet to run in a free, democratic election without voter fraud and collusion with the Washington Post.
ReplyDeleteNo, you just won't admit that the citizens of our County don't like you very much.
ReplyDelete6:16: LOL - sorry, punk, but a rigged election and blackout of media coverage don't translate into an accurate measurement of popularity.
ReplyDeleteSo, what do you believe is "an accurate measurement of your popularity"?
ReplyDeleteDon't confuse Popularity with Respect...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete