Gaithersburg

At the beginning of December we let you know that Torrid, “the destination for Trendy Plus-size fashion and accessories”, will close its Rio location. The store, located at 35 Grand Corner Ave in Gaithersburg, has set a closing date of Monday, January 23rd, according to an assistant manager at the store. There is currently no update on closing sales. It took over the space that was previously home to Ono-Asia Pacific, a restaurant that served various Asian and Hawaiian cuisine, about a decade ago. There is no word on what the replacement will be at this time.

Torrid is an American women’s retail chain formerly owned by Hot Topic. While it is still owned by Sycamore Partners, owners of Hot Topic, in 2015, the company branched off to become Torrid, LLC. The store offers plus-size clothing and accessories for women size 10-30. Torrid began operations in April 2001. The first location opened in the Brea Mall in Brea, California. As of 2020, Torrid has over 600 stores in operation across 36 states in the United States. Torrid opened its first store in 2001, and an international store in Canada (Toronto) in August 2015. In July 2021, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol CURV.


Bethesda

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from April 2022: In March of 2021, it was reported  that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) planned to sell all of it’s US holdings in 2022. This would include Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Mall (Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton), both located in Montgomery County. Chief Executive Jean-Marie Tritant told investors last week that Unibail wants to shed most of its U.S. properties by the end of 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which pushes things back about a year.

Shopping malls, which were already hurting due to the rise of online shopping, were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per the report, “Unibail’s exit from the U.S. after only four years shows that executives have concluded that even high-quality, marquee American malls aren’t worth holding on to as the Paris-based company works to slash its debt and to refocus on its flagship properties in Europe.” With White Flint gone and Lakeforest on its last legs, Montgomery, Wheaton and Ellsworth Place malls are the last three remaining in Montgomery County.


Business

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from September 2022: Morguard North American Residential REIT announced earlier this week that it has acquired the retail portion of Rockville Town Square. Having purchased Fenestra Apartments in 2017, this acquisition of the remaining retail in this mixed-use asset expands Morguard’s investment in the City of Rockville. The transaction closed at a purchase price of US$33.0 million, excluding closing costs. The news was brought to our attention by The MoCo Source earlier this month.

Per the press release: “Morguard is pleased to expand our investment in Rockville, Maryland by acquiring the retail space,” said K. Rai Sahi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morguard North American Residential REIT. “This acquisition along with our ownership and management of Fenestra Apartments gives Morguard the opportunity to better execute on our long-term vision.” Connected to Morguard’s Fenestra apartments, Rockville Town Square at 30 Maryland Avenue encompasses 183,000 square feet of retail, dining, and municipal and financial services. The mixed-use pedestrian-friendly location offers public gathering areas, entertainment events, and serves as a neighbourhood hub in the affluent Montgomery County. A short drive from Washington D.C., Rockville Town Squarefeatures spaces to live, work and shop including:


Events

Montgomery Parks has a varied lineup of special events and programs in January, including New Year’s hikes, Three Kings Day celebration, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day volunteer opportunities and lots of outdoor adventures. It’s a new year and there’s always fun to be had and new things to learn at Montgomery Parks.

January events in Montgomery Parks include: 


North Bethesda

A few days back, a change.org petition was started to remove the bike lanes that were recently added to Old Georgetown Road (MD187) in North Bethesda. Now a counter-petition that shows support for the bike lanes has been started. MDOT converted one travel lane in each direction of the road, between south of I-495 and north of Nicholson Lane, to a buffered bicycle lane that include flex posts and green pavement.  The remaining 11-foot travel lanes were also narrowed to 10.5 and 10 feet.

Per the petition, “Show support to the State Highway Administration’s decision to enact a road diet when replacing a portion of Old Georgetown Road. Any action that reduces vehicle miles traveled is a net good for our county and the DMV. This change make being a pedestrian safer, makes being a bicyclist safer, and reduces car speeds and therefore makes being a motorist safer. We should applaud the action and support further action in more state highways in Maryland. The opposition wants these safety measures removed. They want to be able to drive faster and more recklessly down this road. Do your part and support the new bike lanes and encourage the SHA to continue to make changes to make our county and state a safe place to get around with or without a car.”


Gaithersburg

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from August 2022: Royal Farms has opened, Wawa is on the way, and many have been waiting for the trifecta to be complete with the Sheetz announcement. Good news for the lovers of the convenience store/gast station, as Sheetz, Inc., has submitted Final Site Plan application, SP-9217-2022, requesting approval for a 6,139 square foot convenience retail store with drive-through and automobile filling station at 751 Progress Way, located off of N. Frederick Rd (355) in Gaithersburg.

Sheetz will be part of the new Progress Labs development, which is very visible from the corner of Montgomery Village Avenue and 355. Progress Labs at Progress Way in Gaithersburg, MD is a two-building approximately 495,000 SF development situated on 44 acres with I-270 visibility and access off of exit 11 Montgomery Village Avenue. Construction commenced at Progress Labs at 700 N. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg, MD back in October, and according to the video below (posted by Progress Labs on Monday, July 18th), is scheduled to be delivered in Q4 of 2022.


Maryland

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year: Maryland’s general assembly previously voted to override Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of the Maryland minimum wage increase. The Maryland minimum wage, starting in 2023, will be $13.25 for larger businesses and $12.80 for small businesses. Montgomery County’s minimum wage increased earlier this year, on July 1, to $15.65 for all large employers. As part of the bill that was recently passed, Maryland’s minimum wage will gradually increase over time (much like a Montgomery County’s has). The Maryland minimum wage is $15 per hour in 2025 for businesses with 15 or more employees, and in 2026 it will raise to $15 for businesses with 14 or fewer employees. The Maryland minimum wage increase schedule is as follows:


Beyond MoCo

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year: At one point Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, ate pizza every day for two years while getting his “One Bite” pizza reviews started on Instagram and YouTube. Through the years, he has eaten pizza from various restaurants across the country– providing a 1-10 rating for each slice. While most of his reviews come from pizza places in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, he recently tried a New York City Ledo Pizza location (video below).

“It’s good…you’d have to put it in a chain if it has over 100 locations, it’s pretty good for that type of pizza.” Portnoy said of the “Maryland style pizza”, referencing the amount of stores Ledo Pizza has grown to in recent years. He gave it a 6.7, which puts it towards the middle of the pack of the over 1,000 pizza places he has reviewed so far.


Beyond MoCo

As 2022 ends, we’re sharing a few of our most-read stories of the year, from November: Back in May 2021, we let you know that fast food chain Cook Out is coming one step closer to MoCo, as a new location was expected to open at 8502 Centreville Road in Manassas Park– the first in the DC Metro area. The location, which was formerly home to a Roy Rogers, is now open according to a social media post by the fast food chain (seen below).

In 2020, the MoCo Show made the 60 mile trek down to Fredericksburg, VA to visit what was then the area’s closest Cook Out location. We left Gaithersburg, located in the approximate center of MoCo, at 6:14pm and arrived an hour and twenty minutes later, at 7:34pm. The Manassas Park location is a little over 30 miles from the center MoCo, about half the distance of Fredericksburg. Another location recently opened in Winchester, VA, but that isn’t considered part of the DC Metro area. There is also a location in Salisbury, MD but that is further than both of the Virginia locations mentioned.


MDLottery

The Powerball® jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.2 billion ($596.7 million cash) for the next drawing on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The jackpot rolled after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Monday night – white balls 13, 19, 36, 39, 59 and red Powerball 13. If a player wins Wednesday’s jackpot, it will be the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history, only behind the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot, and fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Despite there being no jackpot winner in last Monday’s drawing, more than 5.4 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $59.5 million in the Halloween night drawing. Big winners include 10 tickets (CA-2, FL, IN, MI, NY, OH-2, TX-2) that matched all five white balls to win a $1 million prize. Three tickets (FL, NY, OK) matched all five white balls and increased the $1 million prize to $2 million by including the Power Play® option for an additional $1 per play. There were also 134 tickets nationwide that won a $50,000 prize, and another 23 tickets that won a $150,000 prize.


Bethesda

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call at 7170 Woodmont Ave, the Flats at Bethesda Ave apartment complex, for a fire on the fourth floor of the residential apartment building at approximately 7am on Friday morning.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, a small fire on the stove top of a fourth floor apartment activated the sprinkler system. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler and the firefighters that arrived on the scene cleared smoke from the area. There was minor extension of the fire and some water damage on the floors below, but no injuries.


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