Fire in garage at Ellis Bethesda apartments (Photos)

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to a fire at the Ellis Bethesda apartment tower at 4918 St. Elmo Avenue this afternoon. Around 3:20 PM, a vehicle fire was reported in the building's underground parking garage. Firefighters located the vehicle on a lower level of the garage, and extinguished the fire. However, a significant amount of smoke remained in the garage.

MCFRS personnel remained on-scene to assist in ventilating smoke from the garage. Very little smoke entered the residential floors of the building, so there was no need to evacuate the tower, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. No injuries were reported. As a high-rise incident, the response from MCFRS and other departments was substantial, including at least one unit from the nearby National Institutes of Health. 

Warby Parker holding grand opening event Saturday at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Warby Parker will celebrate its arrival at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this week with a special grand opening event this Saturday, October 18, 2025. The eyewear boutique will be open from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Saturday. This is Warby Parker's second Bethesda location; the first is located at Bethesda Row. Look for Warby Parker on Level 1 of the mall, across from Vineyard Vines in the Nordstrom wing.

Immersa Edutainment VR game experience opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Immersa Edutainment has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The virtual reality game hub has been set up on Level 1 of mall, near the LEGO Store and Build-A-Bear in the former Sears wing. VR machines available to play include the TRON light cycle-esque 360 Moto VR ($11.99-$15.99 for 7 minutes), Car Simulator VR ($11.99-$15.99 for 8 minutes), and the UFO Experience space exploration adventure game ($11.99-$15.99 for 6 minutes). The UFO game has 5 seats for a multi-player experience.

Immersa is operating on a soft opening basis right now. The full experience will begin on October 31, 2025 for the holiday season. Immersa is combining gameplay with STEM learning, and will be offering educational workshops in the future.

Police arrest suspects in Bethesda pizzeria robbery spree

Montgomery County police have arrested two men in connection with a recent string of pizzeria robberies in Bethesda and Glenmont. Terrance Barfield, 22, and Jaylen Cunningham, 18, both of Washington, D.C., were arrested in a traffic stop in Chevy Chase shortly after they allegedly robbed Manny and Olga's at 8118 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda on October 8, 2025. Detectives say they have determined Barfield and Cunningham were also the robbers of Domino's Pizza at 4817 St. Elmo Avenue on September 23, of Pizza Hut at 12335 Georgia Avenue in Glenmont on September 28, and of Papa John's at 7200 47th Street in Bethesda on October 1.

Barfield and Cunningham were transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where they were charged with armed robbery, motor vehicle theft, and related offenses. Both are being held without bond. Their mug shots have not been released to the public.

Za'Atar Shawarma & Pizza opening in Bethesda

Za'Atar Shawarma & Pizza is opening at 8021 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Their menu will feature Middle Eastern cuisine and artisanal pizza. The restaurant will replace Cheesy Pizzi, which closed in August. Work is underway inside the space.

Sweeteria Cafe opening Bethesda location

Sweeteria Cafe is expanding to downtown Bethesda. The family-owned, Thai-inspired dessert cafe in Silver Spring is known for its creative menu items like honey butter toast, Thai tea custard buns, and Taiwanese cheesecake. The Bethesda location will be at 7525 Old Georgetown Road, right across the street from the Bethesda Metro Center. That space has been vacant for a while, and has seen a lot of turnover in the last fifteen years. Sweeteria's Silver Spring location has had a good six-year run, so maybe they can make it work.

Uchiko "coming soon" to Bethesda

Uchiko is "coming soon" to downtown Bethesda, according to signage posted in the windows of its future space at 7315 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. An offshoot of chef-owner Tyson Cole's Uchi concept, the restaurant will feature a "fire forward" interpretation of Japanese cuisine. It will have 200 seats indoors, a dedicated sushi bar where diners can watch sushi chefs work, a separate cocktail bar, and two private dining rooms. Smoky flavors will infuse the seafood and meat dishes, and live fire cooking will add an element of drama to the proceedings. The restaurant is expected to open before the end of the year.

Dave's Hot Chicken "coming soon" to White Flint

Dave's Hot Chicken is "coming soon" to Rockville Pike, according to a banner posted on the restaurant building. It will be at 11564 Rockville Pike in White Flint. That was formerly an old-style McDonald's restaurant, until the golden arches moved a short distance north to the old Arby's site. Before expanding to Montgomery County, Dave's Hot Chicken was best known to Marylanders as the fast food company that promoted itself via influencer videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Other Maryland locations have already opened in White Oak and Waldorf.

Indecent exposure in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of indecent exposure in the Sumner neighborhood of Bethesda early yesterday afternoon, October 13, 2025. The incident was reported in the 5200 block of Carlton Street at 12:22 PM Monday. It occurred along the street there.

Montgomery Pearl development back on in downtown Bethesda

The Montgomery Pearl project is back on in downtown Bethesda. A proposed redevelopment of several adjoining properties on Montgomery Avenue and Pearl Street, it was previously floated around 2018. Promark Development, LLC, has now revived the project. Comprised of 4540, 4424, 4400, 4340 and 4338 Montgomery Avenue, and 7300 Pearl Street, the new development would include residential buildings with ground floor retail. A "health and wellness club" would also be part of the project.

Promark has also proposed to create a connection between the Capital Crescent Trail and the public space in the new development, and to convert the portion of Pearl Street adjacent to the site into a shared street for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles. A four-level underground parking garage would serve residential, retail, and health club uses. The maximum building height of 145' would step down at the rear of the property, where it approaches the Purple Line and East Bethesda residential neighborhood.

Images courtesy Promark Development

Frankie's on the Park pop-up open for 2 more days only at Bethesda Row

Frankie's on the Park has opened a pop-up shop at 4808 Bethesda Avenue at Bethesda Row. But hurry, because tomorrow, October 13, 2025 is apparently the last day. So you have 48 hours to join the "not-so-secret style sisterhood." Frankie's touts the "ultimate boutique shopping experience" for women and girls of all ages. Operating hours today will be 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Monday, which is the Columbus Day holiday. You can check out the full Frankie's product line on their website.

Warby Parker opening next week at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

Warby Parker is aiming to open this coming Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to Google. The eyewear boutique looks just about ready inside, except for the empty shelves still awaiting glasses. This is Warby Parker's second Bethesda location. A Bethesda Row store has been in business since May 2017. Here's a sneak peek inside the Montgomery Mall store:

Assault in downtown Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to investigate a 2nd-degree assault in downtown Bethesda late yesterday afternoon, October 10, 2025. The assault was reported in the 7700 block of Woodmont Avenue at 5:04 PM Friday. 

Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings holding soft opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The restaurant is currently operating under special soft opening hours. It is open 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM seven days a week. Look for Nan Xiang right by the main outdoor entrance to the Dining Terrace food court on Level 2 of the mall.