REMEMBER JOHNNY ROCKETS IN BETHESDA?

Design Within Reach has closed at 4828 St. Elmo Avenue, and while it looks like an empty furniture store right now, I remember this space best as Johnny Rockets. The ubiquitous mall hamburger chain was an early forerunner of burger joints to come in Bethesda, like BGR, Five Guys and Kraze Burger. Arriving in the 90s, the same decade in which Bethesda was saying goodbye to Hot Shoppes and its legendary Mighty Mo, Johnny Rockets was a throwback in a rapidly modernizing downtown.

Founded in 1986 by men's fashion retailer Ronn Teitelbaum, the restaurant's nostalgic 50s atmosphere and design was inspired by "the belief that everyone deserves a place where they can escape from today’s complicated world and experience the uncomplicated goodness of classic Americana," says the company's website.

I remember the hamburger was very good, even if it did not reach the level of the Mighty Mo. So were the chili fries, but the milkshake may have been the best of all. What I didn't like as a takeout customer was the cheap carryout containers made from that paper material McDonald's is wise enough to only employ as a drink tray. It did not improve the quality of the chili fries in transit.

Now that the Johnny Rockets space is vacant, can we bring burgers back to this corner with Shake Shack? Steak and Shake? Habit Burger Grill? Spike Mendelsohn? Burger Tap and Shake?

Burgers are bigger than furniture. I mean, when was the last time you saw Barack Obama and Joe Biden jump out of their limo and go furniture shopping?

For those seeking furniture and light fixtures, Design Within Reach has moved to 3306 M Street in Georgetown, according to a sign in the window.