Crime

Per Rockville Police: At approximately 5:36 a.m. on April 16, 2023, Rockville City Police responded to the 100 block of Gibbs Street for the report of a burglary of a jewelry store. Officers discovered the front window had been broken out, numerous jewelry cases were smashed, and a high dollar value of items were taken.

The suspects are described as three subjects wearing all dark clothing, masks and gloves fleeing towards the Dawson’s Market parking area. Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCPD Criminal Investigations Unit at 240-314-8938. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


Burtonsville

Pepino’s has been responsible for most of the parked cars you’ve seen at the Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center the last few years.  Owners/sisters Patti Pignataro and Margaret Manley told us, “Every night’s a dinner party!” when we stopped by during our 2019 “tour of Burtonsville”. Sadly, Pepino’s has confirmed that Saturday, April 29th will be the last day of operations for the restaurant, as they won’t be around for the redevelopment of Burtonsville Crossing.

Originally located in the current Cuba de Ayer location, Pepino’s has been around since 1991. Patti and Margaret bought the restaurant in 2006. They’re the former owners of Umberto’s, which was located in the Cabin John Shopping Center in Potomac. The restaurant didn’t miss a beat and remained a staple in the Burtonsville community.


Olney

Nearly six years after our first poll on the pronunciation of Olney, our very own Mr. MoCo revisited the topic with polls on Twitter and Instagram (see video below). The two most popular pronunciations, “ole-knee” and “all-knee” were the two options for the polls and the result was pretty similar to our 2017 poll with “ole-knee” coming out on top pretty decisively (results can be seen below).

We’ve noticed that many of those who grew up in or very close to Olney tend to pronounce it as “all-knee”, while just about everyone else goes with the more popular “ole-knee.” Olney, originally named Mechanicsville, officially became Olney in the early to mid 1800s (named after the Olney House…which was named after Olney, England). Olney, the English city that Olney, MD is essentially named after, is pronounced Ole-nee in England…with a bit of an accent of course, which supports what most voters went with.


Restaurants

Last September we let you know that Mochinut, a restaurant that serves mochi donuts, Korean rice flour hotdogs, soft serve, and bubble tea drinks (menu available below), is coming to 838 Rockville Pike– inside the current location of Tea-Do. Tea-Do is a “contemporary tea house” that was on the early side of MoCo’s bubble tea explosion in recent years, opening in January of 2016. The grand opening was for Mochinut was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 15th at noon, but has been pushed back to Saturday, April 29th.

Mochinut offers mochi donuts, which is described as “a donut that originated from Hawaii which is a combination of American doughnuts and Japanese mochi.” Up to 25 different flavors are available, but flavors will vary by location. The Mochinut menu also consists savory treats in the form of Korean hotdogs and offers other sweet menu items like soft serve ice cream and bubble tea drinks.


Restaurants

Nosh Grill House, located at 11 N Washington Street in Rockville, is holding its soft opening this week. The restaurant, which offers contemporary Chinese-style bbq, is the neighbor and sister restaurant of East Grill Karaoke and East Dumpling House. Along with all-you-can-eat bbq, Nosh Grill House will offer karaoke. The soft opening begins on Monday, April 17th and runs Monday-Thursday from 5pm until 1am and Friday-Sunday from 5pm-2am. Full menu available below.

Per Nosh Grill House: “NOSH is a contemporary Chinese-style BBQ restaurant and karaoke bar that pays homage to traditional Northern Chinese food culture, while embracing neighboring countries’ influences, including Japan, Korea, and Russia. Forged with skill and passion, this family-owned restaurant has been a years-long journey in the making; the result is a welcoming, eccentric space with a boisterous bar and a 12-foot screen for karaoke, sporting events, and shows.


Bethesda

Forbes has released its annual “World’s Billionaires List” and six currently listed as Montgomery County residents have made the list. Overall, the United States still boasts the most billionaires, with 735 list members worth a collective $4.5 trillion. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remains second, with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion, followed by India, with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion. To calculate net worth, Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 10 to determine the ranking, but updates wealth in real time. Below are the six Montgomery County billionaires who made the list:

World Rank #402: Annette Lerner and family (Chevy Chase) 


Gaithersburg

The Gaithersburg City Council will vote on the Lakeforest Sketch Plan on Monday, April 17th. Last month, the City’s Planning Commission recommend approval (with conditions) of the plan. In a January meeting, WRS Inc., the company who purchased the mall, stated its plans to demolish “as soon as they can.” Previously, WRS mentioned 2024 as a target date for demolition to occur and new construction to begin.

“What they’re proposing is kind of like Crown, maybe not quite as high end but a really good master plan community,” Gaithersburg mayor Jud Ashman stated in an interview with MyMCMedia on Friday (the video can be seen below).


Business

MoCo Directory highlight: Drs. Eric and Kevin Chai of Colesville Dentistry were born and raised in the Silver Spring area. Eric graduated from Paint Branch High School and attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Maryland Dental School in 2014. Kevin graduated from Blair High School and then went on to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Maryland Dental School.

The brothers now operate Colesville Dentistry at 724 Cloverly Street in Cloverly/Silver Spring where their mission is to give every patient the best experience possible by providing comfortable, compassionate and comprehensive dental care. Both Dr. Eric and Dr. Kevin were both named as 2023 Best Dentists by Washingtonian Magazine.


Crime

This afternoon, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before John Maloney, a jury found defendant, Mario Samm, 22, of Frederick, MD, guilty of murder in the second-degree and use of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence for the death of 25-year-old Jahandar Darvish. Samm faces up to 60 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 19th, 2023.

This stems from an incident inside Darvish’s apartment on the 19300 block of Circle Gate Drive in Germantown on December 23, 2021. During an altercation, Samm fired seven rounds from two firearms, striking the victim three times. One of the other bullets went through the floor into an apartment unit below. There were no additional injuries. During the investigation it was found that social media posts of the defendant in the weeks preceding the incident, showed him with one of the guns believed to be used in the fatal shooting. Additional information below from the charging documents:


Events

Postponed: April 15, 2023, Shine Brighter Together event re-scheduled due to rain The new date for the event is April 30, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is postponing the Shine Brighter Together event originally scheduled for this Saturday, April 15, 2023, due to inclement weather in the forecast. The Autism Acceptance event will instead be held on its scheduled rain date, Sunday April 30, 2023, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.at Wheaton Regional Park.


DMV

“I’ve always respected Shomari’s skills as a reporter for our competition, but now he’s finally where I always envisioned him, on our team! He has already earned the viewers’ trust through his years dedicated to helping the DMV community, holding local leaders accountable, and breaking impactful stories” said FOX 5 VP and News Director Paul McGonagle.

On Thursday, FOX 5 DC welcomed Shomari Stone as a reporter and anchor beginning May 1st. “The DMV is my home. Growing up, I spent summers here with my father and even graduated from St. John’s College High School. It is an honor to join this great team where I can bring viewers closer to the news stories by making my reports memorable, interesting, and informative” said Stone.


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