Huge retail news from the Bradley Shopping Center in downtown Bethesda this morning.
Walgreens will open a store at the center, the first Walgreens location in Bethesda history. The permanent sign was installed - and lit - Sunday. This is great news, as the chain often offers
merchandise exclusive to its stores, and has a great Halloween section this time of year. The addition means even more one-stop shopping for Bethesdans, at what is already one of the top one-stop shopping centers in Montgomery County.
Walgreens should have had a Bethesda location by now with its
acquisition of the Rite Aid on Westbard Avenue, but appears to have held off on its promised transformation. That Rite Aid is likely to be demolished as early as next year, and will not return to the new Westbard development there, as the new Westwood Giant store will include an in-store pharmacy.
Looks like this is the former House of Alexis, which closed in April. That would have been worth mentioning in the article.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very small site for a Walgreen's or any chain drug store - less than 1,700 square feet. Maybe it's just a pop-up?
Nice to see a new retailer in town.
ReplyDeleteThat shopping center is so freakin’ weird. Stone piers between funky Disney Tomorrowland canopy brackets, and all stores are required to have those white signs with all capital letters, in that strange font. Sort of a cross between a shopping center built for the Flintstones and the Jetsons.
A great assortment of shops, and a real asset to the community, but the shopping center looks like it was designed by a first year architectural student in 1970.
That's a teeny tiny little Walgreens. Can we have a real one?
ReplyDelete"Sort of a cross between a shopping center built for the Flintstones and the Jetsons."
ReplyDeleteYou realize that the Flintstones and the Jetsons existed at the same time on the same planet, don't you? The prolies lived on the ground which had been ruined by nuclear war, while the elites lived in the air.
What Bethesda really needs is a drive-in (with car service) restaurant serving huge portions of mammoth and pterodactyl meat.
A lot of breaking retail & restaurant news across the network this morning!
ReplyDelete5:57 AM - Yes, the old Bradley Drugs was nearly three times that size. The soon-to-be-demolished Rite Aid (owned by Walgreens) in Westbard is nearly nine times that size.
ReplyDeleteNice addition!
ReplyDeleteWith all the brand new high-street retail spaces coming to Bethesda, Walgreens chose this very tiny, invisible space in a 50 year old strip mall??
ReplyDeleteAt the very least you would have thought they would want to be on Wisconsin.
I don't get it with Walgreens, it's like they're afraid of competing with CVS here. In Chicago and Milwaukee they're like on every other block.
So tiny! I fear that the pharmacy will be cited for multiple violations of HIPAA due to the lack of privacy.
ReplyDeletePharmacist: Right. I've got some of your prescriptions here. Er, who's got the pox? (nobody reacts) ... Come on, who's got the pox ... come on... (a man timidly puts his hand up) . .. there you go. (throws bottle to the man with his hand up) Who's got a boil on the bum... boil on the botty. (throws bottle to the only man standing up) Who's got the chest rash? (a woman with a large bosom puts up hand) Have to get a bigger bottle. Who's got wind? (throws bottle to a man sitting on his own) Catch.
I bet Walgreens is just tipping their toes in the Bethesdian water, until some of the larger Wisconsin highrises are done.
ReplyDeleteI think the proposed 8000 Wisconsin building called Artena, has a large retail space facing Wisconsin that seems ideal far a large drugstore. It’s almost directly opposite of the existing CVS, that will likely be redeveloped with the Midas shop in the near term. I would think the large Benihana’s and parking lot is on borrowed time as well.
Once Marriott moves in, the north end of Wisconsin will likely see some new development on the east side, being literally in the afternoon shadow of a massive new corporate headquarters.
7:33
ReplyDelete"Once Marriott moves in, the north end of Wisconsin will likely see some new development on the east side, being literally in the afternoon shadow of a massive new corporate headquarters."
Yep, the best thing about Marriott being in Woodmont Triangle will be the tremendous boost to daytime traffic to all the retail. It's a shame that Rock Bottom couldn't hold out (if they are closing per Dyer).
According to Dyer, Kaldi's in DTSS closed and Tastee sold to Marriott, two years ago. Also the Purple Line is dead.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, has Trader Joe.s officially executed a lease for 7900 Wisconsin? There's been a lot of silence on that project. The apartments (if they are still all apartments) don't even have an official name or website yet.
ReplyDelete7:40: Nope - to recap, Kaldi's posted a auction notice stating they were "closing their doors forever," not me.
ReplyDeleteI exclusively reported on the inside negotiations between Tastee and the Marriott developers in which Tastee agreed to sell for $7 million, contingent upon Woodmont Grill also selling to Marriott. Woodmont Grill declined to sell, making the Tastee deal moot, as confirmed by Marriott spokesman months later.
You need to get up to speed on the facts, and to stay on-topic for this article or I delete your troll comments, Boy Friday.
Boy Friday
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ReplyDeleteThank you I needed that. ROTFLMAO!
ReplyDeleteThey'll do good business. People will pick up prescriptions while visiting other shops.
ReplyDeleteMaybe faster than trying to park at CVS across the street during the day and then wait in long lines.
The Colorado river carved the Grand Canyon in less time it takes to stand in line at any CVS
DeleteWalgreens is trying out pharmacy only stores. Is this one of those?
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of their new small-store formats I read about recently (Forbes? Bloomberg?)
10:05 AM Marriott spox confirmed Dyer's reporting on Tastee at a public meeting.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what that has to do with Walgreen's...
On Rock Bottom- are you saying you know more than the landlord (Douglas Development)?
Again, off topic.
10:36 AM Marriott spox confirmed Dyer's reporting that Tastee selling was contingent on Woodmont Grill selling. It's not that hard folks.
ReplyDeleteWoodmont Grill is still packing in crowds, even with the construction. 3 hour waits if you don't have a dinner reservation.
2:25 PM Bossman, if you were at the Marriott public meeting, you'd know Marriott confirmed every word of Robert Dyer's reporting.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd rather keep your head in the sand about what is going on in our downtown, so be it Bossman.
Speaking of Arlington Road, why hasn't Dyer reported on the PEPCO work that's currently causing massive traffic jams?
ReplyDelete"That shopping center is so freakin’ weird. Stone piers between funky Disney Tomorrowland canopy brackets" - Am I the only one completely stunned by this comment?
ReplyDeleteThe combination of stone facing and Modernist design is the architectural foundation of West Bethesda, MD. It's the primary architectural style of the Bradley Blvd corridor, Kenwood Park, Hilmead, etc. If you don't like that style, you're living in the wrong town! It's the history of Bethesda