Woodbridge Center squeezed between two retail hubs

When the Annapolis mall expanded with a barrage of new restaurants and stores last year, local restaurateur Domenica Tripodi saw sales sink.

"That's when we really took the hit," said the owner of Domenicas, a restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine in the Woodbridge Center along Route 2 just south of the Forest Drive intersection.

Now, with a fusillade of new restaurants opening at the $400 million Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole complex nearby, Ms. Tripodi said she's feeling "suffocated."

"You've got the biggest sharks that came in less than a mile from us," said Ms. Tripodi, who began opening for lunch yesterday in an effort to boost business.

The two-story Woodbridge Center once served as one of the first office buildings along the Route 2 corridor. Today, it is scrunched between two major retail developments - the Annapolis Harbour Center with its distinctive red-and-white lighthouse and the new Parole center that recently welcomed restaurants P. F. Chang's and Gordon Biersch even as the economy continues to weaken.

Some tenants said that Woodbridge Center hardly stands out anymore between the two giant retail hubs.

"People just fly by," said Bonnie Beigel, manager of Ellen's Futon, a futon store on the first floor of the Woodbridge Center whose sales have declined over the past three years.

To combat competition and keep up with the times, the owners invested in a roughly $1 million center face-lift for the building at 2444 Solomons Island Road, said officials from Great Eastern Properties, which manages the center.

The makeover includes a new facade complete with stucco finish and a new standing seam metal roof and stone columns.

Officials said the changes have helped.

Michael O'Brien, president of Great Eastern Properties, which has set office rents there at $22 per square foot including utilities, said facade improvements have retained office tenants that were looking to occupy more modern buildings.

Mr. O'Brien's wife, Kathy, director of new development for Great Eastern Properties, called the center a "more public-friendly building."

"People are not afraid to pull in," she said. "I think it's truly helped."

Carol Singer, manager of The Sun Deck, a tanning salon at the center, agreed.

"They notice it more," she said. "Before it just looked kind of dilapidated."

Rising with Parole

Mr. O'Brien said the center was built by his late uncle-in-law, John Briscuso. He recalled when Mr. Briscuso was turned down by the former Farmers National Bank of Maryland for a loan he was seeking to build Woodbridge. The bank's president said, "John, Parole will never be," Mr. O'Brien said.

Oh how wrong he was.

"When I came to work for John 24 years ago, Parole was already on its way," he said. "I know that he's just looking down on us with a big smile on his face."

The Woodbridge center is owned by Chester Station Joint Venture, made up of the estate of the late Mr. Briscuso, his brother, Raymond Briscuso and the estate of Luther Gregory, Mr. O'Brien said. The Briscusos also own the shopping center where Shoppers is located, he said.

Indeed, the skyscrapers of Parole appear menacing to most small businesses. However, new developments may help increase traffic to the Woodbridge center, experts said.

Erin Hershkowitz, spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers in New York, said Woodbridge may pick up customers after the hype of the Parole center wears off.

"They are going to go there for something else, something different," she said.

She added that one hot retailer or restaurant like Domenicas also can keep the center a destination.

"That's how these centers survive," she said.

However, Jie Zhang, assistant professor and Harvey Sanders Fellow of Retail Management at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, added that the center's owners might consider making adjustments to their tenant mix and adding additional reasonably priced restaurants to draw consumers.

"It helps keep people longer in the area," she said.

The daughter of Italian immigrants, Ms. Tripodi grew up in Eastport and worked in Annapolis restaurants before opening Dominecas in 2005. She said she wanted to create a place where you escaped into "another world."

The restaurant features an upscale atmosphere with white tablecloths, live jazz performances and cuisine priced between $7 and $28, she said. Ms. Tripodi added that she runs the restaurant with a hands-on approach, often greeting customers on a romantic date or a group of women on a girls' night out.

The next minute she's throwing on an apron and pulling her hair in a bun to cook with her executive chef, she said.

"I will seat you, I will greet you," she said. "I will open your bottle of wine. I will make sure your dinner is OK. I do that every day."

Ms. Tripodi said she's optimistic that the center's upgrades, along with serving lunch meals including grilled paninis, tapas and salads with grilled seafood or fish for between $6 and $15, will boost business.

"We just need a way to stand out and shine," she said.