Last spring, The two CVSs in Georgetown under went minor interior redesigns that enabled the stores to open up the view into the store from the windows. This improved the streetscape on the stores’ blocks significantly and fixed a problem common with many CVS stores.
Way up on Wisconsin underneath the Safeway, the pet-supply chain Petco is making the same mistake that CVS finally corrected. The store is actually called Unleashed and is the chain’s smaller version. The store opened up last weekend.
As you can see from the shot on the top and the one above, the store covers up two large picture windows with interior walls, which are used to hang goods for sale. This increases the amount of usable space for the store, but it is terrible for sidewalk.
Keep in mind, this was the image presented by Safeway when they got approval for the construction:
Yes, these are simply mock ups, but Safeway presented these plans as providing space for several street level shops. But what did we actually get? A nail salon, a cell phone store, and a chain pet-supply store that takes up space for three stores and covers up the glass for two of them. This is a real let down.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
“This is a real let down.”
Indeed, DAMN YOU CAPITALISM!
I demand an organic hemp kite store, a furniture shop selling butchered blocks made out of reclaimed church pews, and a little room for a smug recharging station.
I work a block away & have been very dissappointed in not only Petco covering up the windows but in the property management company as well for not putting something in place in the terms of the lease for preventing this. Hello Petco!?!? If you use the windows as WINDOWS instead of walls, people may actually be able to look inside, see the merchandise and be inclined to actually go in the store. Whoever designed the layout for this Unleashed store should be sacked. Clueless.
@RJ
Are you a moron?
@YRB
Well maybe, but I know I am not the one envisioning a fantasy world of whimsy under a Safeway store…
Ps. I do agree about the window covering, but hey write that in the rental agreement, but they didn’t.