Retail

The 5pm Post – Mayor Vincent C. Gray to Announce Release of Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user jleathers

Office of Planning Study Highlights Innovative Approaches to Successful Commercial Districts

WHAT/WHO: Mayor Vincent C. Gray will announce the release of the District’s Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit, which evaluates the essential elements required to create and maintain outstanding retail areas and offers a customizable toolbox of strategies and implementation steps to improve retail corridors.

WHEN: Thursday, March 29, 2012
10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Yes! Organic Market
4100 Georgia Avenue NW
(Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro Station)

BACKGROUND: The Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit, developed by the D.C. Office of Planning (OP) and its consultant partner Streetsense, incorporates research on best practices and innovative approaches to managing successful commercial districts. The document also uses metrics that assess the level of retail demand, accessibility, location, mix and format. The Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit is a follow-up to OP’s  Retail Action Strategy and Retail Action Roadmap, released in 2010.

The District’s evolving retail economy is an opportunity for the city to grow its tax base and become more fiscally sound. Retail can create new jobs, enhance neighborhood amenities, provide convenient access to goods and services for residents, generate millions of dollars in new tax revenue and reduce the phenomenon of residents leaving the city to buy what they need or want. Investments in emerging commercial corridors are bringing new retail energy to neighborhoods; however, as with retail areas across the nation, retail streets in the District face a variety of challenges. The Vibrant Retail Streets Toolkit is a guide designed to take advantage of renewed interest in urban markets by retailers as well as the District’s growing population who choose our increasing number of walkable, bikeable, transit-rich neighborhoods to shop and access services in the city.

Study/Toolkit Overview:
The study evaluates the essential elements of outstanding retail areas and offers a customizable toolbox of programs, incentives, and implementation steps to improve retail streets. The toolkit incorporates research on best practices and innovative approaches to managing successful commercial districts and also uses retail metrics that assess the level of retail demand and accessibility and location mix and format. The study offers guidance on key retail issues such as retailers’ site location considerations and decision-making processes, as well as how neighborhoods can measure, gauge and spark retail vibrancy. The analysis and toolkit will equip retailers, landlords, business and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and government agencies with the tools needed to support more dynamic retail streets.

Pleasant Pops Farmhouse Market and Cafe Opening in Adams Morgan

By Prince Of Petworth


1781 Florida Ave NW

Back in Jan. 2012 a reader noticed that the Rita’s in Adams Morgan had closed underneath Mint at 1781 Florida Ave NW.

I’m happy to report that the folks behind Pleasant Pops have signed a lease on the space and will be opening this summer. They have a kickstarter page and are hoping to raise $20,000 to get the Market and Cafe open by this summer. They explain:

“What is the Farmhouse Market & Cafe?

Inspired by DC area farmers’ markets, our vision is to create a year-round community market and gathering place in the heart of Northwest DC. We’ll feature a selection of seasonal local produce, dairy, farm goods, sandwiches, locally roasted coffees, and our original pop creations.”

Phenomenal news!

Ligne Roset Furniture Store Coming to Glover Park

By Prince Of Petworth

Ligne Roset is coming to the 2100 block of Wisconsin Ave, NW in Glover Park. Apparently they previously had a store in Georgetown which closed at 3306 M St, NW. Their Website says:

Known for its artful collaborations with both established and up-and-coming talents in contemporary design, Ligne Roset offers consumers an entire lifestyle in which to live both boldly and beautifully via its furniture collections and complimentary decorative accessories, lighting, rugs, textiles and occasional items.

An additional distinguishing point of difference that sets Ligne Roset apart from other manufacturers is its tradition of investing in dynamic designer collaborations. Matching its deeply-held belief in design with investment and technical innovation, Ligne Roset has grown from a small business to a multinational company with factories in France, headquarters in Briord, France and more than 200 exclusive Ligne Roset stores and 1,000 retail distributors worldwide. All the while, the company has been family-run since its inception in 1860.

Creativity is a key value of the Ligne Roset brand: if a new product demands new materials or productions methods, the company will simply acquire them. Seats, pieces of furniture, lighting, textiles, rugs or bed linens: the idea precedes and the technique follows.

Had anyone visited the Georgetown spot before it closed?

Hunted House Furniture Moving From Logan Circle to H St, NE

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to a reader for sending a link to a Craigslist ad that says:

“HUNTED HOUSE, Vintage and Mid Century Modern, located at 1830 14th Street, NW for the last five years is counting down to opening day on the “hip”, “hot” H Street NE corridor in the next few weeks! Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, we’re still bringing the Mid Mod to our apartment-style showrooms on 14th Street, NW. Check out our earlier listing for what’s new this week and come help us clear out as we get ready to bring you more in a shiny BRAND NEW, BIGGER space on H Street, NE. Hit “H” for HUNTED HOUSE!”

I spoke with owner Mark Johnson on Sunday who confirmed the move. He said they’ll still be open at 1830 14th Street, NW (2nd floor) for two more weeks and will be open at the new location at 510 H St, NE by May 1st. In addition to being bigger, a major advantage of the new 510 H St, NE location is that it has a ground floor entry.


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Hunted House was an early “neat neighborhood find” that we talked about here back in Dec. 2007. For those who’ve never visited, their Website says:

“Hunted House is a case of accidental birth! Its two founders, Mark and Ed, came at it from different angles. Ed, an interior design professional has a true-love for furniture having sold it for many years.

Mark, who has always loved Art Deco and Mid Century furniture and has collected a house full of it over the years, knows that there are many others who love vintage furniture and want to find it at affordable prices. With his good eye for period pieces as many customers have noted, and Ed’s knowledge of furniture and design, the two started buying select vintage furniture, particularly Mid Century…”

You can take a look at some of their goods here.

The reader who originally wrote in said that, if true, this would be a huge gain for H Street. I couldn’t agree more – this is a fantastic score for H Street. First HR 57 moves from 14th St, NW to H St, NE and now Hunted House – could this be the beginning of a trend developing?

Grassroots Gourmet Bakery Coming to Bloomingdale

By Prince Of Petworth


104 Rhode Island Ave NW

On Tues. Grassroots Gourmet tweeted:

“We signed a lease! We plan to call 104 Rhode Island Ave NW home by the early fall. Stay tuned for updates!”

Their Website says:

“Everything is made fresh, baked to order and delivered to your front door. Knowing that this yummy food will translate into a smile is the reason we do this. Our food is baked with love and delivered with care. We hope that you can share it with friends, family, and co-workers. Break cake with your neighbors… and get it from us!”

Check out their menus here. Have a look at some photos of their goods here.

104 Rhode Island Ave NW is located a couple storefronts down from Boundary Stone.

Transformation of 1832 14th St, NW, Part One, Nearly Completed

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s great to see this former horse’s ass award nominee get fixed up at 1832 14th St, NW just south of T Street. I peeked in the window yesterday and the first floor which will be home to a rug/carpet store looks nearly ready:

Back in mid-Jan. 2012 we learned the second floor will be home to a pizza spot by Edan Macquaid. Def. still looking forward to that.


March 2012


January 2012

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