Author: MCS Staff

Germantown

Germantown is 2nd Most Ethnically Diverse City/Area in the Country, According to Report

By MCS Staff

The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Most & Least Ethnically Diverse Cities, with 4 of the top 10 cities/areas listed being in Montgomery County, including Germantown being ranked as the 2nd most ethnically diverse city/area in the country.

To identify the most ethnically diverse places in America, WalletHub compared more than 500 of the largest U.S. cities across three key metrics: ethnoracial diversity, linguistic diversity and birthplace diversity. Germantown came in at number 2, Gaithersburg came in at number 3, Silver Spring at number 4, and Rockville came in 10th out of over 500 caress listed. Jersey City, New Jersey came in 1st. Below you’ll see the breakdown for each area:

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Gaithersburg

4 of the Top 10 Most Ethnically Diverse Cities/Areas Are in MoCo, According to Report Released Today

By MCS Staff

The personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Most & Least Ethnically Diverse Cities, with 4 of the top 10 cities/areas listed being in Montgomery County.

To identify the most ethnically diverse places in America, WalletHub compared more than 500 of the largest U.S. cities across three key metrics: ethnoracial diversity, linguistic diversity and birthplace diversity. Germantown came in at number 2, Gaithersburg came in at number 3, Silver Spring at number 4, and Rockville came in 10th out of over 500 caress listed. Jersey City, New Jersey came in 1st. Below you’ll see the breakdown for each area:

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Beyond MoCo

Owners of Home Where Two Maryland Sisters Tragically Died in a Fire Last Month Face 58 Building Code Violations

By MCS Staff

Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19, both of Potomac, were killed in an early morning house fire in the Southampton hamlet of Noyac in August. The sisters, who are both graduates of The Holton Arms School in Bethesda, were vacationing with family, according to Lt. Susan Ralph of the Southampton Town Police Department. The owners of the home the Wiener family was renting now face 58 building code violations, according to a Daily Mail report.

According to the report, the owners of the home, Pamela and Peter Miller, “were arraigned on August 29 and faced various building charges, including the smoke alarms that weren’t working.” They are scheduled to be back in court on September 30th.

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Restaurants

Zinnia Brings on Former Republic Chef Danny Wells to Launch ‘Upscale Dining Room’

By MCS Staff

Zinnia opened in fall 2021 at 9201 Colesville Rd, the longtime home of Mrs. K’s Tollhouse in Silver Spring. Since opening, Zinnia has rolled out its beer and wine garden, cafè, tavern, and is today is launching its fine dining restaurant led by former Republic chef Danny Wells, according to Washingtonian.

Per the article, Wells is a Takoma Park native and opened the recently closed Republic (which was located in Takoma Park with restaurateur Jeff Black in 2013. “He also served as head chef at sister restaurants Black Salt and Pearl Dive over his 16 years with Black Restaurant Group. Wells briefly left the kitchen to go into hospitality consulting, but Zinnia co-owner Chris Brown—who also owns Takoma Beverage Co.—lured him back.”

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Colesville

Fryer’s Roadside Available for Sale in Colesville

By MCS Staff

Fryer’s Roadside, described as “a traditional walk-up window Chicken Shack/Ice Cream Stand”, is available for sale for an asking price of $150,000. The restaurant, located at 12830 New Hampshire Ave (former location of Chopaan Kabob House) in Colesville’s Meadowood Shopping Center, has been open for a little over a year.

According to the listing, all restaurant equipment would be included in the sale. The restaurant is currently open and operating, and the listing asks that employees are not disturbed.

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Olney

Smoothie King is Coming to Olney

By MCS Staff

Smoothie King will be opening an Olney location at the Olney Village Center, according to the First Washington Realty site plan and directory. It will be taking over the 980 SF space that was previously home to Party USA at 18151 Village Center Drive, between IHOP and Pho & Grill.

Olney Village Center, where Smoothie King will be located, is anchored by Giant, TJ Maxx, and Gold’s Gym. Smoothie King will compete directly with nearby Playa Bowls, which opened at the Fair Hill shopping center at the beginning of 2021. CB Acai, which also offered smoothies, closed its only storefront in November 2021. Carmen’s, an Italian ice and sweet treats spot, opened in Olney in April 2020, and Kung Fu Tea, which offers bubble tea, slushies, and other cold and warm beverages, is expected to open soon at the Shoppes of Olney.

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Briggs Chaney

Design Concepts Released for Fairland and Briggs Chaney Placemaking Festival

By MCS Staff

The Montgomery County Planning Department has unveiled the design concepts for the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Placemaking Festival. The concepts can be viewed below with additional information on the project’s website and were created after hearing feedback and ideas from the community through an online questionnaire and at the project’s kickoff meeting in June. The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Placemaking Festival is a free community event and will be held October 21 and 22 (rain or shine) at the Briggs Chaney Park and Ride near the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center (3300 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904).

Planners are now asking the community to help bring these concepts to life. The community-led build of the festival will be held October 19 through October 22 with various ways to get involved. Volunteers may be asked to apply paint to create a ground mural, construct tables, chairs, art sculptures, a children’s fort with a bounce path, and provide assistance with festival operations, such as set up, clean up, and parking management. Interested parties can sign up for volunteer slots using the online form. Student Service Learning (SSL) hours will be available for students. To volunteer, you must complete the form and release form provided in the link. Planners are also seeking performers and vendors for the placemaking festival. Applications are due on September 25.

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Restaurants

Nava Thai to Close Permanently After This Weekend

By MCS Staff

UPDATE: Nava Thai has announced it will remain open until further notice due to an outpouring of support

Popular Wheaton Thai restaurant, Nava Thai, has announced that it will close permanently after Sunday, September 11th. The restaurant, which is located in the old Sir Walter Raleigh building at 11301 Fern St, has been open for approximately 15 years (most of them at the current location). The restaurant temporarily closed back in January 2020 for plumbing maintenance and was supposed to reopen in early March. The closure lasted nearly 11 months, with the restaurant reopening in December 2020.

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Beyond MoCo

Beyond MoCo: D.C. Area’s First Raising Cane’s Expected to Open Within Two Months

By MCS Staff

At the beginning of this year we let you know of Raising Cane’s planned expansion into the D.C. region with the first restaurant planned for Sterling, VA at 45545 Dulles Eastern Plaza in March. Per Biz Journals, supply chain disruptions and other factors designing and building out the space slowed its progress, but the restaurant now plans to open in late October or early November. Raising Cane’s aims to open 14 stores in the next year, stretching from suburban Baltimore to the Richmond area, with more to on tap for 2023 including Bowie, Dumfries, Manassas and Springfield. No Montgomery County locations have been announced yet.

Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., Raising Cane’s has more than 460 restaurants in 27 states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with multiple new restaurants under construction. The international expansion began in 2015. The menu is simple and focuses on chicken finger combos , chicken finger sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, sweet/iced tea, and Cane’s sauce.

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Clarksburg

Paranormal Cirque Postpones Clarksburg Outlet Shows Indefinitely

By MCS Staff

Paranormal Cirque has postponed its planned Clarksburg Outlet shows from September 8-18th indefinitely due to permitting issues, according to a representative we spoke to from the company earlier today. In a corresponding move, the circus has extended its dates in Waldorf by adding shows from September 8th-11th. We were told that the shows have not yet been rescheduled and anyone interested in a refund can contact Paranormal Cirque via phone (941-704-8572) or the company website.

Paranormal Cirque previously ran at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg this past spring.  According to the event’s website, Paranormal Cirque is “a crazy yet fun fusion between Circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream .….. and when we had nightmares and fantasies. Scare, encompass, amuse and surprise are the ingredients for a mixture of emotions impossible to forget. This is truly a Paranormal experience like no other.” Tickets can be purchased at www.paranormalcirque.com Note: No-one under the age of 13 will be admitted to the show. Guests aged 13 – 17 must be accompanied by an adult.

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Arts

Blair High School Alumna Cynthia Addai-Robinson Stars in New Lord of the Rings Television Series

By MCS Staff

Cynthia Addai-Robinson stars as Queen Regent Tar-Míriel in Amazon Prime’s highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She was born on January 12, 1980, in London; her mother is from Ghana and her father was a U.S. citizen. She moved to the U.S. when she was 4 and was raised by her mother in Silver Spring, where she graduated from Blair High School in 1998.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered last week with its first two episodes. The rest of the eight-episode first season is running until October 14. The show’s time period is before the events of The Hobbit and the original The Lord of the Rings.

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