The First Whole Foods In Prince George's County (Baltimore, Silver Spring: middle-class, 2013)

[adelphi_sky]

Some of you may have been following this proposed development for some time through the many fits and starts, battles and setbacks. Unfortunately this is the norm in Maryland. But there is some light on the horizon. The main contention in this project is the placement of a bridge that will alleviate traffic on the RT. 1 side of the project. The American Center for Physics has denied the bridge being constructed on their property. This was a minor setback. The developers have now started their backup plan to have the bridge built on UMD property that connects to River RD.

If I know UMD president Wallace Loh, it's almost a lock that the bridge will be built. Simply because he's been pushing for more UMD staff to live locally. A project of this scope and caliber would go a long way in making that a reality. I say it's a done deal and we could be looking at construction beginning this fall.

The revised plans have the bridge crossing at the University of Maryland Research Park on River Road, but the university has not yet granted its endorsement, although the development team said is hopeful it will in time.


“The hurdle for the detailed site plan and the preliminary plan is the acceptability of that bridge, in some location,” said Mark Regulinski, managing director of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who said the development hinges on reaching some agreement for placement of the bridge.
“As you know, the protagonist drives the story, and in this story, the bridge is the protagonist, and possibly the antagonist as well,” Regulinski said.


If approval is given, it will then go to a detailed site plan review before the District Council, composed of the members of the Prince George’s County Council, possibly in June, and if approved, construction could begin as early as August, Christiansen said.

What I find interesting is the wording in a paragraph of the article that mentions:

The Cafritz development, to be built on Baltimore Avenue across from University Park, would feature the first Whole Foods Market in Prince George’s County, as well as fine dining restaurants, a luxury hotel, a fitness center and nearly 1,000 multifamily and single-family units on the 36-acre property, said James Voelzke, principal architect with MV+A Architects, to approximately 50 area residents at a University Park town hall Tuesday night.

Why does that not get me excited? We've seen that language before only to end up with mid-tier chains such as Olive Garden and Outback. DC is attracting popular chefs from around the country who are opening up very nice restaurants in downtown. I consider that fine dining. It will be interesting to see exactly what type of restaurants are placed there. Sorry, the Cheesecake Factory doesn't count.

And look at this breath of fresh air for those who cringe at developer/citizen relationships. I think it goes a long way in setting a standard and having the community welcoming more developers if they feel they can work with each other.

Ellen Thorpe, a University Park resident and member of the town’s Cafritz Committee, said she is pleased with the new direction the development team is taking, incorporating public suggestions and sharing information.


“I’d just like to say, as someone opposed to this project for a long time, how pleased I am to see them take a project management approach,” Thorpe said, noting that several of her earlier suggestions have been incorporated into the new plan.

[scrapper105]

;-)

We'll have to wait and see if they follow through with the plans illustrated on their lovely water colors. I sure hope so.

[Zimar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Sorry, the Cheesecake Factory doesn't count.

CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

[Khemistry]

Originally Posted by Zimar

CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

It surely does count. The Cheesecake Factory is not on the same tier as Red Lobster's or Olive Garden.

[Kthnry]

When the new Silver Spring town center opened, it was all Red Lobster, etc. The small and interesting restaurants came a few years later. The chains have the resources to build in underdeveloped and unproven areas.

[MrMaryland455]

I hope it does well because "WHOLE FOODS" is a UPSCALE grocery store.....so I hope the Demographic can hold the store.........Im from MONTGOMERY COUNTY and the WHOLE FOODS in this area is in the KENTLANDS/LAKELANDs (ONE OF THE WEALHTIEST AREAS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY) and it does VERY well.....

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Zimar

CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

Exactly. PG is in no position to sneer at Cheesecake Factory if it's good enough for Arundel Mills it's good enough for PG.

[Renznceman]

Re:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimar View Post
CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

If you've ever baked your own cheesecake, you'll swear that the most aromatic, tastiest slice is when it is still warm from the oven. Cold New York-style cheesecake ain't bad either, but before I digress/digest too much, I've never been swooned by the offerings at the Cheesecake Factory here in Loudoun County, even though the venue itself is colorful and faux exotic. Their cakes are heavily loaded in sugar and the cheese is so subtle as to be unremarkable. Their pumpkin cheesecake was the most disappointing of all. Still, it is an improvement in the limited choice of sitdown restaurants in PG County. I still recall how they crowed over the arrival of Applebee's (Crapplebees) several years ago.

[Zimar]

Originally Posted by Renznceman

Re:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimar View Post
CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

If you've ever baked your own cheesecake, you'll swear that the most aromatic, tastiest slice is when it is still warm from the oven. Cold New York-style cheesecake ain't bad either, but before I digress/digest too much, I've never been swooned by the offerings at the Cheesecake Factory here in Loudoun County, even though the venue itself is colorful and faux exotic. Their cakes are heavily loaded in sugar and the cheese is so subtle as to be unremarkable. Their pumpkin cheesecake was the most disappointing of all. Still, it is an improvement in the limited choice of sitdown restaurants in PG County. I still recall how they crowed over the arrival of Applebee's (Crapplebees) several years ago.

Really? I make a mean cheesecake, and I really hate the taste of it warm from the oven (I'm pretty sure the recipe actually calls for refrigerating it before eating, although I could be wrong). I've resorted to putting it in the freezer for a few minutes because making it is such a huge pain in the butt and after all that work I'm impatient to taste it and I don't want to wait for hours or until the next day. Hence why sometimes I would rather just go to the Cheesecake Factory. Maybe my taste buds are just not refined enough but I think their cheesecakes tastes pretty good, and I find most restaurant food unappealing. Perhaps I am just another middle-class bourgeoisie destroying America's uniqueness or whatever, but wait until you or a loved one is 6 months pregnant with a cheesecake craving before you judge me!

Another thread successfully derailed by moi! Muahahhaha! Zimar OUT!

[Khemistry]

Originally Posted by Renznceman

Re:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimar View Post
CHEESECAKE FACTORY TOTALLY DOES COUNT!

If you've ever baked your own cheesecake, you'll swear that the most aromatic, tastiest slice is when it is still warm from the oven. Cold New York-style cheesecake ain't bad either, but before I digress/digest too much, I've never been swooned by the offerings at the Cheesecake Factory here in Loudoun County, even though the venue itself is colorful and faux exotic. Their cakes are heavily loaded in sugar and the cheese is so subtle as to be unremarkable. Their pumpkin cheesecake was the most disappointing of all. Still, it is an improvement in the limited choice of sitdown restaurants in PG County. I still recall how they crowed over the arrival of Applebee's (Crapplebees) several years ago.

Originally Posted by Zimar

Really? I make a mean cheesecake, and I really hate the taste of it warm from the oven (I'm pretty sure the recipe actually calls for refrigerating it before eating, although I could be wrong). I've resorted to putting it in the freezer for a few minutes because making it is such a huge pain in the butt and after all that work I'm impatient to taste it and I don't want to wait for hours or until the next day. Hence why sometimes I would rather just go to the Cheesecake Factory. Maybe my taste buds are just not refined enough but I think their cheesecakes tastes pretty good, and I find most restaurant food unappealing. Perhaps I am just another middle-class bourgeoisie destroying America's uniqueness or whatever, but wait until you or a loved one is 6 months pregnant with a cheesecake craving before you judge me!

Another thread successfully derailed by moi! Muahahhaha! Zimar OUT!

I have always known cheesecake to be served COLD. That's how I really like it. I absolutely HATED cheesecake most of my life. It looked good but tasted disgusting to me. Never found a single person or restaurant who could make one that was the least bit appealing to me. I can tell you exactly when that changed... December 1999 when I visited The Cheesecake Factory at the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It was the first CF I had ever been to. I had never seen so many exotic types of cheesecakes, in my life. I opted for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake, because that was one of my favorite ice creams at the moment. When I say that slice of cheesecake could have literally been my last meal, and I wouldn't have cared. It was SOOOOO delicious and exploding with multiple flavors. I couldn't believe how good it tasted. Literally, from that day on, I was a cheesecake fan. I could even eat other people's cheesecakes and love it.

The Cheesecake Factory can't get away with selling $45 cheesecakes, if they hadn't perfected the taste, and people didn't love them. You try finding another restaurant who's selling $45 cheesecakes. I haven't met a single person who doesn't like the restaurant or at least hasn't heard amazing things about it. I went to the CF in Friendship Heights and I literally felt like I didn't belong there. It was a split-level restaurant (the first split-level CF I've been to) and it was so swanky and elegant. I was wondering if I was dressed appropriately enough. The same goes for the CF at White Flint Mall. They had recessed lighting and the interior was top notch. It was so elegant inside. This is coming from someone who's been to restaurants where you have to be dressed in formal wear to attend. So, I'm not ignorant to what I'm saying.


The Cheesecake Factory (despite it's name) is not on the same lowly tier as Red Lobster's or Applebee's or T.G.I. Friday's. They are as close as you're going to get from a restaurant that upholds a strict dress code. That's why it's so difficult to find one where there isn't at least an hour wait for a table. The first CF I went to, we had to wait an unprecedented 1.5 hours for our table!