Bethesda construction update: Hampden House apartment tower (Photos)

The first residents are expected to move into the Hampden House apartment tower at 4915 Hampden Lane in Bethesda on October 1, 2025. Hampden House will provide 366 residential units, and 10,110-square-feet of restaurant and retail space. The latter currently includes designer lighting retailer Visual Comfort & Co., and restaurant The Food Market. One retail space facing Elm Street remains available for lease, and that's likely because the street in front of it is closed for construction of the absurdly-behind-schedule Purple Line, and the new south entrance of the Bethesda Metro station.

Charlie Kirk vigil to be held in Rockville on September 20

A vigil will be held for Charlie Kirk in Montgomery County this coming Saturday, September 20, 2025. The event will be held in Rockville at the Courthouse Square park, located at the corner of E. Jefferson Street and W. Montgomery Avenue in Rockville Town Center, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Saturday. There will be tributes to Kirk, prayers, and speakers. Kirk, the founder of the conservative political organization Turning Point USA, was assassinated on September 10 while speaking at the launch of TPUSA's latest college campus tour in Utah.

Nesfield Performance sets opening date in Bethesda

Nesfield Performance has set the opening date for its new downtown Bethesda facility. It will open on Saturday, September 27, 2025, according to a sandwich board sign placed outside its storefront. Nesfield Performance is located at 7832-7834 Wisconsin Avenue, in the ground floor of the Fairmont Plaza condominium in Bethesda. It is a fitness, physical therapy, massage, and movement therapy business that has previously been operating in Chevy Chase.

Westbard Square parking garage crime: Let's go to the videotape

Over two weeks have passed since the last [reported] theft inside the parking garage at Westbard Square in Bethesda, and we have yet to see any surveillance camera video or still images from that incident or any other. Property owner Regency Centers announced early this summer that it would be installing cameras in the garage, and that Montgomery County police would have direct access to the footage. So, one has to wonder...where is it? What is the point of having cameras if they are not utilized to deter crime? As Warner Wolf used to say, "Let's go to the videotape!"

Bethesda construction update: Cheltenham apartments (Photos)

The residential development at 4725 Cheltenham Drive in Bethesda now has a name: Cheltenham. A 102-unit apartment building, it replaces a former Midas auto repair facility. The new building will have no on-site parking; a public parking garage is located directly across the street. Drilling and piling rigs are now working at the site, likely to assist in construction of the building's foundation.

Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel refreshing exterior (Photos)

The Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel at 1 Bethesda Metro Center is getting an exterior refresh. A crew worked from left to right on scaffolding to brighten the building's facade in recent days. You can see the clear difference as the dirt and grime give way to a bright white. The 380-room hotel opened forty years ago, when the Bethesda Metro Center development was built atop the new Bethesda Metro station that opened on August 25, 1984.

Bethesda construction update: The Charles apartment tower (Photos)

The Charles may be the fastest-constructed apartment tower in downtown Bethesda. Located at 7340 Wisconsin Avenue, it has risen on a former gas station site that sat mired in years of delays. But once developer Greystar took charge, the project has moved forward like clockwork ever since, from groundbreaking to where we are now in September 2025. Obviously, construction contractor John Moriarty & Associates has to take the bulk of the credit for that. The first residents are expected to move in by Q4 2025, although the website is still just a static image, alongside a form to join the mailing list of potential tenants. It does not mention leasing or hard hat tours yet.

Ourisman Jeep closes in Bethesda

Ourisman Jeep has closed at 6700 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The dealership says that its franchise agreement with Stellantis has ended, and it will no longer sell new Jeep vehicles. However, the adjacent Ourisman Kia showroom will continue to sell pre-owned Jeep vehicles. Service will be offered for Jeeps, but the dealership will no longer be able to perform manufacturer warranty work on Jeep vehicles, now that it is no longer an authorized Jeep dealer. 

Agora Bethesda restaurant applies for liquor license

Agora Bethesda, the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant opening next spring in the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel at 1 Bethesda Metro Center, has applied for a liquor license from Montgomery County. A hearing on the request has been scheduled before the County Board of Liquor License Commissioners for October 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM. The kitchen at Agora Bethesda will be helmed by Executive Chef Ismet Sahin. It will feature a mezze-style menu inspired by the traditional cuisines of Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon. Signature dishes will include flame-grilled kebabs, house-made künefe, and pistachio soufflé, alongside vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

Yuki Pearls returns to Bethesda Row

Yuki Pearls has been a seasonal tenant at Bethesda Row for many years now. The modern-design pearl boutique is returning once again to a spot it has been in before, 4808 Bethesda Avenue. That is between Framebridge and Gorjana. This space was just recently vacated by Ladurée.

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda for its annual extended seasonal run. There's a chill in the air these nights, and this store's arrival every year reminds us that Black Friday and the holidays are just around the corner. That's the store's prime time, along with the frostier early months of the year - and believe it or not, we're less than two months from the start of the Christmas season at 12:00 AM on November 1. Look for Sheepskin Gifts and Alpaca Too on Level 1 of the mall, in the former Tesla space.

Parent company of White Flint bowling alley files for bankruptcy

The parent company of Rockville Pike bowling alley Pinstripes has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it announced yesterday. Located at Pike & Rose in the White Flint area, Pinstripes opened in 2017. The national Pinstripes chain closed several locations across the country as it made the bankruptcy announcement. But the Pike & Rose location is one that is among those that will continue operating for now.

"We will keep operating as usual - welcoming guests, hosting events, and supporting our remaining team members," Pinstripes said in an online message. "Your gift cards and event deposits remain valid at continuing locations, and this process will allow us to emerge stronger and continuously focused on providing exceptional experiences for our guests and partners." Pinstripes went public as a company just two years ago, but has run into fiscal difficulties since that time. According to Nation's Restaurant News, the company's liabilities to creditors are currently as much as $500 million.

Shiki Bistro "coming soon" to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Shiki Bistro is "coming soon" to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. It will be located on Level 3 of the mall, across from the AMC Theatres Montgomery 16 cineplex. Shiki Bistro describes itself as "An Exquisite Culinary Symphony of Japan and Thailand. Shiki is not just a restaurant—it’s a celebration of two of Asia’s most beloved cuisines. We seamlessly blend the refined artistry of Japanese culinary traditions with the vibrant, spice-forward soul of Thai cooking, creating a dining experience that is both familiar and thrillingly unexpected."

The restaurant will offer an optional omakase experience for the adventurous diner, where the chef serves a tasting menu of his or her choice.  It will also host a happy hour and "Late Night Bites," with discounted signature sushi rolls and cocktails. Shiki Bistro will open this winter.

Human BioSciences fleeing Montgomery County for West Virginia

The hits just keep on coming for Montgomery County. Its moribund economy took another cannonball to the gut yesterday. Human BioSciences announced it will be the latest company to move its corporate headquarters out of Montgomery County to a lower-tax jurisdiction in the region. It will move its current HQ from 940 Clopper Road in Gaithersburg to wild, wonderful West Virginia. 

The blow is an especially painful one for the County, as the biotech industry is the only bright spot in MoCo's private sector economy. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, all Human BioSciences employees are being offered positions at the new West Virginia facility, meaning that the taxable revenue of any MoCo residents leaving with the company will also be lost to the County's coffers.

It says quite a bit about the state of business in Montgomery County and Maryland that a biotech firm would leave. Remember, the County and State both provide financial incentives and tax breaks to the biotech sector, decisions made decades ago by smarter leaders that allowed for the creation of a strong life sciences presence in the I-270 corridor. In recent years, that strength has begun to weaken. It hasn't been helped when you have the state legislature and Governor Wes Moore wallop firms that are immersed in technology with a new 3% tech tax, as of July 1 this year. 

The tech tax is piled on top of the fact that Montgomery County already suffers from the highest tax and fee burden in the region. We've seen the results over this century, as companies like Discovery Communications have fled. Only a week ago, Rocket Money announced it was moving its HQ from Silver Spring to Washington, D.C. 

Meanwhile, Northern Virginia has been cleaning our clock, Hoovering up the corporate HQs of Northrop Grumman, Amazon HQ 2, Nestle, Corporate Executive Board, Hilton Hotels, Lidl, Gerber, Lego, Intelsat, CoStar, Volkswagen, Blackboard, and General Dynamics. This is the direct result of decisions made by failed leaders who have no clue about the world of international business circa 2025. Heckuva job, Brownie!