Old Navy getting major renovations, Smile Direct Club vending machine arrives at Westfield Montgomery Mall

Old Navy has begun a major renovation of its Westfield Montgomery Mall store. The store remains open, for now, but they're having difficulty getting that message across. A large advertising screen placed over most of the front of the store has a contradictory message that would make Harvey Dent green with envy.

At first glance, it looks like the store is closed. One half of the wall suggests that Old Navy will be opening again in September; the other half says, "open during construction, enter through far-right entrance." The overall impression is that Old Navy is just arriving as a new store, and hasn't opened yet, which is underlined by the "Hi, Bethesda" that clearly was designed for use at new store locations.

We may not be able to straighten out the schizophrenic messaging of Old Navy, but a new vending machine at the mall is promising to straighten out your teeth. Just weeks after the arrival of Invisalign's showroom, competitor Smile Direct Club is aiming for the same customers in a more low-key way, and promising lower prices.

"No braces, no office visits, no paying a fortune," the machine says, which looks like an ATM stuck into a walled-off storefront. Perhaps Smile Direct Club is planning on opening a full-blown retail location at the mall. For now, this vending machine is on Level 2, in the corridor to the Dining Terrace.