It may not be an exaggeration to say that more banks are opening than restaurants these days in Bethesda. That's going to be the case again at 8101 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. This former TD Bank would have made an ideal fast food restaurant, with a drive-thru already in place. But it has now been leased by Citibank, which will be opening a new branch here. Construction is set to begin before summer.
14 comments:
What is your fascination with drive-in fast food restaurants. Perhaps they are appropriate in the suburbs, but they have no place in a walkable, transit-oriented community like downtown Bethesda. They only encourage more traffic and tons of cars idling as they wait for unhealthy food options. Even drive in banks and pharmacies are a bad idea, and are obviously counterproductive in a dense urban places.
Citibank is definitely making a push into Bethesda, as they're also opening a branch at the former "Paul Bakery" location on Bethesda Ave. right next to the Capital Crescent Trail. Ever since Bank of America took out the ATM next to the Fish Taco on Bethesda Row, it's been a pain to get over to the one branch location on Wisconsin which has their ATM's.
"This former TD Bank would have made an ideal fast food restaurant, with a drive-thru already in place." This lot/site is not designated by Land Use for anything other than Financial use. How many other Drive-thru FF restaurants do you know of in B-town? For that matter even in Silver Spring.
The right drive thru restaurant would do very well on Wisconsin Ave or on the River Road corridor.
Chick-fil-A, for example. There is none in Bethesda other than the mall.
There is already a Citibank 700 feet away at 8001 Wisconsin. I assume they will be moving from that location to this one.
Umm… no. Citibank is NOT going to have two branches which are just a block apart. The current bank will close and that block will be redeveloped.
Such a shame with this leasing situation. The county should've bought this building and the one for sale next to it and added it to the new county owned development planned for the parking lot behind. Another missed opportunity for positive development in Bethesda.
I'll believe the development of that block when I see it.
A fast food place would be a second home for all the people who live in the transitional housing around the corner.
That area needs a major clean up and redevelopment already
You must be over 60, with your apparent infatuation with ATMs.
Moribank.
I liked Bank of Bethesda, now there are too many banks IN Bethesda.
Agreed. Drive-throughs were a big fad last century that endures but today technology provides us with better alternatives. Namely, curbside ordering via app. No idling in the drive-through and no need to exchange credit cards with the cashier. Plus the apps typically offer deals that are not readily available on the store menu. I was disappointed when the McDonald's on Rockville Pike decided to relocate from being across the street from Metro to a location further down the Pike where they could build a drive-through.
Micky-Dees drive thrus seem pretty busy. I like em. Go through drive thru, get food, park and eat.
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