Robbery at Domino's Pizza in Bethesda

Montgomery County police are searching for two suspects who held up the Domino's Pizza store at 4817 St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The robbery took place on September 23, 2025 at 10:41 PM. Coincidentally - or not, Papa John's in downtown Bethesda was robbed eight days later.

Police describe the Domino's robbery suspects only as two Black males, and have not released any surveillance camera images of them as of this writing. The two alleged robbers escaped with cash from the store. If you have any information about the suspects or this incident, call police at (301) 279-8000.

ATM installed at new Citibank branch in Bethesda

Workers installed the ATM machine outside of the future Citibank branch at 4760 Bethesda Avenue yesterday. The bank is filling the space that was vacated by Paul Bakery several years ago in the ground floor of the Flats at Bethesda Avenue apartments. Citibank is the new Chase and TD Bank, two other banking giants who made aggressive moves into Bethesda over the last decade. Their other new branch will be at 8101 Wisconsin Avenue, only a few blocks away from this one. Sound familiar?

By the way, did you know BlackRock now owns the Flats at Bethesda? They acquired it back in 2018. So the next time someone tells you it's only a conspiracy theory that BlackRock has been buying up a large percentage of housing across America, and are thereby helping to drive up prices...yep, they are just gaslighting you.

Heven AeroTech chooses Virginia over Maryland for new corporate HQ

Montgomery County and Maryland have failed yet again to win another corporate headquarters competition. The winner in the contest is a familiar one: Northern Virginia. Heven AeroTech is moving its U.S. headquarters from Miami to Sterling, Virginia. The firm specializes in the design, manufacture, and deployment hydrogen-powered, runway-independent drones around the world. Needless to say, this is a booming field, as drones are the future of warfare, and are also being utilized in a growing number of non-military sectors of the economy.

A quick look at the map shows once again the critical importance of having direct access to Dulles International Airport for economic development. Heven AeroTech's new HQ address, 45240 Business Court, is 4 minutes from the airport. It's also right adjacent to VA 28, in which the state has invested greatly to bring it up to interstate highway standards, by constructing numerous interchanges. That's the same VA 28 that Montgomery County and Maryland could have made a direct highway connection to via a new Potomac River crossing many years ago, but have defiantly chosen not to.

The results continue to speak for themselves. We are falling further and further behind in the game, at an accelerating pace. According to Business Facilities magazine, in Fairfax County alone, 75 of that county's 125 aerospace firms have moved or expanded there in just the last three years. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major new corporate headquarters - of any type - in over 25 years. 

Our "leaders" have made the deliberate decision to not give ourselves the Dulles advantage, and to continue to follow a tax-and-spend blueprint that is not only not competitive with rival jurisdictions, but now represents the greatest tax and fee burden in the entire region. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Assault at hotel in Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to a hotel in downtown Bethesda late Friday afternoon, October 3, 2025, after someone reported having been the victim of a 2nd-degree assault there. The assault was reported at a hotel in the 8100 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 5:45 PM Friday. There are two hotels on that block of Wisconsin: The Bethesdan Hotel, and the American Inn.

Update on Trader Joe's in Friendship Heights (Photos)

The interior fit-out of the new Trader Joe's grocery store at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW at Chevy Chase Pavilion in Friendship Heights is quite far along. Now we're seeing that trademark wood in every direction in there. Wood shelving! Wood counters! Wood in the vestibule! Trader Joe's loves its rustic wood decor, all right, but what's really getting attention at the moment is the signage that has been installed on the facades of the store's exterior.

Taste of Bethesda 2025 Photo Gallery

Taste of Bethesda, the town's biggest annual event, drew a huge crowd yesterday to the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood. The weather more than cooperated this time, a rarity in recent years. A few newcomers joined a roster of many of Bethesda's top restaurants, including the just-opened Tasty Grills & Catering, and the soon-to-open BabyCat Brewery. Notably absent was the once-ubiquitous Jaleo/Spanish Diner giant paella pan, as hometown celebrity chef Jose Andrés has exited the Bethesda market. BabyCat Brewery reports it could be open in three weeks if all goes according to plan; longer if it does not.

Bethesda UP painting sidewalk bike racks downtown

Sidewalk bike racks around downtown Bethesda are getting a fresh look. Bethesda Urban Partnership is painting these small racks in a reddish orange. This follows the recent painting of electrical utility boxes with artwork. Watch out for the wet paint signs.

Update on Boll & Branch at Bethesda Row

Permanent signage was installed yesterday above the future storefront of Boll & Branch at 7270 Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row. Construction has been underway for about two weeks at the space, which was formerly home to CHIKO. The windows are still covered, so the progress on the interior fit-out of the upscale bedding retailer is not able to be measured at this time. I do have the operating hours, however: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sundays.

Armed robbery at Bethesda restaurant

An armed robbery was reported to Montgomery County police at a restaurant in downtown Bethesda Wednesday night, October 1, 2025. The robbery was reported in the 7200 block of 47th Street at 9:55 PM. Papa John's is the only restaurant on that block. The pizzeria is open until midnight on Wednesdays.

Purse snatched in downtown Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to investigate a purse snatching in downtown Bethesda yesterday afternoon, October 2, 2025. The theft was reported in the 7400 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 3:30 PM Thursday. It took place at the Bethesda Metro station.

Leech Woods Haunted Trail opens Friday in Damascus

Halloween season is officially underway, and that means it's time to track down local haunted attractions. One of the highest-rated is right here in Montgomery County in one of our greatest towns, Damascus: Leech Woods Haunted Trail at 11201 Bethesda Church Road, and it opens this Friday, October 3, 2025. The trail and hayride have gotten high marks for creativity, originality, scare factor, and the pace of entry to ensure that you get your own experience on the trail, rather than crashing into the adventurers ahead of you. Past survivors also praise the high quality of the food and drinks that are for sale in the village from which you will depart - you've got to fortify yourself for the terrors ahead.

Make sure to read the FAQ on the website for important information regarding accessibility, clothing and shoe requirements, and parking and weather advisories. You can also buy tickets on there, of course. Also, if you are a traditional hayride fanatic, be forewarned that the separate Haunted Hayride attraction is not simply a standard hayride. You will explore the haunted Leech cemetery on foot, in between your rides out and back from that burial plot. There are fire pits in the village over which you can keep warm, and/or heat up s'mores from kits you can buy. In past years, there have been fortune tellers, merch to immortalize your survival, carnival games, axe throwing, and more in that spooky yet quaint village area. And there are plenty of "characters" to keep you diverted while you wait to enter the trail.

The founders of this attraction have wisely grounded the haunts in a chilling story inspired by the original inhabitants of the property, the Leech family, who met a grisly demise at the hands of truly demented people...or something else...during the brutal Maryland winter of 1804. Suffice it to say, there's enough negative energy on-site to overload your ghost radar and EMF meter. No wonder so many who have survived their trek on the Leech Woods Haunted Trail have reported getting quite a scare in their 5-star Yelp, and 4.7-star Google reviews.

Home broken into in Alta Vista neighborhood of Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at a home in the Alta Vista neighborhood of Bethesda early yesterday morning, October 1, 2025. The burglary was reported at a house in the 5600 block of Alta Vista Road at 2:24 AM Wednesday. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry at the home.

Call Your Mother Deli construction begins in Bethesda

Construction is getting underway on the interior fit-out of Call Your Mother Deli at 4828 St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. "Opening soon" signage has been posted over the windows. This space was previously home to Hardwood Artisans, and more memorably, Johnny Rockets. Call Your Mother had operated a trolley car food truck at the historic Bethesda Community Store for several years, before departing as a major renovation project began there. It also has a location at Pike & Rose. 

Hunger increases in Montgomery County

An unhoused person sleeps in the 
doorway of the vacant former
Sir Walter Raleigh Inn in Bethesda

Poverty, homelessness, and hunger continue to increase in Montgomery County. A new report released by the Capital Area Food Bank indicates that food insecurity in Montgomery County has increased by 1% in the last year. In contrast, hunger levels dropped in Prince George's County, the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and Fairfax County. Food insecurity in Washington, D.C. increased by 2%.

The report was based on a survey of Washington Metropolitan Area residents conducted this spring. Most of Montgomery County's population growth in recent years has been in the low-income range. Meanwhile, the County has failed to generate high-wage jobs, and has not attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. The moribund economy and inflated food prices have been a devastating combination for many. Those who once turned to dollar menus at fast food restaurants to get by can no longer do so, as inflation and imposition of high minimum wages in that industry have had the desired effect of those policies' architects, to force low-income and working class residents to turn to government and non-profits for sustenance. 

Starbucks closes at Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel (Photos)

Starbucks has permanently closed at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel at 1 Bethesda Metro Center. The closure ended a seven year run at the busy hotel and Metro station. Most signage has been stripped from the exterior, but a tenant sign out front has simply been taped over, and a garbage bag tossed over the Starbucks logo sign inside the hotel. A sad luggage cart was the sole witness to the devastation. Once seemingly eager to have a store on every block in America, the Seattle-based coffee giant is now in the process of shuttering hundreds of stores, and laying off 900 employees.