Six months ago we let you know that Downtown Silver Spring landed two major tenants with Uniqlo and Golds Gym signing on for the shopping center. Now Uniqlo has set an opening date as its Google listing shows Friday, August 25th as opening day for the clothing store.
Uniqlo opened its first and only other MoCo location in September of 2018 in Pike & Rose. The Downtown Silver Spring location will be taking over the 10,058 SF space at 914 Ellsworth St that was formerly home to Ulta prior to the move to its current location in Downtown Silver Spring.
Uniqlo will offer the brand’s unique guest experience and its lineup of LifeWear clothes for men, women and kids. Fast Retailing Co. has opened over 2,400 Uniqlo stores worldwide since launching its first store in Hiroshima in 1984. “Uniqlo has created apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity, featuring universal designs, supreme fit and comfort to improve the daily lives of its customers.” Featured photo courtesy of Uniqlo
All Set Restaurant & Bar, located at 8630 Fenton Street, Plaza 5 in Silver Spring, has announced it will be hosting its inaugural Oyster Eating Contest on Saturday, August 5th, from 2pm-4pm featuring, an oyster shucking demonstration from Owner & Head Chef, Edward Reavis. The contestant who eats the most oysters will be awarded one dozen oysters a day, every day, for one calendar year, All Set & Money Muscle merchandise, their photo posted on All Set social media, & ultimate bragging rights. All interested competitors must sign a waiver & pay a $25 registration fee. Additional details on the contest can be seen below:
Each ‘athlete’ will have 1 minute to eat as many oysters as possible. Contestants will receive a tray filled with 24 pre-shucked oysters on the half shell. If the competitor consumes all the oysters on the tray, they will be given supplemental dozens.
Contestants may flavor or dress each oyster before the competition begins, but they are not allowed to move the oyster out of its shell or otherwise touch the oysters, prior to the start of the competition.
The judges are responsible for counting the oyster shells to determine the total number of oysters consumed. Oyster ‘meat’ remaining on the tray will be deducted from the total number of shells counted. For an oyster to be counted in the final total, it must be swallowed by the contestant by the end of the time limit (i.e. not in the contestant’s hands or mouth).
If a competitor ejects an oyster from their mouth, they will be disqualified. The competition may contain multiple heats depending on the number of competitors, but each individual will compete only once. Arrangement of the heats will be determined by All Set Restaurant & Bar. The athlete that consumes the most oysters at the end of the heats will be declared the champion.
In the case of a tie, there will be a final round comprised of 2 dozen oysters. The first competitor to swallow all of the oysters will be declared the champion. Additional information can be found here.
Featured photo courtesy of @AllSetDTSS on instagram
Back in March we let you know that Outback Steakhouse will be opening its third Montgomery County location. The Australian-themed casual dining chain will open in the space that was previously home to Not Your Average Joe’s at 8661 Colesville Rd at Ellsworth Place in Downtown Silver Spring. Construction is currently ongoing and the restaurant has its hearing with Montgomery County’s Alcoholic Beverage Services (ABS) for a New Class B, Beer, Wine & Liquor License, On-Sale Only, license at 11:30am on Thursday, August 3rd (reported first by Source of the Spring). An opening timeframe is not yet available, but it will be the chain’s third Montgomery County location, joining existing restaurants in Aspen Hill and Germantown.
While Outback Steakhouse is an international chain, one of the founders has strong local ties. Chris T. Sullivan, one of the founders of Outback Steakhouse, is a Blair High School alumnus. Sullivan attended the school, and Takoma Park Middle School before that, in the 60s before heading to the University of Kentucky to study business and economics.
After graduating in 1972, he became a restaurant manager at Steak & Ale before opening the first Outback with his partners in 1988. He and the other co-founders saw the chain expand to over 900 restaurants worldwide and grow to include Carrabba’s, Bonefish, and several other hospitality-related businesses. He has previously been CEO and president of OSI Restaurant Partners (the restaurant group he founded) and is currently a board member at Bloomin’ Brands. Featured photo courtesy of Outback Steakhouse.
Per Montgomery County: Folklore follows formulas and conventions that govern the folksongs, the folk art and the folktales and legends people share. Many of the personal accounts of being abducted by aliens follow a three-part formulaic structure: captured by aliens; examined by aliens; and then returned to pre-abduction status, often with lasting memories of the encounter.
All of these encounters will be the focus of the free online presentation “Captured, Examined & Returned: The Folklore of Alien Abductions” that will be led by Smithsonian Curator Jim Deutsch from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 31. The presentation from Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., will use a folkloric framework to analyze some alien-abduction narratives and will discuss what function(s) they serve.
To register to participate in the conversation, go to Meeting Registration – Zoom.
Mr. Deutsch is a curator and editor at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., where he has helped plan and develop public programs on the Peace Corps, Hungary, China, Circus Arts, Apollo Theater, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mekong River, U.S. Forest Service, World War II, Silk Road, and White House workers.
Mr. Deutsch also serves as an adjunct professor—teaching courses on American film history and folklore—in the American Studies Department at George Washington University. He has taught American Studies classes at universities in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Poland and Turkey.
Dog Haus Biergarten, which has three Montgomery County locations (Gaithersburg, Bethesda, and Silver Spring), is offering a free hot dog to those who text FREE DOG to 833.440.1110. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate National Hot Dog Day than offering a free Haus Dog to all our fans,” says Dog Haus Co-Founder André Vener. “We have the best hot dogs and sausages in the business – the industry’s gold standard. We hope to get a Haus Dog into the hands of hot dog lovers far and wide as we celebrate our favorite day of the year!”
The restaurant recent announced that all three of its Montgomery County locations will be offering delivery service 24 hours a day, making it one of the only non-fast food restaurants offering 24-7 delivery service in the area. Dog Haus’ virtual brands, including Bad Ass Breakfast Burritos, Plant B (All plant base food) Impossible Shop, Bad Mutha Cluka and Jail Bird (all chicken options), are also available 24-7.
The first Dog Haus opened in Pasadena, CA in 2010. The company opened its first east coast location in Bethesda (7904 Woodmont Ave) in 2018, followed by Gaithersburg (644 Center Point Way) in January 2020 and Silver Spring (933 Ellsworth Dr.) in December 2021.
https://www.facebook.com/100086020047772/posts/241988382011828/?mibextid=cr9u03
Chick-fil-A will be temporarily closing its Downtown Silver Spring location at 825 Ellsworth Drive for renovations according to signs placed on the restaurant. “We will be closing for renovations on August 3rd. We will be closed for about 10 weeks. Thank you for understanding and we are looking forward to serving you soon.” The news was first reported by Source of the Spring, who noted that the restaurant was last remodeled in 2017.
Chick-fil-A has additional Montgomery County locations in Bethesda, two in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Olney, Rockville, and Silver Spring (between Calverton, Fairland, and White Oak). The chain opened its newest location last month in Gaithersburg. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Updated to include a statement from The Eleanor
The Eleanor, located at 932 Ellsworth Dr in Downtown Silver Spring, has closed permanently, according to a representative from the restaurant/arcade. The Eleanor, which opened just weeks prior to the Covid shutdowns in 2020, was open for just over three years and will remain open at its DC location (100 Florida Ave NE). They are currently calling to cancel any reservations made for future dates.
The restaurant posted the following message Tuesday afternoon on social media:
It is with a heavy heart that we share some difficult news. After facing unprecedented challenges since opening just two weeks before the pandemic shutdown, we have decided to close our Silver Spring location.
These past years have been filled with tough times, but we want to express our deepest gratitude to all of you for your unwavering support throughout this journey. Your patronage, kind words, and encouragement have meant the world to us, and we couldn’t have made it this far without you.
To our incredible team at Silver Spring, your dedication and resilience in the face of adversity have been genuinely inspiring. It is a testament to your hard work that we could serve our community for as long as we did, and we are deeply grateful.
Although we are bidding farewell to our Silver Spring location, our doors remain open at our DC location. We welcome you to join us there, where we will continue serving the community with the same passion and commitment that you have come to expect from us.For our wonderful customers who hold gift cards or game cards from Silver Spring, these will be fully honored at our DC location.
Lastly, we are looking to the future, and more opportunities for our brand to grow. We take this metaphor literally: when one set of doors closes, another opens. Stay tuned.
The Eleanor is described as “the neighborhood arcade & bowling lounge that serves honest, handmade food and local beers, craft cocktails, and great wines.” It took over the space that was previously home to Lincoln BBQ and served brunch, lunch and dinner, hosted happy hours per weekday and offer six bowling lanes, more than a dozen arcade games and multiple outdoor patios.
BIBIBOP Asian Grill, which has locations in Downtown Silver Spring (935 Ellsworth Drive) and Pike & Rose (11584 Old Georgetown Rd. Unit 1126), is offering free bowls for all nurses on Friday, May 12th (International Nurses Day). BIBIBOP offers fully customizable bowls with your choice of proteins, bases, toppings, and sauces. Options include Korean BBQ, steak, spicy chicken, and tofu.
Per BIBIBOP: “Nurses have gone above and beyond to take care of us, so we would like to take care of them! Offer: We are offering all nurses a complimentary bowl when they stop in at their local BIBIBOP on Friday, May 12th (International Nurses Day). Restrictions: Available in-store on 5/12/23 only. One bowl per nurse. Valid ID or proof of profession required.” Featured photo courtesy of BIBIBOP on Facebook.
Tastee Diner at 8601 Cameron St. in Silver Spring permanently closed on March 22, at 2pm. The diner was sold on March 21 to D.C. based Roadside Development for $3.1 million according to Maryland Land Records. Now you can own a piece of the diner’s long history, as the contents of the restaurant are currently being auctioned. From artwork, to photographs, to tables, chairs, and booths, you’re able to bid on almost everything inside the diner.
Roadside Development, which purchased the adjacent Capital One bank lot back in August, plans on creating a “multifamily mixed-use” redevelopment at the two sites. According to a press release, the original dining car from the diner will be incorporated into the future project. Tastee Diner opened its Silver Spring location on the corner of Wayne Avenue and Georgia Avenue in 1946. After 65 years, the diner faced being closed and destroyed to make room for Silver Spring’s Discovery Building but local residents rallied to save and move the diner to the location it was in until recently.
Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps
Back in February, we let you know that Downtown Silver Spring landed two major tenants with Uniqlo and Golds Gym signing on. “Coming Soon” signage is now up for Uniqlo (featured photo by Kristen Rowe), which opened its first and only other MoCo location in September of 2018 in Pike & Rose. The Downtown Silver Spring location will be taking over the 10,058 SF space at 914 Ellsworth St that was formerly home to Ulta prior to the move to its current location in Downtown Silver Spring.
Uniqlo will offer the brand’s unique guest experience and its lineup of LifeWear clothes for men, women and kids. Fast Retailing Co. has opened over 2,400 Uniqlo stores worldwide since launching its first store in Hiroshima in 1984. “Uniqlo has created apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity, featuring universal designs, supreme fit and comfort to improve the daily lives of its customers.”
At approximately 12:45 on Friday morning, officers were dispatched to 13th St near Kennett St, just off of Eastern Ave in Silver Spring, for several ‘shots fired’ calls. Per Montgomery County Police, “an adult male victim was found suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound. The victim stated that it was attempted robbery. There is no suspect in custody and the victim was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.” Our public safety reporter, Cordell Pugh reports that Montgomery County Police 3D Officers applied a tourniquet prior to the arrival of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue EMS (second tweet below). Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
DOWNTOWN SILVER SPRING SHOOTING: ~12:45AM Friday, 13th St near Kennett St, just off of Eastern Ave (Montgomery County, MD). Man shot in arm during robbery attempt. Montgomery County Police 3D Officers applied a tourniquet prior to @MCFRS arrival. #DTSS #StopTheBleed #ShepherdPark
— Cordell (@CordellTraffic) April 7, 2023
