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Showing results for tags 'Ravensworth Shopping Center'.
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Ravensworth Shopping Center is managed by Stewart Commercial Realty Services, LLC. Restaurateurs: See below (*). Smith & Clarkson's, whose website is no longer accessible, has closed along with the Safeway next door, and apparently several other shops in the Ravensworth Shopping Center in Springfield (on Braddock Road, immediately outside the Beltway) These are becoming a Lotte (which I'm just now finding out is pronounced with a long "o" after about fifteen years). Rest assured, this is an indirect consequence of the 495 Express Lanes, which have a Braddock Road exit. Many people will be coming locally from Little River Turnpike, but the Express Lanes will encourage others to arrive as well. It's remarkable (literally, worthy of remark) that this new Lotte is opening so close to the one at Fairfax Circle. Demographically, it makes perfect sense, but I wonder if this is an addition, or a replacement. According to this post on fairfaxunderground.com (where there is some, um, "lively" discussion), Don McIlvaine, GM of Ravensworth Properties, LLC, tried to get Whole Foods to move in, but failed - presumably because they're resting comfortably down Rolling Road, in the heart of Springfield (I agree that switching locations would have been a bad demographic decision for Whole Foods; it seems like an excellent one for Lotte, assuming they'll be closing in Fairfax Circle (I have no knowledge about this one way or the other - it's just that the two locations would be very close together if Fairfax was to remain open)). Of key importance: The Swiss Bakery remains, for now - I pulled up just as they were closing on Wednesday, and a girl was locking the door, so I didn't get a chance to ask them what the future held. Despite the domination of Lotte (it's in that corner close to Braddock Road (**), and The Swiss Bakery will be even more invisible than it is now), I think this new anchor might help their business, and it might even help them tremendously (I can also see someone with the exact opposite initial instinct, and who knows what's going to happen to their rent in the future). Well, you can kiss parking at Ravensworth Shopping Center goodbye. Furthermore, an already-terrible intersection is about to become a Lotte more terrible - if you're coming up the outer loop of the Beltway (which many Koreans will be doing), you're going to *need* a Latte to stay awake while you wait for that single-lane stoplight. They're going to have to change things up a bit - I'm glad Matt's going to college. So long to Smith & Clarkson's, which has been under its current ownership since 2002 (but was open long before that under another owner). So long also to one of the Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area that you've probably never even heard of: Pizza Bazzano, which opened in 1967, and is also closing due to the advent (encroachment?) of Lotte. Of note: According to this article from October 18, 2014, on annandaleva.blogspot.com (who was the first source to report on the October 16 Town Hall meeting), Smith & Clarkson's is expanding into the Pizza Bazzano space. That said, I haven't seen any other, more recent, sources that verify this, so I can't confirm it; in fact, Ravensworth Shopping Center's website lists both Lotte and The Swiss Bakery as "Current Tenants," along with Kilroy's, but there's no mention of either Smith & Clarkson's or Pizza Bazzano. In fact, if you click on the picture immediately below, you can see that both Smith & Clarkson's and Pizza Bazzano's spaces appear to be vacant, whereas The Swiss Bakery's is still there. It's a wise move for Ravensworth Shopping Center to be keeping The Swiss Bakery - they are a *huge* asset, and if they were my tenant, I'd do everything I could to retain them and keep them happy. To The Swiss Bakery: Not accounting for any rent increases, my gut feel is that this is going to help your business going forward, quite a bit, once you get beyond construction. In fact, if you have a long-term lease, I'd say you've just won the lottery - I hope to hell you got it for 20 instead of 10. Regardless, I'll follow you wherever you go, and given how little space you inhabit, I'd even consider you a mini-anchor and cut you a deal - this *should* be a win-win for both you and your landlord, but I've seen money do really bad things to people, all too often. To the landlords: I know you don't know who I am, but I assure you I don't know a soul who is associated with The Swiss Bakery. Based on merit alone, I have them ranked in my Dining Guide ahead of Georgetown Cupcake as the #1 Bakery in the Washington, DC area that has Multiple Locations (since you haven't posted ten times, you won't be able to see it, so you'll either need to find someone that has, or just trust me on this one). (*) Note: 1618 7th St. NW is for lease: (**) It sure seems like the ideal placement for Lotte would be at the back end of that shopping center, doesn't it? Well, it's not a perfect world - this is going to be one serious bottleneck unless they force drivers to take the rear entrance.
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I'm glad to hear this, Kibbee - I made a mistake with Kilroy's, mistaking it for Brion's Grille up by Ox Road before I realized that I have never been to this restaurant, not even once.
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