It is refreshing to have a company show so much interest in bringing a specialty grocer to Columbia Heights.  The fact that the CEO of Ellwood Thompson's made numerous trips to Columbia Heights to get a first-hand sense of the vibe of this neighborhood is a testament to the kind of company this is.  The tables are now turned.  Rather than the community joining forces with DC USA developers to lure a stubborn retailer like Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's to Columbia Heights, we have a retailer who is committed to the neighborhood and wants  to bring a much needed specialty grocer to DC USA.  At this point, the ball is in the developer's court.  Whether Columbia Heights will get an Ellwood Thompson's or not is now up to Grid Properties.

We contacted both Drew Greenwald of Grid Properties and Peter Mallios of Newmark Knight Frank to inquire about their interest in Ellwood Thompson's.  We also wanted to see if it would be helpful to demonstrate support from the community through direct emails to Grid Properties.  Both Greenwald and Mallios expressed reservation about having their inboxes inundated by community emails but they indicated that "the developer is aware of the community support."  Greenwald explained that at this point it really boils down to "economics".  We are somewhat concerned with this statement.

When Greenwald indicated that there would be "economics" at play, we got the sense that Grid Properties wants to fill vacancies with the highest bidding tenants.  Now that the DC USA project is well underway and the amount of retail space available is dwindling, retailers are scrambling to get in before its too late.  If Grid Properties wants to squeeze out as much rent money as possible from the remaining retail spaces at DC USA then Ellwood Thompson's would almost certainly be out of the picture.  Again, grocers cannot afford to pay the kinds of rent per square foot that say a clothing retailer could.  But if Grid Properties can look past immediate profits and really consider what would be the best for both the DC USA project and the Columbia Heights community in the long run, then Ellwood Thompson's should have a good chance of being accepted.  A few months ago, Peter Mallios explained that many retailers including bookstores were on the fence with DC USA but most ultimately backed out when it became clear that Whole Foods Market was not coming.  Ellwood Thompson's would undoubtedly become a big asset to DC USA by enhancing the mix of retailers unlike another discount clothing retailer which would just add to what is already there.

In the mean time, please visit the new section we created for Ellwood Thompson's.  There you can find relevant contact information and updates on this situation.  You can also show your support by leaving you thoughts and comments here.  In the future, we plan to compile all the comments we receive from the community and send them to the DC USA developers.

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