Beyond MoCo

Back in December we let you know that Phillips Seafood would be permanently closing after 66 years in its iconic Ocean City location. The seafood company announced that it decided to sell the property that was home to Phillips Crab House at 2004 Philadelphia Avenue between 20th and 21st Street in Ocean City.

Yesterday, it was announced that Union Chesapeake Seafood House will be taking over the space.


Montgomery Parks

A 17-year-old was arrested on Saturday, April 9 in connection with several incidents of “unwanted touching” at Black Hill Regional Park in Germantown.  According to Park Police, on more than one occasion, the suspect touched people on the buttocks, which is a forth degree sex offense, and then drove away on an electric bicycle.

The investigation took place over several weeks and involved an increased police presence and undercover officers at the park.


Event

Beautiful venue; great art, gifts and hand-crafted items; refreshments; and meet the award-winning painters, photographers, mixed media artists, ceramicists, fiber artists, and more – some 40 artists in all. It’s an extraordinary array of framed wall works, 3-d media including sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, and fiber pieces, and unframed prints.

Among them, you’ll see:


Derwood

National chain Dollar Tree, which has MoCo locations in Damascus, Derwood, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Montgomery Village, Rockville, and Silver Spring, has begun adding “Dollar Tree Plus” sections to area stores. Items in the “Plus” section will be priced $3 and $5.  New higher priced items include cookware, headphones, chargers, and t-shirts (Baby Yoda, Lilo & Stich, etc.)  similar to those found at FiveBelow.

In January, Dollar Tree raised the price of all items in their stores from $1 to $1.25. The company said the price hike was not a result of inflation, but rather to “allow the company to offer a wider range of merchandise.” Regarding the new “Plus” pricing, Dollar Tree’s President and CEO Michael Witynski  said, “For decades, our customers have enjoyed the ‘thrill-of-the-hunt’ for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us that they also want a broader product assortment when they come to shop. We believe testing additional price points above $1 for Dollar Tree product will enable us over time to expand our assortments, introduce new products and meet more of our customers’ everyday needs.”


Beyond MoCo

Update: Sale price of team in 2006 was corrected to $450 million.

The Washington Post has reported that the Lerner family has begun the process of exploring possible changes to the team’s ownership structure, including the possibility of selling the team.  Current Chevy Chase resident Ted Lerner, 96, purchased the team from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450,000,000.


Silver Spring

Silver Branch Brewing Co. (8401 Colesville Rd #150, Silver Spring) announced today that they will be merging with Old Ox Brewery (Ashburn & Middleburg, VA) to form one company.

According to a press release, both breweries will maintain their individual brands and tasting rooms.


Olney

California Tortilla in Olney has announced that it will be temporarily closing for a few weeks and is inviting customers to check out its new location at 6250 Columbia Crossing Circle in Columbia.  Visit https://californiatortilla.com/columbia-grand-opening-events/ for info on how to get freebies.

We spoke with a representative from  Olney’s California Tortilla who told us that the location will be remodeling and hopes to open in 2.5 weeks, but that there isn’t an exact reopening date available at this time.


Entertainment

Hometown Holidays/Taste of Rockville will take place in a new location this year. For the first time, this free festival which features local flavor including two stages of entertainment by local acts, and activities for kids, will take place at Redgate Park (14500 Avery Road), moving away from Rockville Town Square where it has been held for many years.

The event will take place  on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29 between 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.