While the frigid economy has many businesses in a state of shrinkage, one local pharmacy and its partner cafe are growing, according to several sources.
The Upscale Pharmacy (or Upscale Rx) is moving from its 800 square-foot nook on Wayne Avenue to a 1,400 square-foot storefront in the Downtown Silver Spring shopping center, property manager Jennifer Nettles announced Thursday. The pharmacy will sit inside what used to be a MotoPhoto shop, across the driveway from Whole Foods Market.
The new location works for everybody, Upscale pharmacist Dawit Tsegaye told The Penguin. The drug store benefits from Whole Food’s traffic (the au natural market doesn’t have a pharmacy). Meanwhile, Whole Foods cashes in on pharmacy patrons who might otherwise score their organic goodies at another supermarket.
Once the pharmacy pulls up stakes from its spot inside The Crescent condominiums, the adjacent Crescent Cafe will expand, Tsegaye, who runs both businesses, explained. The cafe’s extra leg room will emphasize chillaxing, and if the county’s liquor-licensing gods are feeling cooperative, there could be a little vino on tap, he said.
Give it about four weeks before the pharmacy makes the move. In the meantime, the cafe on Wayne will keep on kicking it through its growth spurt.
Upscale’s move gives Downtown Silver Spring two new tenants in the span of one month. In December, The Fractured Prune donut shoppe inked a deal to move into a Fenton Street storefront between the Men’s Warehouse clothier and Pier One Imports.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Kamphora.
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Good for Crescent Cafe. VERY nice people and a good wi-fi spot. I must admit, I was worried about the viability of both shops when they opened, given the relative lack of foot traffic on that stretch of Wayne (and with only a garage directly across the street). But they seem to have built a constituency.
Wish Fractured Prune was actually going to be a Krispy Kreme (yum) but glad to see somebody else willing to invest in SS during tough times.
Yeah, I was hoping for a Krispy Kreme, too. I wish the Fractured Prune well because they are in a loation that has been exceptionally hard to lease. Donut shops seem to rely partially on customers who park nearby and run in for a quick dozen to go. The easiest surface lot is behind Whole Foods and we know how hard that one is to park in.
The lot behind Whole Foods may be the “easiest” to the new Fractured Prune location but if anyone parks there and then crosses Fenton (thus leaving the Whole Food premises), they’ll toe ya!
Yeah, Frac Prune is going to have to depend on people walking to-from Metro and (probably their main target) the after-movie crowd. It’s just impractial for a car stop, whether you flaunt the Whole Foods lot rule or circle around in the deck out back. But that’s the whole point of urban retail — reel in as many people as you can who are on foot doing multiple things.
To be honest, I don’t think I’ve heard a positive thing said about the non-chain places in a while, but I’ve seen a lot of love towards the chains. It’s like a bizarro Silver Spring.
The “whole foods” lot is not monitored by, run by or owned by whole foods and is shared by the other storefronts in that area (strosniders, hollywood video, dry cleaners, etc).
It is owned by The Peterson Companies and they are responsible for being the towing enforcers.
Editor’s note: This person’s screen name has been modified. — JD (Jan 14, 2009)
I live in the Crescent and the upscale pharmacy pharmacists are the best! They helped me get a prescription when I was in California this summer, they solved a problem another time one was expired.
If you need to fill your prescription go there, they are so nice and easy to work with.
The “Upscale” name surprised me, are they trying to be funny? An indie pharmacy is a precious thing, so happy to see they are doing well!
I hope with the larger storefront they are able to stock a wider variety of items. I was excited to see a pharmacy in the neighborhood, but the few times I went in they didn’t have what I needed.