The great Bethesda beer house chair mystery (Photos)

The old Dunmor's (a.k.a. "The Beer House) has been closed since September 8, 2016 at 8013 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. It is one of several properties attached to the long-delayed redevelopment of 8008 Wisconsin Avenue, which have been left as vacant eyesores, and fenced off for seven years. A couple of mismatched chairs have now appeared on the porch of the beer house. 

One is an office chair, and the other looks more like a kitchen chair. It's quite a vantage point, atop a crumbling crawlspace, part of which has been bashed in by man or beast - or some combination of the two. As Ace Ventura said, "Do not go in there. Wooooooooooo!" We might need to call Detective Ventura in to solve this mystery.

CenturyLink fiber optic cable down along Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda (Photos)

A CenturyLink fiber optic cable fell down on the sidewalk outside 7830 Old Georgetown Road several weeks ago, but the company has yet to come out to make repairs. It's unknown how many CenturyLink customers in Bethesda are impacted by this broken connection. Electric utility Pepco has even sent a crew out to investigate, after apparently receiving calls from good Samaritans who thought it might be theirs. Pepco has attached a sticker to essentially state that, "Nope, it's not ours," but reminding people not to come into contact with any wire they see down on the ground.

Summer breaks underway at Bistro Provence, Trattoria Sorrento in Bethesda

Two fixtures of the dining scene in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle neighborhood have begun their annual summer breaks. Bistro Provence is taking a very short vacation, and will reopen Monday, August 28, 2023. Trattoria Sorrento at 4930 Cordell Avenue will reopen for business on Thursday, August 31, 2023. A number of Bethesda businesses that are either family-owned, and/or run by a very small staff, schedule an annual break to give their employees a chance for a vacation. Here's a chance to appreciate that grand facade of the Bistro Provence building.

New restaurant plans fall through at Hyatt Regency Bethesda

Plans for a new Mexican restaurant, Los Ricos, to open this year at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel appear to have fallen through. It had been expected to fill the former Daily Grill space by this summer. But construction never began, and coming-soon signage has now been removed at the hotel. Inside, the Daily Grill interior remains completely untouched. The opportunity for a new restaurant remains, but it apparently won't be Los Ricos.

Assault in downtown Bethesda parking garage

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault in a downtown Bethesda parking garage early yesterday morning, August 24, 2023. The assault was reported in a parking garage in the 8100 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 12:05 AM Thursday.

Barricades erected on Elm Street at Bethesda Row (Photos)

It looks like some kind of work is about to begin on the Elm Street side of Bethesda Row. Barricades were erected along the block between Arlington Road and Woodmont Avenue on Thursday, closing off sections of the sidewalk and street parking spaces. There is also some metal fencing. All businesses on Elm Street remain open.

Mandi Mediterranean Bar Grill Lounge opening in Bethesda

It's been a great week for fans of Mediterranean cuisine in Bethesda, and now there's more good news. Mandi Mediterranean Bar Grill Lounge is opening soon at 4906 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda. This story has been developing since construction began inside the former Bangkok Garden building in May, but the identity of the new tenant has only now come to light. Mandi will serve halal cuisine, and specialities will include falafel, shawarma, gyros and kabobs. 

Bangkok Garden closed here in August 2021, after 37 years in business. The building was then purchased by the Greenhill Companies, which owns adjacent properties along St. Elmo, Norfolk Avenue and Fairmont Avenue.

New vegan restaurant opening in downtown Bethesda

A new tenant is moving into the former Fine Consigns Bethesda space at 4916 Cordell Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle. The vacant storefront has been undergoing renovations recently. According to a construction worker, it will be a vegan restaurant. There's plenty of room for newcomers in that category, even if restaurants like PLANTA, Lilit Cafe, True Food Kitchen and Dalia's Falafel represent stiff competition. The restaurant is expected to open in October 2023.

Ala Bethesda opening in vacant Positano building (Photos)

Ala Bethesda will fill the long-vacant Positano Ristorante Italiano building at 4948 Fairmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle. The cuisine won't stray that far from Italy, to an historically-dynamic culinary region further east in the Mediterranean: the Levant. Ala's existing Dupont Circle location was added to the prestigious Michelin guide, often a first step for the later awarding of a star or Bib Gourmand designation. It must be noted that Positano remained popular to the end with Jimmy Traettino at the helm, and never failed as a business; it closed as the result of a family real estate dispute.

Westbard Square construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress at the construction site of Westbard Square at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. You can see a couple of light fixtures have been installed on either side of that grand doorway on Westbard Avenue. Sidewalks are going in along the Westbard Avenue side, as well. Tenants signed to leases so far are anchor tenant Giant, Voothuis Opticians, Westwood Barber Shop and Starbucks. Delivery of this Phase 1 building is anticipated for November 2023.

White Flint Mall redevelopment still frozen on Rockville Pike (Photos)

The Dark Side of White Flint, Part 49

Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.

The redevelopment of White Flint Mall is still just a Gordon Gekko-esque dream on Rockville Pike. Property owner Lerner Enterprises has fenced off the site, on which only the Lord & Taylor portion of the mall remains standing, surrounded by its former parking lots. That hasn't stopped vandals from trespassing, as the graffiti and boarded-up windows testify. The vast majority of the mall site remains an overgrown patch of weeds and grass, as nature reclaims what was once Montgomery County's ultimate shopping destination.

There's no news on the Lerner website. White Flint Mall's legacy is such an afterthought for the company, that it has placed a photo of it where one of Landover Mall is meant to be on the site. Quelle horreur! Another summer where the property could have been converted into a drive-in theater has nearly passed into history without a single screening of Star Wars or The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

An idol has arisen

White Flint Mall still speaks to those who watch and listen for the signs. A god, an idol, has arisen among the former parking stalls of Lord & Taylor. Its head a golden sphere, its arms outstretched in a martyr's T-pose. Yet the arms are uplifted, reassuring us that in some other dimension all is well at White Flint Mall. The Singapore Firecracker Chicken and Mongolian Beef at P.F. Chang's are still better than whatever you're eating tonight in Montgomery County, the glass elevators still go all the way up to The Loft, Carrie is screening four months after its release on the March 7, 1977 grand opening night of The Movies, the mallwalking Soviet ambassador still has all the right toppings on his foot-long hot dog, and it still takes a good hour to thoroughly peruse the magazine racks at Borders.

But back in this dimension, redevelopment plans remain as moribund as Montgomery County itself. The Late Stage Capitalism Express is arriving at the White Flint, er, "North Bethesda" station. "All aboarrrrrrrrd! Next stop: The Dark Side of White Flint."

"This is a very special part of America. The highest part." - H.V. Waldrove of the Netherlands, after touring White Flint Mall in 1978

Graffiti painted over at Plaza Artist Materials in Bethesda

After

Plaza Artist Materials recently resurfaced its parking lot at 7825 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. One reader noted in the comment section of my report that there was graffiti on the building. That has now been taken care of, as well. A worker painted over it yesterday. By the way, we need one more Bethesda parking lot resurfacing story this morning to complete the trifecta.

Before

Bethesda McDonald's parking lot resurfaced

The parking lot at McDonald's at 5214 River Road in Bethesda has been resurfaced. Men were still working with machinery in the dark behind the restaurant over the night. The work required McDonald's to close all day Monday, but it is scheduled to reopen today. While lane markings were laid down, the "DRIVE-THRU" label had not yet been painted at the entrance driveway last night.

Bethesda Row plaza construction update (Photos)

The late July completion date has come and gone. But work continues on the construction of a new plaza outside Anthropologie at Bethesda Row. The updated plaza will include an interactive fountain, a canopy for shade, new seating, and landscaping. It is also designed to enhance the adjacent Woodmont Avenue Streetery configuration. A worker at the site said the project is now expected to be finished by the end of October 2023.