Flaxella Café has closed on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. A health-oriented sandwich shop in the ground floor of the Bethesda Medical Building at 8218 Wisconsin Avenue, Flaxella was also known for its substantial vegan offerings and Ethiopian cuisine. Workers in the building, and residents of 8200 Wisconsin, will have to hope another restaurant tenant moves in to replace it as a lunch destination.
146 comments:
Flagella closed weeks if not months ago. What a terrible name. I live nearby and would have tried it at least if not for the name.
6 months is an exaggeration. Anyway, tough climate for small businesses.
It's tough times if you position your business in a spot with low foot traffic and have a bizzare name, coupled with a strange menu. Yeah times will be tough and you won't last long. No big thing, even if the czar of btown doesn't know you're gone.
Sounds like a remedy for a lower GI problem.
Guess dyer doesn't head up to the northern tip of downtown Bethesda much. Lots going on here with the Duball and Stonebridge mixed use buildings.
8:41AM missed Robert's extensive coverage of both projects.
Sit back and enjoy his exclusive hard hat tour the Flats at 8300 topped out:
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2015/03/inside-future-harris-teeter-in-downtown.html
Take in Robert's latest report on Stonehall:
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2015/07/signage-goes-up-at-site-of-stonehall.html
Robert has been reporting on both projects, from the project plan stage forward.
Dyer's little shill is busy this morning. LOL
Never said he wasn't covering these projects, lol. Just commenting on how busy it is up here.
Quick to jump on the defensive much?
And why are you so vehemently defending dyer when you think he needs it? To the point you are actually searching archives and researching comment points.
-Definitely poor foot traffic. At the north end of the business district, and not much on the other side of Wisconsin, either.
-Poor parking. Primarily just the street parking on Wisconsin. Good luck finding a space.
-Poor promotion of Ethiopian menu. Surely with all the foodies in Bethesda, there should be a healthy demand for Ethiopian food.
-And yes, the choice of name was weird, and did not give a clue what the restaurant was all about. I thought it was some macrobiotic vegetarian restaurant or something.
9:36 AM Readers are correcting erroneous statements in a positive way.
You make a quick Google search on Dyer's site sound like someone was roaming archive hallways pulling up old Dyer articles on microfiche.
Hard to say Dyer doesn't make it to the "northern tip" when he had an exclusive hard hat tour of the construction there. Actually, that report would have been a good item in the Bethesda Services Center newsletter. Anyone know if it was linked?
9 minutes. LOL
I imagine the county may not use dyer links because of opinion vs need reporting. Or often opinion injected into news reporting.
8 seconds. LOL
Proponents and opponents of Dyer are quick to respond on both sides. Funny how it's often missed that it's rarely specifically the issue that's at the center of the debate but Dyer himself and his logic patterns.
10:31 AM "Opinion injected into news reporting" sounds like some local Bethesda blogs, including those linked to by the newsletter.
Not sure how much opinion can be injected into a Dyer hard hat tour.
It's cool that a county employee has a favorite blog, but he can't favor some sites over others when sending stuff out under the country seal. Dyer is just trying to keep folks honest.
"he can't favor some sites over others when sending stuff out under the country [sic] seal"
Says who?
Actually that's a really good point - why can't he? Does it say somewhere in the rules that he can't?
Does the BBCSC newsletter need to cite The Washington Times at least once, for every time they cite The Washington Post?
11:51 AM Let's at least agree that neither the Times (they still publish?) nor the Post cover Bethesda issues and therefore are not linked to.
Now, let's focus on the sites that do cover Bethesda. Why exclude Dyer?
Robert welcomes an exchange of ideas, hardly picking fights.
Other blogs have their resident bullies who try to keep folks in line.
Now, now. Everyone calm down. Seems like we have a few perspectives forming. Good discussion so far.
Either:
A county employee can choose to promote his favorite sites on official county weekly newsletters and exclude those he doesn't like (could be political or personal...his choice)
Or
The county needs to strike a balance and be inclusive to Dyer
Or
The county should stop promoting any site.
Is my logic fair? Any other option?
LOL, simply linking to a news article is not "promoting a site", and choosing not to link to another site is not "discrimination".
And could you please choose one screen name and stick with it?
12:08 PM Moron is pretty mild, can we agree? lol. You're a pretty sensitive guy I guess?
But, seriously now, I don't see Dyer calling folks morons. There's a Bethesda blogger that posts weird stuff here and he is a moron and bad person, but Dyer even treats him nice.
12:14 PM Why link to a blog that is repeating what the county website published on the same topic?
So a blogger reads press release and posts a blog. Great, but why does a county employee link to the blog rather than the source material on the county site?
Valid question and raises questions as to why.
Dyer's shill sure is busy today.
Lol. Dyer has deleted much less that he finds offensive to himself.
As opposed to sticking with anonymous?
Again, the Bethesda blogger that posts here anonymously is a moron and bad person, but Dyer still treats him nicely and cordially.
@ 11:59 AM - who are the "resident bullies" that "keep folks in line" on the news site that you refuse to actually name?
10:31: There's opinion and spin in what the BCC Regional Services Center newsletter links to, as well. It doesn't change the issue that taxpayer money can't be abused to promote a private business. It's not legal.
Nearly all news sites are private businesses.
How is linking to a story "promoting a private business"?
Robert Dyer is not a journalist
Interesting discussion. What is a journalist? And do you need a special badge to be considered one?
Are Buzzfeed, Yahoo News and Vox writers not journalists because they're not in print?
You need to ask questions of people involved in the things you are writing about. You can use the phone or email or even walk up to somebody in person and hold a discussion like a regular human being.
2:22PM Yikes...Dyer is not a "regular human being"? Is he a special class of human beneath you? :/
How do you know how Dyer conducts his reporting? You're saying he doesn't use email or a phone? You're reaching. His hard hat tours are done in a studio I guess? His interviews with executives never happened? lol.
Amazing how people think others are beneath them. You sound like that sad moronic Bethesda blogger that trolls here. Glad Dyer doesn't stoop to that level. He has a well lit, safe environment here for discussion.
You're only a journalist if you write positive stuff. First lesson in journalism school?
Don't you get tired of regurgitating the same talking points over and over?
Q: Why don't you link to Dyer's stuff?
A: Well, he's not a regular human being.
--------------
Well, I guess we have the answer now...bit harsh though.
If only Flotilla's had generated the same kind of enthusiasm shown here. Robert has called people moronic before, but I'd not worry about it. He's pretty consistently reliable in such assessments.
1:58. And you read him anyway.
What's moronic is Dyer and his shill claiming that a government publication linking to a particular news site is somehow "using taxpayer money to promote a private business".
Agreed. Show me a rule that says they can't do that and then show me a rational person who agrees with Dyer's position.
So he's calling Dyer sensitive. I can agree with that.
6:40/6:54: Any rational person would agree that a County employee should not be abusing taxpayer resources to promote a particular website. That's illegal. Virtually every topic has an official County press release or website that could be linked to. Instead, Mr. Hartman has chosen to relentlessly promote a particular website using public money. He's free to tweet anything he wants on his private account, but not on the publicly funded government email and social media accounts taxpayers are paying for.
Where does the law say this is illegal?
Can we get a reason for this deletion? Dyer is going overboard with personal reasons for deletions instead of actual violations.
8:24: You need to educate yourself bigtime if you don't know it's illegal and unethical to use taxpayer-funded accounts to market and promote a private website.
8:26: Defamation is a violation of the comment policy here. Comments in violation will be deleted. Very straightforward.
The disgruntled Bethesda blogger is still trolling Dyer? Regular readers here had hoped he would change his ways under his new employer. I swear the guy sees Dyer in his dreams every night.
Back to Ken, sounds like the majority of Dyer readers agree that something stinks about what he's doing. Worth monitoring closely moving forward.
Can you show me the legal code that says that? I'm curious. Not supportive of either way.
Majority of readers? Are you reading the same comments? Or I guess Dyer just deletes those that aren't in agreement.
There is good and bad in us all. People see what they want to see. Have a bear claw on me.
Ooh I'll take you up on the bear claw. :)
Dyer, an opinion that you are a jerk is not defamation.
An opinion that your opinion - although well intentioned - is wrong or misguided is not defamation.
5:09: Never said it was. The comment in question mad attributed completely false actions to me, which is indeed defamation, and it was deleted for violating comment policy (as well as the law, which doesn't seem to be a strength for the MoCo political cartel).
How is falsely accusing a government official of committing an illegal act not "defamation"?
Trawick said:
"Back to Ken..."
Ken's not here, man. You just be referring to a comment that your hero censored.
6:46 AM Dyer reported facts. So far this is what we know:
The services center newsletter links to the same blog again and again even when the same info is on the county's site. That's weird.
Things get weirder: County employee says he is "addicted" to this particular blog (apparently above anything else). That's fine, but he can't promote one private business over another when sending out official communications under the county seal.
Dyer covers Bethesda 24/7 365 days a year and his readers don't see him linked to in said newsletter.
Dyer's readers are wondering why not and want more information.
It's the media's role to ask questions of government officials.
7:40 AM Dyer has the most read Bethesda news site. I'd say folks take him seriously.
I take his news seriously. It's good stuff.
His opinion I don't take so seriously. He's got some great points, but his logic is in my opinion flawed. And judging by the massive amounts of commenting debating with Dyer, many others seem to agree.
Sensitive because one isn't included?
Is it defamation when you claim corruption and collusion by our council members? Is that any different?
Has Dyer ever issued a statement denying that he sabotaged Hans Riemer's trampoline?
Yes, there's one guy that trolls Dyer hard. It's amazing how many negative comments he can post. But he does, day and night. Same guy. #TrollHard
That's as silly an argument as saying all the supporters are the same shill. Lol.
How do you qualify that? Do you have stats to back up that statement?
I wish it were possible to exile dyer from MD - we don't want him here!
Dyer thinks his only critic is Anon Trout. LOL
Same Bethesda blogger posting here. No wonder he hasn't sniffed a promotion in years...spends all day and night commenting on Dyer's site.
What is Anon Trout?
11:19AM A special at Flaxella Cafe? (Taking things full circle.)
LOL @ 11:02 AM. He spends all day and all night obsessively reloading each thread and responding to each and every negative comment about his hero Dyer, within just a few minutes of them being posted.
6:46: Is it legal to use government, taxpayer-funded email and social media to promote privately-owned website, and pick winners in the Bethesda media market?
9:34: You'll have to be specific. Are you referring to Councilmember Riemer's possible cover-up of alleged illegal activity by Department of Liquor Control employees, and refusal to clarify what he knew, and when he knew it? Such legitimate questions regarding public officials are not considered defamation in any American court. You're embarrassing yourself.
11:56: This describes your own behavior. You have to ask yourself why you've spent the last 36 hours typing 70 off-topic troll comments on a story about a cafe closing. Good God.
DYER SHUT DOWN THIS BLOG!
Dyer at comment #79 wrote:
"...typing 70 off-topic troll comments..."
Given that Dyer wrote 7 of those first 79 comments, that would mean that all but two of the remaining 72 comments were written by a single person.
So Dyer even thinks that his shill is his Uni-Troll.
I think Dyer writes every comment on this blog.
OMG, I just figured out that I AM DYER TOO!!!
I am going to The Exorcist's Steps in Georgetown and bring an end to this Demon.
Can't speak for the others but you instill that much desire to spend time to correct your misguided mindset.
Well, I think Robert is brilliant. I think the County would be best served by his input and voice.
I didn't like Hans Riemer as a Councilman even if he may be a nice person, because I have read and watched him many times early on and concluded that his biggest goal is self-promotion. Saying whatever will enhance your popularity in any given moment do as to curry favor is revealing as to true motive.
Robert by contrast considers an issue, revisiting it regularly, adjusting as it seems relevant. But his hoal is not to be on a cereal box. It is to make decisions that will help us ultimately thrive.
do = so
hoal = goal
Have a good evening, everyone.
4:08: And what is that "misguided mindset" that justifies the psycho behavior exhibited by the troll comments, "Bob"?
How come you didn't sign in as "C.M." the first time?
"Robert by contrast considers an issue, revisiting it regularly, and then immediately declares his original position right and everyone else wrong, again."
You're welcome.
I love how people act like there's a binary choice between Dyer and Hans. There were four Republicans on the ballot and one Green.
Actually none of my comments are trolling by any definition of the term. You're just being overly sensitive it seems.
G. Money, watch this debate (particularly the end) and then reconsider your statement:
http://youtu.be/FdYKK13-LJo
"Bob", if your comments were not in regards to Flaxella Cafe closing, but attacking me, they were indeed troll comments.
But let's get back to the question - what exactly is the "misguided mindset" that you say warrants 70 troll comments in 36 hours?
Bullying Robert's readers?
That's not welcome here. There are local blogs with bullies/enforcers, not here. Thanks.
Dyer has the most read local news site covering Bethesda, so there's lots of different opinions here.
Different opinions is good! How do you qualify your statement though that this is the most read blog?
Ok so off topic and negative opinions means trolling? Looking through your archives how many times do you suddenly attack council members and media and other news sites in the comments completely out of the blue and unrelated to the topic of the original post?
4:34: When confronting a troll who is a passionate supporter of, and well-compensated operative for, a councilmember, it is entirely appropriate to bring that councilmember into the discussion. It never happens "out of the blue".
When it's off topic it goes against what you just defined as off topic trolling. From your logic. I'm trying to understand the differences you illustrate.
Dyer, unless I'm missing something, that debate confirms my statement. Just because you single out Hans for attack in your closing statement doesn't make you the only one that could replace him. Furthermore, your attacks on Hans don't really make any sense. From Beergahzi to Bain Capital, all you've done is throw around unsubstantiated allegations. If there is wrongdoing, you have to be able to point to some result. You've never done that.
You consistently claim to be a journalist, and yet you blame the media for failing to uncover Hans' alleged wrongdoing. Which is it? If you're the a journalist, then you are part of the media. Do your job.
Bain contributed to Hans, right? What's unsubstantiated about that?
The question is why is Bain contributing to a candidate in a county election.
What were they expecting to get in return?
What's the hangup about Dyer being a journalist? He's reporting from Bethesda on a daily basis. You don't personally like his style, great...but he's still a journalist.
It's not illegal to contribute to someone's campaign. So what's the problem? Is there some evidence of a direct violation due to this campaign contribution?
What did Bain want in return? What is their interest in a county election?
Why would someone accept money from Bain?
6:09/6:55: Why are you asking us these questions? If you think there's unscrupulous action going on with the county council, why not find those answers yourself and publicize them, rather than simply casting aspersions on a broadly legitimate practice. If there is wrongdoing, I'm sure the public would appreciate that information and act accordingly to remove the offending party from office. But a simple campaign donation, even from a company I might not like, is not sufficient for me to change my vote to someone whose policy platform I substantially disagree with.
"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it."
-Voltaire, and Hans Riemer.
@ 6:55 AM -
What would anyone expect in return for $500? That's barely enough to cover the cost of one mass mailing.
Ok so Chase what's the answer to your questions? If there's nothing inappropriate going on then there's no problem. If there is then sure there is a problem. But so far there are no indications of any inns propitiate behavior. So what's the issue then?
Btw according to Dyer since Chase you are talking off topic of the original post (as am I and others by discussing this topic) we are all trolls.
$500 isn't much in a congressional or presidential election. However, it is a material sum in a local election. Remember, these folks are not spending millions to run for council.
No agenda here, I'm just asking the question. Bain doesn't really reflect the best values. What did they want in exchange?
Possible cover up. But no evidence.
You're the only one that thinks this. Doesn't make it true.
I could think many things about you. Doesn't make them necessarily true. I could think you robbed a liquor store. Doesn't make it necessarily true.
Show evidence to the attorney general or whoever and if they believe you them go from there.
G. Money, the financial contributions from Bain Capital, Danaher and other Wall Street firms and lobbyists to Hans Riemer are fact and public record. You have to also ask yourself why the Post and others aren't asking Riemer about why a major chunk of his donations are from Wall Street firms outside of Montgomery County. For a Council race? That would get media attention in any other media market but here. I've asked Councilmember Riemer repeatedly at candidate forums to explain this to the public, and he has declined to answer. He cannot decline to answer the Washington Post or the TV stations. So why aren't they asking?
8:26: Would a true progressive accept $500 from Mitt Romney's Bain Capital, $4000 from Danaher (both pioneers in outsourcing American jobs to China), and Wall Street firms behind the 2008 collapse and recession? Hint: No. Can you give a rational explanation for how a "progressive" taking money from Wall Street crooks makes sense and wouldn't raise questions in progressive Montgomery County?
G.Money, you think it's OK for Hans Riemer to accept money from firms that outsource jobs to China, have destroyed towns across America, were behind predatory lending schemes and the financial collapse, and successfully gutted the public option from Obamacare (a move Riemer himself endorsed in 2009 - a progressive who favors insurance companies over single-payer?!). Tell me more!
8:15: Can you think of a scenario in which a true progressive would accept $500 from a company like Bain Capital? I'd like you to be a featured speaker at the next union event in the County.
8:13: "Corporations are people, my friend."
- Mitt Romney, and Hans Riemer
"...are in fact public record"
Yet Dyer swiftly deletes any links to public information about him.
Dyer - I'm strongly in favor of public financing for elections, and would prefer that candidates in general not be beholden in any way to donors large or small.
That being said, campaigns don't work that way at present. I would not expect a politician to return a contribution under the current system unless a) the donor was found to be in breach of the law or b) the candidate had a direct conflict of interest arising from acceptance of the contribution. I am not aware of either being the case with regards to Hans and Bain.
Policy positions are far more important to me than where a candidate gets his funding. Granted, those things may often be related, but if Hans is taking policy positions that are anathema to progressive values, then the policy positions should be the lead, and the campaign contributions should be cited as supporting evidence. Without the policy result, however, there is no evidence that the contributions have had any effect on Hans' positions, in which case, who cares?
Accept money? Sure. Affect his vote? No.
I completely agree with this.
I would have preferred to see single-payer. But why does Dyer have his panties in a wad about a Democrat who was against it (hint: many Democrats in Congress opposed it, that's why it didn't pass), when the entire Republican party was against it?
2:29: Accepting dirty money from Bain Capital and Danaher is OK? I assume you are not a supporter of labor.
G. Money & Flynn - are you morally endorsing Bain and Danaher, pioneers in outsourcing American jobs to China?
2:37: It's pretty simple - progressives support single-payer or public option, and Mr. Riemer claims to be a progressive. He coincidentally received numerous checks from lobbyists that fought Obamacare & the public option, and ensured the final legislation was a boon for health insurance companies. There's a clear connection between the money and Riemer's position on Obamacare.
So why did you run as a Republican?
Was it really just because you did not have to face a primary here in MoCo, and for no other reason?
Do you realize that Hans Riemer, not being in Congress, was not in the position to vote for, or against, single-payer or any other aspect of Obamacare?
BREAKING: Respected Montgomery Councilmember Hans Reamer has stubbed his toe. And he says it hurt real bad.
Stay tuned for updates.
3:16: Uh, because I'm a Republican? Duh. #DumassMaterial
3:17: No kidding. But he was against single-payer/public option, and received thousands of dollars in contributions from anti-healthcare reform lobbyists. It clearly affected his position, which makes him a fake progressive, and a Wall $treet Democrat.
Well that was a big leap. Can you help explain how you made that connection?
3:04: Not a big leap at all - they just said they were cool with companies that are destroying America, and whole towns within it, writing big checks to their favorite councilmember, Hans Riemer. That's a pretty bold statement.
Dyer, I have no strong position on Bain Capital. The problems with outsourcing jobs goes far beyond one financial firm, and has to do with the way that free trade agreements were implemented in the 1990s. That said, most of those jobs will be on their way out soon. Look at Foxconn, who has recently brought manufacturing back to the U.S. - but with robotic labor, not human.
By the way, if Hans is so bad for unions, why did SEIU endorse him in the last election?
As for single-payer health care, it was Republicans in Congress that killed that, not Hans Riemer, and since you strongly identify as a Republican, I'm more inclined to hold you responsible for that.
And, of course, my original point was that neither I nor any other voter had to choose between you and Hans in the last election. There were nine candidates on that ballot, and four seats. Do the math.
That's a huge leap. G money said something about public financing. Didn't Hogan do that?
"writing big checks to their favorite councilmember, Hans Riemer"
You keep saying this. $500 is not a "big check".
And "I'm a Republican... because I'm a Republican" is a non-answer.
"[N]either I nor any other voter had to choose between you and Hans in the last election. There were nine candidates on that ballot, and four seats. Do the math."
Good point, GM. Why doesn't Dyer hate Marc Elrich and Nancy Floreen with the same passion that he hates Hans Riemer and George Leventhal? They defeated him, too.
BREAKING: Legendary Councilmember Reamer reports that he had a good BM this morning.
Check back with us on our blog for continuous coverage of Reamer's health.
G. Money, you're certainly free to have a neutral position on Bain Capital. But no credible progressive running for office in Montgomery County has that luxury. The SEIU clearly hadn't reviewed Riemer's campaign finance reports - and I can't fully blame them, as many of the contributions are hidden under names and dummy corporations, requiring research such as I conducted.
As far as the choice, the vast majority of voters do not vote Green Party. And I was the only progressive choice left if one chose not to vote for Riemer. The media declined to publicize his Wall Street Money Machine, investigate the wild inflated claims on his resume, or his other shenanigans (i. e. Dan Hoffman), and he was able to dupe voters into reelecting him. Do the math.
You aren't a progressive choice.
No "credible progressive" runs with the Republican Party in 2015.
Dyer seems to be stuck in the days of Mac Mathias (retired 1986), Gilbert Gude (retired 1977) and Jim Gleason (retired 1978).
G. Money: The Seventh State said I was running to the left of the incumbent councilmembers. I am indeed a progressive choice.
7:24: No "credible progressive" supports Hans Riemer after knowing he's funded by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital, Danaher Corporation, and a rogue's gallery of other Wall Street crooks and lobbyists.
You don't get to define what Republican is - no one person can define a party with a wide spectrum of opinions, even if some are amplified by media intentionally for political reasons.
The Seventh State said you are "probably more left wing than many of the Democrats." But the only policy positions he mentioned in that short statement were your desire to build a bridge (not a progressive position as far as I'm concerned) and your oft-stated positions on transit and development. He doesn't explain why he thinks you're more left wing than the Dems, but I certainly haven't seen it in my policy discussions with you. If that's all you can point to as evidence, I think you'll have a hard time convincing people, especially since you label yourself as a Republican.
Why do you identify as a Republican if you also consider yourself left-wing of Democrats?
Hahah I saw this and knew dyer would delete it. It was all valid opinion so why the delete?
Dyer is a Republican for one reason alone - there is no GOP primary for at-large MoCo Council elections.
Censorship at its finest.
Censorship!! Censorship!! Read all about it!!
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