Antiques shop moves out on Cordell Avenue

A pop-up antiques shop at 4715 Cordell Avenue has closed and vacated. This is in the ground floor of what the Montgomery County Council described in 2006 as an "apartment building for homeless people."

Fidelity opening new location in Chevy Chase Trust building

Fidelity has leased a ground floor space at the iconic Chevy Chase Trust building at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue. This used to be a bank, and has been totally gutted inside.

There is currently a Fidelity Investor Center down the street in the Bethesda Crossing (a.k.a. Air Rights) building. If they are moving, it doesn't look like it will be happening any day soon, based on the status of construction at the new location.

Fire hydrants along River Road being painted white

A guy is out this morning in the 5200 block of River Road in Bethesda, and on nearby Ridgefield Road, painting the fire hydrants white. No public announcement was made about this. While fire hydrant colors often have meaning, I don't recall Montgomery County ever having all-white hydrants in this area. There have been white hydrants with green tops, but not all-white. White in other jurisdictions usually signifies a public water system hydrant.

Former Remix Recycling Co. space gets new tenant

Remix Recycling Co. moved to 7022 Wisconsin Avenue this past summer. Now the owner of their old space at 7349 Wisconsin has signed a new tenant. It will be a spa offering massage services. This is next door to the future Avocet Tower development where the police station used to be.

Coal-fired oven being installed at Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza in Bethesda (Photos)

The oven has arrived and is being installed at the future Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza at 7770 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda. It's notable that the oven is being brought in at this early stage in construction.

Here is an interesting article about coal-fired pizza ovens that explains they use anthracite coal that produces fewer emissions than bituminous coal, that coal-fired pizza is less smokier in flavor than wood-burning oven pizza, and why the growth of coal-fired pizza will help keep coal miners in Pennsylvania employed rather than in West Virginia.

Popeyes chicken sandwich returning November 3

Popeyes has announced the return of its "sold-out" chicken sandwich. The sandwich will be available starting November 3, 2019. Popeyes intentionally chose a Sunday to bring back the chicken sandwich to emphasize that chicken sandwich king and arch competitor Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, likely in hopes of reigniting the chains' Twitter feud for publicity purposes.

Bethesda has two Popeyes restaurants - at Westfield Montgomery Mall in the Dining Terrace, and at the corner of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road.

Syd's Cakes + Bakes closed at Montgomery Mall

Well, that was quick. Syd's Cakes + Bakes, a.k.a. Syd's Bakery, has officially closed in the food court at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. They had only opened at the end of July, after the demise of predecessor Shilla Bakery. A third bakery, Patisserie Manuel, is set to open next month in the food court, but not here. For now, a generic "Coming Soon" wall has been installed over the Syd's space.

Bethesda construction update: Maizon Bethesda (Photos)

Excavation has significantly progressed at the Maizon Bethesda construction site at 7500 Arlington Road. The tower crane is in place. Florida-based developer Zom Living expects a 2021 delivery for the 235-unit apartment building.

Amazon Books closes for renovations at Bethesda Row

Amazon Books has temporarily closed for renovations at Bethesda Row. The store will reopen November 2, 2019. A sign in the now-covered windows refers to the renovations as "upgrades." Why renovations are needed when the store only opened last year is unclear.

Resurfacing moves up Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda

The road resurfacing project in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle neighborhood has moved up Norfolk Avenue, to the block between St. Elmo and Woodmont Avenues. Watch out for bagged parking meters and lane closures during the paving process.

Signage installed at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Bethesda Row

The permanent signs are up at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. They'll be opening this fall on Elm Street next to Mamma Lucia at Bethesda Row.

Tenleytown Target opening date set (Video+Photos)

The new Tenleytown Target store is being stocked with merchandise in Northwest Washington at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and River Road N.W. Target has set the opening date for the Tenleytown store for November 10, 2019, ahead of schedule. Shopping carts are already in place. They are still hiring ahead of the opening of the store, which is larger than the one in Bethesda, so you'll be able to save the gas you would spend driving to the big Targets elsewhere in the county.