TAKE 5 BOUTIQUE GRAND OPENING EXCLUSIVE VIDEO!

Finally, as promised:

Exclusive video from the biggest Bethesda fashion event of 2012:  the grand opening of Take 5 Boutique on Fairmont Avenue!

TOY REWARDS FOR GOOD GRADES? YOUR WORK PAYS OFF AT SMART TOYS IN BETHESDA!

Here's something else I wish they had when I was in school!

Smart Toys at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda will give kids big discounts on toys for good report cards.  For example, if you bring in a report card with 5 As, you'll get 40% off!

The store has standard Toys R Us-style toys, but also many "smart" toys.  One of my favorites I saw was a kit that turns a soda can into a robot.  First of all, it only costs $15 bucks. But secondly, it teaches kids about recycling. And without low-down moneymaking schemes like the Montgomery County bag tax.  I still see bags along the roads, and the politicians have $2 million more play money to funnel to the people who get them elected.

Better to prove your sincerity by paying someone to use a reusable bag, or giving them a smart toy.
Anyway, I think Smart Toys has a great idea here, and it doesn't cost the taxpayers anything.

As Batman said, "Stick to your books! "

LAST HOSTESS CAKES IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Last night, I found possibly the last Hostess cakes in all of Bethesda, at the 7-Eleven on Fairmont Avenue.

Two kinds of cakes - orange cupcakes and Sno Balls - and two kinds of donuts were left.

As I reported yesterday, grocery stores were stripped of remaining Hostess products. Have you seen any Hostess snacks in Bethesda shops or convenience stores?

BAINBRIDGE BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Construction crews building the future Bainbridge Bethesda luxury apartment building are making progress after early delays.  As regular readers recall, when I broke that story, excavation had caused an adjacent building on Fairmont Avenue to become unstable.

With that issue no longer holding up work, the site's crane has been busy moving concrete from cement mixers on Fairmont down into the chasm.  The beginnings of the 17 story tower's foundation can be seen.

There's still a long way to go, and it will be quite amazing if the building is actually finished by next summer.

To Bainbridge's credit, their crane (whose tower can be seen in this picture) has red warning lights on it at night.  The crane over at the future site of That 70s Building (a.k.a. The Gallery at Bethesda) is unlit.

BETHESDA BURGLARS BUSTING IN - BETHESDA CRIME REPORT

One or more burglars are currently working neighborhoods in west Bethesda.  Three recent burglaries have been reported in the River Road corridor.

Here is a list of break-ins:

November 11:

4600 block of River Road.

November 14:

6400 block of Walhonding Road.

November 15

:

7200 block of Nevis Road.

HOSTESS PRODUCTS VANISH FROM BETHESDA SHELVES!

The demise of Hostess has sent Bethesda shoppers into a frenzy, snapping up the remaining supply of cakes, pies, and Wonder Bread from grocery shelves across town.

Hostess section at Bethesda Row
Giant Saturday night

Arlington Road Safeway

Hostess going out of business is unthinkable. A world without Twinkies and Wonder Bread?  Inconceivable. Is this a conspiracy masterminded by Michael Bloomberg?

Why wasn't Hostess too big to fail?

Ultimately, the end of Hostess was a major backfire and Pyrrhic victory for all involved.  I hope the union is satisfied; their 18,500 employees now have no jobs for Christmas.  Despicable.

As for the Food and Fun Police? They're surprising losers in this episode, too.  They said Hostess was failing, because Hostess Haters had convinced America to leave their cream-filled vices behind.  Instead, the mad run on Hostess documented in these photos proves Americans are still crazed about Ding Dongs.  The empty shelves prove the Fun Police have little public support, and should make a belated return to minding their own business.  Heckuva job, guys.

The Hostess name and brands are too beloved to stay gone for good. Fruit Pie the Magician and good old-fashioned Wonder Bread will be back on shelves before you know it.

Twinkie the Kid will ride again.

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS FOR YOUR HOME AT SEARS [PHOTOS]

Sears at Westfield Montgomery Mall has the best selection of Christmas decorations in Bethesda almost every year.  If you enter the mall through that department, you're sure to absorb the holiday spirit.  Here's a selection of some if the most interesting Christmas gear Sears has on display for 2012:

Hologram technology

What would Clark Griswold do?

Here are the top items: this Charlie Brown Christmas
outdoor inflatable display, and animated Rudolph,
complete with flashing red nose! I want these!

SWEET FARM SAUERKRAUT JOINS BETHESDA CENTRAL FARM MARKET

Do you like sauerkraut? I didn't, until I tried one that didn't come out of a tin can!

Yes, a fresh or bagged sauerkraut is a great side dish, and now you can get it from right here in Maryland.

Sweet Farm Sauerkraut made its Bethesda debut last Sunday, and will be back again this Sunday, 9 AM - 1PM at Bethesda ES.

Sweet Farm is in Woodsboro, in Frederick County. Their vegetable krauts are naturally fermented, and made with only organic vegetables, unrefined sea salt, and spices.

So until we finally get a German restaurant in Bethesda, at least you can get real sauerkraut at Bethesda Central Farm Market.

PEARL STREET POWER LINES TO BE BURIED FOR 4500 EAST-WEST HIGHWAY PROJECT

Montgomery County officials made quite a publicity stunt out of the groundbreaking for 4500 East-West Highway Thursday.  The current McDonald's site is the future home of a new office building, as I reported many months ago.

One reader, Diarmaid McGleenan, provided some helpful details about the project.  The power lines along Pearl Street will be buried prior to demolition and construction activities.  Also, Montgomery Avenue will be reduced to 1 lane during off-peak hours, but expand back to 3 during most rush hour periods.

A good heads up for drivers traveling through that area.

But I thought the politicians' theatrics were a bit much.  The relevant point is not so much that new, Class A office buildings are rare, as if development in itself solves an economic problem. Rather, it's that new, Class A office buildings are rare because the county has failed to attract the large employers who create the demand for such space.

And that is hardly cause to congratulate themselves. Bring the jobs, and the office space will follow.

LUKE'S LOBSTER INSPIRED BY 007 (PHOTO)

Check out this awesome, James Bond-inspired chalk art outside of Luke's Lobster on Bethesda Lane:

ROBBERY REPORTED ON WISCONSIN AVENUE - BETHESDA CRIME REPORT

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

A robbery was reported in the 7300 block of Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda Monday, November 12.  The Apex Building (Regal Bethesda 10) is on that block.  Bethesda continues to experience an increase in robberies in 2012.  There was another attempted mugging on Bethesda Avenue recently (I had reported that here a while back), in broad daylight, no less.  Fairly unusual, but a good reminder to stay alert even in areas considered safe.

BETHESDA RESTAURANTS OPEN FOR THANKSGIVING 2012

Spending Thanksgiving in Bethesda, but need to find a restaurant serving Thanksgiving dinner?  Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row to the rescue!

Whether your kitchen has malfunctioned, or you have to stay in town for work, or you're just all alone in the world, just about anybody can find themselves in need of a restaurant Thanksgiving dinner.  And it sure beats having to do all that cleaning up!

Here is a list of downtown Bethesda restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner.  There may be others offering dinner, but these are the ones that have made their intentions public so far:

Assagi - 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM.  3-course dinner, $44.  Whole turkeys also available to go.

Brasserie Monte Carlo - 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM.  Dinner, $29.95.

Morton's (inside Hyatt Bethesda) - 3:00-9:00 PM.  Steak dinner.

Rosa Mexicano (this in Chevy Chase, DC, but the menu sounds so good, I'm adding it to the list!) - Slow-roasted Yucatan Turkey, pumpkin creme brulee.

Ruth's Chris Steak House - 3-course dinner.  Turkey breast, sweet potato casserole.

At least 2 restaurants are opening as bars on Thanksgiving, providing an after-dinner getaway for those who can't stand their family members or need a meet-up spot for Black Thursday:

American Tap Room - 5:00-10:00 PM.

The Majestic (Wisconsin Avenue) - 4:00 PM - close.  Bar menu only.

If your restaurant is serving dinner on Thanksgiving, and it's not listed here, email me or tweet me @BethesdaRow so I can add it (if you're in Bethesda, obviously!).

VINO VOLO ADDS OUTDOOR SEATING, BETHESDA GRAND OPENING TONIGHT (PHOTOS)

Vino Volo will finally open at Bethesda Row with a grand opening reception tonight.

First, however, the wine bar has added outdoor patio seating out front.

The comfortable accomodations include outdoor space heaters.

Vino Volo is under more pressure with this belated opening, after not only canceling the original opening at the last minute, but also leaving many in the community feeling snubbed by its unusually-exclusive local marketing.

Perhaps appropriately for a business expanding out of the airport market, Vino Volo descended on Bethesda, apparently determining who they thought the important local media outlets were from 30,000 feet.

Although those few were invited in some form or another to the wine bar, strangely, no one has yet posted an actual review of the concept or - more importantly - the food.  The result has been that maybe 3 or 4 online voices are talking about Vino Volo, rather than the dozens of influential local/food bloggers who might have been.

The exclusive media streams then made it difficult for those planning to attend last week's grand opening to find out it had been abruptly postponed.  I myself was informed just prior to the start time of the opening.  Not to mention that I've never heard of a well-publicized grand opening being canceled.

Then there are the passersby who have been asking me just what has been going on behind those papered-over windows the last two weeks.  Honestly, I don't know myself.  It appears there have been dozens of exclusive, private events of some kind.  Almost as if an entire nearby city was invited to dine, while residents of our fair city were shut out.  Occasionally, an attendee tweets from one of these events.  But I haven't been able to figure out just who these attendees are, and why they were invited.  What I do know is that a lot of potential customers have approached the storefront hopefully, and found yet another private event going on.

So it's definitely been an unusual opening strategy.  Which is a shame, because I thought the menu sounded great.  And Vino Volo is a perfect fit for Bethesda Row.  This is the Federal Realty property where the company has really matched the tenants with the demographics of the area.

I think The Parva, Vapiano and Boloco have shown how to do a grand opening:  getting actual community members and influential online entities into their restaurants, letting them sample the menu, and then posting their reactions en masse on their Twitter and Facebook accounts and/or blogs.  That's how you engage the locality you are going to rely upon for the bulk of your customer base.  You really can't afford, in the social media age, to ignore social media and the free advertising it provides.

CHAPTER TWO BOUTIQUE LIGHTED SIGN INSTALLED (PHOTOS)

Rita G.'s Chapter Two Boutique took a step closer to opening with the installation of its permanent, lighted sign Thursday.

For some reason, the sign lettering
doesn't show up on camera, but
trust me, it's up there!

The new consignment shop on Cordell Avenue also has its hours posted, but the website has not been activated yet, defaulting to a GoDaddy page.

NEW SUSHI BUFFET IN BETHESDA - LUNCH AND DINNER

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

I like this new retro sign

Bethesda's newest sushi bar at Berry Yogurt on Norfolk Avenue has added a buffet for lunch and dinner.  Prices are $8.49 and $11.95, respectively.

BP GAS STATION ON OLD GEORGETOWN ROAD CLOSES SUDDENLY (PHOTOS)

BETHESDA'S DWINDLING

GAS OPTIONS POSE

POTENTIAL DANGER IN

FUTURE WEATHER EVENTS

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The BP gas station at 7725 Old Georgetown Road at Fairmont Avenue was closed last evening.  The cause and duration of the closure are both unknown.  No one was present to ask questions of.

Note that prices have been
removed from the sign

This is a reminder that we are now down to - by my count - 5 gas stations in downtown Bethesda.  At least one of those will close, at the corner of Battery Lane and Wisconsin Avenue, for construction of a future office building.  4 gas stations may sound like a lot.  But keep in mind the events of the last 4 months.  After the derecho storm in July, and in the pre-Sandy hurricane panic, gas ran out at many Bethesda stations.

And after Sandy hit New York and New Jersey, there were gas shortages on a large scale, leading to rationing.  So the loss of service stations is not a matter to take lightly in future downtown planning decisions.

WOODMONT AVENUE POTHOLE FILLED (PHOTO)

A pothole on Woodmont Avenue that had jolted Bethesda drivers in recent days has been vanquished.  Only an hour after I reported it to Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center Director Ken Hartman, a Montgomery County Department of Transportation crew was on scene.

In short order, the hole was filled.  This is the second time in two years I have reported a pothole to Ken, and it has been immediately been addressed.  It's the little things that count, and that's how the BCCRSC staff and Bethesda Urban Partnership keep downtown Bethesda in such good shape.

Be prepared for potholes and water main breaks in the days ahead, as we continue to experience the kind of temperature swings that cause those two problems.

SEARS BLACK THURSDAY AND BLACK FRIDAY IN BETHESDA 2012

Sears at Bethesda's Westfield Montgomery Mall is one of those stores opening on what's starting to be called Black Thursday.  Sears spokesman Brian Hanover spent much of Monday telling reporter after reporter that Sears customers will "drop their drumsticks and pick up doorbusters" this Thanksgiving night.

Is this new trend intruding on the most American of holidays, or is it the epitome of American free enterprise at work?  You decide!  Although I feel bad for the workers who have to miss Thanksgiving dinner, I have to admit that Black Thursday and Friday are pretty exciting.

But in Bethesda, the first Black Friday rule is to admit that, well, the most exciting Black Thursday/Friday action is taking place well north of our town.  Walmart at Milestone is probably ground zero, and the place to be to experience a real Black Thursday or Friday.  Last year, the parking lot was filled to the brim.  You had to drive around and around and around.

Target, Best Buy, Kmart... you know the drill.

All are out of our reach because the county has banned big box stores in Bethesda.  Even when Hechingers tried to open a sizable location at what is now the Kenwood Station shopping center years ago, the "powers that be" went ballistic.

So there, we've acknowledged that we don't have the best of Black Thursday in Bethesda.  But having said that, Sears will have a few deals that night right here at Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Opening at 8 PM on Thanksgiving, the Bethesda Sears will be offering a 32" HDTV for $97.  A ProScan DVD player for $9.99 (yes, that decimal point is in the right place).  2 carat diamond jewelry for $99.  And a 27 cubic foot Kenmore refrigerator for $1299.99.

Then, get some sleep, and come back at 4:00 AM.  They'll have a Craftsman 18 volt drill for 29.99, and a Kenmore Elite washer or steam dryer for $649.99 each.

Where are the iPads, and the killer flatscreens, and all that other stuff worth jumping up from the Thanksgiving dinner table for?

That's why I had to let you down easy.  You'll find plenty of deals and fun at Westfield Montgomery for Black Thursday and Friday.  They have different things and giveaways around the clock, if it's like last year.  But those super-duper, colossal doorbusters worth busting the doors for?  Plot a course for points north.  And rest assured, the wise politicians have put your best interests first by banning big boxes in Bethesda.  There are no politics involved in that decision whatsoever.

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge doorbuster to sell you.

NASTY WOODMONT AVENUE POTHOLE BEDEVILS BETHESDA DRIVERS (PHOTO)

As I tweeted last evening, there is a rather nasty pothole on Woodmont Avenue at Edgemoor, in the second lane from the right as you drive southbound towards Bethesda Row.  (Reason #678 why you should follow me on Twitter @BethesdaRow).

This is typical, given the extreme temperature shifts we've experienced recently, and hopefully it will be filled in by the time you read this.

But in case it hasn't been, I wanted to give you a heads up.

CHOPT BETHESDA GRAND OPENING - CHOPT MENU - SNEAK PREVIEW!

Chopt opens today in Bethesda in the Wildwood Shopping Center, at 10307 Old Georgetown Road.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTO!

Today only, from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM, you can get any Chopt salad or sandwich FREE with a $2 donation to Montgomery County's Manna Food Center.

To help decide what you're going to order, here's the full Chopt menu, which I got a copy of yesterday [click to enlarge/zoom]: