Mon Dieu! Here's a shocker: Ladurée has suddenly closed at 4808 Bethesda Avenue at Bethesda Row. Signage has been removed from above the storefront. The French cafe appears to be the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy, and the flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the area, as I can find no news reports of the Paris-based chain engaging in any mass closure of its locations elsewhere. Ladurée opened here in 2022.
6 comments:
I'm not surprised at all. If Paul couldn't make it, I didn't see hope for Ladurée.
That's ok. There's a French cafe opening every other week.
Is this the 98% leased Bethesda Row moribund economy that you are describing? The downtown Bethesda that now has 7 urban format grocery stories? The one with six high-rise hotels, an eight-plex movie theater and three performing arts centers? Is this the moribund Bethesda that was recently rated as the second safest suburb located between 15 and 45 minutes from a major city by Smart Assets in the United States? The moribund Bethesda with a heavy rail station, soon with north and south entrances, future light rail and BRT stations, free circulator buses, Ride On buses, Metro Buses, multiple daily Mega Buses to NYC? The moribund Bethesda with dozens of county parks, privately owned public spaces and three massive new green spaces in the pipeline? The moribund Bethesda with a 425 space, two-story bike parking garage under construction adjacent to the Capital Crescent Trail connecting Bethesda to Georgetown and soon to Silver Spring? The moribund Bethesda with massive expansions to NIH and Walter Reed Military Medical Center under construction? The moribund Bethesda with over 30 high-rise offices and multifamily housing projects fully or partially approved, or in the pipeline for approval. I’m not seeing anything close to morbidity at least in downtown Bethesda.
Literally 2 out of your last 4 posts are about bakeries opening in Montgomery County! A chain that charges over $4 per tiny macaron closes (when they are surrounded by Levain, Maman, Chip City, Fresh Baguette, Georgetown Cupcake- with Tout de Sweet just a short distance away) and it's the sad, pathetic moribund economy framing. You need a new act, man.
5:48: Yep, that's the one. Even The Washington Post, Gov. Wes Moore, and former County Council staffer Adam Pagnucco now admit our economy is moribund. Not a single new major corporate HQ has opened in Montgomery County in over 25 years.
Do I need a new act when Wes Moore and the Washington Post are on stage with me, now saying what I've been reporting for over a decade?
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