Retail

In addition to the Greater Washington Sports Alliance two more retail spaces have recently been leased in the Solea. Nave & Associates Law Firm and Moshe Zusman Photography – both on the Florida Ave side. It’s good to see a healthy mix of retail filling the U St/14th St Corridor.

While home/office furnishings took a big hit on the 1500 block of U St, NW – clothing options are blowing up. At 1526 U St, NW I just a saw a coming soon sign for Match Clothing. You can see in the photo below they join the recently opened Rock it Again and Dr. K’s vintage not to mention Lettie Gooch located across the street at 1517 U St, NW and Junction location located at 1510 U St NW. Oh yeah, Ginger Root is also on the same block at 1530 U St, NW.

With that in mind it’ll be interesting to see who moves into the big space at 1515 U St, NW.

On Friday afternoon I started getting emails that something was going on at RCKNDY, located at 1515 U St, NW. Phone calls went unanswered at first then the line was disconnected and when I stopped by on Sat. I only saw this:

The store has been completely emptied. Their Website that is still live says:

RCKNDY (pronounced rock candy) is your resource for creating a new look for your home or office. We specialize in modern decor with an emphasis scaled to condo and apartment living. We’ve circled the globe to find the best in modern design the world has to offer including furniture from Blu Dot, Gus Modern, and American Leather. Our gift & decor selection compliments our furniture and is always changing so every time you visit our store you see something new. An inspired and unmatched inventory, creative merchandising, and knowledgeable sales team unite to give the RCKNDY customer an exceptional shopping experience.

We took a peek inside back in March ’08.

Were there any fans?

I still miss the fish/pet store…

Thanks to all who forwarded the email:

Greater Goods Closing – 25 to 50% Off Everything Sale Through February 27th!

Dear Friends,
After almost 4 years at U Street we have decided to close the retail store. This wasn’t an easy decision but we did not feel we could continue under the current circumstances. There were a variety of factors contributing to our closing but in the end we could not acquire funding to grow or expand. Over the last year we have juggled our budget but it was painfully obvious that we could not get the shelves restocked quickly enough.

This has been a great experience for me, though of course I wish it would have ended differently. I learned a lot about my family, friends, and myself. I experienced tragedies and the greatest joys while running this place. I got to know interesting people doing interesting things. If I could have done it differently I would have made it better, but I would not have changed my decision to open our doors.

Thanks to all you folks who shopped and talked to me about whetever came to mind.
Sincerely,
DV

PS – I’m keeping the online store open and anything that doesn’t sell out will go to the website. Furnishings will go as well.

We’ve been speaking about new clothing coming to 14th St, NW in Columbia Heights but we should also note that U Street is becoming a Vintage mecca. Rock It Again has opened up in the old Nana’s space at 1528 U Street NW (Nana’s is moving to Mt. Pleasant). Rock It again joins Dr. K’s vintage which recently opened up at 1534 U St, NW and Junction Vintage long located at 1510 U St NW.

I’m happy to say that, like the others, Rock It Again looks fantastic. The owners (Aviyah Jacobi and Clint Pierre) come from (and still maintain a presence) at Eastern Market. They offer both Men’s and Women’s and accessories. As always, though it won’t do it justice, the pictures tell a better story than I can:

Lots more photos after the jump. (more…)