Alatri Bros. closing after today in Bethesda

Alatri Bros. will permanently shutter at the close of business tonight after ten successful years at 4926 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. The pizzeria's head chef, Wilber Melendez, tragically and unexpectedly passed away earlier this month. A GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses and a final trip home to El Salvador for Wilber received tremendous support from the community, meeting its $15,000 goal with $295 to spare. The support by patrons of the restaurant continued yesterday, with diners packing the pizzeria for dinner. You have one last chance today and tonight to enjoy the flavors of Alatri Bros.!

Mayflower Chinese Food closing in Bethesda

Mayflower Chinese Food at 7925 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda will close by the end of the month. The owner says the restaurant's lease is up, and a renewal agreement could not be reached with the landlord. However, he is hopeful to find a new location nearby where it can reopen. Fans of the restaurant would be wise to drop by soon for a meal.

Saks Fifth Avenue to close in Chevy Chase, opening potential major redevelopment opportunity

Saks Fifth Avenue will close its store at 5555 Wisconsin Avenue in the Friendship Heights area of Chevy Chase by the end of May. The high-end department store chain announced it will close 12 stores as part of its ongoing bankruptcy woes. This includes the Tysons location, as well as landmark stores on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, on Long Island, and at South Coast Plaza in Orange County, California. Saks' Chevy Chase outpost has been just such a landmark since it opened in 1964, as the grand department stores slowly realized the future - and their customers - were in the suburbs.

The departure of Saks will open a potentially huge redevelopment opportunity for property owner CCLC. With Amazon Fresh also having closed at the Collection at Chevy Chase development, the company is free to seriously consider knocking most or all of the retail and office structures down, and build a mixed use "town center" that would fall somewhere on the scale between their Chevy Chase Lake project and Federal Realty's Pike & Rose. The current Collection retail center was constructed at a time when community input and civic associations had a much greater role in development, leading to the low-density project that resulted.

Fast forward to 2026, and the zoning and density restrictions are wildly more liberal. Montgomery County government no longer listens to public input, civic associations, or even the once-decisive powers like Kenwood or the Columbia Country Club, having paid no price whatsoever at the ballot box for defying public or power-player opinion on matters like the Westbard sector plan, the Little Falls Parkway road diet and the Purple Line.

If you haven't noticed yet, the County has abandoned all of its "Smart Growth" propaganda pablum. Planners no longer regale attendees at community meetings with high-minded platitudes like "transit-oriented development," "quarter-to-half-a-mile from Metro," "eyes on the street," and "activate the streetscape." In 2014, the County said it just wanted the shopping centers for redevelopment. "We won't touch the neighborhoods." Ten years later, it announced it wouldn't just touch, but bulldoze the neighborhoods, with the County Council passage of Thrive Montgomery 2050. 

No more dancing around. No more apologies.

Yet, at the Collection, there is not only the land to do something big, but the property is literally at a Metro station. And thanks to the County Council driving the rich to move to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region, Friendship Heights is in decline. As a result, CCLC would actually have a pretty solid basis upon which to argue for an ambitious revitalization project. It doesn't mean CCLC will do it. But the potential is there to go big, and ask for even bigger. It's not 2006 anymore, and the obstacles of public opinion and community that bedeviled developers then have been utterly vanquished over the succeeding two decades.

Francesca's closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Francesca's is closing at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. A closing sale is now underway at the boutique. It's one of the rare business closures we can't blame the Montgomery County Council for, as the chain is closing all of its stores nationwide. It's been something of a slow-motion car wreck for Francesca's, which filed for bankruptcy over five years ago. Westfield has a number of tenants coming in that would be considered a clear step up from Francesca's, so the pain is going to be borne by the employees and loyal customers as opposed to the mall itself.

A look at the final hours of Amazon Fresh in Friendship Heights (Photos)

Today is the last day of operations for the Amazon Fresh stores in Friendship Heights, and across America, with the exception of California where Governor Gavin Newsom has forced the grocery chain to keep operating until March to comply with the state's superior layoff notification requirements for grocery stores. I'm reminded of when some states required TV broadcasts to continue longer, even as living room sets were allowed to go dark in Maryland and other jurisdictions with corporate puppet elected officials. Some states just take better care of their (non-homeless) residents. Let's take one last look at the ambitious Amazon Fresh experiment in Friendship Heights, as the final grains of sand cascade into the bottom of the hourglass:

Both Chevy Chase Amazon Fresh stores closing

The Amazon Fresh grocery stores in Friendship Heights and at Chevy Chase Lake will permanently close this Sunday, February 1, 2026. Amazon is closing all of its Amazon Fresh and Go grocery stores across the country, as a very expensive experiment with Amazon-branded physical grocery stores by the retail giant concludes. In Montgomery County, that means the losses of Amazon Fresh stores at Chevy Chase Lake, Friendship Heights, Shady Grove Road on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg, and White Oak. It's an especially raw deal for all involved at the Chevy Chase locations, as residents of Chevy Chase Lake had expected to have an on-site grocery store, Friendship Heights residents will now have only the hipster house brands of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market as full-size supermarkets within walking distance, and the Chevy Chase Land Company was counting on both to anchor their respective developments of Chevy Chase Lake and the Collection at Chevy Chase.

Tia Queta closing in Bethesda after 45 years

The recent wave of closures of some of Bethesda's longest-operating businesses continues. Tia Queta at 4839 Del Ray Avenue announced on Facebook yesterday that it will permanently close on January 31, 2026. The family-owned Mexican restaurant has been in business for 45 years. As the family also owns the property the restaurant stands on, the small lot could be valuable if assembled with the planned - but ridiculously-long-delayed - redevelopment of the Steamers site next door. The Tia Queta property was advertised as being for sale in August of 2024.

The Goldsmiths to close at Bethesda Place

The owner of The Goldsmiths in Bethesda is retiring, and the jewelry design and sales boutique is holding a retirement sale. Located at 7700-N Wisconsin Avenue in the Bethesda Place apartments, The Goldsmiths has been a "dealer in dreams" for over 50 years, and in Bethesda since 1977. The boutique has offered custom jewelry design services, as well as redesigning of estate jewelry pieces. Prices on inventory are 40-60%-off. Please note that the business will be closed from today through January 1, 2026, and will reopen on Friday, January 2.

Cheesecake Factory closing in Friendship Heights

The Cheesecake Factory is closing in the Friendship Heights area of Chevy Chase, Washington, DC. "After extensive review and analysis, the company made the difficult decision to discontinue operation of our restaurant in Chevy Chase," Cheesecake Factory, Inc. Senior Director of Public Relations and Global Branding Alethea Rowe told Fox 5 producer Allison Papson in a statement. "Our last day of service will be January 24, 2026." This will be a devastating loss for nearby residents, as well as for Chevy Chase Pavilion. Everything around that mall is being redeveloped as residential housing, and this will only increase the pressure. Fortunately, we still have The Cheesecake Factory at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

Limon's Gems & Jewels closing in Bethesda after 105 years in business

A number of longtime Bethesda businesses have closed since I began this blog in 2006, but Limon's Gems & Jewels might just be the oldest. Owners Cliff and Robbie Limon have announced their shop at 7909 Norfolk Avenue will likely close by Thanksgiving this month. Their great grandfather, Jacob Limon, founded the business in 1920. The family has been involved in the jewelry industry even longer, 125 years. They are going to cease accepting new work sometime this week, and they will remain available after the closure to ensure any outstanding orders or work are fulfilled.

Hyatt Regency Bethesda Starbucks closing

The Starbucks inside the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel at 1 Bethesda Metro Center will permanently close "by the end of this week," according to a sign posted at the store. That sign is identical to one posted at the Aspen Hill Starbucks that is also closing this weekend. Both closures are part of the company's move to close hundreds of stores nationwide by next week. This Starbucks opened in the Hyatt in June 2018.

Claire's closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

It's a sad day in the piercing industry. Claire's is closing at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. A closing sale is underway at the piercing and jewelry boutique. We can't blame the Montgomery County Council or their moribund County economy for this departure. Claire's has filed for bankruptcy, could wind up closing over 1000 locations nationwide. The company hopes to save itself via a sale of 800 other stores to a potential buyer, but if one can't be found, this could be the end of the line. Are they celebrating over at Piercing Pagoda?

Harris Teeter closing in White Flint

Harris Teeter is closing its store at 11845 Old Georgetown Road in White Flint. The store will close "on or before July 20, 2025," according to a sign that also promotes a closing sale with prices up to 50% off. This store has been rumored to be one of the lowest-performing in the Harris Teeter chain. It also has fallen victim to Montgomery County's puzzling decision to place a homeless shelter nearby, frequent thefts of merchandise and shopping carts, the general moribundity of the stagnant Montgomery County economy, the County's highest-in-the-region tax and fee burden, and the failed 2010 White Flint sector plan. The recent arrival of a Wegmans just up Rockville Pike was likely the final nail in the HT coffin.

Final 3 days for Forever 21 at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

If you want to go on one last shopping spree at Forever 21 at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, you'd better hurry. There are only three days left to shop. As you can see from the photos here, inventory is being snapped up at 60-80% off. Shelves near the front door that held store fixtures for sale are bare. Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy, and all of its stores nationwide are expected to close by May 1, 2025.

Merlo Point, De Clichy closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The super-short run for Merlo Point at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda is approaching an end, according to signage at the store, which opened shortly before Christmas. A closing sale is now underway at the local retailer, which carries European-inspired furniture, art, and home decor. Look for Merlo Point on Level 1 of the mall, between Calzedonia and Kickz.

Also exiting soon is De Clichy. The menswear boutique has been around significantly longer than Merlo Point, having opened here in 2022. It, too, is holding a closing sale. Find De Clichy and savings on Level 2, next to LensCrafters.

Forever 21 closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

It started off as an "everything must go" sale, but now the signs have gone up announcing "store closing" at Forever 21 at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. What began as a handful of scattered reports about locations like this one has evolved into announcements of hundreds of layoffs and hundreds of store closures nationwide. According to the Los Angeles Times, even the company's corporate headquarters is going to close. As predicted, savings will escalate as the closing sale continues.

Bethesda's newest CVS Pharmacy sets closing date

Earlier this month, I reported that the newest CVS Pharmacy in downtown Bethesda would close in March, but the corporate office had not yet announced a closing date. Customers having prescriptions filled at the 7235 Wisconsin Avenue store this week report that they have been informed this location will permanently close on March 19, 2025. The store opened in the former Riggs/PNC Bank building in December 2022. It recently closed temporarily due to a water main break in January.

Bethesda's newest CVS Pharmacy to close

The newest CVS Pharmacy in downtown Bethesda may also be the next to close. Customers having prescriptions filled at the 7235 Wisconsin Avenue store this week report they are being told to move their prescriptions elsewhere, as CVS has decided to close this location next month. The store opened in the former PNC Bank building in December 2022. It recently closed temporarily due to a water main break in January.

Aéropostale closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Aéropostale is closing at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. A closing sale is underway, and as of last evening, everything in the store is 70% off, "while supplies last." Aéropostale is the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy. "Everything must go!" and "Closing sale" signs are ubiquitous these days in store windows across the county.

Aéropostale filed for bankruptcy way back in 2016, and closed over 100 stores as part of its reorganization at that time. However, I do not see any news reports online of Aéropostale stores closing elsewhere in the country in recent times. Thus, this appears to be a Montgomery County-specific problem. In Montgomery County, profit margins continue to shrink as taxes, fees, and high energy costs expand. The heavy anchor of a Montgomery County Council that knows nothing about business has dragged another enterprise down to Davy Jones' locker.