Downtown Silver Spring

J. Hollinger’s Watrerman’s Chophouse will open on Tuesday, May 10 in Silver Spring, according to a report by Source of the Spring. It will be located in the Lee Plaza building at 8601 Georgia Avenue, in the space that was previously home to Ray’s the Classics (later known as just the Classics) from 1998 until 2018. The restaurant is being opened by Jerry Hollinger and Mike Ellis. Hollinger currently has two other Montgomery County restaurants- The Daily Dish on Grubb Road and The Dish & Dram on Kensington Pkwy in Kensington.

Executive Chef, and Olney native, Mike Ellis was most recently the executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak in DC. He helped open the restaurant as a sous chef under Bryan Voltaggio and came back in 2016 as executive chef after earning a Michelin star at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in Sonoma County. According to a recent report by Eater, “Look for a la carte cuts of meat along with produce sourced from D.C.-area and Pennsylvania farms.” and “Sundays will be a busy affair, with a live jazz brunch followed by prime rib night.”


Olney

Nearly a year ago, in July of 2021, it was announced that the Montgomery County Green Bank and Sandy Spring Bank are teaming up to provide flexible financing to help the Olney Ale House re-open. In September of 2021, we spoke with a representative from Montgomery County Green Bank who let us know that the construction is moving along well and that it could take around 3-5 months for the Ale House to open, but that it was just an estimate.

The reopening of the Olney Ale House is one of the most asked about topics by our readers, and we have reached out several times since our last update, but have not heard back. Earlier today we stopped by to check out the progress, but there was not much progress at the location. We will be reaching out again this week and hope to be able to provide you with an update on a potential reopening.


Arts

The Takoma ARTery arts group has launched a new artist directory featuring artwork and info about local artists. The creation of the directory was funded in part by a grant from the City’s Arts and Humanities Division to support the local creative community, their small businesses, and economic development in Takoma Park. “The City of Takoma Park has a long track record of supporting the arts through our Takoma Park Arts events series and a wide range of public art projects,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “We also work with local arts organizations, and the Takoma ARTery has done a lot of great work in a short time bringing artists together to support their livelihoods.”

A group of volunteers started the Takoma ARTery during the COVID-19 pandemic to feature artwork by local artists in underused storefronts in downtown Takoma Park and at the Takoma Junction. City grants also helped fund the group’s start-up costs and the ARTery’s first art fair that was held last summer outside the Takoma Park Community Center. “The financial and staff support from the City have helped transform the ARTery from an innovative pandemic-related arts project into a vibrant artist community which is boosting the creative economy,” ARTery co-founder Eleanor Landstreet said.


Gaithersburg

Uptons, a discount department store that started in Georgia in 1985 and grew to 75 stores across the east coast by the mid 90s, opened a Montgomery County location in the Kentlands where The Colonnade development currently stands.

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Damascus

The affordable housing property will be located at 25100 Ridge Rd. in Damascus.

“So many of our older residents are on fixed incomes and we must continue to produce affordable, and deeply affordable, housing options for them,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “In working with St. Anne’s, and with other faith-based efforts, we will help leverage available land to support housing for people who earn about $30,000 to $50,000 per year—that is, 30 to 50 percent of the area median. Similarly, we are offering County land parcels to be dedicated for housing that is affordable to people with lower incomes. With 20,000 households in Montgomery County earning less than $31,000 per year and paying more than half their income on rent, we must continue creating and preserving housing that is affordable to people at lower income levels.”


Business

Three Gaithersburg warehouses totaling 200,080 square feet have been purchased by an affiliate of New York’s Brookfield Properties for $51.25 million, According to a recent report by BizJournals. The Reserve Business Center is located at 8791-8797 Snouffer School Road.

Construction on the warehouses was completed and delivered in 2016. Goodman Distribution and Paul Davis are two of the current tenants. According to the report, “Newmark data shows the county’s industrial properties are 97% leased, with many older warehouse properties being converted to lab space, thus making it harder to find available warehouse space.”


Restaurants

Signage is up and construction is ongoing at Naz’s Halal at 11209 New Hampshire Ave in White Oak, the former location of White Oak Dry Cleaners. Workers let us know that the restaurant is likely “a couple months away.” In December we told you Naz’s would expanding to Germantown, Rockville (1040 Rockville Pike), and Takoma Park (7653 New Hampshire Ave)

The first location outside of New York was also in MoCo, at the Burtonsville Town Center, next to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. That location opened in August 2020 and has become a local favorite with late night hours, remaining open until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 4am on Friday and Saturday.


Crime

Rockville Police responded to a report of a carjacking at the 800 block of Hungerford Drive at approximately 2:45 on Saturday afternoon. The female victim reports that a man pulled her out of her red 2016 Nissan Altima (Md Tags 6DH0170z), jumped in and drove off. Additional information below, courtesy of Rockville Police:

4/30/22 – 2:45 p.m. RCPD has responded to the 800 block of Hungerford Dr for the report of an carjacking. The suspect, a black male, thin build in his 40’s, appearing disheveled, approached the victim, pulled her out of the car, jumped into the vehicle and drove off Northbound on Hungerford. The victim was unharmed. The car is 2016 Red Nissan Altima with MD Tags 6DH0170z Montgomery County Police Department’s Major Crimes will assume the investigation into this incident. Please call 911 if you see this vehicle.


Rockville

A vehicle was driven over a retaining wall in the 700 block of Monroe St (Fireside Apartments) in Rockville on Saturday, April 30, around noon. Rockville City Police report that there were no injuries, only property damage. A tow truck is currently at the scene. We will post an update when more information becomes available.

Earlier this month cars were driven into the Montgomery Village Post Office and a single family home in North Potomac. In March, vehicles were driven into the signage at Kentlands Square and a hair salon in Gaithersburg. There were no serious injuries in any of the incidents listed.


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