Stuart Weitzman closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The long and painful death of Stuart Weitzman at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda has mercifully come to an end. Its space on Level 2 was cleared out and stripped of signage yesterday. Customers - or potential customers - of the upscale shoe boutique often found the store closed during its stated business hours starting in December. Bizarre indeed, as this was at height of the holiday shopping season. So, while this is a stunning development, it's not much of a surprise to regular readers of this website.

One reader commented, as the often-reduced hours of the store continued last month, that there were staffing issues there. Stuart Weitzman opened exactly ten years ago at the mall. This was a coup for Westfield at the time, as you might have expected a brand like this to land at Bethesda Row. Perhaps it was a ten-year lease, and the chain decided to stick it out to the end, rather than close last month. Regardless, it was a very solid run in the very business-unfriendly climate of Montgomery County, and those who managed and worked at this store over the last decade can certainly be proud of that.