Wellbranch – Health + Lifestyle, a boutique health club, opened to the public May 2 at Cabin John Mall in Potomac. It is a wellness collective that brings together veteran health and fitness practitioners from the full spectrum of health and fitness disciplines in a deluxe club atmosphere. With a refined aesthetic and boutique design, this appointment-only club is designed to empowers you to own every element of your health and self-care. It offers exclusive access to the region’s leading fitness professionals, massage therapists, clinicians, and registered dieticians, grow the way you want to with Wellbranch.

Wellbranch is helmed by owner Israel Butron Arnez, a Montgomery County resident and fitness expert who grew up in Gaithersburg, MD. During the pandemic with the help of Israel’s advisors and noted branding, Wellbranch emerged. Wellbranch Potomac will be the first of 3 planned locations in Montgomery County (Potomac, Bethesda & Gaithersburg).


KID Museum will open in its new flagship site at Bethesda Metro Center — a brand new, 28,000 square foot facility “created to foster the “Mind of a Maker” and empower the next generation with the skills to invent the future.” The grand opening event will take place on May 22, 2022 at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 140.

The state-of-the-art makerspace is purpose-built for kids ages 4-14 to explore coding, robotics, engineering design, and hands-on maker learning, with the capacity to welcome more than 100,000 visitors every year. There will be grand opening events, becoming a member, or sponsoring us to help all kids discover a love of exploring, creating, and collaborating to become makers of the future. Tickets for the grand opening event are required and now sold out, but tickets remain available for future Sundays (May 29th, June 5th, and June 12th).


The investigation determined that the victim was waiting to enter a parking garage when a white 4-door vehicle drove up next to her. The suspect exited the front passenger seat of the vehicle, approached the victim from behind, pointed a gun and demanded the victim’s purse. The victim complied and the suspect ran back to the vehicle and fled the scene.

The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 6-feet tall, thin build, wearing a grey hoodie and dark colored pants.


Prime IV Hydration and Wellness is holding its Grand Opening today at 4923 Elm Street Bethesda, the former home of arts & crafts shop All Fired Up. The grand opening will be from 10am until 6pm today and 20% off of a founders lifetime membership is being offered. Refreshments and snacks are being offered as well as door prizes, giveaways, booking discounts, and more.

Prime IV offers treatments And IV infusions provided by medically licensed staff to help with hydration, athletic performance, anti-aging, hangover recovery, weight management, immunity boosts, altitude sickness, jet lag recovery, and more.


The operator of the Honda and several witnesses stopped and rendered aid. The pedestrian, 84-year-old Carole Barbara Weiss, was transported to an area hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on May 17.

The initial investigation by the Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) has revealed the pedestrian crossed to the center median, toward the western side of Rockledge Drive, and entered the southbound lanes of Rockledge Drive, where she was struck.


Marni Olesker, third grade teacher and team leader at Burning Tree Elementary School, has won this year’s Shirley J. Lowrie “Thank You for Teaching” Award. A 31-year veteran of MCPS, 21 of them at Burning Tree, Olesker is a game changer for students.

Per MCPS: Each year, she requests the students with the greatest needs and the most difficult IEPs or tough behavioral issues. And each year, she wins them over so skillfully that they make tremendous academic and emotional progress. She has a natural ability to connect with and push each student to reach excellence. She also gets results—during the pandemic, 100 percent of her students met proficiency on two or three Evidence of Learning goals in math, and 85 percent met all three Evidence of Learning goals in reading.


Chef Rob Sonderman from DC’s Federalist Pig won Good Morning America’s Ultimate Pitmaster competition, a nationwide competition to look for the best barbecue in the U.S. While Federalist Pig’s original standalone location is at 1654 Columbia Rd in DC, their Michelin award winning BBQ is also available at Ensemble in Bethesda.   Ensemble is a digital food hall from Salis Holdings (Ted’s Bulletin, Sidekick Bakery, Federalist Pig), located 4856 Cordell Ave. The menu features items from four the different Salis Holdings restaurants that can be mixed and matched. You can get a brisket sandwich from Federalist Pig, side of French toast from Ted’s Bulletin, fried chicken from Honeymoon Chicken, and dessert from Sidekick Bakery all at the same spot. You can order from their mobile app or website for pickup or delivery.

 


Just over five years after opening its first location in Georgetown, Boulangerie Chritophe has opened its first Montgomery County. The bakery is located in a new building in Cabin John Village.

The first location, in Georgetown, opened in February of 2017.  At the time of its opening, the first floor of that location is a casual cafe, serving light lunch fare and a wide selection of pastries. The second floor of Boulangerie Christophe was more — and offered can enjoy a sit-down meal in a relaxed atmosphere.


A representative from the Ladurée Paris location at 3060 M St in NW, DC tells us the upcoming Bethesda location at 4808 Bethesda Ave will be opening in about two weeks. Permanent signage was installed on the building earlier this spring. The French café and pastry shop has U.S. locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and currently has a pop-up/kiosk location inside of Montgomery Mall.

Dating back to 1862, Ladurée is known worldwide for their macarons.  The Bethesda menu will also feature chocolates, pastries, teas and more. Feature photo courtesy of @pike.and.rozay on Instagram. Photos below courtesy of the Ladurée Facebook page.


Back in February we let you know that Bethesda favorite Raku will open Rakugaki at the Shops at Wildwood in the Fall of 2022. The 2,188-square-foot restaurant that will offer sushi will be located at 10223 Georgetown Road near Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream. Raku’s Bethesda and Cathedral Heights locations as well as Rakuya at Dupont Circle remain open. The restaurant has a hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) on Thursday, May 19th at 9:30am for a “Class B Beer, Wine, and Liquor License, On Sale Only.” The restaurant is still aiming for a Fall 2022 opening.

When deciding on a new location, co-owner Marcel The said, “We love the Bethesda community which we have served for the past 25 years. We feel that Wildwood is the perfect choice for our newest restaurant where we will feature favorite menu items as well as introduce new offerings.”


MCPS has released a “flyover” of what Charles W. Woodward High School will look like upon its completion (video available below). The school originally opened in 1966. Two decades later, in 1987, its students were merged into Walter Johnson High School. Woodward and Walter Johnson High Schools had the same diminished enrollment levels, but MCPS decided to preserve Walter Johnson given the schools larger capacity.

After a brief period as a holding school while Springbrook High was being renovated, the building was used to house Tilden Middle School while that school’s facility began a major renovation project. Tilden relocated to its new building during the summer of 2020.


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