Amor Studios leases ground floor retail space at Cheval Bethesda

The long search for a ground floor retail tenant at the Cheval Bethesda ultra-luxury condo tower is finally over. Amor Studios has leased the space at 4964 Fairmont Avenue, which has been on the market since the building opened about four years ago. A new marketing campaign for the space was launched this past January. Founded by Kellye and Dennis Amor, Amor Studios will lease salon suites to independent stylists. 

Having wealthy potential clients directly upstairs, and street-view windows in most of the salon suites to attract passerby attention, are among the advantages here for stylists seeking to grow their clientele base. Amor Studios is expected to open in November 2022.

Chevy Chase Lake construction update: Crescent at Chevy Chase luxury apartments (Photo)

Here's a look at the current progress on the Crescent at Chevy Chase luxury apartments at 3929 Landmark Court at Chevy Chase Lake. Workers are currently pouring the concrete columns, working from west to east on the property. To the right side of the photo, you can see column forms awaiting concrete, and the many that are finished are visible on the left side of the picture. Only a month ago, the site was just a graded empty surface, to give context for how much work has been done since.

Crescent at Chevy Chase, located right by the future Chevy Chase Lake Purple Line station, will feature studios and 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include a state-of-the-art wellness studio with a weight and cardio center inside, and a fitness patio outside; co-working spaces; a club room; outdoor gathering spaces; a pet spa; an entertainment kitchen; and bicycles exclusively for use by residents.

Those bikes can be used on the adjacent Capital Crescent Trail, which connects to Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Across Connecticut Avenue, an Amazon Fresh grocery store is about to open, along with CVS Pharmacy, Truist Bank, The Charmery ice cream shop, restaurants Elena James and Playa Bowls, and wine shop Uncorked.

The developer of Crescent at Chevy Chase is Landmark Realty. Architectural design of the buildings is by Jon Eisen of The Eisen Group, with interior design by Bandura Design. Delivery is anticpated for the fall of 2023.

Photos courtesy Landmark Realty

Marc Elrich only 21 votes behind David Blair in latest Montgomery County Executive election results

Election results posted this morning by the Montgomery County Board of Elections show businessman David Blair is still in front of incumbent Marc Elrich in the Democratic race for Montgomery County Executive. But as of 10:32 AM, Elrich is now only 21 votes behind Blair, who has 47,980 votes (39.27%) to Elrich's 47959 votes (39.35%). Canvassing of mail-in ballots is ongoing today and tomorrow at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College.

Election results as of this hour show
David Blair (top) now only 21 votes ahead of
Marc Elrich (bottom)

Assault at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Westfield Montgomery Mall early yesterday afternoon, July 29, 2022. The assault was reported at 12:57 PM at the mall. This is the sixth assault to be reported at the mall since May 18; the last was on July 17.

Spirit Halloween to open store in Friendship Heights for 2022

Spirit Halloween is coming closer to downtown Bethesda than ever before this Halloween. The seasonal chain will open a store for 2022 at Chevy Chase Pavilion at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW in the Friendship Heights area of Chevy Chase. This space was formerly home to Old Navy.

A tour of Spirit Halloween has become a Halloween activity and tradition in itself. New animatronics this year include Lord Raven, Bog Zombie, Monty the crazed cymbal-wielding monkey, Lucky Bottoms, Bag o'Bones, and Nozzles the Clown.

Blair still ahead of Elrich as vote-counting continues in Montgomery County Executive race

Businessman David Blair is still ahead of incumbent Marc Elrich by a nose in the Democratic primary contest for Montgomery County Executive. Montgomery County Board of Elections results reported after another day of counting Friday at 8:11 PM now show Blair remaining in first place with 46,824 votes (39.32%), and Elrich right behind with 46,693 votes (39.21%). After a day off Thursday, counting is scheduled to continue for three consecutive days through Monday, resuming at 10:00 AM this morning at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College, but election officials have warned that a final tally may come as late as August 12. Mail-in ballots were actually still being accepted as late as yesterday if they were postmarked by July 19, which means as of today, there will be no additional ballots being added to the pile of still-to-be-counted votes.

Maryland governor candidate Wes Moore to appear in Montgomery County August 1

Wes Moore, the Democratic Party nominee for Maryland governor, will appear at a rally in Silver Spring Monday night, August 1, 2022 at 6:00 PM. The rally will be held at Veterans Plaza at 1 Veterans Place in downtown Silver Spring. Also scheduled to appear, are U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and Democratic Maryland Comptroller candidate Brooke Lierman. The event is scheduled to run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

The Scoop construction underway at Cabin John Village in Potomac (Photos)

Way back on March 29, 2022, I broke the story that The Scoop would bring ice cream back to Cabin John Village, in the space Baskin Robbins vacated at 7909 Tuckerman Lane. And what a "scoop" it was! Now, construction is finally underway inside the storefront. I see flattened shipping boxes for the Avantco ice cream dipping cabinets on the floor - and you can too, in this sneak peek below:

District Falafel to open Bethesda restaurant

 

Another popular food truck is getting a bricks-and-mortar location in Bethesda. District Falafel will soon open a restaurant at the Westlake Crossing shopping center at 7101 Democracy Boulevard, next to Westfield Montgomery Mall. Best known for its fresh-made falafel, their menu also features hummus, gyros, and wraps made with falafel, lamb, or chicken. District Falafel will be located in the space formerly home to The Wok Chinese Kitchen, between Apex Optical and Shuvam Beer & Wine.

Do drivers obey the pedestrian crosswalk lights on Old Georgetown Road? (Video)

The pedestrian-activated flashing lights at the Old Georgetown Road crosswalk by Cordell Avenue in Bethesda have been operational for several months. Everyone has had a chance to get used to them by now. So, are they working? Is it safer now to cross than before, and do drivers respect the lights? Let's find out:

Some do, but many don't. So you'll want to be paying full attention, as if the lights were not there to help, when you cross. Many drivers either don't respect, or don't understand the meaning of, the signals. Observing others attempting to cross after activating the flashing lights, in some cases the pedestrian had to simply freeze as cars continued to tear through the intersection and the crosswalk as if there was no signal at all. Enforcement is clearly needed, but whether the police currently have enough units to spare one here from time to time is unclear.

HalfSmoke opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos + Menu)

HalfSmoke has opened in the Dining Terrace food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Despite being announced long after the planned Rockville Town Square location of HalfSmoke, the mall kiosk has opened before the Rockville restaurant - so Rockvillans can now head over to the mall to see what the HalfSmoke hype has been about. The menu here features their popular sausages and fried chicken, wood-grilled wings, side items like crab fries and loaded tater tots, and a short but sweet lineup of desserts. Milkshakes are joined by a selection of adult beverages - beer, wine and a surprisingly-varied cocktail list.   

“We are excited to be entering the Bethesda market in an area that affords excellent shopping, good restaurant options, a movie theater and ample parking,” Andre McCain, owner of HalfSmoke, said in a statement Wednesday. “We’re confident that our new HalfSmoke location will become a go-to dining choice for those visiting and experiencing all the Mall has to offer. It is our second venture this year at the Westfield Montgomery Mall, as we opened sister breakfast concept, Butter Me Up, which offers all day breakfast, artisan coffee, fresh juices, and breakfast inspired cocktails.”

David Blair maintains lead in latest Montgomery County Executive election results

Businessman David Blair is still in first place in the 2022 Democratic Montgomery County Executive primary race, after another day of vote canvassing at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College. When the Montgomery County Board of Elections released the latest totals at 11:00 PM last night, Blair was up to 44,722 votes (39.33%), and runner-up Marc Elrich still a close second at 44,577 votes (39.21%). Believe it or not, no votes will be counted today! Canvassing of mail-in ballots will resume Friday at 10:00 AM at the college.

Purple Line station work to take up lane of SB Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda for years to come

Drivers will have to prepare for yet another loss of taxpayer-funded travel lanes on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. Starting August 25, 2022, the right lane of southbound Wisconsin will close to traffic "at Elm Street" until the Purple Line light rail station beneath The Wilson and The Elm is completed. The lane will be used for vehicles accessing the construction site, which includes still-shut-down Elm Street itself. You're talking 2026 or later by the time this lane will again be available to the public.

Joy by Seven Reasons construction begins in Friendship Heights (Photos)

Construction is now underway for a Friendship Heights spinoff of Seven Reasons in the District, at the Collection at Chevy Chase. The latest venture by chef Enrique Limardo, Joy by Seven Reasons, will bring his Michelin-star Latin American cuisine to the recently-revamped Chevy Chase Land Company property on Wisconsin Avenue. 

According to Eater DC, the Friendship Heights location will be a more-affordable, a la carte concept, compared to the chef tasting menu experience that has drawn celebrities like Bono to the D.C. location. That's in keeping with the downscaling of what was once touted as "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive" to more of a middle-class destination over the last decade. The anti-business Montgomery County Council running the economy into the ditch, and the flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the area, have left a struggling corridor of vacant storefronts to reimagine. This is the highest profile addition yet, in CCLC's effort to reposition a development once dominated by high-end luxury boutiques.

Dryclean Club for lease in Bethesda

Dryclean Club at 4923 Cordell Avenue is now available for lease. The drycleaning and tailoring shop closed in May. As of yesterday, the space has been cleared out inside, and "for lease" signs posted. This is one of several Woodmont Triangle dry cleaning businesses to close or relocate this year.

Sherwin-Williams to open new White Flint location

Sherwin-Williams plans to open a new retail store in the White Flint area. It will be located in a building at 5528 Nicholson Lane, across Huff Court from the new Harwood Flats apartments. Sherwin-Williams currently has a store not far away at Loehmann's Plaza at 5272 Randolph Road.

Neighbors complain of "toxic smog" billowing from Bethesda construction site (Video + Photos)

Neighbors in buildings surrounding the construction site at 7607 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda are fed up with smoke billowing from an air compressor at the site, which is drifting around the nearby properties. One person said the "toxic smog" has been blowing into the air for about a week. Another described it as "terrible, noxious smoke." 

The former person said that neighbors had contacted Clark Construction about the smoke rising from the site, which they said had begun turning black Monday. Neighbors said they have found Clark to be sensitive and cooperative about their concerns in general since the Solaire 7607 project began, but that Clark was unwilling to turn off the compressor in recent days. Yesterday, they said Clark told them that they would send someone out to "look" at the machine on Tuesday. Late Monday afternoon, the smoke appeared greyish-white, and emitted a strong and unpleasant odor in the surrounding area. 

After these photos and video were taken, a reader informed me that the machine later made a "loud banging noise," and sounded like it was having mechanical problems. They reported that workers turned the machine off at that point, but it was unclear if it was because it was breaking down, or if it was simply the end of the day and will be back on again today. Let's hope the issue is being addressed, but we will find out later today.

David Blair regains lead in Montgomery County Executive race

Incumbent Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich fell behind challenger David Blair in the Democratic primary election results Monday. After another day of counting mail-in votes, Blair moved back into the lead with 42,705 total votes (39.33%) as of 11:00 PM Monday night, and Elrich dropped to second place with 42,571 votes (39.20%). Elrich continues to lead in mail-in votes, but enough came in from Blair-friendly precincts yesterday to put him back on top.

As you can see, the vote remains too close to call with only 134 votes currently separating the two men, and the total number of mail-in ballots that will have to be counted before a final tally is still unknown. There will also be provisional ballots to be examined, and you can bet those are going to be scrutinized even more closely with the tightness of this race.

Please note, there will be no counting of votes today. It is a scheduled day off for volunteers, according to the Board of Elections calendar. Canvassing will resume at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College on Wednesday. So another day of suspense, and this time, it is Blair supporters who are feeling a boost of optimism.

Smoke BBQ burglarized in Bethesda (Photos)

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at Smoke BBQ at 4858 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda on Saturday morning, July 23, 2022. Officers found evidence of forced entry at the restaurant. Police responded to the call at 6:08 AM Saturday. A reader reports that officers were still on the scene investigating at 7:30 AM, wearing gloves and taking notes. It appears the front glass entrance was smashed to gain access, as in other recent commercial burglaries.

Westbard Square construction update (Photos)

The new Giant building is up to three floors now at the future Westbard Square development at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. You can see the angled corner that will face the intersection of Westbard Avenue and the yet-to-be-named street entrance of the new town center development. They are also constructing a bumped-out segment on the Westbard side of the building, which is for the lobby - and possibly elevator shaft - for the 2nd floor office spaces. 

There will be storefronts for other businesses on the ground level, and the actual Giant grocery store will be on the 3rd level. Parking will be available in the parking deck on all three levels. The Giant building is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023. All businesses in the rest of the Westwood Shopping Center property remain open during the construction.