New Bethesda bakery postpones opening after discovering asbestos

The owner of a "happy, healthy little bakery" scheduled to open by now was likely unhappy to find a decidedly unhealthy substance in her bakery's space - asbestos. Red Bandana Bakery has had to postpone its opening, after encountering asbestos during build-out of the interior of its space in the Bethesda Medical Building at 8218 Wisconsin Avenue.

Asbestos remediation began yesterday, and is scheduled to be completed by January 10. It is very common to find asbestos in the older buildings of downtown Bethesda, as has come to light during the high number of demolitions following the Great Recession.

The good news is that Red Bandana will be able to resume work on the interior by later next week, and a new opening date has been scheduled for February 21. When they open, they'll be offering gluten-free, vegan, low-sugar and low-fat bakery items, salads, breakfast and lunch, Swing's coffee and espresso, Pearl Fine Teas, and Zenful Bites juices.