The grocery chain Harris Teeter Inc., which is expanding aggressively in the region's suburbs, has signed a deal to build its first District store in the growing Adams Morgan neighborhood, the company said yesterday.
The 39,000-square-foot store, expected to open in fall 2006, will be at 17th Street and Kalorama Road NW inside a long-vacant former roller-skating hall. City leaders called the chain's arrival in the neighborhood a victory for residents who have pleaded with developers for an upscale grocery store.
Harris Teeter in Falls Church. The store planned for Adams Morgan is expected to open in fall 2006.
(Larry Morris -- The Washington Post)
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Moving Into the District Harris Teeter plans to open a grocery store in Adams Morgan in fall 2006, a few blocks from a Safeway.
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Metro Business: Coverage of Washington area businesses and the local economy.
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"This is a very positive development for the neighborhood," said Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who represents the neighborhood on the D.C. Council. "An empty building is not very productive."
The full-service supermarket will reflect the neighborhood's growing affluence, with a wine consultant, coffee bar and sushi station. The once run-down area around the store site has been transformed over the past decade by new condominiums and renovated townhouses.
The North Carolina chain is the latest entrant in the fast-changing Washington grocery market, which was once firmly dominated by Giant Food LLC and Safeway Inc. The two chains now face serious challenges from Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp., Whole Foods Market Inc., Food Lion LLC and Wegmans Food Markets Inc.
Harris Teeter, which operates six stores in the area, has signed leases for 11 more, most of them in Northern Virginia. The chain expects to open a second D.C. store on Capitol Hill in 2007.
The Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan will be between two Safeways, one on Corcoran Street, the other on Columbia Road. Graham said he hoped the Harris Teeter would "inspire Safeway to do better" in the neighborhood. Safeway spokesman Greg TenEyck said the chain is pleased with both stores' performance and noted the Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan Safeways are limited by their small size.
Josh Gibson, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Adams Morgan, said residents have reacted positively to the possibility of the store, though some are worried about noise and traffic from the project. "Virtually everybody in the neighborhood sees the traffic and those related issues as a necessary evil of getting the project," he said.
The home of the future Adams Morgan store is a run-down art deco-style building called the Citadel. Douglas Development Corp. bought the dome-topped building seven years ago. Douglas Jemal, the company's owner, said he is spending $15 million to renovate the site, which will include 120,000 square feet of office space.
"It means a lot for that community that's wanted a grocery store there for a long, long time," he said.
The store will have parking for 90 and employ 181.
Staff writers Dina ElBoghdady and Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.