Bethesda construction update: Brownstones at Westbard Square (Photos)

Construction is now well-advanced on the Phase 1 Brownstones at Westbard Square, located on the former Westwood Shopping Center parking lot at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. A street grid lined with streetlamps and homes is taking shape as a new neighborhood developed by Bethesda-based EYA within the Regency Centers development. I wonder if the townhomes closest to the parking garage are the Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs). From the top of the parking deck, you can also see the "Canal House" restaurant or retail building coming together at the top of The Green, wrapped in yellow Tyvek. Its future tenant is currently unknown.

Lidl resumes work at long-delayed downtown Bethesda store (Photos)

Does Lidl rhyme with idle? The German grocery chain's future downtown Bethesda store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road at Bethesda Place appeared to be nearing completion last fall, with shelving and other displays installed. But work suddenly ceased, and the store has sat idle since. There were a number of rumors circulating to explain the delay, none of which have been confirmed. In fact, Lidl declined to respond at all when I contacted its corporate office. Then, last Wednesday, a forklift was seen driving around inside the store, and workers began moving a new large display island into place.

By yesterday, a number of additional items had been installed, including new interior signage. A small Lidl display with a brand logo was visible inside the Old Georgetown Road vestibule of the store, of the type that might hold weekly store advertising circulars for customers to pick up as they enter. Bethesda still doesn't appear on the chain's Grand Openings page, but the activity suggests it will soon.

Max's Best Ice Cream opening Tuesday in Bethesda (Photos)

Max's Best Ice Cream at 7770 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda has set an opening date. It will begin scooping this Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Everything looks ready to go inside, as you can see in the photos below. With The Weather Channel forecasting a high temperature of 101 degrees for Bethesda on Tuesday, ice cream is sure to be in demand. Operating hours for Max's will be 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM Monday through Thursday, 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Fridays, 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Saturdays, and 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Sundays. 

Two cars stolen in one night from Springfield neighborhood in Bethesda

Auto thieves stole two cars in one night from homes in the Springfield neighborhood in Bethesda. Over the night from June 7 to June 8, 2025, thieves took vehicles from the 5600 block of Lamar Road and the 5800 block of Searl Terrace. Fortunately, Montgomery County police were able to trace and recover both vehicles within 48 hours. However, the suspects remain at-large. Make sure to lock your vehicles, do not leave keys or key fobs in the ignition or glove compartment, and remove any visible items from inside the cabin.

Pacha Mama Juice Truck pops up in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

The Pacha Mama Juice Truck was spotted in downtown Bethesda yesterday. It was parked in front of the 4909 Auburn apartments on Auburn Avenue, across from Imagination Stage. That's unusual, since the Montgomery County Council went nuts and infamously cracked down on food trucks over a decade ago, forcing them to operate on private property, rather than the more-lucrative street parking spaces like this that drove their success in the early years of the 2010s in downtown Bethesda. This was done because their developer sugar daddies were enraged that the trucks were parking in prime spots in high-traffic areas during the lunch hour, siphoning off traffic from their bricks-and-mortar restaurant tenants. A phenomenon known outside of Montgomery County as the free enterprise system!

Pacha Mama's menu includes fresh fruit and vegetable juices with no added sugar, as well as açaí bowls and smoothies. The current selections include a Watermelon Splasher beverage for summer, which is so popular it was sold out Friday. Pacha Mama can typically be found in Bethesda on Wednesday afternoons at the Brookmont Farmer's Market at Broad Street and Maryland Avenue, from 4:00 to 7:30 PM, from May to November. You can keep track of their current locations across Montgomery County weekly on their website, and watch an interview with the owners on ABC 7's Good Morning Washington from last year.

"Everyone is welcome here...except ICE" signs on vacant Bethesda storefront declare

"Everyone is welcome here...except ICE," declare signs slapped onto a vacant storefront in downtown Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle neighborhood. Other signs on the same former restaurant space at 7929 Norfolk Avenue aim to notify illegal immigrants of their rights when confronted by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents. "We have the right to deny I.C.E. access to private areas without a judicial warrant," the welcome notice adds. The papers have the logo of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center's "Know Your Rights" campaign on them. It is not immediately clear if the sign posters had permission from the property owner to stick these on here.

Westbard Square responds to crime concerns at Bethesda development

Yesterday at 8:00 AM, I reported on the latest theft from a vehicle parked in the garage at Westbard Square in Bethesda, which was the 17th known case since February. About two hours later, at 10:08 AM, the development's owner, Regency Centers, released a statement by email regarding the crime wave. The full text of the email appears below, but the highlights regard actions the company is now taking to address the smash-and-grab thefts inside the garage. These actions are being taken in partnership with the Montgomery County Police Department.

Many people - including myself on this blog - have questioned why no images of the suspects in these cases have been made public, to assist in their identification and capture. Now we know, as Regency Centers confirmed in its message that there have only been cameras "at the main garage entrances" up to this point.

Next week, Regency Centers announced, additional cameras will be installed throughout the garage. The company added that MCPD will have direct access to this camera footage. In addition, the email stated that there will be license plate readers at the garage entry points.

The email did not address the March 29 shooting outside of Bowlero, from which one or more shooters remain at-large. Regency Centers' email follows:

"To our Westbard Square community:

As many of you know, there has been a noticeable increase in smash-and-grab incidents across the region in recent weeks. Unfortunately, Westbard Square has not been exempt. These crimes are not isolated to our property but are part of a wider pattern affecting other properties and facilities in the area.

Montgomery County Police have been actively engaged at Westbard Square, conducting on-site meetings with our security team and tenants, while also providing real-time updates as they work to address these concerns. Their presence and partnership are helping guide a coordinated response focused on prevention and enforcement.

While we have cameras at the main garage entrances, recent break-ins have occurred outside their range, limiting our ability to identify those responsible. To improve visibility, new security cameras are being installed next week to expand coverage throughout the garage. Once active, MCPD will have direct access to the footage. This will also support cross-referencing with license plate readers at entry points to help track suspicious activity more effectively.

We understand the community’s concern and share the urgency to improve safety. While enhanced surveillance and coordination with police are key steps, these crimes are often opportunistic. We encourage all visitors to keep vehicles locked and valuables out of sight or stored in the trunk. Simple precautions can go a long way in reducing risk.

We remain committed to keeping Westbard Square a safe and welcoming place and will continue sharing updates as additional measures are put in place.

Thank you for staying engaged with us.

Regency Centers, 5400 Westbard Avenue, Suite 250, Bethesda, MD 20816, 703 442 4300"

Subway opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Subway has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Sandwich artists are now in residence in the former J. Chow space in the Dining Terrace food court, on Level 2 of the mall. $5 Footlongs are a thing of the past, as a Footlong can be two-to-three times that amount, depending on your choice of sandwich. Subway is currently experiencing a renaissance in Montgomery County, with an imminent return to 1402 Rockville Pike also in the works.

Thieves target Bethesda parking garage again as Westbard theft spree continues

The crime wave continues at the Westbard Square development in Bethesda. Over the last four months, thieves have struck with impunity, smashing vehicle windows in the parking garage and helping themselves to bags and valuables left inside. The latest theft took place this past Monday morning, June 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM. This is at least the 17th theft from a vehicle inside this garage since February, with most of the incidents taking place during daytime hours.

No surveillance camera images or arrests from any of the cases have been made public so far. It appears that security or police could simply wait in the garage, and/or set up a bait car trap, and easily catch the thieves in the act. Yet the thefts continue unabated. 

Many of the victims have been customers whose vehicles were vandalized while they were inside the Starbucks. With a new pizza restaurant opening soon, it becomes even more imperative for this theft spree to be brought to an end. If diners are coming out to find their windows smashed and property stolen while they were eating lunch, this will be terrible for business, as you can imagine.

The Montgomery County Council remains silent on the crime wave at Westbard Square, which included a shooting that injured two people outside of Bowlero on March 29. Months later, only one suspect has been arrested in that case so far, with one or more shooters still at-large. Police have not specified how many shooters there were in total, only that there was more than one, so it is still unknown how many suspects are being sought. It's unclear why Montgomery County and Westbard Square property owner Regency Centers are not moving urgently and forcefully to quash this criminal activity, as the area is apparently gaining a regional reputation among criminals as a place where crimes can be committed with impunity, which will be a total and complete disaster for the development and the surrounding community.

Foot Locker to relocate at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Foot Locker will be relocating into a new space at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this year. Four vacant storefronts will be consolidated into one larger space for the sporting goods store, which will have the brand's latest interior design scheme. Kids Foot Locker will also be moved into the new space along with Foot Locker. Construction is anticipated to begin this summer. 

Montgomery County Council wants to ban bamboo

The few among the public who even know what the Montgomery County Council is, or what it does, would tell you it primarily raises taxes, provides reckless zoning and giveaways of taxpayer money and public land to its developer sugar daddies, and "bans stuff." It's a lazy summer for the very part-time Council, but it has just announced the latest thing it wants to ban: bamboo. If Bill 26-25 passes later this year, perhaps after the Council's long summer vacation, there would also be a new nanny state requirement that at least 50% of the landscaping in any new development be comprised of native plants, although this provision appears only in the Council press release and not in the current language of the bill.

The bill would prohibit the sale of invasive bamboo, which is a rapidly-spreading plant. It would also establish penalties for doing so. A public hearing on the bill has been scheduled for July 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM at the County Council chambers.

Most people would probably agree that bamboo is an aggressively invasive plant. Maybe it should be banned, or maybe it should have been banned a long time ago. But one can't help but notice the many crises the County is facing, and wonder why bamboo is the top priority of the County Council. The current Council hasn't passed a single bill to address our moribund economy or sustained violent crime wave. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. And we are currently facing fiscal oblivion in the coming years, regarding the County's structural budget deficit and debt. This is a part-time Council that is absurdly unserious in its legislative pursuits. We can't go on like this.

Bethesda construction update: The Pinnacle senior housing (Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress on The Pinnacle, a senior housing project that is located at 11565 Old Georgetown Road, about a block west from Rockville Pike and a future north entrance to the White Flint Metro station. It is across the street from Pike & Rose. The 17-story building will house 113 independent living apartments, 40 assisted-living units, and 48 units reserved for memory care and early-stage-dementia Bridge patients. It will have its own 15,000-square-feet of restaurant and retail space, and will appear outwardly as a luxury apartment building, rather than a retirement or nursing facility. Developer Silverstone Senior Living anticipates a Q2 2026 delivery for the project.

Claude Have Mercy opening in Friendship Heights

Claude Have Mercy is the newest addition to The Heights, the food hall at 5406-A Wisconsin Avenue at The Shops at Wisconsin Place. Silver Spring Chef Claudius Kpakima brings a Sierra Leone culinary influence to his menu of seafood favorites, including his signature Shrimp Burger, a fried whiting sandwich, and crab jollof rice. Chef Claude is a busy man, as Claude Have Mercy will also be on the opening roster of the Commas food hall in the Ellsworth Place mall in Silver Spring. Check out the current menu here.