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Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Modern Market to close at Bethesda Row
Modern Market has announced it will close its Bethesda Row location on September 21. They will have limited hours in the remaining days of operation. They'll only be open 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM through Saturday.
31 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I'm honestly not surprised. The food was good when it first opened, but after a few months they must have had a staff turnover or an ingredient quality change. I tried two more times and it was horrible. I heard the same from others. Never went back. I'd rather spend more for True Food Kitchen carryout.
I spend half my time in Bethesda, and half in silver spring (my partner lives in Silver Spring). The difference is shocking. Silver Spring is crowded, alive, and impossible to park. Bethesda, dead, restaurants going out of business, never a problem finding a parking space. If you go to a Bethesda restaurant on a week night, it's almost guaranteed you'll be the only patron. In Silver Spring...all the restaurants will be 50% to 100% filled. Aside from the movie theater problem, Bethesda needs to secure an anchor Tennant. If Federal Realty was smart they'd provide free rent to a large anchor Tennant that would draw crowds. Whole Foods, Target, or H&M would draw crowds.
I would like to see a real sit down restaurant, with a bar (one that stays open past 9pm at that). Way too many fast casual places in Bethesda. I love Flower Child but we don't need a Sweetgreen, a Cava, and a Bibibop all within walking distance. If something like Millie's existed downtown Bethesda it would be a goldmine.
^This. I'm absolutely sick of the fast casual places that keep opening. How many is too many? No one is coming to Bethesda to eat at a fast casual place; they're eating there for lunch because they work in the area. Drawing outside business to Bethesda should be the point here and there's just absolutely nothing to do here besides eat and then leave. On top of all that we've got such a lack of late-night choices. I tend to just go to World of Beer for a later night hangout spot now as there's absolutely nothing else open. Tap Room used to capture some of the late-night crowd but that management company is atrocious and ran it into the ground with poor service, horrible menu choices, and terrible execution; and sadly the SAME management company owns Match Box so I don't see that doing well either when it opens. It's going to be more of the same lackluster American food and they'll probably up the prices on their drinks and food and then not have any late night happy hour to draw anyone in at all.
Nothing like Millie's is gonna come to MoCo not with the rules, regs, restrictions, DLC and mandatory $15 minimum wage. Why do you think so many places that have come are failing? That's why in large part. Thanks liberal MD Congress.
Right, silver spring has Dave & Busters, breweries, a Urban winery, the Fillmore, two movie theaters, a black box theater, an Eleanor is coming, regular cultural events...
Bethesda has round house theater and Bethesda jazz. No comparison and no help is coming since the "Bethesda Plan" doesn't address arts & entertainment in any meaningful way.
10:52 AM I found the following comment (from a Yelp review) interesting and to your point. "Stopped here with a friend on the way home from a weekend road trip. Located right next to a parking garage we were able to easily get in and out. Even on a Saturday night around 7:30 it was not very busy. We selected our own seat and the server arrived right away."
10:52 AM - The hilarious thing about your comment is that you're apparently unaware that Bethesda already HAS a Target, as I'm sure most people visiting Bethesda are as well.
2:09 PM - You don't sit and wait for a server at Modern Market though, you order at the counter and then sit and the food is brought to you. It's basically the same system as Nandos. But I won't disagree on the overall point, Modern Market was always empty whenever I went with not more than maybe 8 people ever being in there at the most crowded I ever saw it.
Woodmont Grill is the one place that is packed...2-3 hour waits on a Saturday night if you don't have a reservation. Anything on Bethesda Row that popular?
The Downtown Bethesda Plan is indeed deficient in helping promote the arts/entertainment district.
Here's the only specific recommendation in the Plan, and it is something I've never heard any resident or visitor to Bethesda say is needed:
"Provide flexible community theater/stage space (known as a “black box”) of approximately 5,000 square feet with potential seating capacity of 200-250 seats."
Imagine if, when Pike and Rose was developed, they put in a "black box" theater instead of iPic, AMP or Pinstripes. People would have shook their heads. There's plenty of available live theater space already- Bethesda Jazz Club desperately needs programming.
Silver Spring and Gaithersburg are more economically and racially diverse than Bethesda and seen as welcoming and inclusive. Pike and Rose is surrounded by a diverse area it can draw from.
I long for the days when we had a very convenient cement plant and more auto repair shops downtown! These stupid 200 restaurants and 500 restaurants in downtown Bethesda are just a waste. Nobody needs these, but a nice cement plant would be useful, and really improve the area. Why can’t we just seal up the Metro entrance and skip the Bethesda Purple Line Station! Who needs 20,000 people using transit every day? These new high rise hotels are also a waste, they just bring in trashy transient people, and are not useful for life long Bethesda residents. Why can’t we just have some nice surface parking lots and a 1950’s era police station. I wish they would put that dirty carpeting back in the library, and take off that stupid new silver roof.
But most of all I miss the sticky floors in the Regal Cinema. It was so much fun to watch comic book inspired movies, and to throw gum in the dark and see it stick to old people’s hair!
I didn't know the arts & entertainment section of the Downtown Bethesda Plan is as bad as it is. The only concrete recommendation is a black box theater, when the Bethesda Jazz Club can't be filled already? Nothing about a movie theater, live music venue, etc. Nothing about promoting things like D&B or bowling, like what surrounding towns have.
This is equivalent to the Nightlife Economy Task Force recommending "taxi stands"
31 comments:
I'm honestly not surprised. The food was good when it first opened, but after a few months they must have had a staff turnover or an ingredient quality change. I tried two more times and it was horrible. I heard the same from others. Never went back. I'd rather spend more for True Food Kitchen carryout.
As was said, no shock
The last few times I was there, there were few people. Was wondering if they would stay in business.
Maybe a Flower Child could move in
What does everyone want to see here?
Flower Child... sort of a similar concept. Same owner as True Food.
https://www.iamaflowerchild.com/
I spend half my time in Bethesda, and half in silver spring (my partner lives in Silver Spring). The difference is shocking. Silver Spring is crowded, alive, and impossible to park. Bethesda, dead, restaurants going out of business, never a problem finding a parking space. If you go to a Bethesda restaurant on a week night, it's almost guaranteed you'll be the only patron. In Silver Spring...all the restaurants will be 50% to 100% filled. Aside from the movie theater problem, Bethesda needs to secure an anchor Tennant. If Federal Realty was smart they'd provide free rent to a large anchor Tennant that would draw crowds. Whole Foods, Target, or H&M would draw crowds.
10:52am Pike & Rose is also much more lively than Bethesda Row these days.
Much better mix of restaurants, entertainment (movies, bowling, bocce) and retail (Uniqlo, h&m, etc)
10:52 AM - H&M will draw crowds???
I would like to see a real sit down restaurant, with a bar (one that stays open past 9pm at that). Way too many fast casual places in Bethesda. I love Flower Child but we don't need a Sweetgreen, a Cava, and a Bibibop all within walking distance. If something like Millie's existed downtown Bethesda it would be a goldmine.
^This. I'm absolutely sick of the fast casual places that keep opening. How many is too many? No one is coming to Bethesda to eat at a fast casual place; they're eating there for lunch because they work in the area. Drawing outside business to Bethesda should be the point here and there's just absolutely nothing to do here besides eat and then leave. On top of all that we've got such a lack of late-night choices. I tend to just go to World of Beer for a later night hangout spot now as there's absolutely nothing else open. Tap Room used to capture some of the late-night crowd but that management company is atrocious and ran it into the ground with poor service, horrible menu choices, and terrible execution; and sadly the SAME management company owns Match Box so I don't see that doing well either when it opens. It's going to be more of the same lackluster American food and they'll probably up the prices on their drinks and food and then not have any late night happy hour to draw anyone in at all.
Nothing like Millie's is gonna come to MoCo not with the rules, regs, restrictions, DLC and mandatory $15 minimum wage. Why do you think so many places that have come are failing? That's why in large part. Thanks liberal MD Congress.
I'd like to see a regal cinemas in that space.
Right, silver spring has Dave & Busters, breweries, a Urban winery, the Fillmore, two movie theaters, a black box theater, an Eleanor is coming, regular cultural events...
Bethesda has round house theater and Bethesda jazz. No comparison and no help is coming since the "Bethesda Plan" doesn't address arts & entertainment in any meaningful way.
I'll add Bethesda has the landmark cinema.
10:52 AM I found the following comment (from a Yelp review) interesting and to your point. "Stopped here with a friend on the way home from a weekend road trip. Located right next to a parking garage we were able to easily get in and out. Even on a Saturday night around 7:30 it was not very busy. We selected our own seat and the server arrived right away."
10:52 AM - The hilarious thing about your comment is that you're apparently unaware that Bethesda already HAS a Target, as I'm sure most people visiting Bethesda are as well.
2:09 PM - You don't sit and wait for a server at Modern Market though, you order at the counter and then sit and the food is brought to you. It's basically the same system as Nandos. But I won't disagree on the overall point, Modern Market was always empty whenever I went with not more than maybe 8 people ever being in there at the most crowded I ever saw it.
Woodmont Grill is the one place that is packed...2-3 hour waits on a Saturday night if you don't have a reservation. Anything on Bethesda Row that popular?
The Downtown Bethesda Plan is indeed deficient in helping promote the arts/entertainment district.
Here's the only specific recommendation in the Plan, and it is something I've never heard any resident or visitor to Bethesda say is needed:
"Provide flexible community theater/stage space
(known as a “black box”) of approximately
5,000 square feet with potential seating
capacity of 200-250 seats."
Imagine if, when Pike and Rose was developed, they put in a "black box" theater instead of iPic, AMP or Pinstripes. People would have shook their heads. There's plenty of available live theater space already- Bethesda Jazz Club desperately needs programming.
Silver Spring and Gaithersburg are more economically and racially diverse than Bethesda and seen as welcoming and inclusive. Pike and Rose is surrounded by a diverse area it can draw from.
How about a large booksore?
I long for the days when we had a very convenient cement plant and more auto repair shops downtown! These stupid 200 restaurants and 500 restaurants in downtown Bethesda are just a waste. Nobody needs these, but a nice cement plant would be useful, and really improve the area. Why can’t we just seal up the Metro entrance and skip the Bethesda Purple Line Station! Who needs 20,000 people using transit every day? These new high rise hotels are also a waste, they just bring in trashy transient people, and are not useful for life long Bethesda residents. Why can’t we just have some nice surface parking lots and a 1950’s era police station. I wish they would put that dirty carpeting back in the library, and take off that stupid new silver roof.
But most of all I miss the sticky floors in the Regal Cinema. It was so much fun to watch comic book inspired movies, and to throw gum in the dark and see it stick to old people’s hair!
Ahh, the good old days!
Counter service food + table service prices = no thank you. Pretty simple.
5:58am the new development is awesome, but arts & entertainment was basically a footnote in the downtown Bethesda plan. That was a mistake.
Tom Andrews believes we need more socialist central planning.
6:50: Why are you only concerned about "socialism" when it impacts developer profits? It reveals you work for the MoCo cartel.
You support the County Council, and they and their entire agenda are socialist/Communist.
Don't expect anyone to believe you when you whine about socialism, then.
I didn't know the arts & entertainment section of the Downtown Bethesda Plan is as bad as it is. The only concrete recommendation is a black box theater, when the Bethesda Jazz Club can't be filled already? Nothing about a movie theater, live music venue, etc. Nothing about promoting things like D&B or bowling, like what surrounding towns have.
This is equivalent to the Nightlife Economy Task Force recommending "taxi stands"
8:13: Riemer and Glass: "More taxi stands!"
Everyone else: "What's a taxi?"
LOL
@ 9:51 -
"You work for the MoCo cartel. You support the County Council, and they and their entire agenda are socialist/Communist."
School is out for the day and "anonymous" is back from Lakeforest making weird comments here.
Who would like to eat overpriced meals at gigantic construction site where streets are warzone like?
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