Harris Teeter To Open First DC Store

Harris Teeter, the North Carolina-based grocer whose very name seems to augur up-and-coming real estate development the way Whole Foods once did, will open their first Washington DC store Wednesday morning in Adams Morgan. The chain will open in the Citadel building at the intersection of 17th Street and Kalorama, between Meridian Hill Park and the Adams Morgan strip, in what has hitherto been a relatively residential section of the District.

The 37,000 s.f. building, owned by DC-based Douglas Development, was an old roller rink built in 1947, and had been vacant prior to the occupancy by HT. The Honorable Adrian Fenty will be on hand at the 10:00am ceremony to honor the city's newest taxpayer; the first of three Harris Teeters to eventually stock the District's shelves. Jenkins Row, JPI's new 247-unit condominium at 1390 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, has long been marketing the bourgeoise market, which was slated to occupy the first floor of the building in mid 2007, but has yet to open its doors. And just two weeks ago, the Mayor was at the mike at Constitution Square to announce that a lease for a 50,000 square foot version would open in NoMa in early 2011.

But meeting deadlines may not be HT's forte; the Adams Morgan store was originally scheduled to open in the fall of 2006, but issues such as delivery through the narrow and one-way streets that surround the building held the project at bay for some time. Jennifer Panetta, Director of Communications for HT, would only say that the delay stemmed from the company "trying to be a good neighbor," saying that specific requests took "alot of development."

But the grocer will make up for lost hours, shoppers will be able to obtain their Angus Reserve or choose from the "extensive selection of seafood" from 7am to 11pm. Which, coincidentally, beats Whole Foods.