Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ready, Set, Run! P Street Retail Shuffle

Many is the time that I have commented to Mrs. 14th & You that I wondered how stationery store The Written Word managed to remain in business in such a high-rent location as the 1400 block of P Street. They hardly ever seemed to be open, and the selection was a bit strange.


Well, as it turns out, they no longer are open have moved to a new location at 1926 17th Street. Coming in July to the space next to Logan Tavern is the latest branch of local running store chain Pacers. Combined with female athletic apparel chain Lululemon a little further down the block, you will be able to have most of your athletic apparel needs met on P Street (guys may have to do a little searching)--thus allowing you to burn off the calories you are no doubt putting on during your frequent trips to Pitango and the new Whole Foods Grill. (And if all of that credit card swiping has got you stressed out, head across the street to Flow Yoga for a little peace of mind.) DC didn't earn the title of America's Fittest City for nothing, you know.

Speaking of Whole Foods, they are in the midst of some rather significant renovations to their store. You've probably already noticed the change to the outdoor sidewalk seating arrangements, which actually took their seating capacity down by about 30 people (believe it or not), but actually makes for a more enjoyable experience. Next on the agenda: significant interior renovations, including a new mezzanine level cafe, new prepared food stations, an artisanal pizza oven (which is all the rage these days), and other store improvements. Borderstan has the full run-down.

According to the store's GM, the renovations should be complete by November. In the meantime, they will be kicking up some dust in their store, and warn that "some items might not be in their normal location". Which means you may have to go a bit out of your way to find the Weird Spiders section.

4 comments:

Jenny B said...

Oh the Written Word is quite alive and doing well. They decided to move from the Ultra High Rent of Logan Circle to 1926 17th Street NW and just focus on what they do best: custom letterpress printing. I've been a loyal customer of theirs forever!

Mike said...

My name is Mike Thomas, Editor-and-chief at www.DCguide.com . We are
currently seeking volunteer writers to cover anything and everything
about Washington, DC . I hope that you are interested as we'd really
love to have you as part of the team. Of course with every article you submit
will be your name and a link to your blog. All we ask is that any articles you
publish on DCguide.com you don't publish anywhere else.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you'd like to join the team.
Also include what topic you'd be interested in writing about.

Best,

Mike Thomas
Editor-in-Chief
DCGuide.com
Mike@dcguide.com

Erica said...

Yay! Maybe the P Street Whole Foods will finally become more like its flagship in Austin. Having lived in Austin and able to shop in the original Whole Foods store, shopping in WF outside of the Lone Star state can be quite a disappointing experience.

Anonymous said...

The Written Word is a local institution! They were on Conn. Ave. for many years before locating to P Street. Personally, I never found it hard to figure out their hours of operation. Their fine custom printing presumably pays the rent. At their new location.