Photo via creative commons by flickr use evoque

Thanks to a reader for sharing this email from the current owners:

“The LaundroMutt needs new owners…or we will be closing our doors come April 30th, 2010.

We, the owners, have found ourselves too busy with our other business commitments and must sell the LaundroMutt. We would very much like to see this great business continue in the neighborhood and we have loads of ideas to increase revenue and bring additional, exciting services to the customers….but we simply do not have the time or resources to do this.

We are accepting all offers from interested buyers….but are looking to move quickly. It is a great, fun place to work with cool customers (2 and 4 legged). We will gladly share all ideas we have for expanding the business in order to increase revenue and best serve the loyal customers and supportive neighborhood.

Please contact sueb@homewardtrails.org or lrol@aol.com if you are interested.”

A reader sang their praises back in Oct. ‘09. Laundromutt is located at 1722 Florida Ave., NW.

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Yesterday afternoon when I tweeted about how cool the Corehaus Design store is, it got me thinking about the best non restaurant/bar stores that have recently opened up in DC. It seems like every week we are talking about new restaurants and bars opening up in the city, which I think is great. But I also like to discover other cool new retail options. Personally, I think Corehaus is the coolest to open up in a long time. Kultura is pretty sweet as well.

So my question to you guys is – what’s the coolest non restaurant/bar to have recently opened up in the city? If none have opened recently – what are some cool retail shops that fall below the radar? Could be house stuff, a hardware store, clothing, other furniture, used books, comic books etc.?

Ed. Note: And on an unrelated note because the weather is going to be so nice this weekend I wanted to share a previous FQoTD where we discussed nice things to do around the city outside.

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When I first previewed Corehaus at 825 Upshur Street, NW I could tell it was gonna be cool. But having just checked it out again, it is no longer simply cool – it is freaking awesome! This retail spot has official become a must visit store, not just for those who live nearby, but for everyone. Again, photos can do a much better job than words in explaining this great store. If you haven’t checked them out yet, put them on the list.

Lots more photos after the jump. Read Full Post

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Folks will remember that Kultura used to have a shop on Connecticut Ave a few years ago before the owners temporarily moved to California. Three weeks ago they reopened on Connecticut Ave. and back in Nov. they opened a shop at 4918 Wisconsin Ave., NW up in Tenleytown. I’m sure many folks would love to see them also up a shop on 11th Street, NW or on Georgia Ave. Their Web site says:

“KULTURAs books is a general secondhand, out of print and rare books store specializing in Art, Architecture, Photography, Film, Fine literature for all ages and modern 1st editions. We also carry a fairly deep selection of global area studies, inclusive of United States history, Political and Economic theory, as well as Poetry, Philosophy, Music, Science, Psychology, Travel, Cooking and Gardening books. We attempt to carry just about any foreign language to English dictionaries we can get our hands on and a boast a very, very good selection of books in French and Spanish.

We buy books for store trade at both the Dupont Circle and Tenleytown locations.

If you must donate books, then we must give you store trade, as we feel it is only fair, which amount of course you are free to use or not. But you could also assign it to a friend’s name, which we will keep on file, for him or her to use, thus a sort of gift certificate.”

These folks really are super cool. So let me know who wants to start the petition for a location of a third store if they decide to open another…

Couple more pictures of the jump. Read Full Post

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Well we’ve known that the Subway was coming since November but thanks to a reader for sending in the recently installed Coming Soon sign. So far we’ve got lots of coming soon signs in this retail space as well a cricket store. But I’ll be sure to update as these spots transition from coming soon to projected opening dates to they’re now open!

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We learned back in Dec. that the Cereal Bowl was going to occupy the old starbucks space at 3420 Connecticut Ave, NW. Well, I spoke with someone from their corporate headquarters who said they were hoping to open up March 27th. More info on Cereal Bowl here.

And right next door to this a tanning salon is coming in the old consignment shop space.

And a bit further north the new Walgreens looks nearly completed.

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Well this looks pretty cool. According to their Web site:

“Pangea is Greek for “all lands”. Pangeamarket.com, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), brings together traditional high quality handicrafts made by artisans in developing countries. This is the first time that most of these products have been available for purchase online and in our Washington, DC store. Come in and purchase these beautiful, fair trade crafts, jewelry, home décor, accessories and more, learn about the products’ origins and know that your purchase helps create sustainable livelihoods for artisans in Asia, Africa and Latin America.”

The store itself is located at 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and you can take a tour here. The building itself (IFC HQ) is also pretty sweet:

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It is truly wild to watch this corner (triangle) transform. Here’s what it looked like just few weeks ago.

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Washington Business Journal had the scoop this morning:

“Store manager Dion Barela confirmed the impending closing Tuesday, saying the store plans to close its doors around March 15, depending on how soon it sells out of its merchandise.”

We judged the building and the store exactly a year ago. Will folks miss West Elm?

The WBJ also has the scoop on the replacement tenant – Forever 21.

I must be totally out of it because I’ve never even heard of Forever 21. Any fans out there?

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Simply Soles was located at 1438 Park Road, NW. I always thought this was a tough location for a women’s shoe store. In March they will be opening up in a new location at 3222 M Street, NW in Georgetown. Owner Kassie Kempel writes:

“With retail being what it was in 2009 a lot of opportunities came up that I couldn’t ignore. I hated leaving Columbia Heights but I also couldn’t justify staying there and paying the same rent that I could get in G-town. Hopefully a great place will take over the CH location.”

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Toucan Boutique will fill in the space formerly housing the Lettie Gooch boutique (now located 1517 U Street, NW). The Toucan Boutique site says:

“Toucan Boutique started with a mother-and-daughter team who wanted to bring warm, tropical fashion to the chillier climates of North America. They saw a need for unique, casual clothing, and were not satisfied with what they saw.”

Sounds like this will be a nice addition to 9th Street.

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Well there obviously hasn’t been too much progress this last week but I thought it was cool to see the structure of the new CVS at Georgia and New Hampshire Ave., NW starting to take shape.

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Jordin’s Paradise is located at 1121 7th Street, NW (across from the Convention Center). It’s nice to see this strip of a retail get a new business. And the business itself seems pretty cool. They describe themselves:

“Jordin’s Paradise intends to provide physical fitness services to a growing demographic of men and women between the ages of 8 and up. What makes Jordin’s Paradise unique is its comprehensive list of services that it provides which cannot be found anywhere within the District of Columbia’s metropolitan area. Our vision is to be a cutting edge, alternative fitness facility that offers the most unique and advanced fitness classes and exercise programs in the region. We will build our reputation as a fun, effective and superior fitness facility with a dedicated, experienced and committed staff of professionals and contracting partners.”

You can learn more here.

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Best Cellars is located at 1643 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

“Dear PoP,

I was in the Dupont Best Cellars wine store yesterday and noticed that everything is 20-25% off. When I asked what the occasion was, they told me they are closing. Why? Because the rent is too high. They also told me the space they are in will be taken over by a cell phone store.

So to sum up, the neighborhood is losing a great little wine store and is “gaining” a cell phone store that I’m guessing most of us would gladly do without. I don’t know who the owners of that building are but thanks for absolutely nothing. Way to put lining your pockets ahead of what’s best for the neighborhood.

Regards,
Depressed in Dupont”

I also called to confirm that they were closing and it is indeed the case. The last day in their current location will be Feb. 13th however they are looking for new retail space. When they find a new location I’ll be sure to update.

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The old Caribou Coffee spot on 18th Street in Adams Morgan has been vacant for ages. It seems insane to me because this is such a prime location. Many folks have probably walked by this space dozens of times. It’s not a huge space so I’m curious what you think would work in this location. What would work is not necessarily a dream retail outlet, rather I’m curious what you think would realistically be successful in this spot. Any ideas?

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