The NARDI Construction Archives: Shoppers Edition

Welcome back once again to the Shoppes of Battery Mill, where blogging is a pleasure (or something like that!)

This blog post is part of a discovery I've had in my hands for quite some time, part of two portfolio PDFs from NARDI Construction.

Now what is this, you may ask? NARDI Construction is a firm based out of Beltsville, Maryland. The organization has attached their name to dozens of building projects in the Washington, D.C. area and beyond, making a mark in the local retail scene alongside. While NARDI has been known primarily for constructing shopping centers and malls, they also maintained a working relationship with supermarket chain Shoppers Food Warehouse in the 1990s. This is what I will be focusing on for this post, though I do plan on exploring the rest of their archives down the line.

With that being said, let's get it started! I will showcase a few exteriors of Shoppers stores worked on by NARDI, in store opening order before we dive in to the rest.

Exterior photos

The collection begins with the Takoma Park, Maryland Shoppers (store #19/2340). While this location dates back to the Jumbo Food days (pre-1980), it was expanded and remodeled in its years under the Shoppers name, most notably to the Shoppers Club moniker in the mid-1990s. This location closed in the late 2019 wave and was sold to German discounter Lidl along with several others. I do quite like the orange bevel accent at the end of the facade here.

Next, here is the Woodbridge, Virginia location (store #45/2361), which opened as a Shoppers Club in early 1994. I covered this location in 2016, prior to closing, and today it stands as a Hobby Lobby which has gutted traces of Shoppers like the Takoma Park Lidl has. To the right is a Trak Auto (now Advance Auto Parts), and in the front is an empty pad site (now a Mission BBQ).

In my personal opinion, I have a soft spot for this facade - it matched the aesthetic of the nearby Potomac Mills mall and conveys a rather industrial quality. It was unfortunately replaced with a generic facade in a remodel.

Rounding out exterior photos, we travel to the Cloppers Mill center in Germantown, Maryland (store #46/2358). This center was profiled by NARDI as breaking ground in early November 1994 and finishing in September 1995. Of the three, it is still operating as Shoppers in 2022 and is notably the only Shoppers build to feature open-truss ceilings.

To the left is a standalone Chevy Chase Bank. Not so long ago they were a major fixture in Washington, D.C.-area shopping centers, heralded by a Benjamin Franklin lookalike inviting customers over to "The Leading Local Bank". Then everything changed when the CapitalOne nation swooped in, with these buildings now disappearing due to a shift to online banking. The site is now home to a Dunkin' Donuts in place. It's unfortunate for those fancy Federalist designs - where would one be able to ask for dollars when everything's now digital?

In the words of Steve Jobs, one more thing: this close-up of the facade. This one may have been taken a few years into the center's existence, as storefront advertising has changed slightly from the plain red and white posters featured earlier on.

Before I begin these interior photos, I would like to note that they are from several different locations, none of which have been specified (although NARDI has listed several Shoppers which they worked on).

Now it's time. Let's enter through the automatic doors and travel back into Shoppers' heyday, once again.

Interior photos

 

Our savings start here, and so does this store tour! We get introduced to the inside via the pleasant aromas and sights that behold us in the floral department, clad in reflective slatted walls, swooping accents, neon, and grid lighting. While Shoppers had long invested in fresh flowers, the Shoppers Club concept expanded the selection greatly, defining the chain for years to come.

In the background, we have a partial view into the Shoppers Café dining area and a "Restrooms" sign. This layout configuration would carry over into Shoppers stores built in the 2000s.

Turning to the left, we have prepared foods counters and shelves at a glance. This was another defining feature of Shoppers Clubs which I first touched on in my overview of the College Park site. This time, however, we get a closer look at the deli and hot foods portion, with soda/coffee fountains taking center stage. I must say, SFW was quite ahead of its time here!

Here is a closeup of the "Hot to Go" counter, displaying a buffet of warm delicacies. At the left of the photo, Shoppers touts its paninis for only $2.98 - a deal, I must reckon!

This is likely from a different location than the photo above, seeing as sunlight from the café windows is present to the right. Though bear with me, I may be wrong.

Just across the actionway is another Shoppers layout standby, the corner produce department. This happens to be a shot similar to that of College Park's produce, though it appears to be slightly smaller and with fluorescent as opposed to mercury vapor lighting eminating from the ceiling.

Before we check out, let's hop back over to the prepared foods side of things, of stuff, and of sorts combined. We are adjacent to Shoppers' expansive cheese, deli meat and edge produce selections, though we can also see further into the store in greater detail. In case you forgot this was "Shoppers Club", you can go get a Club Pak of steak before rounding the corner into the rest of the supermarket.

While we have seen our fair share of neon accents, the bakery and seafood departments are where Shoppers' neon delight continues to unravel. I just hope somebody got ahold of that wavy fixture next to "Fresh Fish"!

We close out this tour at no other place than the checkouts. In this photo from November 1996, we see a good glimpse into the aisle markers, express lane signage, Shoppers instruction manual, and tabloids too.

As opposed to being from Shoppers Clubs, this happens to be a photo of a standard late 1980s-early 1990s purpose-built Shoppers warehouse. This design is smaller than what came after, and features a distinct alcove going across the front end. This photo also marks first time I've seen orange warehouse racks in this era of SFW, interestingly.

Before we head off, let's go over some of the steps we need to take to save at Shoppers:

1.  ?
2.  ?
3. "U Pack Your Order"
4. "U Load Your Car"
5. "U Do a Little, U Save a Lot"
   

As you can see I can't quite get a glimpse of the first two directions, but I think it's suitable at this point of our grocery trip. If anyone could help find the rest of them to better our Shoppers store trips, it would be great. All constructive comments are appreciated, as always. Just before we get home, though...

Bonus Photos

Here is a look at the former South Valley shopping center in the Hybla Valley neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, also a NARDI project. I chose to feature this center primarily as, upon its reconstruction, it was unified with the Mt. Vernon Plaza to the north which indeed features a Shoppers.

 

The center was comprised of two stories of retail and also once featured Kmart (store #3712), which closed in 2000. Upon Kmart vacating the space, the center was abandoned and demolished for Home Depot which currently stands.

Anyhow, thanks for reading as always!

-BatteryMill

Kmart - Silver Spring, MD: Bluelight Gems

Welcome back once again to the Shoppes of Battery Mill! Today's post features one of America's most storied retailers, and one of its last holdouts at that. What could it be? That's true - Kmart, your saving store...

Photos taken on September 6, 2020 by The Battery Mill

• Address: 14014 Connecticut Ave, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906
  
• Opening date: November 30, 1972
• Closing date: Expected April 2021
  
• Features: Pharmacy
• Former: Garden Center, Penske Auto Center
• Known remodels: early 2010s

 ...where your dollar buys you more!

 Slogan aside, we've come here to explore their Silver Spring, MD store, located in the Aspen Hill neighborhood off of Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues. As of March 2021, this location has been announced to close down, marking the end of a 48-year run and an exit for Kmart in both Maryland and the Washington, D.C. metro area.

What treasures may we uncover today? Let's see.

 We kick off our store tour (or "stour", I shall say) with a glance to the left, away from the store's entrance. At this rate, it happens to be a rather barebones environment with a "Pharmacy" sign being one of the only notable landmarks.

Now looking towards the right edge of the store, these ostensibly-present landmarks happen to be signs advertising (now sold-off) Sears name brands, added after the 2004 buyout. However, there is one peculiarity that compounds on such events - of which we will reveal shortly.

Before we enter through the doors, we return to the front facade for more. The upper image is a variant of Kmart's 2004 logo; said variant has appeared at only a handful stores over the years.

Now it's time to experience the store itself! Here we gaze into the glory of Kmart right past the vestibule doors. In front of me is their generic holiday display, filled with Halloween supplies as spooky season approaches.

Such an angle, I'd say can be quite comparable to this 1970s Kmart photograph. I wonder what other surprises would a location like this have carried...

Diving into the store's expanse, we trudge over to the sports gear aisle. A rather well-stocked collection, these shelves hold up a host of items licensed by Washington and Baltimore professional sports organizations, including the nearby University of Maryland's Terrapins teams.

We now head down one of the store's actionways, walking on the edge of the health & beauty aisles alongside other discount store departments. In the distance lies Kmart's pharmacy - a rare sight among a disappearing retail chain.

Onwards we go to the pharmacy itself, a rather standard one at that. For years, Kmart has operated pharmacies, in line with its competition and all sorts of other supermarkets/drugstores. At the time of this visit, less than a hundred stores were open.

With the store's closing sale, (as of this post's writing) this pharmacy has likely now shuttered, with prescriptions moved to a nearby drugstore.

Capping the pharmacy off, here's a standard Kmart pharmacy emblem.

Before we move on to our next subject, let's head to the DVD stand for intermission. The aisle this selection is located in also features a slew of book titles. This is perhaps one of the store's last bastions of entertainment, given it now lacks an electronics department entirely.

The upper photo showcases the household supplies actionway, with the lower photo being a typical overhead sign design implemented in the early 2010s Kmart package. While it was a common upgrade across the brand, it did not entail many improvements for many other store facets. This store previously donned the Big Kmart look.

While we are in the heart of the grocery department, we skim by one of the store's most interesting quirks on the right. The answer will be revealed shortly.

Speaking of which, I wonder what that green strip of tiles once stood for?

Your standard Kmart toys department. One interesting thing about this section is that most products was often the only one in its column, with none behind it.

And now, onto the next ones...

 

So here appears the store's main oddity, one we have teased before: a blocked-off chunk of aisles! In line with all the troubles Kmart's been experiencing, this isn't the wildest sight one may see in the chain. This subdivision stems from a local construction supply company which has purchased the garden center. I am personally surprised this hadn't been walled off, or even tarped off at the time.

 

Customer photos from Google Maps and other sources indicate that this section of the store once belonged to some of the departments of the store which are now located in the remaining open space. This shift, however, has resulted in the loss of other sections, such as electronics, furniture, appliance, and (of course) outdoor supplies.

Today's next view will be here at this random collection of aisles, combining various supplies, clothing, and food items into one area. You may notice the presence of windows at the wall's apex. While I cannot confirm anything, I believe this would have to be a second-floor mezzanine or perhaps just an accent for the backroom.

Here is one of the aisles in particular, already stocked with Christmas gear even as summer shines on. In the distance is the store's front-end.

A view from the perimeter of the store, casting light tubes into the horizon.

Here's another such viewpoint focusing on the store's lighting, plus a little extra - a large, vintage vent. I will argue that newer designs have managed to make air conditioning less cumbersome.

Skimming by the sporting goods department, an empty bike rack is perhaps the boldest fixture of anything that can be found in the vicinity.

The aforementioned case is a sight I have seen at comparable stores such as Target and Walmart in the wake of the pandemic. Whether it be a tremendous growth in sales, distribution shortages, or any other cause, it's certainly one that invokes questions from the start.

At last, we cross over into this store's widest expanse of apparel. Our first feature within this area is the shoe department, which also holds within it another curious feature. Here is a Kmart.com kiosk - handy if you'd like to plan your next shopping trip here.

Zooming out of the previous photo, we spot the back-left corner of the store. Primarily featuring menswear, this section happens to be adequately stocked.

For a moment of time, we will turn right to check out the restroom area for its own gems.

The first item of note inside this alcove happens to be this pair of water fountains. As a precaution laid down by the coronavirus pandemic, these have been tarped (and taped) off to prevent the spread of bacteria given the close facial contact required in use. These won't be returning to the store, but I do hope things will get better elsewhere.

Turning around to focus on the rest of the alcove, we spot the Kmart-famous Layaway desk. This is a store function that has often been highlighted for its year-round presence, as opposed to other chains which lack such or only operate it preceding holiday seasons. Today, however, it appears to be offline, leaving this room to descend into darkness.

Popping back out into the light, we continue to walk down the clothing department. I do like that graphical display to the right, I must admit.

Here we have a close-up snapshot of the fitting rooms entrance. The shell happens to be a common structure found in 1970s Kmart stores in the vein of this one. 

 

My last interior shot for this store will be, once again, set down a clothing actionway.

And now, for our parting shot - a rather nondescript cart corral.

Thanks to all for enjoying this edition of the Shoppes of Battery Mill. As this store rides off into the sunset, I wish the best for Silver Spring shoppers, as well as any nearby employees.