Annapolis Retailer South Moon Under Opens First D.C. Store After 50 Years
South Moon Under, an Annapolis-based retail chain founded in 1968, will soon open its first store in the District.
The chain has signed on for 1,800 SF at 1065 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Georgetown and plans to open March 1.
It will be the 29th store for South Moon Under, which already has locations in Clarendon and Bethesda. Frank Gunion founded the chain in 1968 as a surf shack in Ocean City, and it now offers a variety of clothing, swimwear and accessories.
South Moon Under is currently led by the husband-and-wife leadership team of CEO Michael Smith and Chief Creative Officer Patricia Darrow Smith, co-founders of retail chain White House Black Market. They acquired a stake in the company in 2016, along with majority stakeholder JPB Partners, and moved its HQ to Annapolis and plan to continue expanding across the country.
The 100-year-old building South Moon Under will occupy sits near the corner of Wisconsin Avenue NW and M Street, one of the busiest intersections in D.C., where a building sold last year for a record price of $5,720/SF. The retailer plans to retain historic aspects of the building including its wood floors, brick walls and exposed ceiling.
