Bethesda's only 24-hour pharmacy counter will cease round-the-clock hours Sunday

The pharmacy inside the Arlington Road CVS in downtown Bethesda will no longer be open 24 hours as of this Sunday, December 6. The store itself will continue to be open 24 hours; just the pharmacy counter will close overnight. A store employee said this morning that the new hours for the pharmacy department will be 8:00 AM-9:00 PM on weeknights, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM on Saturdays and 10:00 AM-6:00 PM on Sundays.

This will be the end of an era, as the pharmacy there has been relied on around-the-clock by patients and their doctors for as long as I can remember. The closest CVS stores with 24-hour pharmacies will likely be Cabin John and Dupont Circle after Sunday. A second 24-hour CVS is located at Wisconsin and Cheltenham Drive in downtown Bethesda, but its pharmacy closes at 10:00 PM on weeknights, and 6:00 PM on weekends.

Count this as yet another blow to the "nighttime economy" of downtown Bethesda, after the failure of Councilmember Hans Riemer's Nighttime Economy initiative. Since Riemer took office in 2010, six downtown nightspots have shuttered, one of Bethesda's two 24-hour restaurants went out of business, and Barnes and Noble - a popular nighttime hangout - adopted an hour-earlier closing time.

CAMPFIRE MARSHMALLOWS AT CVS IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Last night at CVS on Arlington Road, I found an American classic: Campfire marshmallows.

They are in the candy aisle, and come in two sizes: a pocket-sized bag of mini marshmallows, and an impressive larger bag of nearly fist-size marshmallows.

Vintage mascot Campy, a joyous soul who personifies the American tradition and memories of roasting marshmallows over a roaring fire, has been relegated to the back of the bag. Boo!

Taking his place on the front of the package is a marshmallow man wearing a backpack.

Campy is an American icon. Put him back on the front of the bag!

RITZ CAMERA FINDS NEW HOME IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Ritz Camera, currently at Bethesda Row, will be moving a few blocks away to a new space by the Arlington Road CVS.

The store's new home will be at 6917 Arlington Road.

OBAMA SOCKS ON SALE AT BETHESDA CVS (PHOTOS)

Here's a new one: Obama socks.  Yes, these are out just in time for the inauguration at the Arlington Road CVS in Bethesda. As you can see from the pictures below, I'm not making this up.

The socks come emblazoned with the now-immortal Obama campaign logo, or a peace sign within the "O."  They're sure to inspire envy, or bad jokes, depending who you run into. "A change of socks we can believe in?"

But on a serious note, if you're attending the inauguration, and you're not a VIP bigshot, a pair of thick socks like this will probably come in handy. It will be a day of extensive walking for the average citizen taking Metro downtown. And, frankly, the regular Obama logo version is downright sporty.

You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps, if you don't have any boots. But Obama fans can proudly pull up these collectible socks at CVS. While they last!

LAST HOSTESS CAKES AT BETHESDA CVS

Part of my Black Thursday/Black Friday shopping was to buy these Hostess cakes and donuts I found at the CVS on Arlington Road.

You can be sure Twinkies will return to shelves one day, but some of the other Hostess classics may not have the same appeal to whatever company buys the brand's rights.

Will they bring back these "Bakery Classics" Hostess Mini Donettes (Crumb) and "Snack Classics" Zingers (Vanilla)?  I sure hope so. But I'm not taking any chances.  I'll be enjoying these, some of the final cakes to roll off the Hostess assembly line. True American classics.

HURRICANE SANDY PANIC IN BETHESDA, MARYLAND LEADS TO BARE SHELVES, BOTTLED WATER AND BATTERY SHORTAGES AT SOME GROCERY STORES (PHOTOS)

PANICKED SHOPPERS

STRIP GROCERY SHELVES

BARE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The bottled water aisle at
the Bethesda Row Giant
Friday evening

The frightening weather predictions of Hurricane Sandy are causing mild panic in downtown Bethesda.  Friday night, the Bethesda Row Giant's water aisle was stripped bare, and C and D batteries were also sold out.

It does a body good.
Empty milk shelves
at the Arlington Rd. Safeway

Safeway on Arlington Road had some water left, but no more lowfat or 2% milk.  The other Safeway - on Old Georgetown Road - was well-stocked in every department.  CVS on Arlington Road had plenty of bottled water and batteries.

C and D batteries are the
most in demand

All of this panic buying was taking place a full 3 days before Sandy is expected to hit our area, on Monday.

Two important things to do ahead of the storm, in preparation for extensive power outages, are to fill your gas tank, and withdraw the amount of cash you think you'll need to squeak by for the week.

Both gas pumps (as we already found a few months ago!) and ATMs can be forced to close without power.

Stay tuned here and at

 @BethesdaRow on Twitter

for all the latest

  Sandy information

WARNING: SIDEWALK CLOSURES BY CVS ON WISCONSIN AVENUE - BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Sidewalks around the Bethesda CVS are closed, as they are being upgraded to ADA standards.  This is the CVS at Wisconsin Avenue and Cheltenham Drive, across from 7-Eleven and Fairmont Plaza.

View from Cheltenham Dr. alongside CVS property; that's
Starbucks on Norfolk and Woodmont Aves. in the distance

In front of CVS facing north on Wisconsin Ave.; there is
no easy pedestrian approach to CVS at this time

Please be advised, the area is tricky to navigate for senior citizens and the physically-challenged.  Approach by car into the lot, or consider using one of the many other CVS locations downtown.  The most convenient for those with mobility issues would be at Arlington Road and Bradley Boulevard.

Can't get there from here:
Cheltenham, facing Wisconsin Ave., and the
Landow and Fairmont Plaza buildings

Facing south on Wisconsin

Of course, if you just need prescriptions, the CVS does have a drive-thru at the affected location.

This open section could encourage jaywalking
across Wisconsin

This situation is something drivers should be aware of as well, as more pedestrians may jaywalk across Wisconsin to reach the CVS.

MYSTERY BETHESDA SIDEWALK REPAIRS REVEALED!

It turns out that all of the destruction and repairs to the sidewalks at Fairmont and Wisconsin Avenues is just to install one of those ADA squares with the little bumps, as has been done elsewhere in downtown Bethesda.

As you can see, much progress had been made by the time this photo was taken, but it's still a mess.  I never realized so much of the sidewalk had to be torn up to install those.  It's like taking an axe to your front door when you want to install a new doorknocker.

By the way, that's the Minute Clinic at CVS across Wisconsin Avenue.  If you are new in downtown Bethesda, and are uninsured or underinsured, note the location.  It will be your new best friend the next time you are sick.