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.