Author: MCS Staff

Maryland

Big Greek Cafe Named “Best Gyro in Maryland” by Tasting Table

By MCS Staff

Tasting Table, an online publication with over 18 million monthly visitors that offers “expert-backed dining advice, practical tips, must-try recipes, and the most relevant news influencing the food and restaurant world today”, has created a list of “The Best Gyro in Every State” and MoCo’s very own Big Greek Cafe earned the nod for Maryland.

Big Greek Cafe opened its first location in Downtown Silver Spring in 2009 and has quickly grown to become a favorite across the county. In addition to Downtown Silver Spring, there are currently locations in Bethesda, Hillandale, Kensington, Rockville, Urbana, and Laurel. Per the article,“According to the owners, the food here is served just as yia yia used to make. For those who don’t know, yia yia is the Greek word for grandma, and no one can cook better than a Greek grandmother. Follow up the famous gyro pita with rizogalo, a Greek rice pudding dessert not often found outside of Greece.”

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Maryland

MD Moves to Intervene in Lawsuits Defending Truck Emissions Regulations to Reduce Air Pollution

By MCS Staff

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of Attorneys General and cities in moving to intervene in lawsuits challenging decisions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that authorize California to establish regulations that would speed the adoption of zero-emission trucks and reduce emissions from fossil fuel-powered heavy-duty vehicles.

The regulations would help the states tackle climate and air quality challenges by reducing greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and other emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. In the latest challenges, trucking and petroleum industry groups are among those challenging EPA’s decision to grant California’s request for “waivers of preemption,” which allowed these regulations to move forward in California and opened the door for other states to adopt them as well. Pursuant to the Clean Trucks Act of 2023, the Maryland Department of the Environment is finalizing regulations, which incorporate California’s standards by reference.

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Restaurants

Three Tenants Sign On For Upcoming White Oak Town Center

By MCS Staff

Last year we let you know that developers Bernstein Management and Finmarc Management pulled the first permits that will allow for construction to begin on the upcoming White Oak Town Center (12345 Columbia Pike). Now, at least three tenants have signed on for the upcoming shopping center. European Wax Center, Jersey Mike’s, and Inspire Nail Bar are all slated for the shopping center that also has plans to include at least one larger full-service restaurant, a cell phone store, beer & wine, grocery store, and more.

In February 2022, BizJournals reported that “Amazon has reached a deal to open a new supermarket at a long-planned Silver Spring redevelopment fewer than three miles from the Food and Drug Administration’s campus”, referring to White Oak Town Center. “The team behind the White Oak Town Center has swapped a 41,000-square-foot Amazon-branded market, likely an Amazon Fresh, in for what had been a roughly 16,000-square-foot Trader Joe’s.” Amazon Fresh is no longer in the plans as the company has moved away from opening new grocery stores and the grocery tenant space is still available.

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Retail

Walgreens to Close 150 Stores in the United States Within a Year

By MCS Staff

Walgreens, the nation’s second-largest retail pharmacy in terms of number of stores (CVS is the largest), has announced that it will close 150 stores in the United States this year as well as 300 in the United Kingdom.

Walgreens has 14 Montgomery County locations and, according to USA TODAY, it is unclear which locations are closing as of now. The stores that will be closing, however, will do so by the end of May 2024. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps shows one of the Montgomery County locations.

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Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg Moves Closer Toward Construction of New I-270/NIST East Shared Use Path

By MCS Staff

Topographic and utility surveys have recently been completed on the I-270/NIST Shared-Use Path project that includes design of a new 10-foot wide shared use path between an existing path along the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frontage on West Diamond Avenue and would extend to Muddy Branch Road near the Festival Shopping Center.

The total length of the project is approximately 1 mile. Per the City of Gaithersburg, “This connection would add another critical bicycle connection around the NIST campus. This path will add to the City’s low stress network, allowing for shortened and safer connections for the community.”

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Dickerson

Critical Injury Crash With Ejection on Darnestown Rd Late Wednesday Night

By MCS Staff

MD-28 Darnestown Road is CLOSED near Peach Tree Road & Lewis Orchards in Dickerson (Upper Montgomery County, MD) following a crash.

According to our public safety reporter, Cordell Pugh, at approximately 11PM on Wednesday night, a driver crashed into a utility pole and was ejected, leading to a critical injury. The driver was transported to an area trauma center. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps

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Maryland

Governor Wes Moore’s Statement on the Mass Shooting in Salisbury

By MCS Staff

Governor Wes Moore released the following statement on the mass shooting that took place in Salisbury, Maryland:

I would like to thank our first responders who rushed to the scene, and I am confident that law enforcement will bring those who committed this vile act to justice. I spoke earlier this morning with both the county executive of Wicomico and the mayor of Salisbury. I will continue to stay in close contact with local officials and authorities and will assist in every way possible.

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Germantown

Two-Vehicle Crash on 355 in Germantown Late Wednesday Morning

By MCS Staff

MCFRS responded to a two-vehicle crash that resulted in Toyota Corolla on its roof on Northbound MD-355, just past Ridge Road in Germantown at approximately 11:15AM on Wednesday morning. Only minor injuries occurred, per our safety reporter Cordell Pugh. The crash caused some delays in the area.

Featured photo courtesy of Instagram user @javyaquino20

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Gaithersburg

Permanent Signage Up at Poke Bros in Kentlands

By MCS Staff

In January we let you know that Poke Bros will be opening its first Maryland location in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. The restaurant, which opened its first location in 2016 and has since expanded to over 75 restaurants across the country, will be taking over the space that was previously home to Next Day Blinds at 107 Market St W until 2020. Permanent signage is now up, but there is plenty of work left to do on the interior of the restaurant (photo below). An opening date is not yet available.

More bout Poke Bros: After the founders were introduced to the Hawaiian staple on a trip to California. The appeal of this fast and casual—while healthy—concept immediately inspired the founders to begin thinking how they could bring this unique dish to the midwest. From its inception, we were confident the foodies of Columbus would love the poké concept, but wanted to provide an inexpensive and accessible product in the larger market. After some intense research and trial and error, the Poké Bros founders developed their own brand of poké bowl flavor they are proud to share and call their own. Modeling similar assembly line casual dining concepts, we developed a unique way to build your “sushi in a bowl” and have fun doing so! As the poké movement has caught on, Poké Bros has rapidly expanded into multiple states across the Midwest and East Coast, offering the same fresh and authentic cuisine to a wider range of customers. We will continue to stick to our roots, as Poké Bros continues to grow, and offer only the best fresh ingredients that fill you up but don’t slow you down.

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Gaithersburg

Cinnabon/Auntie Anne Appears to be Close to Opening in Rio

By MCS Staff

Last November we let you know of the impending arrival of an Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon combination restaurant at 220 Boardwalk Place in Rio, set to take over the location that was recently home to Lilly Magilly’s– as the cupcakery is still preparing for a move to a new location. We stopped by earlier this week and saw that interior construction looks to be almost complete (photo below). The location is still awaiting exterior permanent signage.

The two brands, popular for their presence in malls, are co-branding to open locations across the country. In recent years, Cinnabon left then returned to Montgomery Mall. There’s also an existing Cinnabon location in Wheaton Mall. Auntie Anne’s has locations at the outlets in Clarksburg, Ellsworth Place Mall, Montgomery Mall, and Wheaton Mall in MoCo.

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Bethesda

New Dunkin’ is Coming to Chevy Chase Metro Building

By MCS Staff

A new Dunkin’ is coming to 2 Wisconsin Circle, the Chevy Chase Metro building in Chevy Chase. It is slated to take over suite 100, which was recently home to Karin’s Cafe (currently listed as temporarily closed on Google).

According to the rendering for the new location (seen below), it appears that it will have electronic ordering boards and a walk-up window for customers to pick up their orders. This is the second announced upcoming Chevy Chase location, with another Dunkin’ coming to 8500 Connecticut Ave. Opening dates for both Chevy Chase locations are not yet available.

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