CALYPSO ST. BARTH POSTS COMING SOON SIGN AT BETHESDA ROW (PHOTOS)

A donut shop is being transformed into an exclusive boutique on Bethesda Avenue. Calypso St. Barth, an upscale travel apparel chain, is in the process of taking over the just-closed Dunkin' Donuts at Bethesda Row. Here you can see some of work going on to clear out the old, in preparation for building the new. The Dunkin' Donuts will reopen on Elm Street this fall, and the latest rumor I'm hearing is that it could go into the current dry cleaners space there. A former Kraze Burgers at the corner of Woodmont and Elm is also available for lease.

Demo work inside the space
last week

More demo work

By the weekend, the space
had been cleared out

Nope, no Munchkins here, folks

DUNKIN' DONUTS CLOSES AT BETHESDA ROW (PHOTOS)

True to their word, Dunkin' Donuts closed on Bethesda Avenue yesterday. The signage on the storefront has been removed, and much was gone from the interior. Dunkin' Donuts will keep another promise, as well: this store will reopen over on Elm Street this fall, ensuring that Bethesda keeps 3 active Dunkin' Donuts stores running (Bethesda Metro Center and Cordell Avenue).

Where are they going to open? If you're betting on it, I'd go with the old Kraze Burgers space at Elm and Woodmont, especially now that Ri-Ra has been filled by Noodles and Company and Soul Cycle. Should that come to pass, it would have generous patio space, as well as more interior space than the old store.

Speaking of the old store... Permits are going forward to transform the donut shop into a fancy Calypso St. Barth boutique. Fortunately, the Bethesda Row Dunkin' Donuts is immortalized on my YouTube Channel.

DUNKIN' DONUTS TO CLOSE MAY 31 AT BETHESDA ROW - BUT RETURN ON ELM ST. THIS FALL (PHOTOS)

EXCLUSIVE!

We knew Dunkin' Donuts was going to close on Bethesda Avenue this summer, but now I have the exact date from the local franchisee - May 31. But Bethesda is still going to have 3 Dunkin' Donuts stores anyway: Dunkin' Donuts will move into a vacant spot on Elm Street early this fall (but they declined to identify which one at this moment). The two that are currently available are the other half of the former Ri-Ra, the other half of which was recently leased by Noodles & Co., and the former Kraze Burgers a block east.

Kraze Burgers seems a bit oversized for a Dunkin' Donuts, making Ri-Ra seem to be the frontrunner.

Dunkin' Donuts opened stores at Bethesda Metro Center, and in the Norfolk-Cordell II building on Cordell Avenue, just this year.