Ledo Pizza opened its first “Ledo Pizza Corner Shoppe” inside of a Giant Food store at 1649 Crofton Center in Crofton, MD (Anne Arundel County) this past summer. Now it has opened its first MoCo Corner Shoppe inside of Giant at 18140 Village Center Dr. in the Olney Village Center.
Why open less than half a mile from a Ledo restaurant? The “Corner Shoppe” offers take and bake pizza that allows customers to take home a frozen pizza to bake themselves at a later time. The store will also offer hot pizzas from the oven as well.
U.S. News & World Report released its Best Places to Live in 2023-2024 list, which includes 20 places that are ranked according to the following factors; affordability, job market, morning commute, access to quality health care, and more. While places like Los Angeles, Miami, Charleston and others were expected on a list like this, one town in Maryland unexpectedly came in at 14– Salisbury, ranked a couple spots ahead of San Diego (16).
To add a little context, U.S. News includes popular beach destinations like Ocean City (MD), Rehoboth Beach (DE), and Bethany Beach (DE) in Salisbury’s “metropolitan statistical area”, per the U.S. Census. Salisbury is also home to Maryland’s only Cookout location– a popular fast food area focused in the southeast that has slowly expanded further north.
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival is coming to Montgomery County on November 7 & 8, 2026, at the Adventist HealthCare Fieldhouse in Germantown, Maryland. Get ready to sip, sample, shop, and enjoy a full weekend of family-friendly fun!
Sip, Sample & Shop
Get ready to explore a festival floor filled with top chocolate makers, coffee roasters, bakeries, specialty food vendors, artisan brands and small businesses from across the region and beyond. Sample new flavors, meet the people behind the products and shop directly from the talented makers and businesses who created them.
Experience Chocolate History
One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a large-scale chocolate sculpture of George Washington on horseback, created by award-winning chocolate artist Paul Joachim.
The sculpture will be part of a special exhibit exploring chocolate’s place in early American history. Guests can see the sculpture up close, sample colonial-style drinking chocolate, and shop the exclusive Collector’s Heritage Box inspired by the historic drink. It’s a unique opportunity to experience chocolate through art, history, and taste all in one place.
Seminars, Demonstrations & More
Visit the Sip & Share Seminar Classroom for educational sessions and demonstrations throughout the weekend, all included with your festival admission. Explore topics ranging from ancestral cacao in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the realities of starting a coffee business to craft chocolate and festival trivia. Learn directly from experts and makers as they share their knowledge, demonstrate their craft and offer a closer look at how their products are made.
Fun for All Ages
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival offers an experience the whole family can enjoy. Kids under 12 receive free admission with a ticketed adult and can get creative at our complimentary kids’ craft tables. Festival mascots Chunk & Bean will also be on-site for meet-and-greets and photo opportunities throughout the weekend. Families can even shop for Chunk & Bean plushies, children’s books and other kid-friendly items.
Whether you’re a serious chocolate lover, a coffee enthusiast, a foodie or simply looking for a fun fall outing, there’s something for everyone to see, taste, shop and enjoy.
Save on Tickets
The DMV Chocolate & Coffee Festival Maryland Edition takes place November 7 & 8, 2026, at the Adventist HealthCare Fieldhouse in Germantown, Maryland.
MoCo Show readers can use code MOCO10 at checkout to save 10% on online festival tickets. Grab your tickets and get ready to sip, sample and shop at one of the sweetest weekends of the fall!
Montgomery County’s Revenue Authority purchased the building that was most recently home to Gold’s Gym at 18810 Woodfield Rd in Gaithersburg for $3.68 million in a deal that has been in the works for over five years, according to Maryland Newsletters.
This past summer we let you know that Gold’s Gym at 18810 Woodfield Rd in Gaithersburg, located next to the Montgomery County Airpark, would close in August. The gym’s last day in business was Friday, August 25. In an email Gold’s Gym sent to its members, the gym stated, “The county is taking the land back under what is called eminent domain relating to the neighboring airfield – we are being required to exit and turn the building back over to the landlord.”
Arrival of fall and the end of daylight-saving time increases chances ofdeer-related collisions
Montgomery Parks is urging the public, especially drivers, to use caution this fall, as deer activity reaches its peak. Late October through early December constitutes most of the rut, or breeding season, for white-tailed deer in central Maryland. During this time, deer activity is at its highest.Additionally, daylight saving time ends (November 5, 2023) which means commuters are on the roads more often at dawn and dusk.
Olney, MD Art Gallery and Studio to present a Pop-Culture themed group Art Exhibit and Artists’ Alley event.
Highly Animated is a 2-month long celebration of the vibrant world of fan art. From classic JRPG nostalgia, to the latest anime obsessions, to amazing original characters, this exhibition will highlight the passion, creativity and talent within fan communities.
Frank’s Burgers will open its new location at 11230 Grandview Ave in Wheaton-Glenmont (former site of Umberto’s), this Saturday, October 14. Nicaraguan restaurant El Chante, which currently splits space with Frank’s Burger Place at 11265 Triangle Ln, will take over that entire space once the new Frank’s opens.
The new Grandview Ave location will be split into two restaurant concepts, with Frank’s on one side and District Bistro on the other, united by a kitchen in the back. According to owner Pedro Matamoros, District Bistro is a new American concept that is focused on “seasonality and use of local ingredients when permitted.” Menu items at District Bistro will include beef tartare, steak frites, roasted duck and lamb bolognaise, and its bar will focus on classic cocktails like Martinis and Manhattans. We will provide an opening date for District Bistro when it is announced.
The haunt is a benefit performance for Calleva, a 501c3 organization dedicated to building young leaders through positive outdoor experiences. “We spend all year empowering people through outdoor experiences that foster teamwork & individual achievement,” says Nick Markoff, one of the three brothers who founded Calleva. “Then we bring them out to Markoff’s Haunted Forest to knock their confidence back a bit.” The haunt began as a small scale event, but has grown into one of the nation’s top-ranked performances. Markoff’s Haunted Forest still helps fund Calleva’s summer camp scholarships, community partnerships, and outdoor education programming. It’s a partnership that delivers seasonal fun AND year-round benefits to our Montgomery County neighborhood. Tickets are on sale now at www.markoffshauntedforest.com.
“Since 1992, when the Markoff brothers started with a Haunted School Bus driven to events and festivals around DC, our haunt has provided fright fest lovers with a creative, dramatic, and – YES — terrifying haunt experience. Our creative team combines music, lights, scents, actors, make-up & prosthetics, and artistic brilliance in a series of high-tech, detailed scenes that consistently place MHF among the top haunts in the country.”
Per Montgomery County: The Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 8:30 a.m. for an annual review of Health and Human Services boards, committees and commissions. The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles. More detail on the agenda item is provided below.
“Planting 1.7 billion oysters this year shows the success of the broad partnership of watermen, scientists, academics, nonprofits, and state and federal government officials dedicated to this vital natural resource and economic driver for Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “I’d like to thank the partner organizations and our dedicated Department of Natural Resources staff who enabled the state to achieve this significant accomplishment.”
In 2014, Maryland committed to restoring oyster populations in five Bay tributaries, as part of the interstate Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The state embraced oyster plantings as a key component of its Chesapeake Bay restoration and replenishment strategy by deploying hundreds of millions of juvenile oysters on both sanctuary reefs and public oyster reefs annually. Oysters are beneficial because they filter excess nutrient pollutants from the bay, provide valuable habitat for other marine species, and boost the state’s commercial seafood industry through annual harvests and oyster aquaculture.
On Sunday, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich released a statement following the Hamas attacks on Israel that left over 1,000 Israelis dead. The area’s Jewish communities are coming together to show support for Israel. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) is hosting a vigil of Jewish Unity & Solidarity with Israel that is being held on Thursday, October 12 at 7:30pm at the Congregation Har Shalom (11510 Falls Rd) in Potomac.
The vigil is being held in partnership with Montgomery County and DC area Synagogues, as well as CESJDS, Jewish Studio Project, Ramah DC Day Camp, Americans for Ben-Gurion University, Haberman Institute, ADL, AJC, FIDF, JCRC and JFGW. Babysitting will be available to children 5- 11 years old beginning at 7:15PM – registration is required on the event page.
1. (LW 1) Quince Orchard 6-0: The Cougars handed out their 5th shutout of the season, beating Seneca Valley 28-0. Running Back Iverson Howard had 125 yards of total offense and 1 touchdown in the win. Quince Orchard will travel to Richard Montgomery on Friday.
2. Northwest (LW 2) 6-0: The Jaguars defeated Paint Branch 28-13. Northwest had 201 passing yards and 2 touchdowns as a team. The Jags will travel to Potomac to take on Churchill in a huge matchup next.
This contest challenges teenagers to create an original video to promote awareness of the dangers of opioid abuse/overdose and fentanyl among teens. It is open to all 6th – 12th grade students living in Montgomery County. Top prize is $1,000, second place is $750, third place and fan favorite winners will receive $500 all donated by The Magnolia Companies in honor of two young Montgomery County residents lost to fentanyl; Michael Pisarra and Matthew Loudoun.
Students can enter the contest on their own or as a group; however, students may only participate in ONE entry. If a student in any way participates in more than one PSA video, all of those entries will be disqualified. Video entries including illegal items, inappropriate language, or illustrating the use of needles/syringes, a violent or graphic overdose, or violence in general will not be accepted.** Participants are encouraged to be creative!
