JD Sports opening at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

JD Sports is coming soon to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, according to signage posted across its future storefront. It will fill the space vacated by PacSun. JD Sports is a British sporting goods retailer, but carries brands and styles from around the world. Among the labels sold by the chain are Adidas, Nike, New Balance, UnderArmour, Vans, Crocs and Champion.

Smashing Pumpkins fan accused of pickpocketing at Wildwood Shopping Center in Bethesda

A Smashing Pumpkins fan is allegedly one half of a duo accused of snatching wallets at two businesses at the Wildwood Shopping Center in Bethesda on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Montgomery County police have released photos of the two suspects, and are seeking the public's help in identifying and locating them. They are accused of stealing wallets from victims at Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria and Fish Taco that day.

Suspect #1 is described by police as a White female, wearing sunglasses, a purple Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, a black zip-up sweatshirt, white and red Nike sneakers, and carrying a black purse. She was also seen wearing a bright blue shirt with the word ‘NASA’ written across the front, a black hoodie, white and red Nike sneakers, and again carrying a black purse.  

Suspect #2 is described as a Black male, wearing a black baseball hat, sunglasses, a grey tracksuit, with a white t-shirt underneath (that reads, "JUST DID IT"), and black Nike sneakers. He was also seen wearing an Eagles baseball hat, sunglasses, a white t-shirt, black pants, and black shoes. The reason both are seen wearing different clothing is that they allegedly attempted to later use credit cards found in the wallets. 

Anyone with information regarding these suspects or this crime is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “www.p3tips.com” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspects. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Bethesda Row advertising on vacant buildings in the Woodmont Triangle

Poster ads for Federal Realty's Bethesda Row development are popping up on abandoned, vacant buildings on the other side of downtown Bethesda, in the Woodmont Triangle. Posters are seen here on the ever-growing eyesore at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue. They feature the new, updated Bethesda Row logo, and mention some of the relatively-recent additions to the development like Anine Bing, Reformation and Veronica Beard.

 

Grinch Experience Holiday Pop-Up bar at Bethesdan Hotel through Dec. 31

Finally, something new and different is happening for the holidays in downtown Bethesda. The Bethesdan Hotel at 8120 Wisconsin Avenue is hosting "You Sleigh Me: A Grinch Experience Holiday Pop-Up Bar" through December 31, 2023. The exterior of the hotel is glowing a shade of Grinch green. Inside, you will find a special selection of Grinch-themed holiday adult beverages. They range from egg nog and other cold refreshments to hot toddies of several flavors, and the option to build-your-own steaming hot drinks. The pop-up bar is inside the hotel's Fialova restaurant, and spots can be reserved online.

Bethesda Jewelry Exchange/Old Georgetown Grille redevelopment heading to Planning Board Dec. 14

Sketch and Preliminary plans for a high-rise development that will replace the Old Georgetown Grille, Bethesda Florist and the old Jewelry Exchange building are headed to the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval December 14, 2023 at 9:20 AM. Developer Stonebridge is proposing a 175' tall apartment tower with 240 residential units, and 6000-square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. It would provide the minimum 15% Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units required by Montgomery County, and will place loading dock and parking access on the St. Elmo Avenue side of the lot, which consists of 7749 Old Georgetown Road, 7747 Old Georgetown Road, 4934 St. Elmo Avenue and 4940 St. Elmo Avenue.

A 143-space parking garage will be located under the building, fewer spaces than the minimum ordinarily required by Montgomery County. Bicycle lanes will be placed alongside the building on St. Elmo Avenue, as recommended in the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan. Planning staff are recommending approval of the Sketch and Preliminary plans.

Speed limit reduced on Massachusetts Avenue in Bethesda

The Maryland State Highway Administration has reduced the speed limit on Massachusetts Avenue in Bethesda from 35 MPH to 30 MPH. New signage has been installed on the section of the state highway between Sangamore Road and Westmoreland Circle at the Maryland-Washington, D.C. border, with yellow tags that read, "NEW." 

The remainder of the road, a two-lane segment between Sangamore and Goldsboro Road, was already set at 30 MPH. This latest adjustment follows a more drastic speed limit reduction on River Road, from 45 to 35 MPH. As with River Road, there was no public process or advance notice of the plan to change the speed limit.

Terrain Cafe closes at Bethesda Row

Terrain Cafe has permanently closed at 7728 Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row. "It is with great sadness that we permanently close the doors to Terrain Cafe in Bethesda, MD," the Terrain company said in a statement. "Thank you to our customers, neighbors, and employees for the years of support. Terrain retail store in Bethesda, MD remains open." It's sad to see the restaurant go at that corner, where the new plaza outside Terrain and Anthropologie is just being completed.

Bethesda Avenue CHOPT closed this afternoon for "power issues"

CHOPT Creative Salad Co. at 4766 Bethesda Avenue is temporarily closed for the afternoon. The restaurant says the closure is due to "power issues." Some residents of downtown Bethesda have reported their lights flickering over the last hour. If you still need a salad, Sweetgreen is down the street, and CHOPT's other Bethesda location at the Wildwood Shopping Center is open. CHOPT's neighbor, Paul Bakery, permanently closed yesterday for unrelated reasons.

Visit Santa's Workshop in Chevy Chase on December 9 and 10, 2023

Santa's Workshop will open to the public this coming weekend, December 9 and 10, 2023, at the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase at 7931 Connecticut Avenue. From 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM each day, children and families can enjoy holiday crafts, a Lionel model train display, pizza, donuts, refreshments, and a chance to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus. 

Tickets are $20 per person, and can be purchased online. Proceeds benefit the charitable contributions and scholarships of the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase. On behalf of Santa, WCCC also makes a contribution to the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a childhood cancer research charity. Free parking is available in the lot behind the clubhouse.

Signage installed at new location for The Shop Salon in Bethesda

The Shop Salon is getting ready to move to its new home at Bethesda Place. Signage was just installed above the salon's new storefront. Their current space at 8227 Woodmont Avenue is now being marketed for lease.

Maryland Supreme Court to hear case on sale of Moses African Cemetery on January 8, 2024

Maryland's Supreme Court is now scheduled to hear the case regarding the attempted sale of a Bethesda property containing Moses African Cemetery on January 8, 2024. The case of Dr. Olusegun Adebayo and the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) vs. the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) centers on the HOC's alleged violation of a state law that requires descendants of those buried in a cemetery to be notified of the potential sale of that land. 

A Montgomery County judge granted an injunction against the sale of the Westwood Tower property to Charger Ventures, but was overruled by an appeals court decision. Charger Ventures then withdrew its purchase offer. Adebayo and BACC have appealed to the state's highest court now, which will have the final say, unless the plaintiffs seek a further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court following this ruling.

"This is the first time that a state supreme court is being asked to limit the power of developers and state agencies regarding the selling and desecration of African burial grounds and our ancestors," BACC said in a statement Monday. "The decision by the Maryland Supreme Court will have national and perhaps, international ramifications. The court will decide whether Black bodies can be sold to private or public agecies and the land laundered for non-burial purposes without oversight by the court or descendant families. BACC is on the front lines of fighting for both the living and our ancestors. Please plan to join BACC on January 8th and by your presence declare: Black Bodies are Not for Sale! People over Profit!"

BACC is organizing bus transportation to the Supreme Court in Annapolis for the January 8 hearing. To get a sense of how many people are interesting in riding the bus, BACC has created an online form at bit.ly/baccbus. If you cannot attend, but want to help fund the bus trip and other efforts by BACC, an online donation portal has also been created.

Paul Bakery closes in Bethesda

A devastating blow for Francophiles in Bethesda: Paul Bakery has closed at 4760 Bethesda Avenue, in the Flats at Bethesda Avenue apartments. The French bakery cafe opened here in June of 2015, as one of the big names attracted to the ground floor retail spaces of the massive Lot 31 development. Mon dieu! 

Kenwood wants street name of new Brookside Drive block in Bethesda changed

Montgomery County recently designated the new extension segment of Westbard Avenue to River Road in Bethesda as the 5600 block of "Brookside Drive." As I anticipated, the Kenwood neighborhood across River is not happy about this. Not only is there concern about confusion for drivers, as Brookside Drive is officially in Chevy Chase as opposed to Bethesda, but Brookside Drive is an elite street address strongly associated with Kenwood. Kenwood's citizens association has asked Montgomery County to change it. According to the Springfield Civic Association, the County renamed the new block Brookside Drive "because our neighbors on the 5500 Block of Westbard have decided to keep their addresses on Westbard and so a different name is needed for that stretch of newly realigned road."

Montgomery County's Planning Department will make the final decision whether to change the name, and what the replacement name will be. It is soliciting a list of suggestions from both the Springfield and Kenwood neighborhoods, which members of their respective civic associations will begin voting on between today and December 8. Names cannot be similar to existing street names within Montgomery County.

Write-in votes are allowed. It's unclear if the Planning Department will consider additional names at a later point in the process. 

Might I suggest writing in a few names that are actually related to the location? Petey Greene was the pioneering African-American broadcaster whose program was recorded a short walk from this street at the WDCA-20 television studios. His colleague, Dick Dyzsel, is well-known locally, and recognized among horror fans nationally for his Count Gore de Vol persona. Andy Russo was a president of the Springfield Civic Association who tragically passed away at an early age. The late Carlos Bonds was the longtime owner of the Citgo station on Westbard Avenue. Peter Posey owned the farm that the Springfield neighborhood later was developed on. 

This is a unique opportunity to help create a "sense of place" unique to the Westbard area, but it could end up being yet another missed opportunity if a generic name is chosen. 

Google Maps displaying alternative facts about Westbard road grid in Bethesda (Photos)

Google Maps is displaying incorrect information for the recently-reopened road network around Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The website shows a traffic signal at the intersection of Westbard Avenue and Ridgefield Road, which reopened last Friday, December 1, 2023. There is no traffic signal at that intersection, only stop signs. But that's not all that's wrong.

Note shown by Google Maps
incorrectly labeling a block of
Ridgefield Road as "Closed"

Even more strangely, the "Traffic" layer of Google Maps is showing the block of Ridgefield Road between Newington Road and Westbard Avenue as "Closed until Jan. 19, 2024." This is also - obviously - incorrect, as the road has been open for three days now. I'm curious where Google is retrieving this data from. Up until today, I assumed that information about planned road closures was retrieved from official government feeds that announce such information - the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, in this case. 

Despite Google Maps' claims, there is
no traffic signal at this intersection

The rest of the traffic information for the Westbard area appears to be correct, including the recently opened "Brookside Drive" block between River Road and Westbard Avenue. I checked with a user of the Waze navigation app, who reported back that Waze was displaying accurate information about the Westbard area as of last night, so it appears to be a Google issue.

Assault at Bethesda bus stop

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at a bus stop at Westfield Montgomery Mall early Friday evening, December 1, 2023. The assault was reported at a bus stop in the 7100 block of Democracy Boulevard at 6:06 PM Friday.

No Regrets Pizza aiming for March 2024 opening in White Flint

No Regrets Pizza Co. is on-track for the "early 2024" opening promised by its coming-soon window signage at 5454 Nicholson Lane in White Flint. Located in the ground floor of the Harwood Flats apartment building, the pizzeria is currently anticipating a March 2024 grand opening. Operating hours for the 35-seat restaurant will be 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, seven days a week. There will also be a full bar. Pizza lovers who leased apartments upstairs at Harwood Flats are clearly having no regrets!

The Heights food hall finally has an opening date in Chevy Chase

The Heights food hall was originally expected to open at The Shops at Wisconsin Place in Chevy Chase in late 2022. A full year later, it finally has an opening date of December 11, 2023 at 11:00 AM. The final roster of tenants in the food hall includes the full-service restaurant Urbano, a speakeasy called The Turncoat, the eponymous full-service bar The Heights, and stalls occupied by This Deli of Ours, Saoco Cuban Eats, DC Dosa, Sky Lanterns: The Thai Tales, Doki Doki Sushi, Mimi's Handmade Soft Serve, Yasmine, Supreme Barbecue, and Aunteaboba. The Heights is located at 406-A Wisconsin Avenue atop the Friendship Heights Metro station.

Ridgefield Road-Westbard Avenue intersection reopens in Bethesda (Photos)

An unprecedented 17-month closure of a Bethesda neighborhood's arterial road network has come to an end. The intersection of Ridgefield Road and Westbard Avenue reopened to vehicular traffic yesterday, after the completion of a road realignment project. While the original concept was to extend Westbard down to the River Road-Brookside Drive intersection, at some point a decision was made to call that new block of Westbard "Brookside Drive." It is now labeled as the 5600 block of Brookside, a street name that has up until now been an elite address through the Kenwood neighborhood across River Road.

While neither Montgomery County nor Westbard developer Regency Centers has publicly spoken about the naming decision, the late change represents a sacrifice on the part of Regency, as it loses the branding opportunity of having the "Westbard" street sign over the voluminous commuter traffic that passes through the River-Brookside intersection only a block from the company's new Westbard Square development. On the positive side for Regency, the realigned road creates a direct field of view of Westbard Square from the River-Brookside intersection.

New traffic signals at the new Westbard-Brookside "T" intersection midway between River and Westbard Square were also activated on Friday. The signals will make what was originally going to be a very dangerous, ungoverned intersection for pedestrians and drivers much safer. Fully-separated bike lanes also provide a very safe route for cyclists along the Brookside and Westbard portions between River and Westbard Square. With the Westbard road grid reopened again, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation is now expected to study the traffic patterns that develop, to determine whether or not to implement a closure of Westbard Avenue at River Road that was recommended in the 2016 Westbard sector plan.

Mandi Mediterranean Bar Grill Lounge opening Saturday in Bethesda

Mandi Mediterranean Bar Grill Lounge at 4906 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda will open tomorrow, Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 5:00 PM. A complimentary buffet will be served from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Mandi replaces longtime tenant Bangkok Garden in this space. Mandi's operating hours will be 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Sundays.

Update on Rooted3 vegan restaurant in Bethesda (Photos)

Here's a look at the latest progress on the dining room inside Rooted3, a new vegan restaurant opening soon at 4916 Cordell Avenue in downtown Bethesda. A Rooted3 logo sign is now on the wall inside the restaurant, as well as above the storefront. Tables, chairs and greenery are in place. Rooted3 is now hiring staff for all positions; see the photo below for contact information for prospective employees.

The Grove, Apricot Lane open at Cabin John Village in Potomac, Indigo Physiotherapy coming soon

The Grove and Apricot Lane have opened at Cabin John Village in Potomac. Cuisine at The Grove has shifted from the earlier plans for a Belgian concept to Mediterranean dishes of Spain, Italy and Greece. Chef Jose Lopez-Picazo is at the helm for the latest dining addition to the shopping center, which is located at 11325 Seven Locks Road.

Apricot Lane offers a curated selection of women's apparel. Brands include AG Denim, Boys Lie and Free People. Apricot Lane is located at 7951 Tuckerman Lane. Also coming soon to the center is Indigo Physiotherapy, offering physical therapy and massage services. When it opens, look for it at 7735 Tuckerman Lane.