Bethesda construction update: 8001 Woodmont (Photos)

JBG Smith's 8001 Woodmont development continues progressing toward the finish line at 7900 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The project is anchored by Trader Joe's, features an Orangetheory Fitness gym, and was scheduled for a Q3 2020 delivery. Clearly that did not happen, as we are now in the fourth quarter of the year, but the pandemic has impacted virtually every area of commerce worldwide in 2020.

Threads Salon cleared out in Bethesda

Threads Salon's space has been cleared out at 8211 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The eyebrow threading salon is located in the ground floor of the Rosedale Park apartments.

Sign installed at new Bone Jour location in Bethesda

The sign is up at Bone Jour's new location at 4922 Del Ray Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Bone Jour is a doggie daycare, grooming, boarding and event facility that has been in operation since 1986. The sign gives a hint of vintage Las Vegas to the Bethesda doggie daycare scene.

Bethesda Exxon reopens

The Bethesda Exxon station at 8240 Wisconsin Avenue has reopened for fuel sales, after its existing gas pumps were removed on September 17. After replacing the underground fuel tank, new Exxon pumps were installed on Wednesday. 

President Trump taken to Walter Reed less than 24 hours after testing positive for coronavirus (Video+Photos)

President Donald Trump was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda tonight, less than twenty-four hours after he tested positive for the coronavirus. White House representatives had maintained through the day Friday that Trump's Covid-19 symptoms were mild. 

Many observed on social media that Trump was not posting on Twitter on Friday since his virus announcement tweets. Trump did enter the hospital under his own power upon arriving from the White House. Curious observers joined a rapid media deployment across MD 355 from Walter Reed. 

Some Trump supporters - including a pickup truck flying a Trump flag - tried to be visible to the president as he disembarked from Marine One. Traffic was stopped in both directions on 355 throughout the president's arrival, and while Marine One took off again.

Trump supporters drive past
Walter Reed as president disembarks
from Marine One

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump will be admitted to Walter Reed for at least several days. No medical details about why the president is being moved there have been released, but McEnany said it was under the advice of White House physicians that Trump would transfer his work to offices available for presidential use at the hospital.

What happened at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda? (Photos)

A vacant storefront at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda has been damaged, and appears to have been burglarized. A hole has been smashed in the lower front brick under the display window, and looking from Cordell Avenue, the rear door can be seen ajar. It's unclear how the hole was created, and what would have been used to make it - and to do it before anyone driving past on Wisconsin would notice. If a car had jumped the curb, I would expect the damage to extend higher.

The store has been closed for years as a Toll Brothers redevelopment project stalled out, so I'm not sure what of value may have even been in there at this point. Looking through the front window from the sidewalk, the interior appears to have been ransacked. I see no mention of any incident reported for this address in the crime data over the last week.

Lego Store opens at Montgomery Mall

What has been the most-anticipated store opening of 2020 at Westfield Montgomery Mall has happened. The Lego Store is now open. You'll find it on Level 1 near Forever 21 and Build a Bear.

Auto theft ring strikes again in Bradley Boulevard corridor

And the hits just keep on coming. The auto theft ring that has been striking across Bethesda - and in the Bradley Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue corridors in particular - for months struck again Wednesday night. 

Items were stolen from a car parked in the driveway of a home in the 5700 block of Bradley Boulevard, and from a car in the 7300 block of Honeywell Lane off Bradley. Property was stolen from two vehicles parked in the driveways of two different homes in the 8000 block of Aberdeen Road, right off of Bradley. 

One or more items were also taken from a car parked a few blocks away in the 5500 block of Charlcote Road. A car was then entirely stolen only a block away from there, in the 5600 block of Glenwood Road.

New gas pumps installed at Bethesda Exxon station

The new Bethesda Exxon station at 8240 Wisconsin Avenue hasn't been able to sell gas since September 17, when a project to replace its fuel storage tank and gas pumps began. But it looks like you may be able to fill up again very soon. New gas pumps were installed on Wednesday, and yesterday they were being tested and prepared for activation by a petroleum equipment company team.

Le Pain Quotidien to reopen at Bethesda Row, Prima won't

The cloudy future of two closed businesses at Bethesda Row is beginning to clear up. Le Pain Quotidien has announced it plans to reopen its 7140 Bethesda Lane location soon. The forecast for fast-casual Italian restaurant Prima is not as sunny. Property owner Federal Realty has removed the restaurant from its Bethesda Row leasing map.

"Last call has been given" as Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle closes in Bethesda

Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle closed at the end of September, as expected. But the owner left a personal message on the door for loyal patrons. Montgomery County pandemic restrictions on live music and the Bethesda Streetery were cited as the factors that sealed the fate of the longtime downtown Bethesda Irish pub. An incredible run, but what a sad end for a landmark fixture in the community, and for the musicians and employees who made it what it was.

Savor Bethesda restaurant week begins today

Bethesda Urban Partnership was forced to cancel the annual Taste of Bethesda festival held every October in the Woodmont Triangle, due to the coronavirus pandemic. To take its place in promoting local restaurants, the organization is launching the Savor Bethesda restaurant week promotion beginning today, and running through Sunday, October 11, 2020. 

Dog Haus Biergarten

Participating downtown Bethesda restaurants will offer lunch, dinner and "special treat menus" at $10, $20 or $35, for dine-in and takeout customers. Takeout customers may also sit down with their meals at the Bethesda Streetery outdoor dining areas on Norfolk, Cordell and Woodmont Avenues.

See a complete list of participating restaurants and their menus here.

Photos courtesy Bethesda Urban Partnership

Two more cars stolen in Bethesda auto theft spree

Two more cars have been stolen in the Bethesda area in an ongoing auto theft spree. Over the night between Monday and Tuesday, a car parked along the street in the 4600 block of Langdrum Lane in Chevy Chase was stolen. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, a vehicle was taken from the driveway of a home in the 5500 block of Oakmont Avenue, in the Old Georgetown Road corridor at Cedar Lane. Two cars were stolen near Walt Whitman High School over the weekend.

Ege Market opens in Bethesda

Ege Market, an international convenience store, has opened at 4923 St. Elmo Avenue. They carry products from Europe, Russia and the Middle East. See pictures below for a socially-distanced sample of the available products, and the store's operating hours.