Underwraps closing in Bethesda

Underwraps is closing at 4928 Hampden Lane at the Shoppes of Bethesda. A closing sale is in progress at the lingerie boutique. Savings are up to 50%-off. Hurry, because their last day is tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, according to a sign in the window. 

Kenwood Sunoco reopens in Bethesda

Kenwood Sunoco has reopened at 5201 River Road in Bethesda. The gas station has been closed for fuel customers since April for maintenance work on the gas pumps and undergound fuel tank. During that time, the business remained open for auto repairs and convenience store customers.

Dunkin' Donuts colors appear at Chevy Chase Lake gas station

The familiar color scheme of Dunkin' Donuts has appeared on parts of the Giant gas station at 8500 Connecticut Avenue at Chevy Chase Lake. According to major area Dunkin' Donuts franchisee Luis Group Management, a Dunkin' store is being added to the gas station building. The gas station itself will continue to operate as usual when the Dunkin' Donuts opens. So keep saving those Giant gas points!

Express, Express Men to close at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Express and Express Men are closing at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The brand announced it would close nearly 100 stores after it declared bankruptcy this spring. But Bethesda wasn't on that April list. Alas, just as Express was acquired by a new owner, the axe has fallen. Everything must go!

Uncle Julio's reopens at Bethesda Row

Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Cafe has reopened for business at 4870 Bethesda Avenue at Bethesda Row. Plumbing issues caused the restaurant to close all day Saturday. Plumbers worked through the night to make emergency repairs. A few brave souls are even dining on the patio, with temperatures in the mid-90s this afternoon. Hope they ordered Swirls from the bar!

SEV Med Spa, RTR Pilates opening at Chevy Chase Lake

Two new lifestyle tenants are opening soon at the Chevy Chase Land Co.'s new Chevy Chase Lake development. SEV Med Spa and RTR Pilates will both be in the ground floor of The Claude apartments at 3820 Chaplin Place. "Coming soon" signage has been installed in both storefronts. SEV and RTR are expected to open this summer.

SEV Med Spa was founded in 2010 by Sevana Petrosian in Glendale, California, and specializes in laser hair removal. As word of mouth spread, Petrosian began to gain a following among celebrities from nearby Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Her first celebrity clients were the Kardashians, who have since been joined by Rita Ora, Sofia Richie, and Eva Longoria.

Alexandrite and Nd:YAG lasers used by SEV are safe for all skin tones, and a cooling feature minimizes discomfort. SEV is medically-accredited and employs specialized nurses. Prices range from $25 to permanently get rid of your mustache, to a $600 full body hair removal.

RTR Pilates is a local chain of fitness studios founded by Reina Offut in 2006. Over the last two decades, it has grown to what will be six locations when Chevy Chase Lake opens this summer. There are classes at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. All classes utilize Allegro II reformer machines. Under Offut's leadership, Potomac Pilates donates more than $5000-worth of services to schools, charities and organizations each year. RTR's existing Shops at Wisconsin Place location in nearby Friendship Heights has earned a perfect 5-star rating on Google Reviews, with nearly 250 reviews submitted, suggesting clients are clearly satisfied with their results.

Uncle Julio's plumbers work through the night at Bethesda Row

Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Cafe at 4870 Bethesda Avenue at Bethesda Row was closed yesterday due to plumbing problems, a sign in the window said. They weren't just making excuses; it appears the plumbing problems were indeed real. Last night, two vans were parked in front of the restaurant. Plumbers from Tech24 were working into the night to fix the problems as soon as possible. Uncle Julio's hopes to reopen today, June 23, 2024.

Pop 2000 Tour landing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda June 23, 2024

Bring me up, Carson! Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda is once again allowing you to relive your - or your parents' - MTV TRL afterschool Y2K memories with the Pop 2000 Tour event tomorrow, Sunday, June 23, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Level 1 of the mall in the Nordstrom wing. Hosted by Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC, the event will feature live performances by Kirkpatrick, O-Town, BBMAK, Ryan Cabrera, and LFO.

The standing-room-only concert will take place from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM near Nordstrom on Level 1. But the festivities will get underway at noon with spin-the-wheel prize giveaways, airbrush tattoos, rhinestone gem art, and a 2000 Photo Moments station. Create a 2024 photo moment by purchasing a selfie with your favorite boy band after the concert. Merchandise for the participating artists will also be on sale.

Look for Pop 2000 Tour activities on Level 1 near Kiehl's. HOT 99.5 will be broadcasting live from the event. The radio station will be hosting its own activities and giveaways. Pop 2000 is free to attend, but you need to RSVP online.

"The Pop 2000 Tour will bring the energy and excitement of 2000s pop music to Westfield Montgomery, giving our community the chance to relive that era in music," Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SVP of Shopping Center Management Leah Heil said in a statement Friday. "We look forward to watching the audience transport back in time and sing along to hits they’ll never forget, while creating new memories with friends and family.”

Top two images courtesy Westfield
Bottom image: AI

Assault in Spring Hill neighborhood of Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault in the Spring Hill community of Bethesda on the morning of June 19, 2024. The assault was reported along the street in the 5200 block of Falmouth Road at 10:15 AM. An individual was also accused of stealing property from a vehicle in the same incident. 

Rooftop rock concert tonight in Bethesda

A rare rooftop live rock concert event will be held tonight at a somewhat unexpected venue. Song-oriented progressive rock band HüsBand will perform live on the rooftop at 7550 Wisconsin Avenue tonight, June 22, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Check in on the lobby level at 7:00; the concert and rooftop party will begin at 8:00 PM. Kitchen and bathroom showroom KONSTUnion is hosting the special KONST Summer Starter rooftop event. KONSTUnion and CARNEMARK design + build President Jonas Carnemark is a member of the band. Check out their music to see if tonight's concert is your cup of tea.

Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant "opening soon" in Bethesda

Preparations for opening continue at Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant at 4862 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. The restaurant's existing location has always touted its status as the first Ukrainian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Letters applied to the glass now make a similar claim for Maryland. Another sign in the window promises the restaurant is "opening soon." Operating hours have been posted for lunch, brunch, and dinner.

Washington Gas works overnight on Arlington Road in Bethesda

Washington Gas worked overnight on its utilities beneath Arlington Road in Bethesda. The work zone was in the vicinity of the Hampden Lane intersection, closing lanes on both streets. Two weeks ago, a major gas leak on Norfolk Avenue required a multi-day response from the utility.

Could a Netflix House be coming to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda?

Is Montgomery County ready for Netflix IRL? The leading streaming service announced the planned opening of two Netflix House "experiential entertainment venues" at malls in Dallas and King of Prussia, with potential plans for more in cities yet to be identified. Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda seems like a logical choice to join the list. Netflix Houses are described as being "over 100,000-square-feet" in size. Montgomery Mall's vacant former Sears store is 150,000-square-feet, is currently mothballed, and is generating zero revenue for Westfield beyond whatever tax break can be claimed for the vacancy.

Westfield holds an approval from Montgomery County for an urban-style, mixed-use expansion of the mall, including a demolition of the empty Sears building, but has not taken any visible steps to immediately proceed with that development. A Netflix House would be a good short-term use to generate revenue until Westfield is ready to move forward with the expansion.

"Imagine waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the Bridgerton set –– and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from Squid Game," Netflix said in its Netflix House announcement Tuesday. "After pretending to fight for your life, you’ve worked up an appetite and want to get a bite. You see a nearby restaurant with food inspired by Netflix shows from around the world; the meal is memorable, but you still want to buy some Stranger Things merch. Luckily, there’s a shop that sells that Hellfire Club T-shirt you’ve always wanted." 

There are other malls in the region, but Montgomery Mall has the ideal vacant building space that Netflix requires for a Netflix House immediately available. Its loss of Sears as an anchor would be its gain in this case. A Netflix House would generate significant additional foot traffic for other tenants of the mall.

On the other hand, the timeline for opening of the first two Netflix Houses suggests significant construction is required. The Galleria Dallas and King of Prussia Mall Netflix Houses are expected to open in 2025. By the time a Netflix House would open in 2026 or later, who knows if Netflix will still be the entertainment giant it is today? Two years is an eternity in Hollywood, and Westfield might want to proceed with its redevelopment of the Sears building and adjacent parking lot before, or by, that time.

Rendering courtesy Netflix
Photos by Robert Dyer

Westbard Square unveils EV charging spaces in Bethesda

Regency Centers has uncovered the electric vehicle charging stations on Level 1 of the parking garage at its new Westbard Square development at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The charging equipment is from EVgo, continuing that company's partnership with Regency Centers across many of their properties. These stations offer fast charging, and are located in the area of Montgomery County with the largest ownership of electric vehicles. 

“Regency Centers is happy to provide EVgo fast chargers as an amenity to our tenants and their customers,” said Mark Peternell, VP of Sustainability at Regency Centers VP of Sustainability Mark Peternell said in an EVgo announcement about the partnership in 2021. “Regency Centers believes in being a good steward and leader in sustainability, and helping accelerate EV adoption through this partnership is another way for us to put words into practice.”

Losing to Virginia on another factory, is Montgomery County in the hunt for IKEA manufacturing site?

Montgomery County and Maryland were beaten in the economic development game again by Virginia yesterday. Will they be players in the next big manufacturing competition, for an IKEA factory on American soil? Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office announced Tuesday that his state had won the competition for a 400,000-square-foot Condair Group AG manufacturing facility. The press release indicated that Virginia and South Carolina were the two finalists. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported this past weekend that IKEA is scouting for factory locations in the United States, due to increasing disruptions in international shipping lanes.

Virginia could already have a [LÖVBACKEN table] leg up in the IKEA race, as the Swedish furniture giant previously operated its only U.S. factory in Danville, Virginia from 2008 to 2019. It ultimately closed that plant, shipping its 300 jobs back to Europe. Montgomery County has plenty of room for an IKEA plant in the I-270 corridor, where there is also potential direct rail access to the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision for domestic or port shipping purposes. Of course, Baltimore, Hagerstown and Cumberland are among the struggling Maryland cities that could use an IKEA plant to help revive their once-mighty industrial areas.

There's no indication of Montgomery County or Maryland having been in the hunt for the Condair plant. The $57.2 million investment by Condair in Chesterfield County, Virginia will create 180 good-paying industrial jobs with full benefits. Instead of Condair products being exported out of the Port of Baltimore, they'll be headed out of Richmond Marine Terminal in Virginia, according to the press release.

"When an international brand like Condair makes the decision to locate in Virginia, the positive ripple-effects of economic investment, job creation and cargo growth are felt throughout the Commonwealth," Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards said in a statement. "The Port of Virginia will be among the beneficiaries of Condair’s location in Chesterfield County, which is not far from Richmond Marine Terminal. We are ready to collaborate with Condair to help it leverage the assets of this port — America’s most modern gateway — to ensure it has access to world markets." 

"Virginia is the perfect location for the international company Condair to establish its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility," Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. "We applaud the 21st century manufacturing jobs that this project will bring to Chesterfield County."

Bethesda Market Park development meeting focuses on park design

Developer EYA and Montgomery Parks held a community meeting last night on the planned Bethesda Market Park development, which will include a mixed-use residential building on the current retail site to the right of the Farm Women's Market on Wisconsin Avenue, an addition to the historic Farm Women's Market building and new "public realm" around it, an underground parking garage, a redesign of part of the existing Elm Street Park (into "Elm Street Park North"), a woonerf "shared street," and a conversion of Public Parking Lots 10 and 24 into new parks. Much of the focus of the presentation was on the design and amenities of the new parks.

654 residents answered a survey on which amenities or features they would like to see in the new parks. The top requests were:

•Stage/ Shade Structure •Open, Flexible Lawn Area •Terraced Seating •Planted Areas/ Canopy Trees •Interactive Water Feature •Loop Walking Paths • Variety of Seating Options Including Adult Swings •Dog Park •Placemaking/ Playful Climbable Art •All-Weather Game Tables

The parks will adhere to the principles of biophilic design, which "weaves patterns and forms of nature in the built environment to strengthen the human-nature connection." An interactive water feature will be included near the stage. Some elements will take on a colorful appearance after sunset via night lighting.

Next steps in the project include Montgomery County reaching a final development agreement with EYA. The Town of Chevy Chase will make a decision about potential additional funding for the park projects. Park designs and amenities may be update based upon feedback from last night's meeting. EYA will begin the process of obtaining financing for the development. And the Preliminary and Site Plans will be submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval.