March is truly coming in like a lion, at least in terms of Bethesda’s business climate.
Four openings of unique Bethesda shops or venues are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, including the opening of the relocated and much-beloved Bruce Variety store and the opening night for the highly anticipated Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club.
Then, there’s the grand opening celebration planned for Friday for Bethesda Scooters & Boards, the eclectic shop from Bethesda resident Kaare Wieneke that will move across Woodmont Triangle after a pop-up shop trial run last summer.
Co-owner Wieneke and his “Chris Sacks Band” will be playing and the store (4825 Fairmont Ave.) will be filled with scooters, skateboards, stand-up paddle boards, customized Bethesda t-shirts and a large variety of other items.
Also reopening is Jason McCarther, the owner of the former Box Bar sports bar who sold, then re-bought the place at 7525 Old Georgetown Rd. after the short-lived Dry Fried Wing Bar and Grille fizzled out. McCarther plans to open Roc Bar Live, a live music version of his Roc Bar nightclub in D.C., on Saturday with rock artist and Rockville native Mike Westcott.
Nearby, the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club (7719 Wisconsin Ave.) will be hosting its second night of live music with local jazz pianist and keyboardist Marcus Johnson. Friday’s opening night performance in the revamped Bethesda Theatre features New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader Irvin Mayfield.
Also on Friday, Bruce Variety will return.
In December, owners of the crafts store known for its odd and hard-to-find items said they could no longer afford the rent at its location of 60 years in the Bradley Shopping Center. That announcement shocked and saddened many, some who even signed a petition asking Shopping Center owners to lower the store’s rent.
But soon after Bruce Variety closed on Arlington Road, it found a new home in the old home of Creative Parties Ltd., in the blue and green house at 8011 Woodmont Ave. It signed a lease there in January.
