Results tagged “ellwoodthompsons”

There's a few things happening in the world of organic grocery stores lately, with some good news for Petworth folks and not-so-good news for Columbia Heights residents. First the good: the Yes! Organic Market at 4100 Georgia Avenue NW officially opens today at 3 p.m. Wednesday at 10 a.m. As for the bad, over the past few weeks some passersby have reported construction work being done in the space that Ellwood Thompson's organic supermarket is renting in the DCUSA complex at 14th and Irving. You'll recall that back in April the Richmond-based grocer announced the opening of their first D.C. store was delayed indefinitely due to the economy. Of the recent visible work inside the space, Ellwood Thompson spokesperson Cyndi Watkins had this to say: "As of right now I have not heard anything new about us moving to D.C. Any construction being done must be work the landlord is doing." UPDATE: Looks like Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser's office jumped the gun on announcing the Petworth opening. A spokesperson for Yes! Organic Market now tells us that the store will be opening for the first time at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 19, with the ceremonial ribbon cutting pushed back to Thursday, August 27. Both Bowser and Mayor Adrian Fenty are expected to be in attendance on August 27.

In a press release and message posted to their company blog today, Richmond-based organic grocer Ellwood Thompson's announced that their planned expansion to the DCUSA development in Columbia Heights is on hold, seemingly indefinitely.

Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market announced today that they have delayed their plans for expansion to the Washington D.C.. Citing the slowing economy, the company will not open a store at the DCUSA project this fall as originally planned. “We are disappointed that we can’t move ahead with our plans at this time” stated Rick Hood, owner of the company. “We believe that DCUSA in Columbia Heights is an excellent location choice and are eager to serve this community, which is a perfect fit for our products and philosophy. However, with this delay we are acting prudently to keep our company sound during these difficult times for retailers. We continue to work with DCUSA on a timetable to locate there”.

We're still waiting to hear back from company spokesperson Cyndi Watkins with some more details on what happened. Signs have been up in the windows of the section of the DCUSA building intended for the grocery store for months, but almost no visible work has been completed in building out the space.

The Columbia Heights News forum is buzzing today with the rumor that Ellwood Thompson's, an organic supermarket based in Richmond, has finally signed a deal for a location in the DCUSA shopping center at 14th and Irving Streets NW in Columbia Heights. The store has been in talks for many months about the location.