Gaithersburg Archives - Page 254 of 402

Update: Detectives Investigate Bank Robbery in Gaithersburg; Surveillance Photos of Suspect Released

Published January 17, 2023 at 10:58PM

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division are investigating a bank robbery that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at the Bank of America in the 400 block of N. Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg. Detectives have released surveillance photos of the male suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

At approximately 3:36 p.m., officers responded to the location for the report of a bank robbery that just occurred. The investigation by detectives has revealed that the suspect entered the bank, implied he had a firearm, stole an undisclosed amount of money and left the bank. Detectives reviewed the surveillance footage of the bank and obtained surveillance photographs of the suspect.

Lakeforest Mall to Close at the End of March after Almost 45 Years

By MCS Staff

Published January 17, 2023 at 10:07PM

WRS, Inc. officially announced that Lakeforest Mall will be closing at the end of March, after almost 45 years in Gaithersburg. The closing of the mall aligns with the recently announced closing of Macy’s, the last of the remaining anchor stores at the mall. The announcement was made at a City of Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council meeting on Tuesday night. WRS plans to demolish “as soon as they can.” Financing requires the mall to remain as an option in case “things go really sideways”, which could cause WRS to have to look at re-tenanting the mall. It was made clear that WRS does not intend to do this, but needs to keep it as an option. Previously, WRS mentioned 2024 as a target date for demolition to occur and new construction to begin.

Lakeforest Mall first opened on September 12, 1978. At that time, the mall’s anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s. The mall was one of the first in the United States to feature an indoor ice skating rink on the lower level, in the “H section”, along with being the biggest indoor shopping mall in the county at the time of grand opening. The ice skating rink was replaced by a NTI Theaters movie theater in 1984, later renamed Cineplex Odeon Lakeforest 5, then by a food court, which now occupies the space. The mall was built on top of Lake Walker, a park on the property prior. The mall opened with approximately 30-50 stores, with some of the first stores being relocated from the then nearby indoor Village Mall (now an outdoor strip mall called Montgomery Village Center since 1991) and absorbed onto the property.

Police Respond to Bank Robbery in Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron

Published January 17, 2023 at 8:18PM

Police responded to a bank robbery on Tuesday afternoon in Gaithersburg. According to MCPD, “Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at approximately 3:36 p.m., MCP officers responded to the Bank of America at 474 N. Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburgfor the report of a bank robbery that just occurred.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that the adult male suspect entered the bank, implied he had a firearm, stole an undisclosed amount of money, and left the bank. Injuries have not been reported. The suspect has not been apprehended.”

MoCo’s Newest Roaming Rooster Now Open

By Patrick Herron

Published January 17, 2023 at 1:01PM | Updated January 18, 2023 at 9:25AM

Roaming Rooster at 511 Quince Orchard Rd in Gaithersburg is currently holding its soft opening. The restaurant has an official grand opening scheduled for February 15. Roaming Rooster is located in the space previously occupied by Duck Donuts in the Firstfield Shopping Center. Duck Donuts permanently closed in August. The restaurant is currently open 11am-4pm and will be extending its hours beginning next week.

Roaming Rooster is known for its variety of buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches that vary in heat depending on the diner’s preferences – mild, medium or hot. In addition to its free-range, grain-fed, antibiotic-free and Halal chicken, Roaming Rooster offers an all week breakfast menu, salads and sides including wings, chicken tenders and hand-cut fries.

Opening Information for Sweetgreen in Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron

Published January 17, 2023 at 12:31PM

Sweetgreen will be holding a soft opening for its new Gaithersburg location at 299 Copley Place D100 in Downtown Crown this Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21. The official grand opening will be held on Tuesday, January 24. You can register for a free meal at the soft opening or a $5 app credit to use during the grand opening week at this link.

“We can’t wait to bring sweetgreen to your neighorbood! Join us before we officially open on Tuesday, January 24th to get a sneak peek of our new restaurant, meet the team, and taste our fresh, made-from-scratch menu with a bowl, plate or salad on us.”

Happening Today: Lakeforest Redevelopment Plan Joint Public Hearing

By MCS Staff

Published January 17, 2023 at 7:15AM

The City of Gaithersburg Joint Planning Commission/Mayor and City Council Hearing on the Lakeforest redevelopment plan is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

WRS Inc., the company redeveloping the mall, held an informational meeting on October 20 at the mall and additional meetings in the area since providing information on its plan. WRS purchased the core, ponds, and forest conservation of the mall back in 2019 and added the four anchor sites earlier this year, spending a total of $75 million to acquire Lakeforest Mall. In October they announced that they have worked with the City of Gaithersburg since March and plan to submit their zoning application and sketch plan in the next couple weeks. The target date for demolition of the mall and the start of new construction is currently 2024, with a more specific date to come after the approval of sketch plans. The sketch plan requires at least 35% “green space” and WRS stated that initial sketches are currently at a little more than 35%. Green space is defined as trees, grass, walking/biking areas, etc.

TaKorean to Take Over Recently Closed Nalley Fresh Location in Kentlands

By MCS Staff

Published January 16, 2023 at 5:11PM

TaKorean will be opening its first location outside of D.C. in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood, taking over the recently-closed Nalley Fresh location at 261 Kentlands Blvd. The restaurant offers Korean style tacos and bowls. No opening timeframe is available, as Nalley Fresh still needs to be cleaned out in order for TaKorean construction to begin.

The line-style restaurant was operating five locations at once, a few years back, but now there are just two TaKorean locations open in Washington, D.C. According to RestaurantDive, TaKorean is currently looking to open one restaurant at a time with future franchisees, and wants to ensure success at its initial franchise locations to create a strong base for a burgeoning franchise program. The company is open to multi-unit deals, but isn’t seeking them out. TaKorean is currently casting a wide net for potential markets, and once it sees brand recognition and franchisee interest in a particular market, it expects to build up that area, Lenard said. TaKorean is flexible on potential restaurant sizes, depending on a market’s real estate conditions.

MoCo’s First Full-Time Comedy Club to Launch January 20 In Gaithersburg; 50% of Proceeds Go to Local Charities

By MCS Staff

Published January 16, 2023 at 11:19AM

On January 20 ‘Give a Hoot’ comedy club, the first ever full-time comedy club in Montgomery County, will launch at La Mexicana in Gaithersburg with a twofold mission: to show patrons a great time, and to give back to the local community. According to the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, ‘Give a Hoot’ will give 50% of its proceeds to local charities. In addition to comedy shows, the club will also feature murder mystery and hypnotist acts.

Per the press release: The brainchild of co-founders Irwin Weinstein and Ken Watter, local comics who have collectively produced and performed in over 1,000 shows, Give A Hoot comedy club aims to fill an entertainment niche in the region – offering access to some of the East Coast’s most beloved comics on a predictable and accessible basis.

Nalley Fresh Has Closed After 7+ Years in the Kentlands Neighborhood

By MCS Staff

Published January 15, 2023 at 6:36PM

Nalley Fresh has closed its Kentlands restaurant in Gaithersburg after just over 7 years in business at the location (261 Kentlands Blvd). Signage was taken down today, as seen in the featured photo by Michaela Belkin, and some contents of the restaurant were being cleared. We were told by those clearing the restaurant that this location has closed permanently. Nalley Fresh has nine additional locations across Maryland, but no others in Montgomery County.

About Nalley Fresh: After 20 years in the culinary business, Greg Nalley has finally become what he calls an overnight success. Although his path has been anything but direct, Nalley currently oversees an expanding empire in the Baltimore area. His eighth Nalley Fresh restaurant just opened its doors in Columbia and strong demand for the unique salads, bowls and wraps that the burgeoning chain offers has inspired plans for further expansion. But it is unlikely that any of it would have happened if the life-changing news Nalley received in 2001 had not inspired him to take the leap and pursue his longtime dream of running his own restaurant. “When I got that big dose of cancer, it brought a lot of things to light, a lot of things I was scared to do, like open my own place. I was fearful of that,” Nalley said.

Pepco to Begin Repairs on Transmission Tower and Power Lines Damaged by Plane Crash

By Patrick Herron

Published January 15, 2023 at 11:08AM

On Monday, January 16, Pepco will begin repairs on the transmission tower and power lines that were damaged after a private plane crashed into them on November 27. The crash occurred near the intersection of Goshen Road and Rothbury Drive in Montgomery Village and resulted in an outage to approximately 85,000 customers across the county. The pilot and passenger of the plane suffered non-life threatening injuries. On December 6, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the incident.

According to the Village News, “Pepco will begin by replacing the overhead lines that were damaged. This work is scheduled to take place between Monday, Jan. 16 and Friday, Jan. 27. The work to replace the damaged overhead lines will be located on Pepco right-of-way between Montgomery Village Avenue and Fulks Farm Road in Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg. A helicopter will be utilized for some of the work involved in the replacement of the overhead lines.

Gaithersburg’s Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Announces First Patient Dosed in the PHAGE Clinical Trial Evaluating Phage Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis-related Respiratory Infection

By MCS Staff

Published January 13, 2023 at 5:00PM

Gaithersburg-based Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc., (APT) a clinical-stage biotechnology company (located at 708 Quince Orchard Rd) advancing the APT phage bank, the world’s largest therapeutic phage initiative for treatment of bacterial infectious diseases, announced the first patient has been dosed in the PHAGE clinical trial, evaluating bacteriophage therapy in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) who carry Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in their lungs. The trial is evaluating whether the bacteriophage, or “phage,” therapy is safe and able to reduce the amount of bacteria in the lungs of volunteers. The trial is being conducted by the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) which consists of more than 100 leading experts, working together to combat the ongoing antibacterial resistance crisis and improve patient care. ARLG is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The investigational phage therapeutic, WRAIR-PAM-CF1, was developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and is licensed to and manufactured by APT. The trial is expected to enroll a total of 72 patients at multiple sites across the country.

Per the press release: “At Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, we are committed to developing innovative treatments that address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance,” said Greg Merril, CEO of Adaptive Phage Therapeutics. “We are proud to be a part of this important trial and look forward to working with the ARLG, NIAID, WRAIR, and the CF community to bring new hope to those affected by this devastating disease and secondary respiratory infection.”