Chevy Chase Retail is Subpar

[Anonymous]

I lived a short walk from Friendship Heights in 2005-10 and it was never good shopping there, and nothing to eat. That little sandwich shop on Western Ave was the only decent food. Maybe the Thai place on Mass Ave., it was tolerable.

It's always been a shame, but the decline started long before COVID. In 2010 they shut down the Lord & Taylor and TJ Maxx. There was nothing left really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a place with exclusive country clubs, multimillion dollar pre WW2 homes, and the kind of cache that comes with the name Chevy Chase, it is odd that the area’s retail isn’t that nice, specifically along Connecticut Avenue. Similar neighborhoods on the edges of other East Coast cities like Brookline near Boston or Bronxville near New York City have stretches of high end boutiques, grocery stores, and restaurants that match the character of the charming $1 million+ pre 1940s SFHs around them. What’s been keeping Chevy Chase from having the same type of retail?

I’m not saying the retail is horrible, it just doesn’t match a neighborhood that has that kind of historical prestige and the same types of neighborhoods in other East Coast cities with the same cache and housing stock have far nicer options.

You’ll get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You forget that Friendship Heights used to be a major hub of retail...at its peak in like 2005, you had a Neiman Marcus, Hechts, Saks Men's store (Saks store is still there), William Sonoma, AMC theatre, etc.

You also had the Chevy Chase Collection with a Cartier, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany (still there), Brooks Brothers (still there), etc.

Nobody would think to open a high-end boutique on CT avenue from Livingston to the Circle, when they were all clustered merely 4/10 of a mile away.

The Internet and Covid killed FH...and to some extent City Center DC killed the Chevy Chase Collection as all the very high end boutiques migrated downtown. As others have mentioned, you also have downtown Bethesda very close by and there you have your Apple store, North Face and many other boutiques and shops.

We will see if FH can make a rebound with the Total Wine opening and the Trader Joe's rumored to open any day now. There is also a Wonder Food Hall supposed to open and some other shops / restaurants.

You acknowledged that Friendship Heights went downhill because of Covid, yet Tysons Galleria has only gotten nicer since then and it has the same high end department stores. So it is not Covid per se because there are a lot of other retail areas in the region that have gotten nicer since 2005. University Park retail in MD is much nicer, City Center, The Wharf, the Mosaic District, Tysons, Clarendon, Ballston, Del Ray, and Old Town are all much nicer than they were in 2005 and none of these places has gotten worse since Covid.

Even places that are immensely walkable from where Supreme Court justices live, like Brookdale Market and the stores in that strip mall, are subpar for the neighborhood. Why can’t a nicer grocery store exist there? Snider’s in Silver Spring and the Grosvenor Market are nicer and they are in much lower end neighborhoods and aren’t surrounded by $2-$3 million homes.

The juxtaposition between Chevy Chase retail and housing stock is incredibly odd.

Tysons isn't really near any other retail area, while FH and CC are very close to Bethesda (only 1.5 miles from FH) and even Silver Spring. Bethesda has definitely grown / remained popular and really is the commercial hub for the area. Silver Spring has held up.

I mean...if you don't go to Tysons Galleria, what's your next best closest alternative? I'm not sure why you are referencing all these other areas. I get that Georgetown, Union Market, Wharf, etc. are happening spots.

CC isn't really an immensely walkable area for stores and most people drive to the grocery store. FH does have an Amazon Fresh and a Whole Foods and again a soon to be opened Trader Joe's. I guess the little strip mall on Brookville Road could maybe have a Dean & Deluca type place...but I doubt it would do all that well...maybe open an outpost of Broadbranch Market could do OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived a short walk from Friendship Heights in 2005-10 and it was never good shopping there, and nothing to eat. That little sandwich shop on Western Ave was the only decent food. Maybe the Thai place on Mass Ave., it was tolerable.

It's always been a shame, but the decline started long before COVID. In 2010 they shut down the Lord & Taylor and TJ Maxx. There was nothing left really.

L&T didn't shut down until 2020. Maybe you mean Hechts. TJ Maxx actually never really shut down except for when they created the new Mazza in 2023...and it's now open again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the problem is that this area is not walkable. At all. Old Town Alexandria is in no way comperable, because it is designed for foot traffic.

You can't walk from the nice parts of Chevy Chase to the retail area quickly, safely and efficiently. Thus the lack of cute restaurants, which bring cute retail, etc.

Can you name the restaurants along Connecticut Ave that should be cuter? The ones that are there seem fine and well attended.

Or is it that you wish the CVS and gas stations would all be torn down and replaced with more restaurants?

[Anonymous]

I live in Chevy chase and think it’s fine. We have access to Bethesda row if we want trendy stores and restaurants. We have Connecticut Ave which is funky and I love the movie theater and Opal and Macon for dinner. The new things that are happening in friendship heights are looking good and hopefully will get better. We have Whole Foods. And now Trader Joe’s. I think it’s looking good. I don’t need Cartier and Chanel in that location. If that’s what you’re implying. I love Sushiko and Clyde’s. I do miss the JCrew when it was there.

[Anonymous]

Feeling your pain - Alexandria.

There are more cute upscale shops (especially for clothes) to choose from in Middleburg. And we have lots of restaurants but most are bad or mediocre at best.

[Anonymous]

we can all agree that the chevy chase safeway is an absolute embarrassment, and half the restaurants are way past their prime. There are some gems though like Magruder's, the avalon, Opal, Birdsong, core 72... and Wheelhouse coming in (owner of millies)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we can all agree that the chevy chase safeway is an absolute embarrassment, and half the restaurants are way past their prime. There are some gems though like Magruder's, the avalon, Opal, Birdsong, core 72... and Wheelhouse coming in (owner of millies)

This! Around the country Chevy Chase is synonymous with wealth and opulence and is on par with Georgetown as being the DC neighborhood with the most upscale cache. The country club costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to join, I’m guessing, and it is home to two Supreme Court Justices. If you took someone from Arizona or California to the “Chevy Chase Safeway” or the “Chevy Chase [insert random store]” what they saw would not match their preconceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we can all agree that the chevy chase safeway is an absolute embarrassment, and half the restaurants are way past their prime. There are some gems though like Magruder's, the avalon, Opal, Birdsong, core 72... and Wheelhouse coming in (owner of millies)

This! Around the country Chevy Chase is synonymous with wealth and opulence and is on par with Georgetown as being the DC neighborhood with the most upscale cache. The country club costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to join, I’m guessing, and it is home to two Supreme Court Justices. If you took someone from Arizona or California to the “Chevy Chase Safeway” or the “Chevy Chase [insert random store]” what they saw would not match their preconceptions.

Around the country Chevy Chase means this:



No one knows about the random hoods around DC.

[Anonymous]

Also, the wealth in Chevy Chase go to Manhattan to shop - or have their staff shop in their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we can all agree that the chevy chase safeway is an absolute embarrassment, and half the restaurants are way past their prime. There are some gems though like Magruder's, the avalon, Opal, Birdsong, core 72... and Wheelhouse coming in (owner of millies)

This! Around the country Chevy Chase is synonymous with wealth and opulence and is on par with Georgetown as being the DC neighborhood with the most upscale cache. The country club costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to join, I’m guessing, and it is home to two Supreme Court Justices. If you took someone from Arizona or California to the “Chevy Chase Safeway” or the “Chevy Chase [insert random store]” what they saw would not match their preconceptions.

I don't really understand your point. I don't think many people around the country know much about the DC area to think anything of Chevy Chase except to think it's funny that an actor is also named Chevy Chase. They know Georgetown...and that's about it. I would be shocked if you asked 1000 people in CA or Arizona if more than 1 knew that any Supreme Court justices lived in CC...and they would probably only know Kavanaugh because of the psycho that was arrested supposedly trying to attack him.

Also, nobody thinks of Judges or Supreme Court justices as super wealthy people...so, not sure why a place associated with where any of them live would translate into wealth and opulence.

[Anonymous]

Since when did all 9 Justices live in Chevy Chase? I think it's only two (who happen to be conservatives). I believe three live in DC. One lives in Falls Church. Not sure about the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since when did all 9 Justices live in Chevy Chase? I think it's only two (who happen to be conservatives). I believe three live in DC. One lives in Falls Church. Not sure about the others.

Yes, that poster is wring about so many things. So odd.

[Anonymous]

…wrong about…