April 23, 2008
Harris Teeter Opens in Adams Morgan
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but the Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan celebrated its grand opening this morning. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the store, only about five years in the making, took place at a little after 10:30 a.m., with Mayor Adrian Fenty, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham, and countless Harris Teeter officials on hand to deliver run of the mill remarks and welcome to the store to the neighborhood.
The store itself is on the small side. The 37,000-square-foot space with low ceilings feels cramped in some areas, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in variety of merchandise. It's got pretty much everything you could want in a supermarket: deli, surprisingly large wine and beer sections, an impressive array of fine cheeses, a full-service pharmacy, a hot food and salad bar that will be a real boon to anyone who works within walking distance, a sushi bar, and, for some reason, a melon bar. I wasn't aware melons needed an entire bar, but hey, works for me.
Harris Teeter is open every day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with the pharmacy open from
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are nine standard check-out lanes and 4 self-check out lanes. I bought a loaf of bread on my way out, and was treated to a courteous and enthusiastic cashier who took the time to help me sign up for the store's discount card. You can also sign up for the card online.
The controversy surrounding the store's opening continues, as we ran into L. Napoleon Cooper, self-appointed spokesperson for the small business owners and residents in Adams Morgan who were nervous about the chain entering the community. They successfully held up the zoning and permit process for an impressive amount of time, and Cooper and his partner were out picketing the store this morning. But a two-person protest versus the relatively giddy reactions we saw from the dozens of customers who lined up to be the first to buy groceries this morning is a decidedly lopsided controversy. Harris Teeter is now open in D.C., and as long as people shop there, there's not much Cooper and company can hope to do about it.
The new Harris Teeter is located in the Citadel building, at 1631 Kalorama Rd. NW.
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It's about time that the late-20th century marvel known as self-checkout has finally made its way into the District! Huzzah!
Nice storefront design
I may be asking a question that has been answered, but what is the parking situation? Is there a garage?
Self checkout FTW! Scan, pay, leave. I'm almost wistful for the senile old batfart who's buying everything with pennies and arguing about whether a coupon is expired or not. Or the cashier on ludes chewing her boyfriend out on her cellphone. Or maybe that's just the stroke talking.
Two-person protest? TWO? Hell, you need at least three for a circle jerk. What's next? A play about the common housecat, or why not the King of Siam? Give it up, Smithers.
lukfarang:
There is parking on the ground floor (the supermarket is actually on the 2nd floor), and it looks like there is also an underground parking level, as there are ramps leading below ground, although I didn't see the underground parking myself. Also, there is a bike rack right by the front door, in the parking garage. A very nice touch to include indoor bike parking, as I am sure this will be a common form of transportation for Adams Morgan shoppers.
The store is beautiful, very well thought out and put together. A great reuse of an historic building, and I love how they highlighted the art deco design instead of trying to paper over it with a boring corporate look. I am ecstatic that I will never have to go to Safeway again.
Hell yea. Anything's better than a Giants and a Safeway! This place seems a lot like the Bloom grocery stores in MD. Anyone concur?
Harris teeters are normally open 24/7-why the reduced hours?
Harris Teeter is great! I've shopped at the ones in Ballston, Alexandria-Duke St., and Potomac Yards. They all have fresh food, excellent customer service, and good selection. Plus, VIC card really does give good deals and saves me a lot of money. Their prepared foods are pretty decent too.
HT is way better than Giant or Safeway, and while it's no Wegman's, HT is one of the best grocery stores I've been to.
God, I never thought I'd be so excited about the opening of a grocery store.
loganmo - I imagine the ANC made Teeter sign a "nonbinding" voluntary agreement to limit hours. Those 4am pushcart races can get kinda loud, dontyaknow.
I am very excited about this - probably more than I should be. Hopefully Safeway and Giant will start shaping up with the new competition. Until then it is Harris Teeter 24/7 or at least 7/11.
Believe me Sommer, Mr. Cooper doesn't represent the residents of the neighborhood who were opposed to the HT opening. He represents the one small bodega inside of the Dorchester and his own interests. That doesn't mean that others didn't protest the opening of this store, but Mr. Cooper certainly doesn't represent them.
The reason this HT isn't 24 hours unlike most others is that also because unlike most others this HT is located directly in the middle of a bunch of residences (literally a couple of dozen feet from the folks across the street).
So when is the Capitol Hill HT scheduled to open? I'm excited at the prospect of being able to shop in DC without resorting to ghetto-ass Safeway.
The HT on Capitol Hill is scheduled to open on May 13. Hopefully this will lessen the chance that Safeway will run out of bread and bananas by 2pm on Sundays...
How exciting! The Teets in NC where I used to live were never 24/7, always closed by midnight.
They actually used that time to restock, clean up, etc. Love their produce selection, only place I've seen sashimi grade tuna for like 4.99/lb !
They have always been known for great customer service, let's see if that remains here in the district!
Not all Teets are open 24/7. I believe the one in Pentagon City closes. But the one in Potomac Yards is indeed open 24 hours.
I'd say let the store get settled first. THEN go 24 hrs.
God, I never thought I'd be so excited about the opening of a grocery store.
Sad comment on life in the District isn't it? I'm getting a little tumescent in anticipation of the Capitol Hill HT opening up.
Teeter is one of the few places that carry's Dukes Mayonnaise. Now, all I need is a blowup rubber kiddie pool and a supersoaker and I'm set for the weekend.
I'm with hillrat on the HT opening on Penn Ave, but I wonder if Fenty will be there with Tommy Wells cutting the ribion - He dosent make it down to Eastern Market much after the fire.
SM do you know if they will have free samples at this location. Jalapeño bread with hummus? FREDTERP
wow. really? i don't believe it. i will have to go see for myself tonight!!!!!!!!!!
Not all Teets are open 24/7. I believe the one in Pentagon City closes.
Nope, they're open 24/7.
I hate Safeway so much that I started shopping at Wegmans in Fairfax, on the nights I have class at GMU. It's pretty sad when shopping at 10:30 pm after a long day of work and class sounds infinitely more appealing that dealing with the local grocery store.
Napoleon has met his Waterloo.
I was at the Ballston store the other day (generally I don't like HT, I think they are overpriced and not all that amazing, the CH Giant and Shoppers in Takoma Park work just fine), but I had forgotten that the Ballston store is like an officially sanctioned U.Va. alumni event. That was annoying. I hope the Adams Morgan location isn't like that.
Both Pentagon City and the new one in Potomac yard (which also is smaller and has low ceilings) are 2/47/ Both of them, also, are on the first floor of mid or high rise residential-proving that harris teeter can co-exist in res. hoods.
@adamsmorgan -- assuming you were one of "the residents of the neighborhood who were opposed to the HT opening," what viable commercial alternatives did you suggest to Doug Jemal, the developer? Or, would you have preferred the old Citadel to remain a borded up shell?
I live within several blocks of the new HT, and am absolutely thrilled this place is finally open, NIMBY's be damned.
I hope HT is able to maintain a decent level of service and cleanliness so that the neighborhood has a decent grocery within walking distance. The Safeway on Columbia Rd is an insult.
loganmo - You're forgetting we're talking about Adams Morgan here. This is where people buy half-mil condos on 17th Street and are shocked, SHOCKED to find loud noises coming from 18th Street on Saturday nights.
As bad as it gets, at least they're not peeing on people.
cranky: har-de-har. seriously, i smiled...
amen to everyone who says that this is a great thing for the district. it's about time that someone lit a fire under giant and safeway's ass. i feel like giant has been doing a better job lately, but that just means that they're getting up to competent, not exceptional. i want exceptional, damnit!
(when can i convince meijer to move out here?)
another question: are the employees at h-t unionized?
DC1974...you think UVA grads live in the city? What are you, nuts? It's way to dark in here for them. Unless they're at work, they're in VA.
I have worked for Giant and been back in the behind the counter areas of Giant, Safeway and Harris Teeter.
Harris Teeter is as clean behind the scenes as it is front.
They pay there empolyees more then Giant and Safeway.
And if you get the HT card you can find some things at some very good prices.
you normally pick such great photos for your stories, these are a little sad!
I hope you didn't pay someone to take them
Wegman's rocks. I drove out there late sunday night to shop rather than face crappy produce and selection in DC.
I remember when all the busy bodies in Glover Park protested the opening of Bread & Circus (whole foods precursor). Then they actually went to the store and realized how craptastic safeway/giant were.
hey now, i am a uva grad. and i live in CH. we are not all bad.
"assuming you were one of "the residents of the neighborhood who were opposed to the HT opening," what viable commercial alternatives did you suggest to Doug Jemal, the developer? Or, would you have preferred the old Citadel to remain a borded up shell?"
I think the opposition wasn't directly aimed at Harris Teeter, per se, but what it represented: increase in traffic in the neighborhood, added parking problems. Unlike the 18th Street or Columbia Road, the neighborhood streets in Adams Morgan are relatively quiet, narrow streets and residents were wary that the new HT would wreck havoc on that more so than any drunk girl could at 2 am.
to every rule, there is an exception
imgoph, meijer is basically just walmart in a slightly less bad corporate get-up
their produce and meat is generally disgusting...just goto shoppers for your cheap canned and boxed goods
Just visited the Harris Teeter: yes to free samples, yes to good service. Clearly it is their first day open so everyone's gonna be super friendly, but I got greeted by every HT employee that I passed. I like it, it's a nice affordable option for the neighborhood, and about the same walking distance from my apartment as Whole Foods. What I'm really excited about is the opening of Yes! Organic Market, having the closest grocery store 2 blocks away from my apt definitely beats 10 blocks.
I popped my Wegman's cherry on Sunday, and it was more amazing than I could have imagined. An urban Wegman's would be awesome. I welcome my new grocery overlord though, anything that keeps me from having to step foot in my local Giant or Safeway.
Songfta,
Want to really blow your mind. At Bloom you have hand held scanners that you take with you.
A wegmans wouldn't work in an urban environment: their stores require a massive footprint and just as much parking. You know how much that kind of real estate costs? That's the primary reason they're out in the boonies of Fair Oaks and Columbia. The only way they could make it work in DC would be to make it go vertical instead of horizontal. Eight-stories with lots of underground parking would just about handle it.
Come to think of it, DCPS HQ downtown is just the right size for a Wegmans....
You know its a nice grocery store when the floors are better than my apartment floors.
Unfortunately, they are not. But they treat their employees pretty well.
The HT at Pentagon City hires some special needs folks as baggers, stockers, etc. I thought that was really cool, and they are way friendlier and more efficient than most of the employees of my local Giant.