Bethesda Row Giant posts message on egg prices, availability

The Bethesda Row Giant at 7142 Arlington Road has posted a message regarding the impact of avian influenza, a.k.a. bird flu, on the shelves of the egg section at the store. This message states, "You may notice a variance in price and availability of eggs at this time due to recent Avian Influenza outbreaks." Elevated prices were certainly evident across the shelves. However, there was no shortage of eggs at the time of my visit - there were plenty of eggs available to purchase.

Dunkin' Donuts opening soon at Chevy Chase Lake (Photos)

It's (almost) time to make the donuts. The new Dunkin' Donuts store inside the Giant gas station at 8500 Connecticut Avenue at Chevy Chase Lake looks like it is on the verge of opening. All the equipment, signage, and electronic menu screens are in place. The exterior sign that was installed last month is now hooked up and lit at night. Stay tuned for an opening date!

Purse snatched at Westbard Giant in Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to the Giant store at 5320 Zenith Overlook in Bethesda Friday afternoon, September 13, 2024. A purse was snatched at the supermarket at the Westbard Square development around 3:53 PM. According to police, no force was used by the thief in grabbing the purse.

Strong-arm robbery at Bethesda Row Giant

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery at the Giant grocery store at 7142 Arlington Road at Bethesda Row late Tuesday morning, June 25, 2024. The robbery was reported at the store at 11:45 AM. At least one individual was also accused of 2nd-degree assault and theft in the same incident.

Westbard Giant locks up Dove products

The full line of Dove beauty and skincare products has been put under lock and key at the new Giant grocery store at 5320 Zenith Overlook at Westbard Square in Bethesda. Similar products from other brands remain on open shelves right next to them. I think this is the first time this type of product has been locked up at the Westbard Giant. 

Perhaps this the beginning of the installation of more barriers around more products, and this is how far they got yesterday. It starts like this, and ends like the San Francisco Target store. Another jarring reminder that there's nothing of substance in the Montgomery County Council's FY-2025 budget to address rampant crime. Montgomery County won't enforce the law, and retailers are forced to take it out on customers as a result.

Product lockdowns and armed guards in stores are like Neighborhood Watch signs - super tacky, and simply advertising that you are in a bad neighborhood. When I walk into a grocery store and there's an armed guard inside the door, my first thoughts are, "Am I safe? Have I gone into a dangerous part of town?" Not what you expect in 20816. We're devolving backwards at an ever-increasing rate.

Ledo Pizza Corner Shoppe expected to reopen at Westbard, Potomac Giant stores today

The new Ledo Pizza Corner Shoppe inside the Westbard Giant grocery store at 5320 Zenith Overlook in Bethesda shut down only a couple of weeks after it opened. Last Friday night, the Take-and-Bake Ledo pizzas were gone, and other non-Ledo merchandise was placed on the shelves. The Corner Shoppe page, which listed all of the participating Giant locations and menus, disappeared from the Ledo website a few days later. What happened?

Last Friday night

A spokesperson for Ledo Pizza said that the company began the Corner Shoppe program without realizing that additional paperwork had to be filed with the State of Maryland. Those documents have now been submitted. According to the spokesperson, the Westbard Giant and Potomac Promenade Giant Ledo Pizza Corner Shoppe locations are anticipated to reopen and begin serving pizzas again today, February 21, 2024.

Non-Ledo Pizza merchandise filling the shelves
last Friday night

Corner Shoppe page on Ledo Pizza website

New Westbard Square Giant tour, and the final moments of the original Westbard Giant store (Photos)

The venerable Giant grocery store at the Westwood Shopping Center closed January 25, 2024, and moved next door to its new Westbard Square location on the third floor at 5320 Zenith Overlook, opening there the next morning. Inside the new store are several new amenities for shoppers, including a pharmacy, a sushi bar, a Ledo Pizza counter, a Ben's Chili Bowl kiosk, and a Starbucks. There's also a special section of locally-produced products. Here is a photo tour of the new supermarket, as well as a look at the final moments of the original store from the evening of January 25:

Final customers on the night of
January 25, 2024

January 25

Giant trucks lined up the night of
the big move

Mobile clinic

Regency Centers would be smart to
keep and just update this sign, which
couldn't be erected under the
current sign regulations

These shelves have now been ripped out

Last look at the old store

Mummified Giant logo

Now, let's go next door to the new
Giant at Westbard Square, where
the police are already looking out for
retail thieves

You can enter the store directly from the 
3rd level of the parking garage

Signage is rather understated and small
outside the store on the 3rd level

Sushi bar

Ledo Pizza kiosk

Less square footage than the old store, but
a more-spacious produce section

Ben's Chili Bowl kiosk

Starbucks

Sodas - don't tell the County Council!

"Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup"

Mega Meats: definitely not 
County Council-approved!

Banquet dinners

Hungry-Man dinners

Snack cakes

Local products

Pharmacy

Meet the pharmacy staff

It's three, three seasons in one!

"I need me gold!"

Rooftop parking

Tiny signage - is it due to
anti-business
County sign regulations?

Demolition permit requested for old Westbard Giant in Bethesda

Demolition permit request notices have been posted at the former Giant grocery store at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The supermarket has relocated to the new Westbard Square development directly next to it at 5320 Zenith Overlook. A town square and new apartment building with ground floor retail and restaurant space will be constructed where the Giant and rest of the strip mall stand today. The former bank and Drug Fair spaces next to Giant were previously demolished to make way for the new Giant building.