Walgreens opens in Bethesda

The first Walgreens in Bethesda opened yesterday at the Bradley Shopping Center in downtown Bethesda. Interestingly, the timing was coordinated with the closure of the Walgreens-owned Rite Aid at the Westwood Shopping Center Friday evening. Rite Aid pharmacy customers are apparently assumed to now take their prescriptions to this Walgreens, where the pharmacy counter is the main focus of the small space.

Last Thursday I noticed the shelves had been stocked. An Apple Store-style security barrier was also installed inside the front entrance. It not only prevents smash and grab burglars from gaining access to the store, but also blurs out all detail on product packaging that can be seen through the front windows.

Now that the store is opened, we can finally see what products will be stocked in the tiny store, which is a new neighborhood store format Walgreens is rolling out nationwide this year. Surprisingly, they do carry some food, raising hopes that this store might stock new Walgreens-exclusive Pringles flavors in the future.

Besides snacks, there is a decent inventory of over the counter medications, toiletries, medical supplies, etc. You're likely to find whatever basic drug store items you need here, without having to play Frogger to cross the street to CVS. However, the store shares the rural town hours of the other businesses in the Bradley Shopping Center, where things wind down by 8:00 PM most nights, so don't cut up your CVS bonus card just yet.

Bethesda Hemp & Wellness to take over vacant ice cream shop space

Bethesda Hemp & Wellness is coming soon to 8004 Norfolk Avenue. This was most recently home to Jeff's Best, a self-serve ice cream shop.

Historic Bethesda Community Store for sale again

Efforts to modify the historic Bethesda Community Store to attract a rental tenant appear to have failed. The venerable landmark at 8804 Old Georgetown Road is now back on the market. According to an online real estate listing, the asking price is $1.1 million.

For that price, the buyer gets high visibility and high automobile traffic volume. He or she will also get the limitations that come with ownership of an historic property, but with the potential to make the less-visible modifications outlined in the recent plans. Were this a "teardown," the land alone would go for several times the current asking price.

Purple Line to close part of Rock Creek Trail in Chevy Chase

Purple Line construction will require a temporary closure of the Rock Creek Trail between the Ray's Meadow Park and Susanna Lane access points in Chevy Chase. The closure is scheduled to begin December 9, 2019 and last about three weeks. Electronic message boards will be posted to alert trail users to the status of the affected section going forward. A detour is shown on the map above in purple.

Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza wants to introduce itself in Bethesda

Construction inside the future Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza in the 7770 Norfolk Avenue apartment tower continues at a deliberate pace. In the meantime, the company begs pizza-crazed passersby to "allow us to introduce ourselves." New signage details what is so special about the pizzeria's coal-fired ovens, handmade dough, imported Italian tomatoes and Wisconsin mozzarella.

Notably missing from the signs is pizzeria investor and legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. Football fans are still placing their bets as to whether Marino will make an appearance at the grand opening next year.

Ourisman Jeep posts Coming Soon signage in Bethesda

This past August, I reported that Ourisman had leased ground floor retail space in the Adagio condominium building in downtown Bethesda. Now the auto dealership giant has confirmed my scoop by posting some Ourisman Jeep of Bethesda "coming soon" signage in the windows at 6826 Wisconsin Avenue. Can't wait to see the new Grand Wagoneer in these windows in 2021.

Ideal Image spa to replace Modern Market at Bethesda Row

A drastic transformation of the vacant Modern Market restaurant space at Bethesda Row will be needed to welcome its new tenant. Ideal Image, a "skin, face and body medspa," will open here at 4930 Elm Street in 2020. The company calls itself the nation's largest medspa. They emphasize in marketing that they staff their spas with licensed nurses and medical professionals.

Ideal Image is based in Florida. The spa signing ends this space's long history as a dining enterprise, from Baja Fresh to Boloco to Modern Market. After three straight busts here, perhaps landlord Federal Realty determined this spot just doesn't work for a restaurant for whatever reason.

Ourisman Honda plaza taking shape at Capital Crescent Trail

The "consolation prize" public plaza Ourisman Honda is constructing in exchange for building part of its new garage atop public right-of-way around the Capital Crescent Trail is nearing completion. Landscaping has been installed, as well as pavers on the plaza area. The plaza still does not resolve the fire truck access to the rear of the Flats at Bethesda Place issue. And a major bottleneck for the Montgomery County cartel's secret plan to extend the Purple Line to Westbard and Sumner Place will remain as long as the garage does. There currently is not enough width for a trail and two tracks, much less with buffering between them.

Madison Reed Bethesda Row update

The hours, services and prices have been stenciled on the windows at Madison Reed Color Bar, the hair coloring studio opening soon on Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row. You can also see the great progress on the construction of the interior of the salon.

New images of 7340 Wisconsin development in Bethesda

Developer South Bay Partners has submitted additional renderings and documents for its 7340 Wisconsin Avenue senior housing project to the Montgomery County Planning Department. Many are more of a technical nature, but here are some of those likely of most interest to nearby residents. Above is a slightly-more-detailed rendering of the building's massing than was shown at the public meeting in September. Some of the others give you a sense of how the tower will look from various downtown vantage points.

I noticed there are a good number of street trees proposed compared to other recent projects. It's still somewhat disappointing that we are not getting a 29-story office tower with a Fortune 500 anchor tenant at this location on top of Metro; Montgomery County has not attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over twenty years. On the other hand, this does place seniors who may have limited walking capacity in close proximity to existing and future restaurants and shopping, as well as to the Purple and Red Lines.

At least 11 street trees shown around the block

Kumon coming to Westwood Center II in Bethesda

The Westwood Center II mini-mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road is adding another Japanese after-school learning center to its tenant list. ENA has operated a Japanese juku school at the retail center since 2013. Now Kumon, a Japanese-founded company that has been boosting children's reading and math skills since 1954, will soon operate a location here.

IQ Tech opens at Westfield Montgomery Mall

IQ Tech has opened a kiosk for the holidays on Level 1 at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. It is a hi-tech accessory you can attach to clothing, hats, etc., that displays images that change based on music and sounds around you. See the video for a sample.

Bethesda construction update: 8001 Woodmont (Video+Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress on JBG Smith's 8001 Woodmont development at 7900 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. These photos are taken from the Wisconsin side, and you can see the amount of glass installed here at this point. Better seen in the video is the sub-structure on the ceiling of the pedestrian cut-through, which is supposed to hold a mirrored surface that makes this one of the most stand-out projects of the post-recession era in downtown Bethesda.