Foer's Pharmacy closes in Bethesda

Family-owned Foer's Pharmacy has closed at 8218 Wisconsin Avenue, in the Bethesda Medical Building. During more than half a century in operation, Foer's at one time had multiple locations in the region. As of the close of business last evening, it retains a Rockville sales office that is focused on providing medications to long-term care facilities.

A store representative said that the downtown Bethesda pharmacy's prescription records have been transferred over to the pharmacy at the Safeway store at 5000 Bradley Boulevard. As of this morning, calls to the Bethesda Foer's number will be automatically forwarded to the Safeway pharmacy. Patients may have their prescription refills transferred to another pharmacy of their choice if they wish. 

Upscale Resale thrift sale at Woman's Club of Chevy Chase Feb. 10 & 11, 2024

Find bargains from the closets and attics of Bethesda and Chevy Chase at the Upscale Resale thrift sale at the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase at 7931 Connecticut Avenue this Saturday and Sunday, February 10 and 11, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Items will include designer and vintage clothing, artwork, toys and games, books, kitchen equipment, small appliances, jewelry, furniture and home decor.  

Proceeds from the sale will fund college scholarships awarded by the Woman’s Club of Chevy Chase to Montgomery County high school seniors. WCCC also supports a scholarship fund for older students returning to college later in life. 

Admission is free. Free parking is also available in the lot directly behind the clubhouse.

Montgomery County to host meeting on security at houses of worship Feb. 21

Montgomery County officials will host a special meeting regarding security at houses of worship on February 21, 2024, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. The meeting will be held in Bethesda, at a location to be announced only to those who register. "Attacks on houses of worship continue to occur at an alarming rate," a meeting announcement states. The meeting will feature presentations by representatives from the Montgomery County Police Department, the Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, and the County's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. 

Attendees will learn how to "minimize the risk of violent intruders," and what to do in the event of an attack on their house of worship. A menorah was vandalized outside a synagogue in Olney last December, and a suspect desecrated and attempted to burn down two Christian churches - and vandalized a Baptist cemetery - along Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda in July 2022. Meeting registration is open online now.

Photo courtesy Montgomery County

Future Bethesda high-rise Hampden House signs Visual Comfort & Co. as anchor retail tenant

Bethesda-based B.F. Saul has found an anchor tenant for the ground floor retail portion of its future Hampden House apartment tower at 7316 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Designer lighting retailer Visual Comfort & Co. has reached a lease agreement for the showcase storefront facing onto Wisconsin Avenue. The company has existing showrooms in our region in Baltimore, Georgetown and Richmond. Visual Comfort sells indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, as well as fans and gas lanterns.

Apple logo on renderings of the tower

Pre-construction renderings of the building had sparked rumors that the Apple Store might be relocating to Hampden House, as an Apple logo was shown on the storefront, and interior blueprints resembled a two-level design employed at some larger Apple Store locations. It's quite unusual for a brand logo to be employed in renderings if the company in question hasn't been signed as a tenant. 

The signing of Visual Comfort follows nearby neighbor Bethesda Row in another way, though, as that Federal Realty property has focused on upscale home goods and furnishings in recent years. Visual Comfort was founded in 1987 by Andy Singer, who recently merged his sister Gale's Circa Lighting into the company, making the firm a true family affair. Here are some photos from late-night construction at the tower, which will host 366 apartment units and 10,110-square-feet of retail space when completed.

Senior citizen suspect arrested in Town of Somerset home invasion

Montgomery County police have arrested a senior citizen in connection with last Thursday night's break-in at a home in the Town of Somerset. Walter Lee Wright, 67, of no fixed address, has been charged with first-degree burglary and "related charges." Wright is currently being without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit. Police have not publicly released Wright's mugshot.

A female resident of the home, located in the 4500 block of Dorset Avenue, called 911 from her bathroom as Wright allegedly prowled through the house. Grabbing property of unspecified description or value, Wright then exited the home as police arrived at the scene. Seeing the police cruisers pulling up, Wright allegedly began running. Officers caught up with him at the intersection of Cumberland Avenue and Deal Place, and took him into custody.

MD Retailers Association revives effort to allow beer, wine sales in Maryland grocery stores

MRA poster inside Harris Teeter

One of the biggest shocks to the system many new residents of Montgomery County experience, is the moment they learn they cannot purchase beer or wine at their local grocery store or convenience store. They quickly become familiar with Montgomery County's government monopoly on alcohol sales, and the archaic liquor laws of MoCo and Maryland. Restaurateurs and retailers frustrated with the status quo that reduces the profit margins of their businesses - and puts them at a disadvantage when competing against their rivals in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia - made a push to change these laws in the last decade. The effort ran out of steam when no significant media campaign or financial contributions were employed to directly boost the candidates for office who would vote to overturn the Prohibition-style system.

Now the Maryland Retailers Association is reviving the campaign with a new website, and posters such as the one seen above this week in County supermarkets. There is a lot of information and data on the website. It has an easy way to contact your elected officials to encourage them to modernize our liquor laws. Whether the effort will be any more successful than the last remains to be seen.

If the MRA and business owners don't write fat checks to the candidates who will vote to change the laws, and won't publicly endorse those candidates and send glossy mailers with a list of their names to every voter, the campaign will fail again. Most of the articles linked to on the website are from media outlets who strongly support the incumbents and candidates who favor and will preserve the ossified government liquor monopoly we have now. That's not exactly a smart way to propagandize the public in favor of liquor reform, folks.

Former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich was prophetic about many things. He was savagely pilloried by local officials and the media during his time in office for supporting casinos and bus rapid transit. Both later became policy cornerstones of the Montgomery County and Maryland political machines of his most-venomous opponents. One other thing he used to say that has aged very well: Until business owners "get dangerous," and actually back candidates - Democratic, Republican, Green, independent - who will vote their way, nothing will change. The MRA has a nice website. But their campaign doesn't sound very "dangerous" yet.

Orangetheory Fitness Bethesda is fit for the Super Bowl (Photos)

Orangetheory Fitness Bethesda at 7955 Woodmont Avenue is ready for Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11, 2024. Their lobby is decorated with a pigskin tablecloth, honeycomb paper footballs and an inflatable goalpost. A cardboard running back thunders across a tabletop toward the end zone. Of course, barring a shocking incident of another sort, this Sunday's game will be remembered as the Taylor Swift Super Bowl. Sure enough, the disembodied cardboard heads of Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and a cat grace the window of the gym. 

Psychic of Bethesda opens in new location

The Psychic of Bethesda has found a new location in the Woodmont Triangle. It is at 4907 Cordell Avenue, above Cubano's restaurant. A $10 opening special reading is now available, and walk-ins are welcomed. Psychic of Bethesda closed at 4825 Fairmont Avenue last October. What is in our town's future? Only God and the Psychic of Bethesda know!

Sneak peek: Dig, opening soon in Bethesda (Photos)

Here's a sneak preview of the interior design of Dig, opening later this month at 4733 Elm Street in downtown Bethesda. You can see a lot of seating, interior signage and menu boards are now in place. There's even an area marked for "merch." Just in time for the Bethesda opening, Dig has added crispy chicken as its first new protein option since 2018. "Guilt-free" baked crispy chicken will be available after 3:00 PM daily.

Home broken into in Town of Somerset

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at a home in the Town of Somerset this past Thursday evening, February 1, 2024. The burglary was reported in the 4500 block of Dorset Avenue at 10:35 PM. Officers arriving at the scene found evidence of forced entry at the home. It was determined that property was stolen from inside the house.

Sheepskin Gifts closes, Relax Station kiosk opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too has cleared out of its space on Level 1 at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Like See's Candies and other seasonal stores, this was to be expected after the holiday shopping season ended - - although you'd think the temperatures outdoors would keep them in business through the spring. Meanwhile, massage spa Relax Station from the Old Navy wing of the mall has set up an auxiliary kiosk to serve shoppers in the center of the mall. Look for it on Level 1 outside of J.Jill. 

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too

Signage installed for The Alley pub at Bethesda Boards

Exterior signage for The Alley, the new pub and live music venue at Bethesda Boards at 7900 Woodmont Avenue, was installed yesterday. Music and comedy events have already been held at The Alley. The shop applied for a liquor license from Montgomery County for the pub. The venue can also be rented for private events.

Washington Gas repairs leak in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

A gas leak on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda snarled traffic at the height of rush hour Thursday evening, February 1, 2024. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to a report of a leak at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue shortly before 6:00 PM last night. Washington Gas requested that firefighters evacuate the high-rise office building as a safety precaution.

The location of the leak was eventually determined to be under Wisconsin Avenue near the building, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. Streets were blocked off, causing traffic jams around the busy crossroads with Old Georgetown Road and East-West Highway. A Washington Gas crew was still working around midnight to wrap up the repair of the faulty pipe. 

Arby's to become McDonald's in White Flint

The former Arby's restaurant at 11710 Rockville Pike, which has sat vacant since it closed in May of 2021, has finally gained a new tenant. McDonald's has leased the building, which will now be remodeled into the newest location of the Golden Arches in Montgomery County, and slightly enlarged. With an existing McDonald's only a block away at 11564 Rockville Pike, it appears that this may be more of a relocation than an addition. It's shocking that rapidly-expanding chains like Jack-in-the-Box, Cookout, Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Shake Shack and Raising Cane's passed on this prime location in a densely-populated area, but count on McDonald's to realize the value of prime real estate, and of an amenity their current White Flint McDonald's lacks - a drive-thru.

Popeyes, The Children's Place officially closed at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

It's official: Popeyes has permanently closed in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. So has The Children's Place, an apparel store for kids. Both spaces have been cleared out, and signage removed. Chicken-loving mall walkers will have to turn to Chick-fil-A, McDonald's or (soon) Pollo Campero in the food court.

Popeyes

The Children's Place

Another attempt to restore Office of the People's Counsel in Montgomery County

Montgomery County's government bodies - Board of Education, Montgomery Parks, the Montgomery County Planning Board, to name three recent examples - are in disarray, and have been embroiled in scandals. Incredibly, while holding oversight power, the County Council has actively chosen to not restore funding for a position that can help hold the County's planning authorities (including the Council itself) more accountable to residents and taxpayers: The Office of the People's Counsel. Never a popular position among the developers who have funded most or all of the councilmembers' campaigns this century, depending upon which Council term is under discussion, the OPC was axed in 2010 when the Council finally had an excuse to do so: a budget crisis of their own making. But in 2023, more than a decade after the "Great Recession" ended, the current Council still voted against restoring funding for the OPC.

Fed-up residents and responsible growth advocates are launching a new attempt to persuade councilmembers - some of whom vowed to fund the OPC, but then betrayed the voters and organizations they made the vow to, once in office - to restore the OPC in the FY-2025 budget. The Montgomery Countryside Alliance, which works to protect rural areas, open space and streams from impacts of overdevelopment, is taking a leadership role by creating an easy form to send a brief message to the County Council in support of funding for the OPC.

For those not familiar, the OPC is (or was!) a land-use attorney who provides free advice and technical information to residents regarding development and land-use issues. Residents, most of whom cannot afford the kind of powerhouse legal representation that developers and the County itself have at their disposal, can therefore be better prepared to defend their interests before the Planning Board, County Council and hearing examiners. The OPC can also point out when the Board or Council is in violation of the rules or breaking the law, which non-land-use-attorney citizens may not be able to recognize their own. Perhaps most importantly, the People's Counsel can represent residents' interests in administrative hearings. 

Boosting hopes for the return of this critical County government position is Bill PG/MC 112-24 at the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, which is sponsored by Senator Ben Kramer of Montgomery County. Senator Kramer has also been a leading voice to make the planning process in the County more directly accountable to residents, such as considering proposals to move some aspects of planning under the executive branch of County government. Kramer's bill would fully fund the Office of the People's Counsel in Montgomery County, just as other jurisdictions like Prince George's County have. In other words, Kramer is saying to the Council, "if you won't do it, we will." But, if you don't use this form to send a message to the Council and the full Montgomery County delegation to Annapolis in favor of funding the OPC, they might not!

106.7 The Fan vs. The Team 980 live at Bethesda Theatre on February 2, 2024

A special event at the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue this Friday night, February 2, 2024 will feature on-air personalities from two of Washington, D.C.'s top sports radio stations, 106.7 FM The Fan and 980 AM The Team. The event begins at 8:00 PM Friday, and the doors open at 6:30 PM for dinner.

An event announcement promises "a night of sports debate, laughs, and behind-the-scenes stories! It's 106.7 The Fan vs. Team 980 LIVE! What will the Commanders do in free agency? Who will they select with the #2 overall draft pick? How soon before they're actually good again? Plus, they'll preview the Super Bowl matchup and debate who will win. It's all off-air, on-stage, and uncensored! Featuring the Sports Junkies, Grant and Danny, BMitch and Finlay, Kevin Sheehan, Chris Russell, Craig Hoffman, and more!"

Tickets are available online.