North of the Border. I love it. Which border? I’d say we are north of a quite a few borders, yeah? Beautiful sign nonetheless.
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Retail
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This is a nice spot between Home Rule and Pulp on 14th Street. What do you think is more likely to go in a restaurant or store?
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I’m not going to lie. I am no stranger to drinking beers and listening to a Mariachi band. I think it is one of life’s great pleasures. I just never thought I’d be drinking beers and listening to a Mariachi band in a Target…on a Tuesday night. And it was a truly beautiful thing. So thanks to a reader for hooking me up with their ticket to the Target festivities in Columbia Heights. I am forever in your debt. There was a huge turnout and I was happy to see a nice mix of regular neighborhood residents as well as folks who I imagine are part of DC’s “elite”. Let me say Target went all out. You couldn’t turn a corner without running into a band, a bar, food or a Target employee asking if they could help you find something. Obviously the first thing I asked help in finding was tube socks. Ok, first I had a couple of beers. Ok, then I had a burger and sweet potato fries. Ok, then I listened to the Mariachi band and some bongo drummers and then the Mariachi band again. But then I was whisked straight to the tube socks. The tube socks were a little anti climactic, I’ll admit, because I couldn’t find any with sweet racing stripes. But did I mention that there was a Mariachi band? Too cool. As for the Target it is gigantic. It actually has two floors and stocks just about anything you could possibly imagine. (Ed. note: This was actually my first time inside a Target.) As you may have imagined after the jump check out tons of cool pictures of the party and the store. (more…)
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I’ve never seen one of these corner stores advertising “Fresh Vegetables”. Nice, that’s a very good thing… as is cold beer and wine for the record.
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It never ceases to amaze me how many unbelievable cool shops I randomly come across. I stumbled upon Dragonfly Design/Decor this past weekend at 1457 Church St, NW. At first I was thinking Dragonfly, Dragonfly isn’t that a terrible night club that recently closed? Thankfully this turned out to be a completely different Dragonfly. I had the chance to chat with owner Kim Hessler. While new to me Dragonfly has actually been at this location since January 2006 and prior to that was located in a faraway province called Virginia or something like that. The store is filled with unbelievably cool pieces from Central and Northern China. You can also find many period pieces here ranging from 100-250 years old. Of course you are going to pay for that coolness. Period cabinets range from $1200-$3000 and period tables run from $700-$2200. Of course you will also find less expensive pieces as well. Ms. Hessler explained to me that the store is stocked with goods from many Chinese provinces. Each province has its own style but Ms. Hessler’s favorite is Shanxi in Central China. Hessler also points out that many of these pieces blend so well with contemporary pieces because “they bring warmth with the aged wood that is a nice juxtaposition to contemporary pieces.” Hessler also points out that the store used to be an old auto garage yet surprisingly resembles a traditional Chinese home. Even if you’re not going to purchase something here it super cool to admire almost like visiting a museum. Check out some photos of the interior after the jump. (more…)
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And wouldn’t you know it I just bought a wig last week. This always freaking happens to me.
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Lane Bryant first store to open at DCUSA in Columbia Heights.
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1541 14th Street, NW
I’m pouring a little Heineken out right now for Candida’s Bookstore. (more…)
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Thanks to Marco for sending me this article a few days ago. I was a bit slow on the trigger and DCist posted about it earlier today. The article says “When the 540,000-square-foot DC USA retail complex opens March 8 in Columbia Heights, it will still have nearly 80,000 square feet of retail to fill — including 25,000 square feet that developers want to reserve for higher-end retailers. Banana Republic and Coach have been mentioned as examples, although no deals are in the works.”
Interesting. What do you guys think about this? Would you like to see some high end retail go into DC USA in Columbia Heights?
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Located right across the street from Solly’s at 1935 11th Street NW Suite 2 is Fly Betty Boutique. I spoke with owner Melfi Penn this past weekend. She describes the very small boutique (although she may be moving to bigger quarters soon) as a “shop for the everyday woman”. It mostly features clothing, handbags, accessories and skin care. The clothing is priced reasonable from only $20-$100. Store hours: Sat 11-7pm, Sun 12-6pm, M-F by Appt. (more…)