Moby Dick House of Kabob is the most recent tenant to sign on to join the redeveloped Burtonsville Crossing shopping center. The new restaurant will join Montgomery County’s first Sprouts grocery store, which is on pace to open by the end of this year. It will also be joining Domain Fitness & Performance, an upcoming TJ Maxx location, ULTA Beauty, and Creative Outlets Arts Center which recently announced that they’ll be moving into the shopping center from their previous Montgomery Mall location that closed in Bethesda earlier this summer.
This will be the Persian kabob restaurant chain’s 27th restaurant overall and 8th in Montgomery County, where it all started in 1989 with its Bethesda location. Moby Dick’s 7th MoCo location is coming soon to North Bethesda. The restaurant offers “authentic Persian food with a Mediterranean flair.” An opening date is not available, but it’s expected to be at some point in 2024.
Washington, D.C.’s beloved Smithsonian’s National Zoo holiday tradition is back and brighter than ever as Zoo Lights returns this holiday season. A change this year will be that ZooLights will have a ticket price of $6 per individual. Each attendee, including children over the age of 2, will need a ticket. Parking is available for pre-purchase online at $30 per vehicle.
Paid tickets are a change from past years when this special event was free to attend. Per the Smithsonian, the ticket fee will offset the significant increase in costs associated with running this event. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit animal care and conservation science at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
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 Executive has released a statement via Twitter/X on the Hamas attacks on Israel. His full statement can be seen below:
“The attacks by Hamas on civilian populations across Israel is the definition of terrorism – terrorism being actions that target civilian populations with the goal of creating such pain and suffering that their governments will change their policies.
The playground consisting of figure-like slides, swings, and monkey bars that was located behind the Londonderry Apartment complex in Gaithersburg has been entirely removed. The playground, which stood at the location for at least forty years, was visible to drivers going northbound on I-270 between exits 9 and 10. Half of the equipment was removed a couple years back– we were told it was due to deteriorating condition. A representative from the leasing office told us that they were advised to have the remaining equipment removed following an inspection in August and that the playground was removed entirely last month.
In 2019, our own Mr. MoCo made the trek to the site. “I had to take a visit to the playground located behind the Londonderry complex in Gaithersburg. Now I can say I’ve been there.” (scroll down to see the East MoCo version of the figures). The post received over 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Some of the best included:
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a time for commemorating our ancestors. Rather than a period of mourning, it is an occasion for celebrating with family—both living and dead—and honoring the cycle of life. Learn about La Catrina and her joyful view of life and mortality. Enjoy family-friendly activities throughout the day, including dance performances, coloring activities, and paper marigold and mask making. Visitors are invited to leave photos and mementos of their loved ones on the ofrenda (altar) or commemorate them by writing their names on a butterfly to attach to the memorial arch.
The MoCo Epic is a festival celebrating mountain biking, natural surface trails, and the community that makes this region a great place to ride! 2026 marks the 16th anniversary of the MoCo Epic.
Since no one matched all six numbers in last night’s drawing, the Powerball jackpot for Monday night is now worth an estimated $1.55 billion with an estimated cash value of $679.8 million. Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. Additional information below courtesy of MD Powerball:
“The billion-dollar Powerball® jackpot is still waiting to be won, after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Saturday night – white balls 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19. The Power Play® multiplier was 3X. The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.55 billion for the next drawing on Monday night. The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $679.8 million. Monday’s estimated jackpot ranks as the third largest in the Powerball game and fourth largest among U.S. lottery jackpots.
Per MCPD: The Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) is investigating a pedestrian fatality that occurred on Saturday, October 7, 2023, in the 8200 block of Snouffer School Road, just before Bonanza Way. At approximately 8:58, Montgomery County Police and Montgomery County Fire Rescue were dispatched to the area for the report of a collision involving a pedestrian.
Upon arrival, 47-year-old Carlos Tapia-Sosa of Rockville, was located in the roadway. Tapia-Sosa was pronounced dead. The driver of a silver, 2012 Hyundai Elantra, remained on the scene. The preliminary investigation by CRU detectives has revealed that the driver of the Elantra was traveling westbound on Snouffer School Road. Tapia-Sosa was crossing Snouffer School Road from south to north when he was struck in lane two of westbound Snouffer School Road.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to Cabin John Regional Park, 7400 Tuckerman Ln. near Westlake Drive, for a tree that fell and damaged some nearby (unoccupied) parked cars in the parking lot by playground around 5pm on Sunday evening.
According to a tweet by MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, “Cabin John Regional Park, 7400 Tuckerman Ln. near Westlake Drive, parking lot by playground, large tree down damaged some nearby parked cars (unoccupied), powerlines damaged/down, no injuries” Featured photo courtesy of Instagram user @jimson92
Dunkin’ has been making a big push lately in Montgomery County, with new locations at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring and in the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village, where it has taken over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd. Last December, we let you know that Dunkin’ is continuing its massive expansion across the country and within MoCo, and there are currently four locations in the works:
Dunkin’ will be taking over 1,500 SF in the back halfof the building that was previously home to Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Drive in Rockville. The location will also have a drive-thru. 1,700 SF on the front side of the building is still available to lease and has also received a facelift since its days as a bank. Crews have been working on both the interior and exterior of the space, with a projected opening timeframe of late 2023/early 2024.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a call for a fire at the 1121 University Blvd W at University Towers II in Silver Spring early Sunday afternoon.
According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, multiple units responded and saw smoke on the 5th floor. By 1:21pm the fire was out and firefighters were clearing smoke conditions on upper floors of the complex. The fire originated in a bedroom on the 5th floor and was likely caused by burning incense (too close to combustible spray used to neutralize food odor).
Each month popular food website, Eater, answers the question “Where should I eat right now?” In their October 2023 edition, Eater DC has included just Montgomery County restaurant in its list of buzzworthy restaurants that have been open for less than six months. For the second month in a row, The Farmhouse Bistro at the Crossvines (16601 W Willard Rd, Poolesville, MD) has made the list.
Our very own Mr. MoCo stated, “Farmhouse Bistro has quickly become one of my favorite places to eat in MoCo. The burger was one of the best I’ve ever eaten (that’s bacon and onion jam on it), and the fish and chips were the best I’ve ever had. This is one of the few places where everything was good so anything you see, I recommend.” A reel of his visit can be seen below.
