Retail

Yikes – Another Former Neat Neighborhood Find Closes

By Prince Of Petworth

Hoopla Eco Boutique located on 18th Street in Adams Morgan is closing. They’re having a big closing sale for the next two weeks. I hope I’m not cursing these places…

From an email:

LAST TWO WEEKENDS TO SAVE ON ECO-FRIENDLY GIFTS!

Brand new merchandise for the holidays has just arrived!

We’ve just received orders that we couldn’t cancel and our misfortune is your gain. Don’t miss this opportunity to purchase all your favorites… all natural soaps and candles, recycled stationery, mini Buddha boards, amaryllis and herbs in recycled pots, recycled glass earrings … all for 25% off!

Plus, find HUGE savings on remaining in-stock merchandise. Everything (except the newly arrived merchandise) is now 50% to 75% off!

The Word On Pfeiffer’s Hardware

By Prince Of Petworth

A commenter on Friday asked:

“can anyone confirm the rumor on mount pleasants forum that Pfieffers is LEAVING Mount Pleasant!?!?!!?!?! there goes one of, what?, 5 businesses that are worth a damn on the MTP strip.”

Well, I have good news and bad news for ya. I went this weekend and spoke with owner, Todd Pfieffer (who as nice as everyone says he is), at Pfieffer’s store at 3219 Mount Pleasant Street NW. Todd confirmed that indeed Pfieffer’s will be sold. Todd and his family will be moving to North Carolina to be closer to their family. That is the bad news. The good news is that Pfeiffer’s is still open and Todd believes the store will be sold around the time of the inauguration. More good news is that the store will remain a hardware store. It will be difficult for the new owners to be as nice as Todd is but it is also good news that store will remain filled and will remain a hardware store.

Gallery Plan B Turns Into a Boutique For Your Holiday Shopping

By Prince Of Petworth

Gallery Plan B is hosting White Box=Gift Box, a fine art craft exhibition through December 28th. This is part of shop midcity and you can find other local stores participated here. Gallery Plan B says:

“The gallery will be transformed into a boutique and will feature small art pieces, men’s and women’s jewelry, scarves, glassware, ceramics and much more!”

More photos after the jump. (more…)

Hana Japanese Market Opens Up at 17th and U

By Prince Of Petworth

Well this is super cool. From a reader:

“There is a new Japanese grocery store that seems to have recently opened, The name of the store is Hana, and it is at the corner of U and 17th (NW). I am very happy to have a Japanese store in our neighborhood. Before, we had to take a metro to Rockville (and walk along the Rockville Pike..) or to Bethesda to get Japanese groceries.

Good thing about this store is..It is small, but I can get things for everyday use, like curry roux, sauce, tofu, noodle, and snack. Also, they have ingredients for okonomiyaki, Japanese pancakes, which I do not think many Japanese restaurants serve.”

I checked it out and it was phenomenal. Back in the day I was a reporter for a Japanese newspaper (Asahi Shimbun) and ever since then I have loved Japanese food. We used to work late all the time and got the greatest Japanese delivery. This looks like a great spot to fill the void I’ve been missing. The owner was super nice as well.

More photos after the jump. (more…)

How Was Your Weekend Shopping Experience?

By Prince Of Petworth

I cruised by the Target at DC USA and it was surprisingly chill. Although a friend of mine told me that there were lines around the block at 4:30 in the morning on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Insane. If anyone went out in DC or elsewhere was it equally insane?

SimplySoles Opens Up at 1438 Park Road, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

SimplySoles opened up in this new spot on Nov. 1st. I spoke with owner, Kassie Rempel, who said she picked this spot because the area has developed into a shopping destination and it is has great parking options (being so close to the DCUSA mall) as well as being very convenient to her Mt. Pleasant home. She looked into opening up a spot in Mt. Pleasant but it didn’t offer the commercial hub she was looking for.

Rempel’s shoes come from Italy, Brazil and Spain. Additionally, she offers her own line called the Lilly Bee Collection. Shoes start at $125 and up. The store also features handbags and children’s shoes. SimplySoles is offering a 24 Hour Internet sale today where everything is 40% off.

Owner Kassie Rempel:

More photos after the jump. (more…)

Neat Neighborhood Find: River House

By Prince Of Petworth

River House is located at 3706 Macomb Street, NW. Their Web site says:

“Partnering with dealers and warehouses in Belgium and Holland We import vintage furniture from many countries in Europe.
These country and farm pieces are selected in the countryside then taken to the warehouse/studio where they are prepared for export to Washington.”

There are super cool pieces here.

The goods aren’t cheap but they are wicked fresh. More photos after the jump including a vintage Vermont brass pub tap. (more…)

Development at 14th and T, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Washington Business Journal is reporting the deal is near finalized. The winner? Room & Board Inc., a Minneapolis furniture chain that plans a 32,000-square-foot store. Ugh, we could of had a Tryst type spot and yoga and a comedy club. We coulda been contenders. Sadly that team couldn’t get the financing it needed to purchase the building fast enough. I’m glad something’s going into this spot but it is definitely a bit disappointing. The article quotes Jim Graham:

“It’s disappointing because we had some very good prospects for that building, you know, locally rooted businesses,” said Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1. “I don’t know how Room & Board feels about being welcomed into a neighborhood. But they’ve got a lot of people angry.”

So are you angry?

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