Commercial Development : Development News

When you think of mall restaurants, chains like the Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen spring to mind.

But mall dining is about to go global at Westfield Annapolis. Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken Restaurant will serve up Afro-Portuguese cuisine June 21. Its menu includes flame-grilled chicken, spicy red pepper dip, salads and sandwiches.

The restaurant currently has 850 restaurants in 30 countries, but just two in the U.S., in Washington, D.C. Peri-Peri takes its name from the fiery chili pepper, which Africans introduced to Portuguese explorers in the 15th century.

"We have a cult-like following around the world," says Burton Heiss, managing director of Nando's Restaurant Group Inc. The company, which has acquired the franchise rights to build Nando's in the U.S., is spending $2 million to build the Annapolis store. Constructing the 4,200-square-foot shop will require remodeling one of the mall walls, which has made the building costs higher than the typical store.

The 152-seat restaurant will be one of six to 10 restaurants Nando's expects to open in Maryland within the next five years, Heiss says. After Annapolis, the group plans to open a store in downtown Silver Spring. The company is also scouting locations in Prince Georges, Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties.


After scouting six dozen locations, Heiss says Nando's selected Annapolis because it is densely populated with an affluent, well-educated crowd.

Though some restaurants are buckling under financial pressures, Heiss says he is confidant Nando's will appeal to thrifty consumers since the average check is $13. Sales at the Washington, D.C., stores have increased by 17 percent in the last year Heiss says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Burton Heiss, Nando's

With the popularity of the iPad and Kindle, can hard copy books thrive? Andrew Stonebarger thinks so. After running the Book Escape in Federal Hill, Stonebarger this month opened a second location for the new and used bookstore at 10 N. Calvert Street.

The 2,000-square-foot store is the former site of urban apparel store Downtown Locker Room, which moved to the Gallery mall.

Stonebarger selected the downtown site because he saw that the area did not have a bookstore. With the courthouses and office buildings nearby, the business owner expects the store to attract good daytime foot traffic � something that is lacking in Federal Hill.

"It's not like Barnes and Noble, but it makes for a nice little bookstore," Stonebarger says.
"It's a little risky to open another bookstore in this day and age of Kindles and e-readers but I'm pretty sure there will always be a place for books," he says.

Younger folks who can't live without their cell phones and tech gadgets are among his primary customers, Stonebarger says.
"It's almost a novelty but they love it," he says.  "You can't sign an e-book."

Classic books, like "Catch 22" and "Brave New World" are among the best sellers at the Book Escape, Stonebarger says. The store also sells rare and antique books.

The business owner declined to say how much he spent to open the downtown store. He says his Federal Hill store is breaking even.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Andrew Stonebarger, the Book Escape

A business owner is taking her sugary confections to Hunt Valley. Kim Rigby of Parfections LLC will open a 2,000-square-foot retail chocolate shop in June at 10768 York Rd.

She is now leasing a commercial kitchen in Columbia and is opening her first retail location where she can hold chocolate tastings, including wine and chocolate tastings.

She hopes the retail location will help her get more event and corporate business by giving her a space where prospective clients can taste her hand-made creations.

"We're really trying to sell the experience with the chocolates," says Rigby, who is investing $50,000 in the 2,000-square-foot space. "I will never be mass producing chocolates," says Rigby, who has run her own business for seven years.

She says the store will have the look and feel of a high-end wine shop. She likes the location because Parfections has a lot of clients in Baltimore County. The location is also convenient to Boordy Vineyards in Hydes and Calvert Wine and Spirits located at Hunt Valley Towne Centre.

Parfections sells more than 30 different truffles and eight kinds of chocolate bark.

Rigby infuses coffee, wine and even beer into her chocolates and relies on local suppliers. These include  High Grounds Coffee Roasters in Baltimore City ,Black Ankle Vineyards in Mount Airy, and Clipper City Brewing Co.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Kim Rigby, Parfections LLC