In their farewell statement, the restaurant's ownership noted that they had planned to have a 30 year run in Bethesda, but are now being forced to call it quits after less than a year. Costs have risen and profits margins shrunk for restaurants this decade thanks to the policies and votes of our anti-business County Council. Sixteen nightspots and dozens of restaurants have closed in Bethesda following those votes, and the Council's disastrous Nighttime Economy Task Force, which ironically ended up tanking the nighttime economy in downtown Bethesda.
31 comments:
They didn't market. They called it "eritrean," which nobody knows what the hell that even is. This is not the economy--plenty of restaurants make it 30 years. This is bad choices by the owners. Give it a name people understand and then get the word out. They did neither. Poor business decisions, nothing more.
5:05: It's simply a fact that the MoCo economy is moribund = I've been writing about it for over a decade, and now the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, Sage Policy Group, and even Councilmember Hans Riemer's own former chief of staff Adam Pagnucco have now come around to stating it also.
By every statistical measure, Montgomery County is at rock bottom in the region regarding job creation, economic development, and business start-ups and growth.
The nighttime economy has also cratered, as anyone who walks the streets of Bethesda after 9 or 10 PM can attest.
Facts.
The only restaurant I go to in Bethesda is Jaleo these days, otherwise I go into DC.
Boy, that's a shocker. Among the dozens of shitty food ideas, this one may have taken the cake. There's so many awful businesses on Cordell I'm shocked that bulldozers haven't moved in to clear that whole block and the other one where Harp and Fiddle is.
Too bad. They had some good food. The injera (flatbread) was great. Red lentils, collards, beef ribisi.
You're smart. DC is eating Bethesda's lunch. Get it?
@5:34 AM and 6:20 AM: You’ve definitely got a point. Our restaurants seem to be slipping behind others in the area, especially compared with those at Pike & Rose.
Still, we have a couple of gems in addition to Jaleo. Lebanese friends rate Bacchus very highly, and Bistro Provence is superlative — with $32 three-course meals at lunch and dinner.
It couldn't have been easy to operate a new, unknown restaurant directly across the street from a competitor with name recognition. I love Ethiopian food, and I'm sad to see them go. But the truth is, Bethesda doesn't have the same Ethiopian population that Silver Spring does, and probably cannot support more than one or two restaurants. Lucy and CherCher both seem to be doing well, and it helps that they're on opposite sides of Bethesda. Having Delina and Lucy across the street from one another meant that one was almost certainly bound to fail.
Fun fact - DC & Silver Spring have the largest population of Ethiopians outside Ethiopia!
@Suze Are you sure Chercher is doing well? I drive by it all the time in the early and middle of the evenings, both weekdays and weeknights, and I never see more than 2 customers in there. Back when it was Nest, there were a lot more people in there when I'd drive by at the same time.
I think the issue is Bethesda can't support 3 Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants. They all opened within months of each other too. One can probably make it, so which one is next to go? My guess is Chercher.
5:27
OK, we get it. MoCo is moribund. But do you have to constantly repeat it over and over and over and over and over again, in every post. It makes you sound like a lunatic, when you could be using this forum to improve, not just constantly criticize. Be constructive for a change. If folks see you as a voice for a new direction, instead of just a constant steam of negativity, maybe they would take you more seriously.
As an example of a more positive note, Federal Realty has posted a nice graphic in Bethesda Row that highlights all the new retail and restaurant tenants that they are adding, including Lens Crafters, Marine Layer, Jenni’s Ice Cream, Newman Chocolate, Matchbox, Prima, Poke Dojo and Hawkers Asian Street Food. Other recent new venues in the area include Amazon Books, Fish Taco, Phill’s, The Shade Store, Pampalonia’s Jewelry, Peloton, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, Joe and the Juice, Chase Bank, Lotus Grille, The Halal Guys, and of course a flagship 36,000 SF three story high Anthropologie Department Store and Terrain Cafe. That’s over 20 recent office, retail and restaurants in a fairly short time frame.
Yes, places close, but new and fresh places seem to be lining up to fill any vacancies. Of course other places in MoCo may not be as active, but you can not deny that Bethesda Row is a vital and active hub. With the new ground level; retail and restaurants coming to The Wilson, 4749 and 4747 Bethesda, The Avocet Tower and the proposed Metro the south end of Bethesda is thriving.
7:13: The economic development statistics don't lie, and they show a much bleaker picture than what you describe. Revenues to the County government have declined, despite record tax increases. Class A office space meant for corporate HQs has instead had to settle for less-exciting, smaller tenants, often through a taxpayer-funded subsidy from the County.
Montgomery County ranks rock bottom in the region for job creation, economic development, and new business start-ups and growth. Fairfax County, for example, enjoyed a net gain of 3000 new business starts this decade. Over the same period, Montgomery County had six. S-i-x. Six.
Humiliating! We're in real trouble, folks.
Matchbox is solid and good but there's so many of them around us, it won't draw more people in. It's good for folks living in Bethesda won't have to drive a few minutes to Silver Spring, Rockville, DC or even Northern VA--all of Matchbox.
Downtown Bethesda needs a Punchbowl Social or Eleanor type of place
(which, as Dyer broke the story on, is coming a few minutes away in Silver Spring
http://eastmoco.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-eleanor-opening-silver-spring.html)
They are duly elected council members, people who live in our own communities, trying to do their best for the county amid difficult economic times.
This area is no different than the rest. It has more to do with the changing times and no one yet figuring out where the future ends up. For 50+ years it's been all about the boomer generation. They knew them and knew what they'd want.
That's not the case anymore, all the standards have changed, and no one has hit on what's next.
7:33 AM I'm not a self proclaimed genius, but the Reimer and Glass Nightlife Economy Report has been a disaster for Bethesda. They recommended more Barwood taxi stands.
Oh, look, Retardo Incognito is back, at 7:38.
@7:33 I'm not of the "sky is falling" opinion like Dyer, but the Council continues to make anti-business decisions then wonder why businesses are leaving.
Minimum wage increase; increased parking fees in Bethesda; bag tax; styrofoam ban; smoking ban; DLC (alcohol) monopoly on sales to restaurants, etc.
How can they expect there to be no effect on business if they enact all these anti-business regulations?
So far, the only Councilmember who seems somewhat understanding of the money side is Friedson.
Then Elrich is an absolute disaster of a CoExec. Can't manage his way out of a cardboard box. He's been in office for half a year already, and what has he done to help business? Absolutely nothing.
8:12 — I happen to agree that Elrich has been a disaster so far.
8:07 AM "Retardo Incognito" wow! It is sad to see the disdain our government has for constituents and a free press!
8:12AM - I see you're still in the boomer way of thinking. You see regulations as anti-business. Those up and coming in the world see them as responsible business necessities.
9:18 AM Get out and talk to small business owners in the community.
I do talk to them. And they talk to me. The parking rates are a big concern. Most applaud the smoking ban. The bag tax is an annoyance, but it's easy to administer and they see the reasons. Same with the Styrofoam ban. The DLC is a concern for restaurants.
Then again, the trend is towards business that give back to the environment or the less advantaged.
"the Reimer and Glass Nightlife Economy Report has been a disaster for Bethesda"
How did the former lead to the latter? Please demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
6:34: Riemer took ownership of the "nighttime economy" with his pals in the media's help - then after the task force completed its work, and its recommendations were implemented by the Council, 16 nightspots closed in downtown Bethesda, other businesses cut back their late night hours, and the streets are now dead after 9 or 10 PM.
Instead of creating or saving nightlife, Riemer and his task force ended up cratering it.
Heckuva job, Brownie!
They did? Which one?
1) "Riemer took ownership of the "nighttime economy" with his pals in the media's help - then
2) "After the task force completed its work, and its recommendations were implemented by the Council,
Which recommendations were implemented by the Council?
3) "16 nightspots closed in downtown Bethesda..."
Two were had their liquor licenses revoked because of repeated violations. One closed because its landlord replaced it with Williams-Sonoma, refugee from the Moribund Chevy Chase district. Another failed because of its owner's medical debt. Three were in the same location, which used to be a furniture store. One was closed because of harassment from residents of the Fairmont Plaza across the street. The rest are open under new names. What specific legislation by the Council, recommended by the NTETF, led to the closures?
5) "Other businesses cut back their late night hours."
Barnes & Noble is failing nationwide. They have closed other stores in the area, shrunk them to smaller stores, and cut back hours at other stores.
Did you ever contact CVS to ask them why they cut back the hours of the pharmacy on Arlington Road? (Spoiler: No you didn't.)
9:36: Repeating lies doesn't make them true, Saul.
Barnes & Noble is actually doing better now than they were a few years ago; they are most certainly not "failing nationwide."
You've given a list of false and fantastic claims for why several of the 16 nightspots closed. No nightspot closed because of "harassment from residents of the Fairmont Plaza!" Ridiculous assertion, as a few complaints were considered by the liquor board, which took no action against The Parva. The Parva only closed later when it was time to renew their lease, and thanks to the "Nighttime Economy Task Force" debacle, like many other nightspots they were no longer able to afford the rising rent for the new lease.
The same thing happened to Parker's - they couldn't afford the rent increase and had to close. The proof, as I've repeatedly told you, Saul Alinsky, is that THE OWNER NEVER REOPENED AT A NEW LOCATION, dumbass.
Hard Times Cafe was in the same position - if it was a viable business, another partner or restaurateur would eagerly have taken command. The previous owner's health had no bearing on whether the business was viable or not, but it's understandable that your lack of understanding of how business works would not comprehend this.
Your biggest whopper of all lies is claiming that "the rest are open under new names." wTF??? Total BS. You just go down the list of 16, and they are either restaurants, retail or vacant spaces.
CVS cut back the overnight hours of the pharmacy because there wasn't enough business anymore to justify staffing it all night, thanks to the collapse of the nighttime economy. That's the sole deciding factor as to how a business sets hours. Again, you are ignorant of how business works.
Anyone walking around the dark and quiet streets of Bethesda after 9 or 10 PM can verify for themselves that you are a complete moron.
"The Parva only closed later when it was time to renew their lease...they were no longer able to afford the rising rent for the new lease."
"The same thing happened to Parker's - they couldn't afford the rent increase and had to close."
Seems to me it is the landlords who are responsible for increasing rent, not the Nighttime Economy Task Force or the County Council. And it's hardly an indication of moribundity, just the opposite in fact.
"CVS cut back the overnight hours of the pharmacy because there wasn't enough business anymore to justify staffing it all night, thanks to the collapse of the nighttime economy. That's the sole deciding factor as to how a business sets hours. Again, you are ignorant of how business works."
Did you actually contact them? Or is this just your own speculation running wild again?
8:20: Wrong! The inability of a nightlife business to make enough profit to pay the rising rent is INDEED an indication of moribundity. We're talking about the nighttime economy, remember?
Again, there is no other reason a business cuts back hours except that they're not making enough during those hours to justify the expense of operation. If you understood how business works, you would understand that. A communist like yourself is understandably going to be lacking in business sense.
It seems you can only feel large by diminishing others. That is just plain sad.
7:06: "Physician, heal thyself."
Exactly
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