WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL EXTERIOR FOOD COURT ENTRANCE CLOSED (PHOTO)

The existing exterior entrance to the food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall has now closed. A temporary exit is open near Mirch Masala. The closure is obviously related to the food court and ArcLight Theaters construction projects.

FIRST IMAGE OF NEW MCDONALD'S AT MONTGOMERY MALL IN BETHESDA (PHOTO)

McDonald's is poised to reopen in the remodeled food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall this fall, and the first image of the restaurant design has been released.

This will technically give Bethesda two locations of the Golden Arches. And give Bethesda a grand whopping total of 2 fast food restaurants.

MONTGOMERY MALL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Outdoor construction of the new food court and ArcLight Cinema movieplex continues at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

As you recall, work was halted after a construction worker was killed by a partial garage collapse. The worker was employed by Whiting-Turner, not Westfield.

Here are some new pictures of the work going on now:

RUBY THAI KITCHEN MOVES TO NEW SPOT IN MONTGOMERY MALL FOOD COURT (PHOTOS)

Ruby Thai Kitchen is the latest player in the Montgomery Mall food court game of musical chairs. The expansion of the food court has required several popular restaurants to move to different spots within the space.

Here are photos of the new Ruby Thai:

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEW SARKU JAPAN RESTAURANT AT WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Japanese restaurant Sarku Japan has been serving up sushi and other favorites for years in Westfield Montgomery Mall's food court.

But with the food court expansion underway, Sarku is one of several restaurants being relocated to accomodate the growth.

It is moving nearby, within the same food court area. The new restaurant space isn't quite ready, but why don't we take a sneak peek behind the curtain?

MAJOR CHANGES AT WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Major renovations of Westfield Montgomery Mall's food court, the addition of a luxury cineplex, and other random happenings have caused a massive game of musical chairs at the popular Bethesda retail palace. Over the weekend, I told you about the garage closure. But there is much more happening inside the mall.

I hope to help you make sense of it all through the following words and pictures.

EXPRESS - Temporarily relocated to the lower level, where Toys R Us Express was, near Sears.

TRADE SECRET SALON - Gone. Kaput. Kablooey. Closed. Fin. Forever.

FINISH LINE - Temporarily closed.

DUMPLING DOJO - Still open! Sliding over to new space in food court.

MIRCH MASALA GRILL - Still open, will also move within the food court.

RUBY THAI KITCHEN - Ditto. Moving to new spot in food court.

Ultimately, an even better mall is on the way after all of the work is done.

WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL GARAGE CLOSED BEHIND MACY'S HOME STORE (PHOTOS)

The parking structure behind Macy's Home Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall is now closed. An extensive renovation and mall expansion is underway. Westfield has placed signs to direct customers to additional parking as necessary. Just a heads-up if you are planning to go shopping at the mall this weekend.

PARDON OUR DUCTS: WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL FOOD COURT RENOVATION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Work is underway to create the fabulous new food court expected to open this fall at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

A lot of it is up in the air (pun intended) right now, as you can see in these photos.

Random coincidence: My mom once talked to a repair man, who said one of his brother's proudest accomplishments was installing the original duct system at Montgomery Mall. We may be looking at some of that work in these pictures.

As a diehard fan of Montgomery Mall, the guy certainly has my respect!

WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY BLACK FRIDAY MIDNIGHT DOORBUSTERS - BETHESDA BLACK FRIDAY

PLUS,

I PICK THE

TOP SPOTS TO

HIT AT THE MALL

ON

BLACK FRIDAY!

Westfield Montgomery Mall is the place to be in Bethesda for Black Friday, without question.

To make up for the lack of Walmart and Target-style "giant flatscreen for $50" doorbusters, Westfield uses its advantage of sheer number of high-quality tenants.  Beyond the significant doorbuster savings, Westfield also tries to enhance the Black Friday experience with food and fun as the hours go by.

The full list is below, but I recall that last year there were lots of surprises and giveaways around the mall that were not announced in advance.

Finally, what's about to take place defies the nutty claims by some "experts," who want to convince us
that the great American indoor mall is a dinosaur of the past, and that the suburbs are dying, etc., etc.

Obviously, those folks weren't at Westfield Montgomery last Black Friday, where there were huge crowds and delays just trying to park the car. Or at Milestone Shopping Center in Germantown, where every single space was taken in their massive parking lot.  Those are the same geniuses who say both retail meccas have "too much parking."  Uh, OK guys, if you say so.  But I hope you're ready to join the rest of us in the real world some day again soon.

Westfield continues to do a great job managing the mall, and this Black Friday is the perfect time to show your support for this classic American shopping mall.

Here's the complete list of Black Friday specials for the Midnight opening (don't forget, Sears opens right after Thanksgiving dinner at 8 PM!).  My picks are in bold:

Midnight to 8am: Enter to win a $500 Shopping Spree. Hourly giveaways.

American Apparel - 12am - 6am: 25% off entire store with a purchase of 4 items or more.

Arden B - 12am - 10am: Buy 1, get 1 free; 10am - 10pm: Buy 1, get 1 for $5.

Banana Republic - 40% off entire store.

Banner's Hallmark - 12am - 9am: 25% off entire store. Excludes Gift Cards, Stamps, Sale, Past Purchases.

Bare Minerals - Get the Royal Treatment for $49, regularly $85.

Bath and Body Works - See store for details.

BCBGMAXAZRIA - 30%-50% off select items.

Bebe - See store for details.

Body Shop, The - See store for details.

Bose - Savings on SoundDock 10 Series, Lifestyle Home Theatre, Bose Audio Headphones and more.
Plus, Wave Music System and Multi-Disc Changer special.

Brookstone - 12am - 10am: Save $25 on Active Sport Massager; save $100 on Pure Ion Air Cleaner; Save $70 on a 3-piece luggage set.

Brow Art - 8am-10pm: $20 for a full face threading.

Bubbles Salon - 9am - 2pm: Half off all blow dry's and men's haircuts.

Build-a-Bear Workshop - Door Buster: $5 Snow Boy and Snow Girl. While supplies last.

Candy World - 10% off bulk candy.

Caribou Coffee - Stay Awake for Midnight Madness opening 10pm on 11/22/12

Champs - See store for details.

Chick-fil-A - Enter to win Chick-fil-A for a year. Submit entry at the store.

Children's Place - 30-50% off entire store.

California Pizza Kitchen - 8am - 10am: Yummy Breakfast Pizza; 8am - 10pm: buy a $100 gift card, get a $40 gift card for free.

Crabtree & Evelyn - Gardeners 250 ml Hand Sanitizer $4.99; select 50ml Hand Sanitizer $5.

Dollar Store Plus - 12am-8am: 1 free roll of Christmas wrapping for the first 100 customers with minimum $5 purchase.

Express - 12am - 12pm: 50% off entire store; 12pm-10pm: 40% off entire store.

Fire & Ice - 12am - 12pm: $25 Fire and Ice gift card with $75 purchase; 12pm-10pm: 20% off entire store; All day get a free ornament with $100 purchase, while supplies last.

Forever 21 - See store for details

Furnish @ the Mall - $100 off on every $1,000 purchase; free delivery on every $2,000 purchase or more (offers and deals cannot be combined); 90 days same as cash option financing available with no interest and no credit check; free lay-a-way available.

Gap - 12am - 12pm; Door Buster Event: Select Styles - Mens & Womens $19, Gap Body PJ Sets $19, Gap Kids & Baby Gap $5 graphic tees.

Godiva - See store for details.

Gold Palace - 12am - 6am: 40% off silver (select styles); free fashion earrings with any purchase ($6 value); free watch with any $25 purchase; watch battery change $5 and up; buy 1, get 1 free any body jewelry; free jewelry cleaning

Guess - 30% off entire purchase (some restrictions apply).

Gymboree - See store for details.

Haagen-Dazs - 12am - 4am: Buy any Dazzler and get a 2nd 50% off, including the new Peppermint Bark flavor; 4am - 8am: $1 off any Smoothie or Baristo frozen beverage. One discount per person, not valid with any other offer.

House of Hoops by Footlocker - See store for details.

Icing By Claires - Free cell phone stylus with any $20 purchase, pre-tax. While supplies last.

Janie and Jack - See store for details.

J.Crew - 25% off your entire purchase.

Keurig - Opening at 11pm on Thursday with Coffee Samples.

Laila Rowe - 12am - 6am: Buy 1 get 1 50% off” ALL DAY and 20% off all mark downs.

Leather Store, The - Rimona Luggage $100 off; 20% off Bagatelle, and Women's Lodis briefcases and
wallets; 15% off Werks Collection Victorinox Luggage; $50 off every $350 purchsae of Briggs and Riley
luggage.

Lucky Brand Jeans: 12am - 10am: 30% off entire store.

Lids - Buy 1, get 1 50% off, promotional Nationals and Redskins hats.

Macy's - Savings throughout the store.

Marbles: The Brain Store - Free Marbles Colorfall with $250 purchase, limit one per customer; Free Geek Box with $100 purchase.

McDonald's - 12am - 8am: Buy an extra value meal and receive a free large regular coffee.

Michael Kors - 12am - 10am: 25% off sale merchandise and other select items.

Mirch Masala - 12am - 2am: Get $2 off purchase of $10.

Naartjie Kids - Buy 1, get 1 50% off girls dresses and boys tops. Extra 40% off clearance items.

Old Navy - 12am - 4am: $5 fleece half-zips, $15 jeans, $12 adoraboots; 4am - 8am: Disney/Pixar DVD and Graphic-T $15; 8am - 12pm: Sherpa Hoodie $15.

Pandora: Limited Edition Mystery Bead Release, while supplies last.

Papyrus: 50% off pre-wrapped gifts; Holiday boxed cards, buy 2, get 1 free.

Payless Shoesource - Up to 50% off select items.

Pen Boutique - 12am - 12pm: 25% off entire purchase (some restrictions apply); Parker Insignia Ball
Point Pen 50% off or free with any $50 purchase; Parker Jotter Ball Point Pen free with any purchase.

Qdoba Mesixan Grill: Buy 1 entree, get 1 free. Limit one per customer.

Radio Shack - Buy a Galaxy Siii with upgrade or 2-year new line and get a $50 Google Play gift card. Galaxy Siii is $99.99.

Sears - Doorbusters and savings throughout the store.

Sephora - Special items starting at $10.

Shenk & Tittle - 50% off all Reebok NFL apparel; 50% off selected snowboards, boots & bindings; 40% off selected snow sports outerwear.

Services Plus - Gatorade/Powerade- 2 for $2 (20oz), 2 for $5 (32oz); Red Bull 2 for $4 (8oz), 2 for $5 (12oz).

Soma Intimates - 10% off when you purchase Soma Sensualities; First customer to donate gently used bra for "Soma Bra Donation-Ending Domestic Violence" will receive a free bra of their choice.

Steve Madden - Scratch off sale - see store for scratch off card with instant special offer.

Sunglass Hut - 70% off select Vogue styles; Buy select styles and get 1 free; Purchase a full price item 
of $150 or more and get a $50 off coupon reward.

Things Remembered - Select Jewelry buy 1, get 1 free; Spend $100 and get $20 credit toward a
December purchase; Five items (see store) are free when you engrave them for $6 or more.

Under Armour - Get a $20 gift card for every $100 you spend on select styles.

Urban Outfitters: 50% Sale items. See store for details.

Vans - Free Vans phone case for iPhone 4/4S with purchase of $100 or more (while supplies last)

Verdict - 20% off any 1 item; 30% off 2 or more items; Fall Fashion Sale up to 50% off plus an extra 50%.

Vera Bradley - Holiday Tote - free with a $100 purchase (while supplies last); Holiday Sale - 25% off
select colors and styles.

Victoria's Secret - Free tote bag with $65 purchase. While supplies last.

VIP Outdoor Apparel - 10% - 50% off The North Face, Spyder, Kelly Hansen, Patagonia, and Mountain Hardware

Vitamin World - Mix and match, buy 1 get, 1 50% off all Vitamin World and Precision Engineered brand Items (excludes spectacular values).

Washington Redskins - Earbuds, $7.95; DJ Headphones, $29.95; iDock, $39.95, while supplies last.

Walking Company, The: Free Cozy Scarf from Zealand, a $20 value, with any regular priced footwear purchase before 9 am. While supplies last.

White House Black Market 25% off entire purchase; Free tote with purchase, while supplies last.

The following restaurants will open at Midnight:

Auntie Anne's
Bistro Sensations
Candy World
Caribou Coffee (opening at 10pm on Thursday, November 22)
Charley's Grilled Subs
Chick-fil-A (see special offer)
Dairy Queen
Dippin' Dots
Dumpling Dojo
Godiva (see special offer)
Haagen-Dazs (see special offer)
Jamba Juice
J.Chow's Chicken & Rib
McDonald's (see special offer)
Mirch Masala
Panda Express
Popeyes
Qdoba Mexican Grill (see special offer)
Ruby Thai
Sbarro Italian Grill
Sarku Japan
Subway
YoCake

DUMPLING DOJO BURGLARY SUSPECT SCHOOLED BY COUNTY POLICE - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

CAUGHT ON CAMERA,

MAN CONFESSES TO

2 WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY

THEFTS, POLICE SAY

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Montgomery County Police announced they have arrested and charged a Washington, D.C. man in connection with a September 10 burglary at Dumpling Dojo, in Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Police say the suspect, 23-year-old Delonte Ernesto Smith, was videotaped by the food court restaurant's camera as he stage-dived over the front counter.  Making his way back to the restaurant's office area, police allege, Smith stole cash and fled.  He also cut an opening in the "garage door" security gate at Brow Art, and stole additional cash from their register, police say.

Four days later, mall security identified Smith at the mall and called police.  Smith was arrested at a mall bus stop shortly afterward.

DUMPLING DOJO OPENS IN BETHESDA AT WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL

SON OF HOLLYWOOD EAST OWNER

LAUNCHES MALL'S EFFORT TO

IMPROVE DINING OPTIONS

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Get ready for bao sandwiches, Bethesda!  Dumpling Dojo is now open at Westfield Montgomery Mall, in the food court.

Dumpling Dojo - Westfield Montgomery Mall

Montgomery Mall's food court has always had surprisingly decent Chinese and Japanese chain restaurants.  But expectations are far higher for Dumpling Dojo, as owner Jeffrey Yu is the son of Janet Yu, owner of Wheaton's famed Hollywood East Cafe.  In recent years, Hollywood East has moved into "Restaurant Row" at Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall, and into Washingtonian magazine's "Top 100 Restaurants" list.

So it's somehow appropriate that Jeffrey Yu's venture would make a big splash at our Westfield mall in Bethesda.  Is there a Top 100 listing in Dumpling Dojo's future?  Hollywood East proved it's possible.

Dumpling Dojo's main menu offerings are a wide selection of dumplings, bao sandwiches and rice bowls.  The most interesting are the sandwiches.  Bao (pronounced "bow" as in "pow" or "cow") are steamed soft rolls, which originated in Cantonese cuisine.  As you can imagine, there is no shortage of geographic variations.

Earlier this year, Westfield promised an ambitious renovation of the food court, new dining options, a new multiscreen cineplex, and an all-new Transit Center.

While those projects will take several years to complete, it's no surprise that Westfield would turn to one of the restaurant royal families of Montgomery County, to give patrons a hint of what the future holds.

So if you're heading to the mall to do some shopping soon, stop by Dumpling Dojo while you're there.