Sushi Masato opens in Bethesda

Sushi Masato has opened at 4914 Hampden Lane in downtown Bethesda at the Shoppes of Bethesda. The Japanese restaurant has taken over the former Tako Grill space. That storefront has been divided into two, with the other part soon to open as The One Cake bakery. But you can get a preview of it from the dessert menu at Sushi Masato.

Cafe X-press closing in Bethesda

Cafe X-press will close by the end of the month at 8000 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The coffee shop and deli's lease has run out, and the owners say they've made the difficult decision to close the business, rather than seek a new location. The restaurant will permanently close on August 29, 2026. Cafe X-press has enjoyed one of the longest runs of success in downtown Bethesda, having originally opened way back in 1994, a heady time when Bethesda was growing on the right track for success instead of turning into Ballston like today. It's a shame that we are seeing more and more of the oldest establishments in Montgomery County closing due to the anti-business policies of the County Council, which combine with the already-slim hospitality industry profit margins to destroy businesses that have survived so many other challenges over the decades.

Bethesda lines up for PopUp Bagels opening

Bagel lovers and the merely curious alike turned out in force for today's grand opening of PopUp Bagels at 7607 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. The line to get in still stretched out the door and around the block over four hours after it opened this morning. Among the draws was the chance to taste the Bethesda-exclusive Chesapeake Spice Cream Cheese schmear, which might have been worth taking the Acela south for the PopUp completist. PopUp Bagels arrived from the bagel capital of the world, New York City, with tremendous hype. Now we'll see if that hype can be sustained as the out-of-town chain confronts the local competition of Bethesda Bagels, Call Your Mother, and Georgetown Bagelry.

Windsor closing at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Windsor is closing at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to a sign posted in the store's display window. The sign indicates their final day of operation will be this coming Sunday, August 16, 2026. Customers are being directed to Windsor locations at Wheaton Plaza, Tysons Corner Center, and Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. Windsor arrived at Montgomery Mall in 2019. The brand was founded 89 years ago, and has more than 200 locations. I see no evidence it is closing stores elsewhere, so this location appears to be the latest victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy, and the anti-business policies of the County Council.

Volume Hair Salon opening in Bethesda

Volume Hair Salon will soon join the many hairstyling options in downtown Bethesda. The salon will be located at 7030 Wisconsin Avenue, next to Town Jewelers. Services offered will include haircuts and styling, shampoo and blowout, base bump/root shadow, toner & gloss, highlights, custom color, and balayage. Operating hours will be 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. According to a sign in the window, they are currently hiring staff.

Bethesda PopUp Bagels to feature exclusive Maryland flavor at Grand Opening

PopUp Bagels will celebrate its grand opening at 7607 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda this Friday, August 14, 2026, from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Part of the celebration will be a Bethesda-exclusive schmear inspired by Maryland: Chesapeake Spiced Cream Cheese. Presumably a twist on Old Bay seasoning, the spread will have no shellfish ingredients, for those with food allergy concerns. Lacking the Old Bay imprimatur won't hurt the flavor's chances, as - in my opinion - the seasoning on Utz Crab Chips is even better than Old Bay, so you never know.

Also available Friday will be sweet treats from Cookies by Drew and refreshing beverages from Natalie's Orchid Island Juice Co. and La Colombe Coffee. PopUp Bagels did not mention if their product collaboration with Natalie's, Tangerine Dream Butter, will also be available this Friday. 

Ay! Mama Taqueria opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Ay! Mama Taqueria has officially opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. You can check out the menu in the photos below. If you are shaken up by $20 burritos, you'll be relieved that Ay! Mama's burritos are $13-14. Look for Ay! Mama in the Dining Terrace food court, next to Chick-Fil-A.

Fashion Q opening August 14 at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Fashion Q's triumphant return to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda now has an opening date. The women's apparel boutique will begin soft opening hours starting this Friday, August 14, 2026. Wholesale purchasing is the Los Angeles-based chain's secret to lower prices. Look for Fashion Q this Friday on Level 1 of the mall, across from Build-A-Bear.

Bartaco adding mural to exterior at Pike & Rose

Bartaco is adding a mural to the exterior of its restaurant at 950 Rose Avenue at Pike & Rose on Rockville Pike. Artists have been out working on the addition over the weekend. The new public art piece prominently features the chain's dragonfly logo. Overall, the imagery and colors reflect the brand's "coastal vibe" aesthetic, inspired by Brazil, Uruguay, and Southern California. The mural stands out on a block that has very nice looking storefront designs, but not much in the way of public art.

Assault in parking garage in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault inside a parking garage in Bethesda early Thursday evening, August 6, 2026. The assault was reported inside the parking garage in the 5300 block of Zenith Overlook at the Westbard Square development at 6:42 PM. That garage became a hot spot for smash-and-grab thefts from vehicles last year, until property owner Regency Centers installed security cameras it said police would have access to. This is the fourth known assault at the development so far this year.

Ay! Mama Taqueria opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Ay! Mama Taqueria is heading to Bethesda. It will be located inside Westfield Montgomery Mall. The taqueria has leased a space in the Dining Terrace food court, right by Chick-fil-A. Ay! Mama started as a tenant inside the ill-fated Solaire Social food hall, which abruptly closed last fall, evicting all tenants. A true family business, Ay! Mama is best known for their rich birria recipe, as well as their fresh corn chips and breakfast menu.

Celebrity wall inside PopUp Bagels in Bethesda

PopUp Bagels has postponed its opening at 7607 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda once again, this time to August 14, 2026. But I have a sneak peek for you right now, of the celebrity photo wall inside. How many famous faces can you recognize? And which local celebrities might be added once it opens?

Trattoria Sorrento closes for annual summer break in Bethesda

Trattoria Sorrento at 4930 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda is temporarily closed for its annual late-summer vacation break. The Italian restaurant will reopen on Friday, August 14, 2026. Still family-owned after 35 years in business, Trattoria Sorrento is one of several small businesses in downtown Bethesda that schedule time off in the summer.

Taco Bamba "coming soon" to Bethesda

Taco Bamba has posted coming-soon signage at its future storefront at 4905 Fairmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. This was Casa Oaxaca until very recently. Taco Bamba will be doing extensive construction and design work on the interior, so it will not open until sometime in the fall. If you can't wait until then, Taco Bamba has a location "just up the Pike" at Congressional Plaza in Rockville.

Taiwan's MedVoyage Global chooses Virginia over Maryland for U.S. headquarters

Is Northern Virginia tired of winning yet? No! And fortunately for them, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials aren't tired of losing. Thus it is that the Taiwanese firm MedVoyage Global has chosen Virginia, not Maryland, for its U.S. headquarters. The MedVoyage HQ will be at 10300 Eaton Place, at the Mason Enterprise Center (MEC) in Fairfax City. MedVoyage is a leading firm in the future of healthcare, using a low-Earth-orbit satellite network to deliver telehealth and pharmacy services to remote areas in 40 countries, to ships at sea, and to over 80 bricks-and-mortar medical centers across the globe, as well as connecting these remote customers with emergency response units.

Now MedVoyage is expanding into the North American healthcare market, and has chosen Northern Virginia as its base to scale up system and sales operations, as well as to navigate federal regulatory red tape. "Over the next two years, the company plans to scale its local workforce with systems engineers, clinical compliance specialists, and commercial sales executives," the Fairfax City Economic Development corporation said in a statement this morning. FCED added that this latest victory "further strengthens Fairfax City’s role within Northern Virginia’s innovation economy."

"Selecting Fairfax City for our U.S. headquarters is a foundational step in our global scaling strategy," MedVoyage Global CEO Nemo Teng said in a statement. "MEC Fairfax offers the ideal soft-landing environment and unparalleled access to the Northern Virginia tech ecosystem, placing us minutes away from critical federal and defense stakeholders such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense. This facility allows us to rapidly build strategic U.S. partnerships, access premier regional engineering talent, and deploy our emergency and maritime telehealth solutions across North America."

Anyone familiar with local geography will realize that Montgomery County is also in close proximity to these same federal and defense stakeholders. So, why does Northern Virginia keep winning, and Montgomery County keep losing?

You can look at the most obvious difference, which is the low tax environment of Virginia versus Montgomery County, which weighs down its residents and businesses with the highest total tax and fee burden in the region. But let's again go a step further, and see how once again Northern Virginia's superior infrastructure triumphs over Montgomery County's incomplete master plan highway system and poor airport access.

MedVoyage Global's new U.S. HQ will sit right beside an on-ramp to Interstate 66, and directly adjacent to U.S. Route 50. That will give MedVoyage a straight shot to Dulles International Airport via Route 50, or even faster with tolls via I-66. In contrast, Montgomery County and Maryland elected officials continue to block construction of the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing of I-370 from Gaithersburg to Dulles. 

As much as Northern Virginia enjoys winning, so do corporations that need to make something called profits. Winning is contagious. And winners like to have direct access to the only airport in the region with the frequency and variety of flights to international destinations that international businesspeople require to compete - Dulles International Airport. Thanks to our anti-business, Marxist "leadership," Montgomery County continues to lack that strategic advantage - by choice!!

In another delicious coincidence, did you know that Montgomery County's unfinished master plan highway system would have also extended I-66 access into Bethesda? The unbuilt Northwest Freeway, which would have paralleled Wisconsin Avenue through Bethesda, Friendship Heights and Tenleytown, would have crossed the Potomac on the also-unbuilt Three Sisters Bridge and (surprise!) also-unbuilt I-266 near Georgetown University. And you wonder where Montgomery County got all that land for tiny parks and big parking garages between Wisconsin Avenue and the Town of Chevy Chase!

By learning to love losing.

Squatter discovered in downtown Bethesda home

A squatter was found inside a vacant home in downtown Bethesda yesterday afternoon, August 3, 2026. The squatter was discovered at 5:28 PM Monday inside a home in the 4800 block of West Lane. According to Montgomery County police, the suspect gained entry to the home through a window, and had been living inside for an unspecified period of time. Nothing was stolen from inside the home, police said, but they did not indicate if the suspect managed to get away.

Call Your Mother opens in Bethesda

Call Your Mother has opened at 4828 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda. This is the popular local deli chain's second Montgomery County outpost, with the first having opened several years ago at Pike & Rose in Rockville. It's actually their fourth in Maryland, where they also have locations in Annapolis and Riverdale Park. You can check out the menu below, which includes their most popular signature items, but also sleepers like the Chicago Dog on a pretzel bagel bun.

Montgomery County Council seeks to remove neighborhood veto power on "benefit performances"

The Montgomery County Council is proposing to strip residents of their existing veto power over "benefit performances" staged in their residential neighborhoods. Currently, entities and organizations - with a few exceptions, such as fire departments and religious institutions - who propose to hold a live music event, carnival, festival, or other performance to raise charitable funds must obtain consent from 75% of residents whose homes are within 600 feet of the performance site. Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 26-11: Temporary Uses - Benefit Performances would entirely eliminate this veto authority from neighbors. If passed, the ZTA would merely require that those residents be notified that they are going to be treated to a benefit performance, whether they like it or not. The performances could last as long as 15 days(!!).

I would venture to say that few Montgomery County residents are even aware that they currently possess this veto authority, much less that the Council is conniving to relieve them of it. The move continues a trend for the Council - when they're not banning stuff or raising taxes, they're systematically removing residents' ability to express objection or input on controversial matters they want to ram through, from development and road diets to bike lanes, bus depots, landfills and jails. A public hearing on the ZTA is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.

Demolition imminent at site of future apartment tower in Bethesda

Preparations are being made for the first demolition of structures at the site of a new apartment tower at the southeast corner of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Demolition fencing has been erected around vacant storefronts at 4938 and 4940 St. Elmo. Other properties on the assembled site that will also be demolished include the office building with Old Georgetown Grille and Colonial Opticians on the ground floor, and the former Bethesda Florist and Jewelry Exchange buildings. The apartment tower to be constructed by developer Stonebridge will be 175' tall, with 240 residential units, and 6000-square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.

Fashion Q returning to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Red alert! Fashion Q is making a triumphant return to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The Los Angeles-based fashion wholesaler closed almost exactly one year ago at the mall, after less than a year in business, a victim of the moribund Montgomery County economy. Now they're giving it another go, this time in the former Forever 21 space on Level 1, across from Build-A-Bear. 

Fashion Q traces its roots back to the 1980s. It chose its "Q" logo because a one-letter sign was cheaper than using the whole brand name. The cost savings extend to its merchandise, which is purchased wholesale here and abroad.