Dean & DeLuca Bethesda store opening delayed - for two years

The eagerly-awaited 4th Quarter 2017 opening of Dean & DeLuca on Bethesda Avenue won't happen after all, according to a spokesperson for the store's landlord, JBG Smith. A lack of construction activity inside the two-level retail building, part of JBG Smith's future 4747 Bethesda Avenue office/retail project, has raised eyebrows among commercial real estate observers in recent months. JBG Smith has now confirmed no construction is taking place inside the Dean & DeLuca space. 

Construction of the office tower at
4747 Bethesda Avenue is underway

So what is going on? A real estate source has told me the Dean & DeLuca deal is off at this property, and the store will not open. Ever. JBG Smith tells me this is not the case. Instead, they say, Dean & DeLuca wants to make changes to the design of the store, and the new opening date is expected to be in the 3rd Quarter of 2019, when the adjoining office tower opens. Dean & DeLuca declined to comment for this story.

Bethesda construction update: Dean & DeLuca/4749 Bethesda Ave. (Photos)

We can't see what's going on inside the future Dean & DeLuca space at 4749 Bethesda Avenue yet, but there's plenty of evidence of construction going on outside. The latest file on the building from The JBG Companies also indicates a change in use for the second floor. Previously, the upper part of the building was rumored to be a restaurant. Now it is listed as office space.

One new addition is this awning
along the west side of the building

In addition to whatever design is
decided on for an adjacent plaza
with neighbors Federal Realty, this
area next to the building is planned as
a narrow public space, as well

Here's the awning about 3 weeks
ago, to compare the work that's
been done since

Sidewalk detour in front of future Dean & DeLuca store in Bethesda (Photos)

There's been some kind of utility work going on in front of the future Dean & DeLuca store at 4735 Bethesda Avenue over the last few days. A sidewalk detour has been set up for pedestrians.

Dean & DeLuca opening in Bethesda (Photos)

I've unofficially known Dean & DeLuca was moving into the new retail building at the 4747 Bethesda Avenue project for some time. You may recall I mentioned almost exactly two months ago that I had asked Dean & DeLuca to confirm or deny the information I had. They declined to respond. The JBG Companies leasing agents for the building did respond, but said they could not tell me who the tenants were.

Now there is an official press release about the opening from JBG, announcing Dean & DeLuca will open in the fourth quarter of 2017. The company promises the Bethesda Dean & DeLuca will have the same inventory and quality as the existing store in Georgetown.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to offer Dean & DeLuca to the downtown Bethesda neighborhood," JBG Executive Vice President Robin Mosle said in a statement this morning.  "As incredibly rich with restaurants and shopping as the area is, Dean & DeLuca with its phenomenally curated offering of gourmet items, prepared foods and gifts is something that does not currently exist. It is always our goal to enhance the lifestyle of the neighborhoods in which we work, and this will certainly be a delightful addition to the community.”

The unique architecture of the retail building, by Morris Adjmi of New York, is designed to evoke 19th century rail stations. That is certainly appropriate, as the building is adjacent not only to a former railroad right-of-way, but also to the future Purple Line station that will be behind it.

Dean & DeLuca will not only be inside the building, but will also have space on the rooftop deck. Sources have told me at least one more tenant will take space in the building, as I previously reported in July.

"We are looking forward to deepening our commitment to the Capital District with a foodie footprint in the sophisticated Bethesda area,” Bayani Lauraya, Global President of Dean & DeLuca said.  “Our hope is that Dean & DeLuca will become known as the finest local food market for the Bethesda community, meeting the same great response as we’ve received in Georgetown.”

The Dean & DeLuca addition fits well with the high-end kitchenware of Williams-Sonoma down Bethesda Avenue, and the "chef kitchens" being marketed by the new residential buildings opening in the area.

Interestingly, the JBG press release also announces that the office tower portion of the 4747 development will have a ground floor restaurant. This detail suggests that JBG is going to be tremendously successful in its planned transformation of that block of Bethesda Avenue. You'll have Dean & DeLuca, then a restaurant, and then the future World of Beer, as you proceed up the block toward Bethesda Avenue. That will activate the streetscape that is currently poorly lit and lightly traveled after dark there.

One intriguing coincidence with the announcement - yesterday on Twitter, a man asked Chef Jose Andres where he could get "a good sherry vinegar in D.C." Andres suggested A&H/Pescadeli, which is two blocks down Bethesda Avenue from 4747, and - meaning the Georgetown store - Dean and DeLuca.

Now Bethesda will have both.