Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant "opening soon" in Bethesda

Preparations for opening continue at Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant at 4862 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. The restaurant's existing location has always touted its status as the first Ukrainian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Letters applied to the glass now make a similar claim for Maryland. Another sign in the window promises the restaurant is "opening soon." Operating hours have been posted for lunch, brunch, and dinner.

Washington Gas works overnight on Arlington Road in Bethesda

Washington Gas worked overnight on its utilities beneath Arlington Road in Bethesda. The work zone was in the vicinity of the Hampden Lane intersection, closing lanes on both streets. Two weeks ago, a major gas leak on Norfolk Avenue required a multi-day response from the utility.

Could a Netflix House be coming to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda?

Is Montgomery County ready for Netflix IRL? The leading streaming service announced the planned opening of two Netflix House "experiential entertainment venues" at malls in Dallas and King of Prussia, with potential plans for more in cities yet to be identified. Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda seems like a logical choice to join the list. Netflix Houses are described as being "over 100,000-square-feet" in size. Montgomery Mall's vacant former Sears store is 150,000-square-feet, is currently mothballed, and is generating zero revenue for Westfield beyond whatever tax break can be claimed for the vacancy.

Westfield holds an approval from Montgomery County for an urban-style, mixed-use expansion of the mall, including a demolition of the empty Sears building, but has not taken any visible steps to immediately proceed with that development. A Netflix House would be a good short-term use to generate revenue until Westfield is ready to move forward with the expansion.

"Imagine waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the Bridgerton set –– and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from Squid Game," Netflix said in its Netflix House announcement Tuesday. "After pretending to fight for your life, you’ve worked up an appetite and want to get a bite. You see a nearby restaurant with food inspired by Netflix shows from around the world; the meal is memorable, but you still want to buy some Stranger Things merch. Luckily, there’s a shop that sells that Hellfire Club T-shirt you’ve always wanted." 

There are other malls in the region, but Montgomery Mall has the ideal vacant building space that Netflix requires for a Netflix House immediately available. Its loss of Sears as an anchor would be its gain in this case. A Netflix House would generate significant additional foot traffic for other tenants of the mall.

On the other hand, the timeline for opening of the first two Netflix Houses suggests significant construction is required. The Galleria Dallas and King of Prussia Mall Netflix Houses are expected to open in 2025. By the time a Netflix House would open in 2026 or later, who knows if Netflix will still be the entertainment giant it is today? Two years is an eternity in Hollywood, and Westfield might want to proceed with its redevelopment of the Sears building and adjacent parking lot before, or by, that time.

Rendering courtesy Netflix
Photos by Robert Dyer

Westbard Square unveils EV charging spaces in Bethesda

Regency Centers has uncovered the electric vehicle charging stations on Level 1 of the parking garage at its new Westbard Square development at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The charging equipment is from EVgo, continuing that company's partnership with Regency Centers across many of their properties. These stations offer fast charging, and are located in the area of Montgomery County with the largest ownership of electric vehicles. 

“Regency Centers is happy to provide EVgo fast chargers as an amenity to our tenants and their customers,” said Mark Peternell, VP of Sustainability at Regency Centers VP of Sustainability Mark Peternell said in an EVgo announcement about the partnership in 2021. “Regency Centers believes in being a good steward and leader in sustainability, and helping accelerate EV adoption through this partnership is another way for us to put words into practice.”

Losing to Virginia on another factory, is Montgomery County in the hunt for IKEA manufacturing site?

Montgomery County and Maryland were beaten in the economic development game again by Virginia yesterday. Will they be players in the next big manufacturing competition, for an IKEA factory on American soil? Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office announced Tuesday that his state had won the competition for a 400,000-square-foot Condair Group AG manufacturing facility. The press release indicated that Virginia and South Carolina were the two finalists. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported this past weekend that IKEA is scouting for factory locations in the United States, due to increasing disruptions in international shipping lanes.

Virginia could already have a [LÖVBACKEN table] leg up in the IKEA race, as the Swedish furniture giant previously operated its only U.S. factory in Danville, Virginia from 2008 to 2019. It ultimately closed that plant, shipping its 300 jobs back to Europe. Montgomery County has plenty of room for an IKEA plant in the I-270 corridor, where there is also potential direct rail access to the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision for domestic or port shipping purposes. Of course, Baltimore, Hagerstown and Cumberland are among the struggling Maryland cities that could use an IKEA plant to help revive their once-mighty industrial areas.

There's no indication of Montgomery County or Maryland having been in the hunt for the Condair plant. The $57.2 million investment by Condair in Chesterfield County, Virginia will create 180 good-paying industrial jobs with full benefits. Instead of Condair products being exported out of the Port of Baltimore, they'll be headed out of Richmond Marine Terminal in Virginia, according to the press release.

"When an international brand like Condair makes the decision to locate in Virginia, the positive ripple-effects of economic investment, job creation and cargo growth are felt throughout the Commonwealth," Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards said in a statement. "The Port of Virginia will be among the beneficiaries of Condair’s location in Chesterfield County, which is not far from Richmond Marine Terminal. We are ready to collaborate with Condair to help it leverage the assets of this port — America’s most modern gateway — to ensure it has access to world markets." 

"Virginia is the perfect location for the international company Condair to establish its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility," Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. "We applaud the 21st century manufacturing jobs that this project will bring to Chesterfield County."

Bethesda Market Park development meeting focuses on park design

Developer EYA and Montgomery Parks held a community meeting last night on the planned Bethesda Market Park development, which will include a mixed-use residential building on the current retail site to the right of the Farm Women's Market on Wisconsin Avenue, an addition to the historic Farm Women's Market building and new "public realm" around it, an underground parking garage, a redesign of part of the existing Elm Street Park (into "Elm Street Park North"), a woonerf "shared street," and a conversion of Public Parking Lots 10 and 24 into new parks. Much of the focus of the presentation was on the design and amenities of the new parks.

654 residents answered a survey on which amenities or features they would like to see in the new parks. The top requests were:

•Stage/ Shade Structure •Open, Flexible Lawn Area •Terraced Seating •Planted Areas/ Canopy Trees •Interactive Water Feature •Loop Walking Paths • Variety of Seating Options Including Adult Swings •Dog Park •Placemaking/ Playful Climbable Art •All-Weather Game Tables

The parks will adhere to the principles of biophilic design, which "weaves patterns and forms of nature in the built environment to strengthen the human-nature connection." An interactive water feature will be included near the stage. Some elements will take on a colorful appearance after sunset via night lighting.

Next steps in the project include Montgomery County reaching a final development agreement with EYA. The Town of Chevy Chase will make a decision about potential additional funding for the park projects. Park designs and amenities may be update based upon feedback from last night's meeting. EYA will begin the process of obtaining financing for the development. And the Preliminary and Site Plans will be submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval.

No Regrets Pizza opens in White Flint

No Regrets Pizza Co. has opened at 5454 Nicholson Lane, Suite 180, in the ground floor of the Harwood Flats apartments in White Flint. In addition to handcrafted artisan pizzas in New York and Roman styles, the pizzeria turns into a dinner and cocktail bar destination. Early patrons appear to have no regrets, as No Regrets currently has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Google Reviews, and a 4.5 average on Yelp. Operating hours are 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM seven days a week.

Bong truck travels the streets in White Flint & Rockville (Photos)

Have you spotted the bong truck on the streets of White Flint (a.k.a. "North Bethesda") and Rockville? It's a mobile advertisement for Pure Virtue Glass, which has just relocated to 12005 Nebel Street, by Liberty Cannabis. It even lights up, if you spot it at night. Pure Virtue Glass sells premium glass blown products and smoke accessories.

Corner Slice building sold in Bethesda

The Corner Slice building at 7901 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda has been sold. Northern Virginia-based Trustar Bank has acquired the property for $1,075,000, according to Maryland real estate records. Trustar Bank has confirmed the purchase, and says it plans to open its first Bethesda branch in the building this fall. "We are very excited to continue expanding our presence in Montgomery County," Trustar Bank CEO Shaza Andersen said in a statement. "Opening an office in Bethesda is a significant milestone, and allows us to better serve our community and further strengthen our commitment to providing exceptional service and value."

Ann Taylor closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Ann Taylor has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. This store managed to survive the 2017 purge of Ann Taylor store closures, as well as the pandemic, so it's surprising to see it go now. Yet Ann Taylor stores in more-business-friendly and economically-vibrant Tysons, Pentagon City, Fair Oaks Mall, and Dulles Town Center remain open. 

It's tough to remain a going concern when the local economy is stagnant, and ever-increasing taxes and fees eat away at already-slim profit margins. Ann Taylor appears to be the latest victim. All the store workers now find themselves unemployed. Let's say it together: "Moribund Montgomery County."

Bethesda construction update - 4909 Auburn (Photos)

The 4909 Auburn apartment building is now a hulking presence above Auburn Avenue in downtown Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle neighborhood. The Greystar development appears to still be on-track for a mid-2024 delivery, via construction contractor Donohoe of Bethesda. You can get a good look at the pedestrian cut-through that lets you walk under the apartments from Imagination Stage to Battery Lane Urban Park, with the single-family homes of Rugby Avenue visible from Auburn. There are three ground-level retail spaces available for lease, if you are a businessperson who wants to get in on the literal ground floor at 4909 Auburn. Two of the retail spaces are vented.

Pedestrian pass-through