Thursday, March 28, 2013
The beloved Bethesda variety store will re-open its doors on Woodmont Avenue on Friday, March 29.
After a few delays, Bruce Variety is set to open its doors at its new location on Bethesda's Woodmont Avenue. The beloved variety store will have a "soft opening" on Friday, March 29, though some of the merchandise is still in transit, according to Linda Ridenour, wife of Bruce Variety owner Richard Dimock. "With the overwhelming positive response, we can open our doors and feel confident that our customers will be happy," Ridenour wrote in an email to Patch. Operators were "working like bees" and taking in freight daily to ready the new store, which Ridenour described as "colorful, brightly lit and chock full." After 60 years on Arlington Road, high rents forced the Bethesda fixture out of its Bradley Shopping Center space in January. The…
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Bruce Variety owners say they're not concerned about a new store in their old space.
Owners of Bruce Variety say they're not worried about the prospect of losing business to a similar variety store opening in their former location. After 60 years on Arlington Road, high rents forced the Bethesda fixture out of its Bradley Shopping Center space in January. The community rallied for the store, and owners said the support inspired them to find a new location in Bethesda. Bruce Variety will open its doors at 8011 Woodmont Ave. by the end of March. But it's looking like Bruce's will have a little friendly competition when it opens in its new space. Bethesda blogger Robert Dyer broke the news that a store dubbed 'Bradley Party and Variety' is moving into the Arlington Road storefront, and Bethesda Now reported that Strosniders, …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
After high rent forced Bethesda favorite Bruce Variety out of the Bradley Shopping Center, 'Bradley Party and Variety' will open in the space, blogger Robert Dyer reports.
Update, March 20: Bethesda Now reports that Strosnider's Hardware is behind the new venture. Original post, March 19: A new store dubbed "Bradley Party and Variety" will open in the former Bruce Variety space in the Bradley Shopping Center, Bethesda blogger Robert Dyer reported. Dyer posted photos of the storefront announcement Tuesday. After high rent forced Bruce Variety out of its longtime Arlington Road location, Bruce Variety will re-open on Woodmont Avenue by the end of March, said Linda Ridenour, the wife of owner Richard Dimock. The community rallied for the store, signing an online petition asking the landlord to re-negotiate the lease. Now, it appears a shop that will compete with Bruce Variety for business is planning to open in…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Community institution finalizes plans to re-locate to former Creative Parties spot.
Community institution Bruce Variety has finalized a deal to re-locate to the former Creative Parties space on Woodmont, and the store is set to re-open in March, owners tell Patch. News that the 60-year community fixture was closing its doors due to high rent in the Bradley Shopping Center drew heavy media coverage and shock and sadness from loyal patrons. Residents rallied for the store, even organizing an online petition asking the landlord to re-negotiate the $22,000 monthly rent. The store's new location at 8011 Woodmont Ave. was recently vacated by Creative Parties, which moved across the street. The location "is surrounded by condo and apartment highrises, has tons of foot traffic and will serve a huge segment of the Bethesda Chevy …
Saturday, January 12, 2013
After founding Bruce Variety in Bethesda, Robert Dotson says he’s sad to see it go. The store is set to close tomorrow.
Catch up on headlines this week from across Montgomery County.
An attempted murder that may have stemmed from a dice game dispute; a health scare for the mayor of Rockville; school security upgrades and a wedding for the first same-sex couple in Montgomery County. These are just a few of the stories Patch reported this week. Get caught up on top headlines here. Dice Game Dispute May Have Led to Shooting Involving Germantown Man GERMANTOWN—A New Year’s Day shootout in Silver Spring that resulted in attempted murder charges against a Germantown man may have stemmed from a five-month dispute over a dice game and some money. The full story is at Germantown Patch. Gaithersburg Same Sex Couple First To Wed In Montgomery County Court GAITHERSBURG—Gaithersburg's Joe Rouch and Jeff Aberle were the first same …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Owners are in negotiations to re-locate within Bethesda.
The owners of Bethesda institution Bruce Variety say that they will close their store's Arlington Road location on Sunday. News that the 60-year community fixture was closing its doors due to high rent drew heavy media coverage and shock and sadness from loyal patrons. Residents rallied for the store, even organizing an online petition asking the landlord to re-negotiate the $22,000 monthly rent. But there is hope for the store -- owners say they're in negotiations to re-locate to a nearby site in Bethesda. The site is less than a mile away from the current location, according to Linda Ridenour, wife of Bruce Variety owner Richard Dimock. “We’re hopeful our current negotiations for the new site prove to be successful," Ridenour said. "I …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
After founding Bruce Variety in Bethesda, Robert Dotson says he’s sad to see it go.
As local residents come to terms with the impending closure of Bruce Variety, some have shared stories of personal history with the Bethesda institution – including one Potomac man, the store’s founder. Current owners of Bruce Variety, a 60-year fixture on Arlington Road, announced in December that they would close the location because they could no longer afford the $22,000 monthly rent, Patch reported. Robert Dotson, a Potomac man born in 1919 in Kentucky, founded the store in the 1950s after returning from service in World War II, the Gazette reported. At the time, self-service stores as we know them today were a newly emerging phenomena. More commonly, store clerks at the time would man counters and serve the customer their purchases. …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Owners of the Bethesda fixture say they'll need to move because of a rent increase.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Owners of the Bethesda fixture say they'll need to move because of a rent increase.
The Bethesda community is rallying to keep Bruce Variety operating in its longtime location in the Bradley Boulevard Shopping Center, but store representatives say they will need to move because of a rent increase. The store is coming to the end of a 10-year lease, and owners say the new rent will make it unaffordable for the community fixture to stay on. “We have made many adjustments to make sure we stay profitable, and when we’re faced with our lease that’s just going to spiral out of reasonable affordability, we have to make a business decision to move,” said Linda Ridenour, wife of owner Richard Dimock. For 60 years, the store has been a one-stop-shop for Bethesda residents in need of items ranging from clothing and kitchenware to …
Cee Zee Fishere
1:02 am on Thursday, March 28, 2013
I live in L.A. & visited my kids living in Bethesda. Not a trip went by without my wandering through both Bruce's & Creative Parties & finding treasures. The kids have moved to Silver Spring but I'm glad I'm still able to look forward to these explorations. May both stores go from strength to strength. more ›