<div dir="ltr">Wow, Bummer news, Audrey. Thanks for the heads-up. It is truly sad news for <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Park and for restaurant operators <span style="font-size:9pt"><b><span class="" style>Fereydoun</span> and Susan <span class="" style>Salimi</span> </b>who have been brave soldiers in a difficult industry for decades. Under their ownership the Calvert House has seen many good times, and more recently, tough times. And all through a series of co-ownerships, partnerships with such folks as <span class="" style>Fereydoun's</span> brother, <span class="" style>Fariborz</span>, who now operates a restaurant elsewhere in Maryland, and Walt Starling. The late <span class="" style>Hyattsville</span> fly boy and radio star of the morning and afternoon rush hours, was a co-owner in the 80s and often took his clients and friends out for an amazing meal at the Calvert House. It became a hangout for what Walter called "the PG media mafia" made up of mostly such county and University of Maryland locals who landed profile DC media jobs such as Dave Kellogg, Bob Duckman, John Dowling, Dave Statter, Scott Woodside and others. And all of them, along with dozens more, returned to the Calvert House for one last bash nine years ago following Walter's death. </span><div>
<span style="font-size:9pt"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:9pt">According to local business lore, Washington real estate magnate Douglas <span class="" style>Jemal</span> would often stop by the Calvert House for lunch on his way from downtown DC to industrial properties he owned in <span class="" style>Beltsville</span>, citing that the restaurant was "the only place to eat" along the way. Allegedly, after one of those stops he and his entourage drifted down Queensbury Road and stumbled upon a closed up Town Center. The rest is still developing history ... <br>
</span>
<div><br></div><div>Speaking of history, it seems that Riverdale Park's prized IHOP has pancaked. Read all about it in the inaugural edition of ... <br><div><br></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:72pt;color:red">The
Snatch</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:14pt;color:rgb(51,102,255)">An
area-based, occasional publication that offers some or most of the story, err,
a “snatch” of the story …</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Bookman Old Style'">Covering news in the <span class="" style>Tri</span>-Parks, <span class="" style>Hyattsville</span>, <span class="" style>Bladensburg</span>,
<span class="" style>Edmonston</span>, <span class="" style>Cheverly</span>, New <span class="" style>Carrollton</span> (and in <span class="" style>Landover</span> when it’s not too gruesome…)</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Bookman Old Style'"><br></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Bookman Old Style'"><br></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:22pt"><span class="" style>IHOP</span> Is Toast in <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Park</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">After
nearly a quarter century of operating on the corner of <span class="" style>Kenilworth</span> Avenue and
<span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Road, the Trouts were wed to <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Park. They never wanted to
leave. But on the morning of Dec 30, the father-son duo of Bill and Jim called
together most of their 47 full-and part-time-member team and broke the bad
news: the International House of Pancakes would close that day. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">The
Trouts had been the franchisees of the 108-seat landmark A-frame operation for
24 years. The popular round-the-clock breakfast nook had been a mainstay at the
base of <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Plaza since the late ‘60s. But IHOP’s Glendale, CA-based
parent company, <span class="" style>DineEquity</span>, was not able to reach a lease agreement with the
plaza’s landlord, the Richmond Company. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">“I
think they just started negotiating too late. The <span class="" style>IHOP</span> people were talking with
the landlord but they could not reach an agreement,” Jim Trout, the son said in
a recent interview.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">Bill
Trout said he and his son tried several times over the years to buy the <span class="" style>IHOP</span>
building from the landlord but the owners were not interested in selling. Both
said they understood why -- hold a
larger partial makes the property more valuable when redeveloping -- and he
stressed the franchisees continue to have a good working relationship with
Richmond. Such a good relationship, he said in fact, that when a water pipe
broke in their old location during the big freeze in early January, the Trouts
called a plumber to repair the pipe and paid the bill. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">But
one source familiar with the plaza operation suggested that there is more at
play than good relationships. “</span><span style="font-size:10pt">Richmond has been trying to shutter all
the businesses there so this is not surprising.” The source added “tenants have
land rights if active leases are in place. They (Richmond) are charging rates
higher than DC. No one is re-upping. Their land becomes immensely
more valuable with the Purple Line stop right there.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">Several calls to <span class="" style>Rockville</span>-based Richmond Company
were not returned. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span class="" style><br></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Plaza is comprised of just over
two-dozen pad sites with such business as Firestone Tires, <span class="" style>CVS</span> and La Grande grocery store are still open. However, about 10 other storefronts are shuttered.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">The long-proposed but as-of-yet unapproved Purple
Line light rail system would connect the New <span class="" style>Carrollton</span> Metro station with the
subway in Bethesda, almost 17 miles of commuter rail that proponents say will
launch a development explosion along the way. The original plans call for the
five-year building plan to begin in 2015 but anything starting that soon now
seems unlikely. Still, small business operators in the Purple Line path are as
nervous about their future as a North Korean uncle with a nephew in power. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">“We wanted to stay as long as it got worked out,”
said Jim Trout. “It was a good store for us and we didn’t want to leave.” He
noted that <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> was “a challenging area at one point but that changed and
it has been good to us.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">The younger Trout said he and his father approached
the <span class="" style>Cafritz</span> family’s Calvert Tract project about relocating their <span class="" style>IHOP</span>
operation to that development. “They said they’d get back to us. I think they
want something more upscale. They didn’t say no to <span class="" style>IHOP</span>,” Jim Trout said, “but
they didn’t welcome us with open arms.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">More recently, there have been rumblings that a
Trout-owned <span class="" style>IHOP</span> store could be relocated to the re-developing Town Center area
but no firm details are available.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">The Trouts once also operated an <span class="" style>IHOP</span> in the old
<span class="" style>Landover</span> Mall next to the Sears store. But the mall was closed and then dropped
about a decade ago, leaving Sears the only retailer surrounded by acres of
rubble. Last month, the Lerner Corporation, which owns the property and whose
family members own the Washington Nationals baseball team, announced that it
had purchased the Sears building and that the retailer would close in March. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">Within days, Sears began a “closeout” sale.</span><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">Nearly
five years ago the Trouts added another <span class="" style>IHOP</span> location at 8500 Annapolis Road in
New <span class="" style>Carrollton</span> to their portfolio. The new store seats 190 and employs about 75
full-and-part-time staff. Some 15 of the <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Park <span class="" style>IHOP</span> staff took jobs at
the New <span class="" style>Carrollton</span> <span class="" style>IHOP</span> and the Trouts anticipate more will join them later.
Signs on the old <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Park store now direct their longtime <span class="" style>Riverdale</span> plaza
customers find them three miles away and offer a “Valued Customer Card” where
customers can get “15% off your check.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt">The
<span class="" style>IHOP</span> store is just the latest closure in the once prominent shopping plaza. The
<span class="" style>Riverdale</span> Plaza Theater, which opened with 815 seats in March 1968 and was twined
in 1993 by Paul Sanchez’ P&G Theaters, has been dark since 2007, the victim
of the big screen, home theater craze.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10pt">- 30 –</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt">Got
thoughts, criticisms, story ideas, questions for <i><span style="color:red">The Snatch?</span></i> Reach out to <a href="mailto:YorkeInk@gmail.com"><span class="" style>YorkeInk</span>@gmail.com</a> </span></p>
</div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Feb 1, 2014 at 4:11 PM, Audrey Bragg <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:abragg7393@aol.com" target="_blank">abragg7393@aol.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><font color="black" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tonight is the last night for the Calvert House in Riverdale Park. I just found out today that the end is here and thought the townsfolk would like to have one last drink for this historic occasion. Who wants to meet?
<div>audrey<br>
<br>
<div style="clear:both">
<div> </div>
<div>Audrey Bragg, Broker</div>
<div>Gerrety & Bragg Real Estate, Inc.</div>
<div><a href="tel:301-277-1111" value="+13012771111" target="_blank">301-277-1111</a> office</div>
<div><a href="tel:301-351-4222" value="+13013514222" target="_blank">301-351-4222</a> cell</div>
</div>
</div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Jeffrey Yorke<br>Yorke Property Management, Inc.<br>Yorke Partners<br>Jeffrey@YorkeRents.com<br>301-502-1243<br>
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