Francesca's closing at Pike & Rose

Women's apparel boutique Francesca's is closing at Pike & Rose. The Texas-based fashion chain announced earlier this year that it would be closing twenty to thirty of its more than 700 stores nationwide. They are now hosting a closing sale at this store, which is located at 11811 Grand Park Avenue.

The good news for loyal Francesca's customers is that their Bethesda Row and Montgomery Mall locations are not currently scheduled to close. The even better news is that you can save 50% on your entire purchase at the Pike & Rose closing sale.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: PIKE & ROSE, INCLUDING GAP (PHOTOS)

Some of the exterior wraps are off at Gap on Grand Park Avenue, in Federal Realty's new Pike & Rose development in White Flint.

Meanwhile, two other tenants have opened this past weekend at the property. iPic Theaters opened Friday, without extending any preview invitation to this blogger, and thereby reaching less total audience. Doesn't seem too smart, given the extensive outreach competitors ArcLight Cinemas and Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema have engaged in prior to opening. The majority of iPic's PR seems to be focused on legacy media like broadcast TV, print newspapers, FM radio and glossy magazines - which probably would strike those who get most of their news via smartphone these days as a bit behind the times. iPic does have a couple of cool promotional spectacles going on at the actual property, though. One was a man on stilts walking around Pike & Rose, and the other was a projection of the Hollywood sign on a blank construction barrier wall.

Women's apparel boutique Francesca's opened Saturday.

With these openings, parking was jammed in the garage off of Grand Park Avenue Saturday. Room to maneuver along the drive aisles inside the garage proved to be quite tight, now that more people are visiting. Parking is indeed free for 2 hours, and no validation is necessary for that. Longer validations for free parking are available from tenants like Del Frisco's Grille and iPic. If confronted with a similar squeeze in the garage, your best bet is to skip Grand Park Avenue, and head to the garage entrance west of it along Old Georgetown Road, just past Del Frisco's Grille's patio.

Stilt walker near
Del Frisco's Grille

AMP sign is lit

"Goodnight from Hollywood"

FRANCESCA'S OPENS AT PIKE & ROSE (PHOTOS)

The first retail has opened at Federal Realty's Pike & Rose development in White Flint. Women's apparel boutique Francesca's debuted Saturday on Grand Park Avenue, off of Old Georgetown Road. This is the third Francesca's location in Bethesda, with existing stores at Bethesda Row and Westfield Montgomery Mall.

&pizza AND FRANCESCA'S TO OPEN AT PIKE AND ROSE

EXCLUSIVE!

Two brands now familiar to Bethesda residents, &pizza and Francesca's, are the latest two tenants to sign on at Federal Realty's Pike and Rose development in White Flint. Francesca's (a.k.a. Francesca's Collections) already has boutiques at Bethesda Row, and in Westfield Montgomery Mall. &pizza just opened its first Maryland location in downtown Bethesda on Monday.