Multiple vehicles stolen from Bethesda auto dealership

Montgomery County police are investigating the theft of several vehicles from an auto dealership in Bethesda on October 21, 2025. During the early hours of that morning, police say, multiple vehicles were stolen from Jim Coleman Cadillac at 10400 Auto Park Avenue. Police have not released any surveillance camera footage from the dealership, and state that they have no suspect descriptions at this time. If you have any information that could assist detectives in closing this case, call police at (301) 279-8000.

Limon's Gems & Jewels closing in Bethesda after 105 years in business

A number of longtime Bethesda businesses have closed since I began this blog in 2006, but Limon's Gems & Jewels might just be the oldest. Owners Cliff and Robbie Limon have announced their shop at 7909 Norfolk Avenue will likely close by Thanksgiving this month. Their great grandfather, Jacob Limon, founded the business in 1920. The family has been involved in the jewelry industry even longer, 125 years. They are going to cease accepting new work sometime this week, and they will remain available after the closure to ensure any outstanding orders or work are fulfilled.

Stalled Bethesda condo project site sold to new developer

A downtown Bethesda lot that has been vacant, at best - and an eyesore at worst - for nearly a decade has now changed hands. 8011 Norfolk Avenue had been touted as the future site of The Claiborne, a boutique condominium property, since 2016. The project repeatedly stalled out, with the last attempt to revive it taking place a full three years ago. At that time, the project's approval from Montgomery County had expired.

Rock Creek Property Group has acquired the site, and is now going to explore its options, citing potential uses to include residential, commercial, or office. The new-construction condo market has all but collapsed in downtown Bethesda since The Claiborne was first announced. Nobody is building them. The last successful condo project was The Cheval, which was delivered by Duball, LLC in 2018.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Bethesda Row (Photos)

The Christmas season was officially here, as of 12:00 AM this morning. Bethesda Row hasn't wasted a single minute. Elves from American Christmas of Mount Vernon, New York, have been busy working all day at the Bethesda development, and the main Christmas tree on Bethesda Lane has already been erected at this hour. Some decorations are new this year, such as the ornaments bouquet tacked up on the facade of Anthropologie & Co. And large stars, which are being hung from the new plaza canopy in front of that store, and hopefully light up.

Hampden Lane now open in both directions in Bethesda

Hampden Lane is open in both directions between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenues in Bethesda today. Recently, that stretch of Hampden has been reduced to one lane, ostensibly for one-way use, but without clear directional signage. Access to the road has been limited over the last two years, due to construction of the Hampden House and The Charles apartment towers on either side of the street. Vehicular access has been restored recently, as Hampden House welcomes its first residents.

Guardado's Spooky Halloween tonight in Bethesda

Guardado's at 4918 Del Ray Avenue in downtown Bethesda will be hosting a Spooky Halloween late-night happy hour tonight, October 31, 2025, from 10:00 PM to close. They'll be serving 2-for-1 draft beers, $2 off bottled beers, $2 off select cocktails, and $5 shots. Enjoy music and their late night tapas menu.

Assault at Bethesda Metro station

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at the Bethesda Metro station yesterday afternoon, October 30, 2025. The assault was reported at the station at 2:46 PM Thursday. 

Resurfacing on St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda

Resurfacing work is underway on part of St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Milling has been performed between Old Georgetown Road and Norfolk Avenue. Watch for lane closures, especially at night. If you have a new car, you may want to take an alternative route at the moment.

Woodmont Grill "signs" off in Bethesda - what's next?

Woodmont Grill abruptly closed permanently at the close of business Tuesday night at 7715 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Yesterday, the sign you see in the photo above was posted on the front door. Seating was also removed from the outdoor patio area on Wednesday. What can we expect to happen next at the site of what by most accounts was downtown Bethesda's most-popular restaurant?

The restaurant's parent company owns the building and the land. This gives them a number of options the typical restaurateur doesn't always have. They could introduce a new dining concept here, and remodel the building.

Second, they could lease or sell the building to another restaurant tenant.

Third, they could sell the property to a developer, or partner with a developer, to redevelop the site.

That's going to be far less lucrative for them now, compared to the opportunity they passed up in 2017. Marriott International wanted to buy the Woodmont Grill and Tastee Diner that year, to expand the footprint of its relocated Bethesda headquarters all the way to the corner of Woodmont and Norfolk Avenues. As I exclusively reported that year, Marriott made offers to both restaurants in early 2017.

Marriott offered Tastee Diner $5 million, but was unsuccessful in acquiring either restaurant. Two months later, Marriott sweetened the Tastee offer to $7 million. Tastee was prepared to agree to this offer. Alas, Woodmont Grill refused Marriott's final offer, rendering the Tastee Diner site useless to Marriott and scuppering the whole deal.

Today, Marriott has zero use for either of these properties. Due to worldwide events since 2017, they are probably glad their HQ isn't any bigger than it wound up being. It is oversized as it is, with many employees working from home. So many, that Marriott leased back the public parking garage across the street to Montgomery County during the business hours it was to have had exclusive use of it. I wouldn't be surprised if Marriott were to ultimately lease out part of their building, or sell it altogether and relocate again to smaller quarters. They would save a ton of money - and even more if they moved to Virginia.

The best bet for redevelopment will be to assemble the Woodmont Grill with the Tastee Diner property. Height would have to be emphasized over width and depth to maximize the number of residential units in the prospective building. It would likely be exempt from having to include parking, with the Woodmont Corner Garage being diagonally across the street. With inflation, both landowners will likely be able to command at least as much as they were offered in 2017. Of course, those dollars are worth much less than they were eight years ago.

Woodmont Grill closes in Bethesda

Woodmont Grill has closed at 7715 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. A message on their website states that "Woodmont Grill is now closed. Thank you for choosing us as a dining destination and allowing us to be a part of your lives with many fond memories of good food and cheer. We hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again at one of our other restaurants." While the message was on the website last evening, there were people dining inside the restaurant at the very same time. However, the entrance was closed, and no one was answering the phone. A source indicated that at least some employees were not informed of the closure until last night, and that it was the restaurant's last evening of operation.

As recently as the last decade, Woodmont Grill was said by some in the local hospitality business to enjoy the highest volume of sales of any restaurant in downtown Bethesda. When a fixture like Woodmont Grill calls it quits, and Bethesda resident and celebrity chef José Andrés gives up on downtown Bethesda, these are just more warning lights on the dashboard of the moribund Montgomery County economy. The lobbying organization for Maryland restaurants warned the County Council not to raise the minimum wage and other taxes and fees, but the Council paid no heed and raised them anyway. Now the chicken tenders have come home to roost, courtesy of the same Council that drove Bethesda stalwart Flanagan's out of business earlier this decade.

If you wonder why I say chicken tenders, it's because the closure of Woodmont Grill is really the end of not one, but two, eras. Woodmont Grill used to be Houston's, where the chicken tenders were a popular menu item. Houston's in Bethesda and Rockville were massively successful dining destinations in the 1990s. But the Rockville Pike location closed, and the Bethesda Houston's was inexplicably renamed Woodmont Grill. The new brand kept the Houston's chicken tenders as a secret menu selection for those in the know.

Halloween pumpkin and candy flavors at Dolcezza at Bethesda Row

Stop by Dolcezza Gelato and Coffee at 7111 Bethesda Lane at Bethesda Row this week to try limited time flavors for the Halloween and fall seasons. Why just have a fun size Butterfinger bar out of your Halloween candy bag, when you can have chopped Butterfinger bars and rich melted chocolate swirled into premium Dolcezza vanilla bean gelato? Indulge before it ghosts the menu on November 3.

Special pumpkin flavors will stick around through the end of November. Dolcezza's fall menu utilizes a pumpkin spice syrup made from 1,800 lbs of heirloom crookneck pumpkins grown at Beiler’s Heritage Acres Farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The pumpkins were oven-blistered in-house with dark brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and clove to create the syrup featured in the following limited-time-only treats:

Pumpkin Spice Gelato

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Honeycrisp Apple Sorbet, made with apples grown by Toigo Orchards in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Trick or Treat at Bethesda Row October 30, 2025

Get ready for a spooktacular evening, because the Annual Halloween Trick-or-Treat Event is returning to Bethesda Row! It’s the perfect way to celebrate Halloween with family-friendly fun, all while supporting a fantastic local cause. Mark your calendars, because the trick-or-treating happens this Thursday, October 30, from 5:00–7:00 PM.

Bring the kids in their best costumes for an amazing evening of treats and festivities. Stroll through the Row and collect treats from participating shops and restaurants. It's a safe and fun way to get a head start on filling up those candy bags, with treats from the local businesses you know and trust.

Every registered child will get a special Bethesda Row glow stick to light up the night—great for safety and fun while trick-or-treating. Keep an eye out for fun and festive costume characters roaming the Row. Be sure to stop and snap a spooky selfie! And just by registering your child, you'll be entered to win a $100 gift card to a Bethesda Row brand.

Tickets are required per child (adults are free) and cost $5. All proceeds go directly to Manna Food Center, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger in our community. Tickets must be purchased in advance online here.

A gift card isn't the only prize up for grabs Thursday. Post your favorite Halloween pics from the event on social media and tag @bethesdarowfrt for a chance to win a frightfully fantastic mystery prize.