The latest Pizzeria Paradiso location will not only feature their legendary Neapolitan-style pizza, but also 14 rotating taps with local craft beers, an outdoor patio with a draft rail and seating for 60, pinball and video game machines, a large custom mural and other artworks, and two ciders from D.C. cideries.
Pizzeria Paradiso Spring Valley's beer list will include Brau Pils and Sugar Leaf Hazy IPA from DC Brau, Barch 500 and Lovely Nomad from Atlas Brew Works, Corn Rigs and Barley and Raised by Wolves from Right Proper Brewing Company, Farmhouse Saison and Ruby, My Dear from Mad Fox Brewing Company, Southern Belle and ‘Bout That Life from 3 Stars Brewing Company and Red Line and Double Chazzwazzer from Hellbender Brewing. Available ciders include Greening from ANXO and Touch of Wisdom from Supreme Core.
What this means is that, in just the last couple of years, Spring Valley has gotten two very high quality sit-down restaurants with surface parking (the other being the widely-praised Millie's - where Shakespearean actor Rob Lowe was spotted after his show at Strathmore, a pretty scathing commentary on MoCo's collapsed "nighttime economy" by the former Brat Packer). I strongly doubt Mr. Lowe will be making a stop at Regency Centers' Westbard development in the future, where we'll be getting all the downsides of urbanization but the same old Chipotle/Starbucks/Salad Shooter fast-casual chains.
While residents at Westbard were marching in the streets opposing 3000 new residents being dropped into a block-and-a-half area, Spring Valley residents were battling a 2-story retail building being added to Spring Valley Village. That pretty much says it all about how much better the D.C. Council is at protecting the character of existing neighborhoods, especially in Spring Valley and the Palisades. And how the Advisory Neighborhood Commission system in D.C. provides an extra layer of protection and advocacy for residents. While Westbard is going to get a stack-and-pack urban concrete-and-steel makeover, both of those D.C. communities look exactly as they did 50 years ago - only with better dining options and amenities.
Photo courtesy Pizza Paradiso
42 comments:
Although I think the density can be increased there, it's ridiculous to compare Spring Valley to Westbard. The former is a nice uptown neighborhood with a complete street grid. The latter is a suburban eyesore with a crappy old shopping center and huge empty parking lot, and an ugly strip with gas stations and convenience stores.
"Millie's - where Shakespearean actor Rob Lowe was spotted after his show at Strathmore, a pretty scathing commentary on MoCo's collapsed "nighttime economy" by the former Brat Packer"
Or maybe he just happens to know people in the neighborhood. Do you actually know the reasons he chose to eat/drink there?
What a whiny little piss-ant you are. If only you knew the objectivity your comparison lacks, you'd shut that moribund trap of yours. Spring Valley is an established community shopping center, which has been well maintained over the years. It also does not have a sea of decrepit asphalt parking surrounding it like "Wastebard". In addition, the demographics of SV far exceed those of "Wastebard" and can attract better merchants, with established reputations. BTW, the ANC system leaves a lot to be desired, just ask any unbiased DC residents. Then again, you wouldn't know what unbiased meant, even if it bit you in you birds nest.
Will Robert Dyer explain why it's a bad thing when neighborhoods such as Twinbrook and Aspen Hill block WalMart from being built in their neighborhood?
"3000 new residents being dropped into a block-and-a-half area"
Not this again.
How do you get "3000 new residents" from the 410 apartments and 106 townhomes that are proposed at the Westwood site? That would require an AVERAGE of 6 residents living in each of the new housing units.
7:56: You're only counting part of the total Regency Centers development plan, and also excluding the HOC property and Park Bethesda property plans. It's going to be well over 3000 people, and they still have the River Road half of the sector plan coming in the future. Classic sprawl development, not Transit-Oriented Development.
Which is why the Planning Board didn't fulfill their legal requirement to measure the carbon emissions the plan will generate.
10:47: There were a number of bad things about banning Walmart - residents end up paying more for groceries, we don't have access to Walmart like the rest of America, Walmart was used as a poison pill in Aspen Hill to goad residents into agreeing to mixed-use on the Vitro site (which backfired spectacularly, because it now will be a 1960s car dealership with associated runoff, soil and groundwater contamination), and the County Council should not be operating a Soviet/Cuban command economy from 100 Maryland Avenue, by telling us what stores we can and cannot have. That's Communism.
9:16: What a vulgar moron you are. If you weren't a carpetbagger, you would know that Westbard is exactly the same as Spring Valley - income, education, demographics and neighborhood character. Neither is within the distance of Metro to qualify as TOD. That's what makes it such a great example of which jurisdiction protects the character of existing neighborhoods better.
7:48: A "complete street grid?" LOL What have you been smoking? The neighborhoods have identical street types.
I see Dyer was in #FullAngryDrunkMode last night. I hope he doesn't have too bad a hangover this morning.
The residents of Spring Valley are appalled and amused that their lovely streets are being compared to the industrial driveways and gas station and convenience store parking lots of Westbard.
"Walmart was used as a poison pill in Aspen Hill"
I don't know about that, but if it's true, it sure sounds like the residents didn't want it there.
"Now will be a 1960s car dealership"
What will be "1960s" about it when it is built in its new location?
"Classic sprawl development, not Transit-Oriented Development...Neither is within the distance of Metro to qualify as TOD"
Once again, you keep misusing the terms "sprawl" and "Transit-Oriented Development". Density is the exact opposite of sprawl. And "Transit-Oriented Development" is not arbitrarily limited to "within a half-mile radius of a heavy-rail station", as you keep claiming it is.
"the County Council should not be operating a Soviet/Cuban command economy from 100 Maryland Avenue, by telling us what stores we can and cannot have. That's Communism."
Yet you want them to tell the owners of the properties at Westbard what they can and cannot do with their own land. Commie!
"What a vulgar moron you are. If you weren't a carpetbagger, you would know..."
"LOL What have you been smoking?"
Every Day Is Reader Appreciation Day on Suburban News Network
6:20: LOL There's a gas station in Spring Valley, too, carpetbagger. You would need a GPS to find the place. Go home to Berzerkley, California with Hans Riemer!
6:31: When you operate purely from lies, you are going to find little support. TOD is absolutely, positively only within a quarter-to-half-mile from a rapid transit station. Period. This is universally agreed upon by academics all over the world.
"The developers at Westbard" have the right to build to the heights allowed under the 1982 plan and 2014 zoning update. Limiting sprawl and containing the total population in a given area within the limits of the infrastructure is called planning. That is different from saying a particular retailer cannot open a store on a major state highway in Montgomery County, whether its Connecticut Avenue or River Road. That's a command economy.
I don't even understand the Council's supposed justification for opposition - Walmart, like Marriott, has converted to being a liberal Democrat corporation. They also promote globalism, something apparently now close to the heart of Democrats who oppose Trump. The Council should embrace Walmart as fellow travelers!
If you weren't a carpetbagger, you would know that auto dealerships were a fixture in 1960s and 1970s Aspen Hill. It's back to the future for Aspen Hill at the Vitro site! At least until Casey Anderson and his Astroturf "pedestrian safety" "non-profit" can turn it into Ballston like Westbard.
Heckuva job, Brownie!
So Dyer, while you're thinking up all kinda of peculiar motivations for others' actions, do you ever wonder what motivations they think up for your actions?
Like maybe while you were busy judging others, you left your closet door open and a lot of your skeletons fell out?
7:13: Attack, attack, attack. It's a full time job for you, attacking one of the few people trying to change our corrupt County for the better. Yet you support our corrupt "leaders," who have "lost" $7 million of the People's money.
"There's a gas station in Spring Valley, too, carpetbagger. You would need a GPS to find the place. Go home to Berzerkley, California with Hans Riemer!"
"If you weren't a carpetbagger, you would know that..."
Do you realize how incredibly insecure you sound when you write stuff like this? You're not the only one who was born in this area (Alexandria, VA in your case) but apparently "lifelong Bethesda resident" is the only item on your resume.
There is ONE gas station in Spring Valley. And built to match the other buildings nearby and the street grid. Westbard has EIGHT gas stations, six on River Road. No street grid at all on River Road between the CCT and Ridgefield Road - just parking lot entrances and driveways.
"Auto dealerships were a fixture in 1960s and 1970s Aspen Hill. It's back to the future for Aspen Hill at the Vitro site!"
I don't remember you writing anything about this in your articles about Ourisman Volvo and Volkswagen opening at the former USPS site.
"TOD is absolutely, positively only within a quarter-to-half-mile from a rapid transit station. Period. This is universally agreed upon by academics all over the world."
No, it's not. That is YOUR definition, and yours alone. And now, I see you've reduced it to "one quarter mile".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-oriented_development
"Walmart, like Marriott, has converted to being a liberal Democrat corporation. They also promote globalism, something apparently now close to the heart of Democrats who oppose Trump. The Council should embrace Walmart as fellow travelers!"
Another side-trip into utter incoherence.
"One of the few people trying to change our corrupt County for the better"
Apparently the voters of Montgomery County disagree with your opinion of yourself, given that only 6.1% of them voted for you.
7:29: you didn't even read - I said quarter to half mile. Half a mile is the limit for TOD.
There is no "street grid" in Spring Valley - the commercial strip is one solid block.
You should really read the papers some day, but for now, you can look back at recent articles that show Marriott and Walmart are now squarely in the Democrat camp in all their public statements.
7:33: Please - a stolen election, voter fraud and collusion between the local media and the MoCo political cartel hardly make the shady results of this election valid to make any statement from.
I'm compiling the precinct data right now.
There is no "street grid" in Spring Valley - the commercial strip is one solid block."
A block, on both sides of Massachusetts Avenue, which is nicely defined by Yuma Street on the north, 48th Street on the east, Fordham Road on the south, and 49th Street on the west.
Nothing like this on either Gasoline Alley along River Road or the 25-acre sea of asphalt in the shopping center.
where's your proof?
Since I provided, in another thread, proof that there WAS NO anomolies in the recent election, let's see you do the same. A real organization (I used DHS) not some "Judicial Watch" propaganda.
"A stolen election, voter fraud and collusion between the local media and the MoCo political cartel hardly make the shady results of this election valid to make any statement from."
You're insane. You just can't face the fact that you have no accomplishments in your life that would appeal to anyone other than those who reflexively vote for any idiot with an "R" next to their name.
"You should really read the papers some day"
You mean "the old local legacy print media" which you so despise and claim to be "running circles around"?
Sam Eig was racist.
Anonymous is back with his usual conspiracy theories and grievances.
I thought he dropped his crazy theory that you become a resident of whichever city you're born in?
All of the Bethesda residents that have had babies at Sibley Hospital don't have Washington DC residency conferred on them or the baby.
12:33 PM Riemer isn't from the area, right? Dyer is a life long resident, news publisher and community activist.
1:14 PM Wow...So much hate for someone running for public service. Makes no sense.
It says a lot that you never sign your insults. Obviously even you don't believe what you're writing, so knock it off.
1:36PM Again, you never sign your insults.
If you live in the area, you need to get out more and talk to people in real life. I can try to compile some suggestions. I really want to help you.
2:09pm The inside baseball blogger argument that absolutely no one cares about. And the few that might care know Facebook followers are routinely bought. (For example, Bethesda Beat bought theirs)
Talk to people in real life please.
"Inside baseball" again.
"Facebook followers are routinely bought...Bethesda Beat bought theirs"
All 10,000 of them? That would be quite a scandal. Why hasn't Robert Dyer reported on this?
3:34pm when they bought "Bethesda Now", they bought all of the Now followers.
Beat had no following in social, so made sense to just buy existing.
Haopy now one guy who cares about this?
"Beat had no following in social, so made sense to just buy existing."
Why are you too lazy to type complete sentences?
3:54pm I gave you a cogent reason why counting social followers is dubious at best!
Are you saying that Bethesda Now had 10,000 followers? Where did those come from?
And what about Germantown Pulse or Source of the Spring?
4:40pm you won't really know who bought followers...no one is going to come out and say it, right? One transaction was very public.
Why are we arguing over this? Lol. Kind of silly. Buying followers/likers sadly is common.
7:56: I've got the proof - I've already found anomalous results as I go through the precinct totals for the election. A blanket statement from DHS on Russian interference in Maryland voting machines has nothing to do with voter fraud in Montgomery County.
4:40: Bethesda Now bought the 10,000 followers for $13,000 from Twitter, then sold them for $1 to the magazine. Pretty good deal for the magazine, obviously. The angel investors bailed on BN after I crushed them. They thought I would fold.
7:55: Nobody knows what the hell you are talking about, probably not even you. They are exactly the same, except Spring Valley's commercial area is smaller because it didn't have a rail line running through it. Have you ever heard of Butler Road, Clipper Lane and Landy Lane? All are streets off of River that make a "street grid."
It's the fact that Spring Valley and the Palisades are such great examples of Westbard-type areas being better protected by D.C. that enrages cartel stooges like you. You thought total control of the Post and local media would prevent this fact from being pointed out to the public.
"Have you ever heard of Butler Road, Clipper Lane and Landy Lane? All are streets off of River that make a 'street grid.'"
They do not form a "grid" you idiot. They are three separate streets that each start at River Road and dead-end before intersecting with any other street. Do you even know what the word "grid" actually means?
Do you really think that these industrial driveways - lined by car repair shops and self-storage facilities - are comparable to the beautiful, tree-lined streets of Spring Valley>
"Narcissistic injury occurs when a narcissist feels that their hidden, "true self" has been revealed. This may be the case when the narcissist experiences a "fall from grace", such as when their hidden behaviors or motivations are revealed, or when their importance is brought into question. Narcissistic injury is a cause of distress and can lead to dysregulation of behaviors as in narcissistic rage.
"Narcissistic rage occurs on a continuum, which may range from instances of aloofness and expressions of mild irritation or annoyance to serious outbursts, including violent attacks and murder. It has also been suggested that narcissists have two layers of rage. The first layer of rage can be thought of as a constant anger (towards someone else), with the second layer being a self-aimed wrath."
7:56: Carpetbagger alert. The "beautiful, tree-lined streets of Spring Valley" are the residential streets, which are identical to those of the beautiful, tree-lined streets of Kenwood, Springfield and other residential areas in Westbard. They all have street grids.
8:14: Can you seek professional help for that problem? It's fine to tell us about it, but I'm not a mental health professional.
5:19 AM Agreed. More comments from folks trying to promote their blogs.
"Carpetbagger alert. The "beautiful, tree-lined streets of Spring Valley" are the residential streets, which are identical to those of the beautiful, tree-lined streets of Kenwood, Springfield and other residential areas in Westbard. They all have street grids."
So why did you list the industrial cul-de-sacs Butler Road, Clipper Lane and Landy Lane as a "street grid" that was comparable to Spring Valley?
@7:48 AM: Spring Valley has had a commercial area on Mass Ave since its inception; as a child I attended Saturday movies at the Apex theater and bought my best clothes at Garfinckel's. There was a Talbot's apparel shop for a while before AU came in and built what was their Law School building and replaced all the shops on that side of Mass Ave up by 48th street. The commercial areas have always retained a quiet, simple architecture consistent with the area. The neighbors, as at Westbard, have fought more development tooth and nail, and have been rewarded with a couple of good restaurants and a well-maintained strip mall containing the Wagshals' businesses and CVS. Westbard's early 60's strip mall has NEVER been improved except for the slightest face lifts. I know; I learned to drive on that same huge parking lot in 1967. So while the neighbors would absolutely love to have a nicer shopping area and certainly some good restaurants, the developers will add far too many new housing units, not enough parking at all, and way too many cars for the area. They are missing the opportunity to build a classy destination in favor of hit and run over-development so they can get as much money as possible out of the project. Spring Valley gets it right; Bethesda blows.
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