Giant logo blacked out on original Westwood Shopping Center sign in Bethesda (Photos)

The Giant logo on the old Westwood Shopping Center entrance sign has been blacked out on Westbard Avenue. Giant has relocated into the new retail building directly adjacent to the old Giant store. Vehicular access to the new grocery store is now made from the garage entrance further up the block across from the Citgo gas station.

Perhaps Regency Centers is trying to avoid confusion for drivers, as access to the soon-to-be-demolished strip mall has been fenced off. However, I think they would be smart to keep and modify this tall sign. Such a sign could not be erected today, but this one is grandfathered in as already-standing, making it quite valuable. Spiffed up, it could advertise the new Westbard Square development, Giant, or anything else Regency Centers wanted to post on it.

Montgomery College student and employee test positive for coronavirus; YMCA offering free kids' meals, produce

College to restrict access to

campus buildings starting today

UPDATE - March 25, 2020: YMCA says it has had to suspend plans to distribute meals due to supply shortages.

Montgomery College announced Monday that one of its students, and one of its employees, have tested positive for the covid-19 coronavirus. The student hadn't been on-campus since March 11, 2020, and did not begin experiencing symptoms until March 16. But the employee did begin to feel sick the last day they worked on-campus, college officials said, which was March 13.

The college and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services are cooperating to determine and identify who may have been exposed to either patient. Those individuals should be informed by the end of today.

A memo about the coronavirus cases by the head of public safety for the college did not identify which of the three campuses - Rockville, Germantown or Takoma Park - the student and employee were on. 

The cases came to light on the very day that the college transitioned most coursework to online classes. College officials said they had hoped to allow some campus facilities to remain in operation, but have now announced that starting today, March 24, access to all buildings on all campuses will be restricted even to employees. Only employees who have a critical need to take or return equipment or resources necessary to complete online course instruction will be allowed to enter any college facility. They will have to keep social distance of six feet while inside the building, and must exit the building in 30 minutes.

METROBUS IS NOW FREE

Gov. Larry Hogan has admonished residents that they should not be boarding transit unless they work at an essential business like a grocery store or pharmacy, or are a frontline healthcare worker. But if  you do qualify to ride, your Metrobus trip is now free by default. Starting today, passengers must board using the rear doors of the bus, unless they require the ADA features at the front doors. Passengers will not be required to pay fare on buses until further notice.

FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS

VILLAGE SHUTTLE TO

ADD WESTBARD GIANT

TRIPS

The Village of Friendship Heights shuttle bus has been making trips to the Westwood Shopping Center Giant on Westbard Avenue on Saturdays since the Chevy Chase Giant store closed. Given the grocery shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the shuttle is adding a second day of Giant trips to Westbard. The shuttle will travel to the Westwood Giant on Wednesdays between 10 AM and 9 PM.

MoCo YMCAs OFFERING

FREE BOXED MEALS FOR KIDS,

FREE PRODUCE FOR EVERYONE

Several YMCA locations in Montgomery County will be offering boxes that contain 3-days' worth of breakfasts and lunches to anyone 18 or younger twice a week. They do not need to have any affiliation with YMCA to receive the free meals.

In cooperation with Keany Produce, these YMCAs are also offering free fresh produce to anyone who wants it, while supplies last. All you need to bring is a bag to put the meals and/or produce in. Here is a list of the YMCA locations offering the meals and produce in Montgomery County, and the days and times they will be available:

Save Westbard launches Sept. 3-9 boycott effort against Westbard Giant, Regency Centers development

Save Westbard, the citizen organization that has led the fight against overdevelopment in the Westbard sector, now plans to apply financial pressure to change developer Regency Centers' plans for redeveloping the Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda. The group has just announced a September 3-9 "Boycott Giant Week," asking Giant patrons to not shop at the busy Westbard Avenue grocery store, which is the chain's most-profitable location.

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An online petition asks those who sign to pledge they won't shop at the Westbard Giant that week, and to not patronize the future Regency Centers Westbard development. Save Westbard says the developer and Giant have ignored concerns about the density of the project, and inadequate parking in the project's site plan. "Now, we are going to talk and walk with our wallets," the petition description reads.

Ira Kress, Senior VP of Operations at Giant, has communicated to Save Westbard that the grocery chain will insist that Regency Centers provide "adequate, accessible, free parking to accommodate our customers, and that parking for our customers will NOT be limited by parking needs for other retail or residential use, which would therefore include ensuring that all residential/retail parking is also adequate."

Power outage impacts Westbard Giant in Bethesda (Video & Photos)

A power outage in the Westbard area after 8:00 PM last night affected the Giant store in the Westwood Shopping Center. Signs outside and some lighting fixtures flickered, and the store's alarm system beeped, as employees placed plastic covers over refrigerated dairy and produce products. Contents of the meat cases were removed, apparently moved into the back of the store.

Pepco currently still shows an outage on Westbard Avenue on its outage map, and claims it will be fixed by 10:00 AM - an extraordinarily long response time, given that there aren't any other outages at the moment. The store was still open despite the outage, and self-checkout machines were operational.

Giant to anchor new Westwood Shopping Center in Westbard redevelopment

Developer Equity One has announced it has reached an agreement with Giant to have the grocer anchor its redeveloped Westwood Shopping Center. The center on Westbard Avenue has been anchored by a Giant grocery store since 1959. Expected to be in the 60000 SF range, the new Giant store will for the first time have a full-service pharmacy, great news in case Rite Aid does not return in the new center.

Other additions to the new store will include a larger organic produce selection in a "market-style" produce department, a greater range of natural and organic foods, an expanded selection of ethnic and international foods, a large deli serving hot food, and 200 gourmet cheeses displayed on a "cheese island." In the bakery, Giant will add a muffin cart, bagel bin and bread bar.

Separately from the official Equity One announcement, a source told me that in its negotiations to return, Giant sought to avoid any closure of the current Westwood store prior to the new store being ready for occupancy. Whether they got that assurance is only known to Ahold and Equity One as of this writing.

Based on previous renderings, the new grocery store structure will be on the empty portion of the parking lot over near Westland Middle School. We'll have to wait for official word from Equity One on the staging schedule, however.

I think this particular announcement is a win for Equity One and the community. The current store is the best Giant in Bethesda. Only Wegmans would have been a step up; certain other chains could have been a step down. The new urban Wegmans design requires about 10000 more SF than Equity One had set aside for the grocery store footprint. And this being the most profitable Giant store in their chain, it's not surprising that Ahold would be interested in staying on in the new development.

The existing Giant lease expires in 2019; Equity One says the new agreement amends that 1959 lease.

Hooper's Crab Wagon brings live, steamed crabs to Bethesda today

It's hard to have a real Maryland summer without Maryland blue crabs. Don't miss the Hooper's Crab Wagon from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM today (Sunday, August 23, 2015) at Giant at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The Crab Wagon is coming from Hooper's Crab House in West Ocean City, MD.

Crabs will be live and steamed on-site. You can buy them by the dozen, half-bushel or full bushel.

Giant is located in the Westwood Shopping Center.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CHECKOUT PROCESS AT GIANT IN BETHESDA? (PHOTOS)

Giant shoppers in Bethesda likely have opinions about their experience at the checkout counter, or self-checkout aisles. Now the grocery chain wants you to share your level of satisfaction with the speed of checkout, via a new feedback machine that has been set up at their Bethesda Row and Westwood Shopping Center stores. The response options are limited to four reactions, that probably mimic customer facial expressions after their respective experiences.

Feedback device at
Bethesda Row Giant

HOOPER'S STEAMED CRABS COMING TO WESTBARD GIANT IN BETHESDA ON SEPT. 20

Summer may seem to have ended, and beach travelers have returned home from Labor Day weekend in Ocean City. But now Giant is bringing the crabs to you here in Bethesda. The grocery chain has invited Hooper's Crab House in Ocean City to bring its "crab wagon" to town, and its only Bethesda stop will be at the Westbard Giant, at 5400 Westbard Avenue, in the Westwood Shopping Center, on September 20.

Ironically, that is the same day as the shopping center's Food Truck Rally event. The crabs will be steamed on site for you to take home by the dozen, or in a half or full bushel.

UPDATE: WESTBARD GIANT READY TO BRING GROCERY PICK-UP SERVICE TO BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Over the weekend, I reported on the early signs that Giant would expand its Pick-up grocery service to its Westbard store in the Westwood Shopping Center. At that point, the large storage boxes were in place, but nothing else. Now reserved parking spaces have been set aside, and signage is in place to advertise the new service.

This will be the first offering of the Pick-up service in Bethesda. But only the Westbard Giant is participating so far; the Bethesda Row and Georgetown Square stores are not listed, as of yet, on the Pick-up website menu. No official media announcement of the expansion has been made, as of press time, despite the physical and cyberspace evidence it is happening.

Several parking spaces have
now been designated for
Pick-up customers directly
in front of the Westbard store

The large purple boxes behind
the pillar are where your
groceries will be stored and
refrigerated for pickup at
the time you designate

WESTBARD GIANT ADDING PICK UP SERVICE IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Massive boxes with sliding doors appeared this week outside the Giant in the Westwood Shopping Center, on Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. It appears that the grocery chain is expanding its Pick-up service regionally. 

Giant has made no official public announcement of the expansion yet; its last press release regarding Pick-up locations was in August 2013.

You may remember that last year, a few Pick-up Points were designated in the county, including one at Chevy Chase Lake that isn't a store, but a unique Giant gas station. After months of posting a banner outside Westbard that strangely suggested your nearest Pick-up Point was at Chevy Chase Lake, "a few miles up the road" (Chevy Chase Lake isn't "up the road" from Westbard Avenue), Giant is now making the service a lot more convenient for west Bethesda residents.

After seeing the boxes Thursday night, I checked the Giant website, and found an expanded list of Pick-up Points that includes the Westbard Giant. However, neither Bethesda Row nor Georgetown Square are currently on the list (I'd bet on them being added in the near future, though). So while there's no press release yet, the Westbard store is available to be selected now.

Here's how the Pick-up service works: 

You go to the Giant website, and select "Pick-up: Get Started." This takes you to Giant's Peapod online shopping website.  Or, download the Peapod app, and you can shop on your smartphone.

Designate your Pick-up Point (in this case, Westbard), and then fill up your cart. Then, select the time of day you want to pick up your groceries. Arrive at the Westbard Giant, and a Giant employee will have your groceries in a refrigerated container (which I'm guessing will be inside these massive boxes out in front of the store), and they will be loaded into your car for you in 5 minutes or less. Then you're off.

There's no fee, no minimum order, or extra charge. Plus, you still get your bonus and gas points.

The only thing that wasn't clear at Westbard: where do you pull up? A Giant video shows designated Pick-up parking spaces, which were not evident Thursday night. I'll check back in the next few days to update you.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 2019 AT WESTBARD GIANT FALL FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND IN BETHESDA

FREE FOOD

AND

PRIZES

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Only about 48 hours ago did we hear that Equity One had purchased the Westwood Complex on Westbard Avenue in Bethesda.  The crown jewel of that property is the Westwood Shopping Center, home to the Westbard Giant since 1959.

The transaction process revealed that the Giant's lease expires in 2019 (they renegotiated the old one that expired in 2058).  At that time, Giant may be gone forever, and the shopping center may be torn down.

But for now...

The Giant continues to celebrate its recent Grand Reopening, and is holding a Fall Festival inside the store this weekend.

So get ready to party like it's 2019 Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 PM.

Enjoy FREE apples, apple pie, kettle corn and pumpkin muffins!

Make your own caramel apple!

Spin the Prize Wheel!

Crafts and games!

With 7 years left, let's make the most of it while we can.

Giant, 5400 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda.