Bethesda Lidl store remains in limbo

Another month has gone by, and there has still been no evidence of any work going on inside the future Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in the Bethesda Place development. Shelving and display cases have been in place since last fall, but remain empty. Rumors over the winter suggested the store had run into permitting issues with Montgomery County, which had been resolved by mid-January, but two months have since passed. Lidl's media relations department declined to respond to an inquiry about the delay in opening the Bethesda store.

Trader Joe's construction begins in Friendship Heights

Construction is now underway on the new Trader Joe's grocery store at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Friendship Heights. The store is in the Chevy Chase Pavilion mall. It will be the new anchor tenant for the property, replacing H&M. Located in Washington, D.C., it will be allowed to sell beer and wine, unlike grocery chains that operate under Montgomery County's antiquated liquor laws.

More Lidl signage pops up at Bethesda Place (Photos)

All signs point in the direction of the new Lidl supermarket opening soon at 7625 Old Georgetown Road at the Bethesda Place development in downtown Bethesda. This time, it is more tenant monument signage on heavily-traveled Wisconsin Avenue (MD 355). The monochrome sign doesn't currently light up, and does not particularly stand out well at night as a result. Only two tenants at the property are listed so far - the German grocery store, which will now serve as the anchor retail tenant, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL).

First lighted signage installed at Bethesda Lidl

The first lighted signage has been installed at the new Lidl supermarket, opening soon at 7625 Old Georgetown Road at the Bethesda Place development. It is located at the parking garage entrance to the building, and on a tenant roster monument sign. Last night, the signage was already lit up. Lidl replaces the former Safeway store as the anchor retail tenant at Bethesda Place.

Bethesda Lidl construction update

Here's a sneak peek at the latest construction progress inside the future Lidl supermarket at 7625 Old Georgetown Road, at the Bethesda Place apartments. As you can see, most of the shelving is now in place. They are all still empty for the moment. Lidl will replace the departed Safeway grocery store as the anchor retail tenant at the property.

Automatic doors installed at Bethesda Lidl

Automatic electric doors have been installed at the entrance to the future Bethesda Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. The good news is that construction continues to proceed apace at the supermarket successor to Safeway at Bethesda Place. The bad news is that paper has been placed over the windows to block views of that progress. No opening date for the store has been announced as of this morning, but it is expected to open sometime this winter.

First signage installed at future Bethesda Lidl

The first piece of signage has been installed at the future Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road at Bethesda Place. It appears to be a sign that will eventually list the store's operating hours. As the "DANGER: HARD HAT AREA" sign next to it suggests, construction continues on the interior fit-out of the grocery store. 

More shelving is now in place, as well as wood paneling around what looks like the future Bakery department. Lidl will replace the long-departed Safeway store as the anchor retail tenant at this development.

Bethesda Lidl construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the progress on construction of the new Lidl supermarket at 7625 Old Georgetown Road at Bethesda Place. You can already tell the lighting inside the store will be much brighter than it was in the Safeway that previously occupied this space. Shelving is now going into place, as well as display cases. The latter look like bakery display cases.

Indecent exposure at Harris Teeter in Bethesda

Montgomery County police were called to the Harris Teeter grocery store at 4805 Battery Lane in downtown Bethesda Wednesday night, June 5, 2024. Officers were summoned to investigate an indecent exposure incident. The crime was reported at 6:00 PM Wednesday. No arrest was made that evening, according to Montgomery County arrest records.

Bethesda Lidl construction update (Photos)

The new Lidl grocery store is still in the early stages of construction at 7625 Old Georgetown Road, at Bethesda Place. A veritable fleet of scissor lifts has been deployed inside the space, which was previously home to a Safeway store. It looks like they're still working on the "guts" of the infrastructure, and some painting. A new set of elevators is visible.

Lidl will be "your new favorite grocery store" in Bethesda

Sign installers have completed placement of "coming soon" signage at the future Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. It promises Lidl will be "your new favorite grocery store," and shows a vibrant cloud of fruits and vegetables, with a donut and croissant hidden among them for good measure. An avocado gets its own panel around front. Alas, Lidl will have a hard time delivering the pictured wine bottle, as Montgomery County's archaic liquor laws don't allow the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores.

Lidl "coming soon" signage being installed in Bethesda

Coming soon: a sign that says "coming soon" on the future storefront of Lidl at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. Workers are installing the individual panels of the sign this afternoon, using a rendering of the completed signage as a guide. This is the vacant Safeway space in the Bethesda Place apartments. That former anchor tenant closed a whopping six years ago, and will now be replaced by the rapidly-expanding German grocery chain. 

Trader Joe's opening a store in Friendship Heights at Chevy Chase Pavilion

Trader Joe's will open a new store in Friendship Heights at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW, just over the Maryland-D.C. line at Chevy Chase Pavilion, according to a liquor license application posted outside the former H&M space. The grocery store will be the new anchor tenant at the development. Trader Joe's appears to have adopted a location strategy more like CVS Pharmacy or Starbucks than Giant or Safeway. The Friendship Heights store will be the chain's fourth on Wisconsin Avenue, between the Glover Park location at 2101 Wisconsin Avenue NW, and 7900 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda.  

Bethesda Lidl grocery store construction to start

Work on the interior fit-out of the new Lidl grocery store at 7625 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda is set to begin. A construction permit for the interior work has just been issued by Montgomery County, and has been posted at the site. Some preliminary work on a vestibule area was performed in December 2023. Lidl will be the new anchor tenant of the Bethesda Place development, replacing Safeway.