J. Crew, the upscale clothing store, opened on August 1 in the Atlantic Building (950 F Street), joining other national apparel chains located on DC’s oldest retail corridor. The iconic fashion retailer occupies 8,625 square feet (SF) over two levels in the building that is also home to Anthropologie and Sculpt DC, formerly The Art of SpYn, the indoor cycling and yoga studio.
J. Crew joins GUESS (1155 F Street), H&M (1025 F Street), Forever 21 (1020 G Street) and Zara (1025 F Street) in an emerging Downtown Shopping District, which will be anchored by CityCenterDC, the 10-acre, mixed-use development that will have the largest cluster of planned Downtown retail space at 335,000 SF (185,000 SF in Phase I, expected to be delivered next year).
In related news, the Washington Post reports that Woodward Table and Woodward Takeout Food, a new concept by restaurateur Jeffrey Buben, will open in space now occupied by Potenza (1430 H Street) in the historic Woodward Building. Buben, of Vidalia and Bistro Bis (15 E Street) fame, plans to take over Potenza’s space on September 1 and open his140-seat restaurant in early November. Woodward Table will dazzle with regional delights, including turtle soup, lobster with spinach soufflé and brisket, while the take-out area, open for breakfast and lunch, will dish out biscuit sandwiches, deviled ham, swordfish clubs and blue plate specials.
Potenza, an Old World Italian restaurant, will close on August 18. But its pizza ovens will not go to waste. They will remain at Woodward Table. So will some of Potenza’s current staff, whom Buben intends to hire. And talk about maximizing space, at night the 30-seat Woodward Takeout Food will convert to a stage for guest chefs, tasting events and pop-up dining, now all the rage.