Buffalo Wild Wings GO is coming to Bethesda

Just in time for football season, Buffalo Wild Wings GO will be opening a Bethesda location. It will be located at 4611-C Sangamore Road at the Shops at Sumner Place (a.k.a. Little Falls Mall). This is quite a coup for property owner W.C. & A.N. Miller, as you might have expected Regency Centers to reel in a big name like this for their nearby Westbard Square development. The Bethesda BWW GO will also be unusual in that the existing Montgomery County locations have all been on major thoroughfares. Perhaps the chicken wing chain is looking at the high traffic at this busy mall, as well as at the thousands of employees at the intelligence campus directly across the street. Even the Deep State eats lunch.

Buffalo Wild Wings' "GO" concept took off during the pandemic, when the chicken wings chain sought to capitalize on an explosion in demand for takeout orders, as well as a chance to muscle in on carryout-focused competitors like Wingstop. You'll find a slimmed-down menu at Buffalo Wild Wings GO, comprised of some of BWW's customer favorites. 

An "innovative cooking process" is able to churn out the same crispy wings you find at a regular BWW at a speedier pace, the company says. The interior set-up is designed to get customers in and out of the smaller-scale GO store as quickly as possible, especially when ordering ahead. GO also has some exclusive flavors not found at the full-size BWW. As you can see, construction is just getting started in the former Wild Bird Center space.

Apartments at Sumner Place plan unveiled in Bethesda (Photos)

W.C. & A.N. Miller has revealed its plan to redevelop part of the parking lot at its Shops at Sumner Place property at 4701 Sangamore Road in Bethesda into an apartment building. The Apartments at Sumner Place would be 5 stories and 57' tall, and house 132 rental apartments, 20 of which would be Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs). Parking would be provided in an underground parking garage at the rear of the building (facing the Sumner Village condos). Amenity common areas in the building might include a fitness center, party room and an outdoor terrace. 

A new curb cut will be added to Sentinel Drive beyond the existing one, near the property line with Sumner Village. It will be used for loading dock access. From the renderings shown, the building will block the view of the shopping center from the units in Sumner Village that will be directly behind it. 

W.C. & A.N. Miller also revealed that it has future plans for the part of the parking lot along Sentinel Drive where a drive-thru ATM is currently located. A rendering shows that area being replaced in the future by a new retail building, a daycare facility, and a playground. A second pad site retail building facing the new Apartments at Sumner Place across the main driveway through the parking lot is also shown for a future phase. It would take some of the parking currently used by Safeway customers.

Phasing plan showing future retail
buildings, daycare facility and playground
(far left and center)

As I reported last week, a required public meeting on the proposal will be held tonight, April 13, 2023, at 7:00 PM at Capital Workspaces (located over the Safeway at The Shops at Sumner Place) at 4701 Sangamore Road, Suite 100N. A Montgomery County Development Review Committee meeting on the plan is scheduled for April 25. W.C. & A.N. Miller currently hopes to formally submit its Preliminary Plan and Site Plan for the project to Montgomery County in June or July.

A public hearing on the plans would be expected to be held by the Montgomery County Planning Board in October or November 2023. There is not yet a timeline for the groundbreaking or delivery of the project.

Images courtesy W.C. & A.N. Miller/Faik Tugberk, Architects Collaborative

Signage installed at Westwood Pet Center in Bethesda (Photo)

The sign is up at Westwood Pet Center's new Bethesda location at 4611-H Sangamore Road, in the Shops at Sumner Place shopping center (a.k.a. Little Falls Mall). Last night, it was lit after dark. The interior fit-out of the store continues behind window covers. Westwood Pet Center closed at the Westwood Shopping Center in 2021, after 42 years.

Westwood Pet Center to return in Bethesda

When Westwood Pet Center closed after 42 years in Bethesda at the Westwood Shopping Center in 2021, it looked like the end of a valuable resource for pet owners in the area. But a new beginning is almost here for the venerable pet store at the nearby Shops at Sumner Place, a.k.a. Little Falls Mall. Westwood Pet Center will be reopening there soon at 4611-H Sangamore Road, in the storefront recently vacated by Edible Arrangements. The store's website is still offline as of this writing, however.

Sumner Place Chase Bank drive-thru ATM before MoCo Planning Board today

The proposed location of a
Chase Bank drive-thru ATM
is shown in yellow above

A freestanding drive-thru ATM proposed last fall for the new Chase Bank at the Shops at Sumner Place in Bethesda will be considered by the Montgomery County Planning Board today. It will be located on the Sentinel Drive edge of the lot, near where the United States Postal Service removed a longtime mailbox a few years ago. Chase Bank is in an in-line space some distance from the ATM site, near Safeway and Kicks Karate.

The ATM site plan includes landscaping, and will remove three parking spaces from the ample supply of parking at the former Little Falls Mall. In the review process, however, staff found that at least one tree the property owner had promised to plant in a previous project approval was never planted. Planting of that missing Zelkova tree has now been made a condition of the ATM approval.

A public meeting on the ATM proposal was held last September at the Little Falls Library. The Planning Department and applicant say they have received no objection from attendees nor the community at large to the ATM. Planning staff is recommending approval of the ATM. The meeting begins at 9:00 AM at 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.

Gregorio's Trattoria coming to Bethesda

There's good news on the restaurant front at the Shops at Sumner Place. China Pavilion closed at the Bethesda shopping center last December. Now a new tenant has been found. Gregorio's Trattoria, an Italian restaurant with existing locations in Reston and Potomac, will open in the China Pavilion space in 2020. They should be open by spring.

I see Fettucine Alfredo and New York-style pizza on the menu, so I am already sold. They've also got chef's specialties like Rigatoni al Capone and Pollo Donaldo. In an area with few sit-down restaurants, and only fast-casual carry-outs anticipated in the disappointing Westbard plan, Gregorio's Trattoria should be a welcome addition to southwest Bethesda.

Capital One branch at Sumner Place to close

The Capital One bank branch at 4701 Sangamore Road in Bethesda will close on September 21, 2018. It is located in the Shops at Sumner Place shopping center. The closest Capital One branch to this location is in the Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue.