Retail

Tina Goes Gaga For Nana

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. note: Tina has expanded her coverage from Mt. P to also include U Street. Don’t worry, Mt. P shall not be forsaken, there will simply be a mix.

Nana is located at 1528 U Street – upstairs from Millennium (a PoP fave). I stopped in the other night and gave my usual, “So, I write for this blog…” speech, and was super excited to find out that not only had the store manager heard of it, but also, it was one of her favorite DC websites, and she had actually read and remembered MY posts!! Fabulous!

Anyhow, Nana is one of my favorite clothing shops in DC. They have been open for five years, and were located just down the street until about three years ago when they moved into their current location. Sarah had a long history in retail, but she started with Nana as a customer and developed a relationship with Jackie Flanagan – the store owner. When Jackie had a family, she needed some help and brought Sarah on board as a manager.

Incidentally, this is also one of the things that Sarah mentioned she likes the best about working at Nana. It’s very much a neighborhood shop and it’s not uncommon for the staff to develop friendly relationships with customers. Their goal is to make the store accessible and welcoming for everyone. And their prime location surely doesn’t hurt. In the past three years Sarah’s seen U Street grow into a destination, where people will spend the whole day. This is great for the neighborhood, and also for business, as almost daily people are stopping into Nana for the first time.

Nana is always full of really cute and original items. Almost everything you’ll find comes from an independent designer, and a lot of their inventory comes from Canada. There are some great fashions to be found in our neighbor to the north, and Jackie and Sarah come across a lot of them at the many trade shows they attend. There is also a small (but good) selection of vintage attire in the back room.

My one gripe about Nana is that fashion doesn’t always come cheap here. Nana’s prices are sometimes a little high for this non-profit girl, but they frequently have good sales including the everything-in-the-store-is-50%-off sale, which happens a couple times a year to clean out seasonal inventory. I happened to stumble into the most recent sale just a few weeks ago and scored a fabulous skirt that I had been coveting but couldn’t afford at full price!

www.nanadc.com

Dog Days Summer Sidewalk Sale Popping

By Prince Of Petworth

14th Street was bustling with folks this Saturday looking for good deals.

I found the best deal of all – fresh squeezed lemonade!

This dog was the coolest and only drinks the finest bottled water.

So did anyone check it out? Any good deals?

Apple Shop in DCUSA?!?

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, not exactly. Thanks to a reader for the tip. Sadly, I think it is just a section of Best Buy. I didn’t actually go into Best Buy because I am boycotting them due to their crazy return policy. How awesome would that have been to get a Apple Store in DCUSA?

Neat Neighborhood Find: ShowOff Apparel

By Prince Of Petworth

Located at 2608 Georgia Ave, ShowOff Apparel, is one of the coolest spots in town. I spoke with head artist, Edmund “VJ” Sanyeneh and his associate Joseph. They are unbelievably cool artists. They paint old sneakers, murals, clothes, stools, trucks, you name it. You can bring in an old pair of sneakers and they’ll paint them for $60 (photos after the jump). They have been at this location for around a year and were recently featured on local NBC news. In addition to the cool wares, the store itself is surrounded by incredibly painted murals. This is a store that you should really check out simply to appreciate the art. Lots of photos after the jump. (more…)

Pink November Out of Business?

By Prince Of Petworth

What’s the word here? This store has always stuck out on U Street for obvious reasons. It seems deserted now. Any patrons know the scoop?

Scuttlebutt of the Week: Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

Lots of good scuttlebutt to report. Firstly, I have been tipped by a very reliable source that within three to six weeks there will be a major announcement by the DC USA complex in Columbia Heights. That announcement is – Elwood Thompson’s grocery store will in fact be opening up! Secondly, it is likely that the Ross Dress For Less Store will no longer be coming to DC USA. Thirdly, and I think New Columbia Heights heard this rumor as well, REI is still very seriously considering opening a store in the DC USA complex. Holy sweet that would be awesome. Now I think it will be helpful if they receive encouragement via email. So definitely comment here if you’d like to see an REI but also make sure to contact REI directly here.

I had some false info about the Five Guys Opening last week (scuttlebutt accuracy down to 96%).  But I am 99.9% sure they will be opening this Tuesday at 11am!

And sadly Colorado Kitchen has served its last dinner Sat. night and it’s last brunch on Sun.

But hey Elwood Thompson’s Grocery store is coming and with some luck so will REI!

Neat Neighborhood Find: Design Within Reach

By Prince Of Petworth

Design Within Reach, located at 1838 Columbia Road in Adams Morgan is one cool shop. I spoke with sales associate, Omari, who described the store as featuring modern, mid century furniture. He also explained that the name means that the patron is able to have direct access to classic pieces. Previously, customers had to go through designers to purchase these types of pieces but Design Within Reach has a warehouse that stocks many of the pieces so that there aren’t long wait periods for your furniture to arrive. As you would expect prices vary but most sofas range from $1500-$5000. The pictures will say a lot more than anything I can write. Plenty of them after the jump. But let me just add that I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a terrarium on display. Well, another sales associate came up to me as I was admiring the terrarium and she told me it was actually for sale. Right on. So they also partner with Small World Terrariums and you can purchase some pretty cool terrariums. Very cool. Check out some photos of the furniture after the jump. (more…)

Tina Visits Pfeiffer’s Hardware

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s easy to overlook a tiny little mom and pop shop like Pfeiffer’s with all the new options mere blocks away, at the DCUSA mall, in Columbia Heights. Target might have everything you need, but there’s nothing quite like walking into a little neighborhood shop to be greeted with a friendly and sincere “hello, how can I help you?” quite often from the owner himself. The hardware store has been around for quite some time, but it’s only been Pfeiffer’s since December of 03 when Todd Pfeiffer and Adriana DiFranco took ownership. They live right in the neighborhood and you can tell they love it, they even sell some pretty sweet Mount Pleasant T-shirts.

It may not be as big as a Home Depot, but don’t let the tiny storefront fool you. Pfeiffer’s is packed full of just about every hardware item you can imagine. They don’t waste an inch in there! Need some loose screws or nails? Check the bins right next to the register. Want to paint your living room? Head to the back right corner. Gardening supplies? Across from the paint. Want to rent a drill? No problem, just 5 bucks a day. Looking for lumber or some drywall? Ask the staff and they’ll be happy to help you out. What’s that, you need something Pfeiffer’s doesn’t have? Well, you can put in a special order online and have it delivered to the store for pickup. If it turns out that it’s not what you need – no worries, it’s 100% returnable.

I really just think this place is great. I’m no girly-girl, but I’m not much of a DIY-er either. But every time I’ve stopped into Pfeiffer’s to get a spare set of keys made or to look for some appliance I don’t know the name of, the staff has always been helpful and super friendly. And they’ve never made me feel stupid when I ask for “those things that you stick in the drywall, you know, so your shelves don’t collapse? dollies?”

Next New Store Spotted at DC USA

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to a reader for sending the news that they spotted “The Childrens’ Place” in one of the DC USA storefronts yesterday.  Is this just like a clothing store for kids or are there also toys?  Who knows the story here?

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