Change underway at ‘Park and Shop’

A popular bagel shop and video rental shopped have closed their doors in Cleveland Park.

What’s a Bagel, a member of the Bethesda-based Bethesda Bagels chain, and Blockbuster Video, both located at Sam’s Park and Shop on the 3500 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, have closed in the past month. This follows the announcement that the historic Yenching Palace, located across the street from the Park and Shop, will close this spring and become the District’s first Walgreens. The Blockbuster closing is not surprising, as the chain is consolidating stores to focus on its mail service in order to complete with NetFlix. The What’s a Bagel closing, though, was unexpected and has drawn condemnation on local listservs and Internet message boards.