Addie's taking shape at Park Potomac (Photos)

A beloved Montgomery County restaurant is about to make a return at Park Potomac. The bare bones of Addie's, which restaurateur Jeff Black once operated at 11120 Rockville Pike near White Flint Mall, are starting to take shape in the more modern Foulger-Pratt development off I-270.

You can see there will be a substantial outdoor patio dining area, as well as a raw bar, and the fan favorite mussels on the menu. Addie's is named after Black's grandmother.

MoCo issues violation to Bainbridge Wisconsin property in Bethesda (Photos)

The Bainbridge Wisconsin property, formerly home to a gas station at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Hampden Lane, has received a code violation notice from Montgomery County. A County inspector cites concrete debris, dirt, and old street lights as solid waste that needs to be cleaned up. The form also exhorts the landowner to mow the grass, and something else, but the handwriting is illegible on that line. Many downtown residents have complained about the state of the property, which has been in stasis as Bainbridge awaited passage of the new zoning that would allow greater density on this site.

Car stolen from Leland St., disorder at Bethesda Row, pot bust in Georgetown Village + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on July 3, according to crime data:

Disorderly conduct. 7100 block Bethesda Lane at 10:00 PM.

Stolen car. 3400 block Leland Street.

Theft (over $200). 4900 block Glen Cove Parkway (Glen Cove)

Possession marijuana/hashish. 11400 block Commonwealth Drive (Georgetown Village).

Shoplifting. 7100 block Democracy Boulevard.

Missing person. 5700 block Grosvenor Lane.

Theft (over $200). 11000 block Marcliff Road.

Friends with Style relocates to Saah Building in Bethesda

Friends with Style is moving up in the world. The consignment boutique has moved from its former home at 4715 Cordell Avenue (a.k.a. the Montgomery County Council's "Apartment Building for Homeless People") to the newly-renovated Saah Building. Their new address will be 7813 Old Georgetown Road.

Nighttime noise waiver requested for Apex Building demolition in Bethesda

Carr Properties has requested a nighttime noise waiver from Montgomery County, for the demoltion of the Apex Building at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The demolition team will be using high-reach hydraulic pulverizers and shears between 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM on weeknights, and 9:00 PM and 9:00 AM on weekends.

Work will be done at night due to heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic along Wisconsin Avenue. Lane closures may include the center and right southbound lanes of Wisconsin (MD 355). Demolition is now scheduled to begin in late July. A premature closure of the sidewalk and right lane created a dangerous situation for pedestrians, and the public space was recently reopened again.

Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on July 2, according to crime data:

Shoplifting. 12000 block Rockville Pike.

Mayflower Chinese Food in Bethesda updates hours

Mayflower Chinese Food will now be closed every Monday. The restaurant's owners said the change is simply due to their wish to spend more time with family and friends. Mayflower is located at 7925 Norfolk Avenue, next to Duck Duck Goose.

Pet Parents opening on Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda

The Bainbridge Bethesda luxury apartment tower has filled another of its ground floor retail spaces. Coming soon will be Pet Parents, next to Experimac, at 4907 Fairmont Avenue. This won't solve the lack-of-street-activation problem around the Bainbridge after business hours, but should be appreciated by pet owners in the nearby apartments.

Car stolen on Bradley Lane, trespassing in Randolph Hills + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on July 1, according to crime data:

Stolen car. 3500 block Bradley Lane.

Burglary. 6100 block Valerian Lane.

Police information. 11200 block Troy Road.

Trespassing. 4800 Boiling Brook Parkway at 6:29 PM (Randolph Hills).

Fitness First closes in Bethesda (Photos)

Fitness First, as planned, closed its doors forever at the close of business Friday night. Their building, 7900 Wisconsin Avenue, is being demolished to clear the way for a new JBG Companies mixed-use project anchored by Trader Joe's. Fitness First is selling some of their equipment, as you can see in the sign on the door pictured here (click photo to enlarge).

Filicori Zecchini sets opening date at Park Potomac - here's a sneak peek (Photos)

Get ready for real Italian coffee at Park Potomac. Filicori Zecchini is planning a soft opening of its third Maryland location for Monday, July 17, according to a company spokesperson. In business since 1919, the company's coffee shops serve breakfast items like croissants and bagels, salads and sandwiches, and a variety of bakery goods. Here's a sneak peek inside the Park Potomac location.

12430 Park Potomac Avenue

Hours: 6:00 AM - 7:00 PM

RadioShack closes at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

RadioShack has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. While the store, like Sears, has been on a deathwatch for some time, the closure comes as a minor shock. That's because RadioShack's ownership publicly reaffirmed this company-owned location would remain in business just 4 weeks ago.

This is the end of an era for RadioShack in Bethesda. The Montgomery Mall RadioShack and the Francis Scott Key Mall location were the last two of the electronics chain's stores in Maryland. A hastily-handwritten sign advises customers to shop RadioShack online.

Meanwhile, in other mall news, the front of Ann Taylor is now screened off. The store is undergoing a renovation, and will reopen in...well, they can't seem to make up their mind. Just last week, the store said it would reopen August 12. But the new message on the temporary wall says the reopening will be sometime in July. Stay tuned.

Cars stolen on Cordell Ave., Brooklawn Terrace + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on June 30, according to crime data:

Stolen car. 4800 block Cordell Avenue.

Stolen car. 3300 block Brooklawn Terrace.

Theft from vehicle. 8500 block Farrell Drive.

Theft from vehicle. 2700 block Colston Drive.

Theft. 10200 block Democracy Boulevard.

Police information. 5400 block Marinelli Road.

Bethesda demolition update: 4733 Bethesda Avenue (Photos)

Well, it only took 11 months, but demolition of the office building at 4733 Bethesda Avenue is finally complete. There's still the debris to be hauled away. Then the JBG Companies can begin construction of a new office tower, 4747 Bethesda Avenue.

Trump threat posted at Wood Acres ES in Bethesda

The message board in front of Wood Acres Elementary School was broken into sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and the letters were rearranged to create an assassination threat against President Donald Trump. According to Wood Acres principal Marita Sherburne, the vandalism and threat were reported to both Montgomery County Police and Montgomery County Public Schools security.

A nearby resident discovered the message Saturday, Sherburne said. The message read, "EW, TRUMP! MURDER HIS [EXPLETIVE]" according to ABC 7, to which that resident, Andrew Johnson, provided photos of the message before he removed the letters. A second nonsense message on the other side of the marquee read, "TRUMP! ART THEE PEASANT UNDER ME [space]_{space] YES."

Johnson told ABC 7 he reported the threat to the Secret Service.

This will be the first notable test of whether or not MCPS has whipped itself into shape with regard to the its security cameras, after the alleged gang rape at Rockville High School revealed that many cameras were not being monitored. Several graffiti incidents in 2016 also exposed that many MCPS schools do not have cameras in common areas at all, since not a single one of those cases has been solved to date. Had a camera been recording, suspects would have quickly been identified.

If no security camera footage shows the sign being broken into, we will know that MCPS has failed to cover the front of the Wood Acres property in its video surveillance, despite having over 3 months to correct the problem. Wood Acres is located at 5800 Cromwell Drive.

Bike stolen on Strathmore St., citizen "intimidated" in Randolph Hills + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on June 28-29, according to crime data:

June 29

Domestic violence assault of spouse/partner. 11000 block Sugarbush Terrace.

Sudden death. 9900 block Montauk Avenue.

Mental transport. 5100 block Dudley Lane.

Burglary. 3500 block Chevy Chase Lake Drive.

June 28

DUI. 4100 block Manor Road (Chevy Chase Lake).

DUI. 3900 block Virgilia Street.

Stolen bicycle worth over $200. 6900 block Strathmore Street.

Shoplifting. 7100 block Democracy Boulevard.

Citizen intimidated. 4700 block Boiling Brook Parkway (Randolph Hills).

Bethesda Hyatt Regency driveway entrance closed (Photos)

The Hyatt Regency Bethesda and the restaurants inside are all open for business, but the driveway entrance is temporarily closed off on Wisconsin Avenue. It appears they are working on the new canopy that will extend out over the driveway. If you're in your own vehicle, follow the signs to the parking garage, but I'm not sure what they are doing to handle the taxi situation. The hotel is nearing the end of a major renovation and ground floor expansion.

WMATA misses another escalator deadline at Bethesda Metro station (Photos)

WMATA promised the extremely-behind-schedule repair of the plaza-to-bus bays escalator at the Bethesda Metro station would be completed this week, and that it would be back in service yesterday. Wrong. The escalator was out of service Friday.

“SafeTrack has been very successful in terms
 of safety performance, work completed,
and schedule achieved.” - WMATA

Metro has been blasted by riders now that the final results are in for the "surge" and "Safe Track" efforts, and they have been an utter failure. They didn't even fix the water leaks at Bethesda, and are going to start another Safe Track-style extended station closure scheme this month to "try" to fix it. In fact, the end of Safe Track brought a complete meltdown on the Red Line this week. As I told you all along, Safe Track was nothing more than a way for Metro to save money by not running trains, while "looking busy." This from the transit agency that can't even get automatic train control operational with eight years to fix it. Eight years!

"This is an enormous achievement."
- Metro Board member Jack Evans

Forgive me for having a few chuckles while listening to our inept Montgomery County Council give equally inept Metro boss Paul Wiedefeld a "Heckuva job, Brownie!" warm welcome in Rockville this week. Perhaps in their shared incompetence, they find P.W. a kindred spirit of sorts. It's a match, folks.

There's also some new art in the Bethesda Metro station, and I have to say, I don't like it. I tried to contain myself when the first mural was done around the upper rim of the bus bays. But it basically looks like someone vandalized the station. It would be fine in a different context on its own, but it just doesn't fit with the Metro architecture. When you think of the great artistic triumphs of Greece and the Roman Empire, and then consider public art in downtown Bethesda...Good God, what's happened to
us? We need someone to Make Public Art Great Again!

"The remainder of the system
is in good shape."
- Paul Wiedefeld

“We’ll see a continuation of the
improvement of our infrastructure."
- Joe Leader, Metro COO