Per Gaithersburg Police: Thefts of catalytic converters is part of a national crime trend that we have seen occur in the City. This theft can be accomplished in a matter of seconds. Here are a few prevention tips:
How do you know if your catalytic converter was stolen?
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. The preview takes place from 12pm-6pm.
“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.” Sweetgreen currently has three additional MoCo locations, in Bethesda, Downtown Silver Spring, and Pike & Rose. Crown has been without a fast-casual salad restaurant since Chopt closed in early 2020 and has since moved that location to the Kentlands neighborhood. Feature photo courtesy of Sweetgreen on Facebook.
Per Gaithersburg Police: On January 9, 2023 at approximately 11:43 p.m., a Gaithersburg Police Department patrol officer observed a U-Haul box truck traveling on Clopper Road. The officer ran the vehicle registration plate several times, with no return listing for a registered owner. The officer having knowledge that there have been several instances of individuals switching out invalid registration plates on U-Haul vehicles, a traffic stop was initiated.
Upon approaching the truck, the officer smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle which led to a probable cause search. During the vehicle search, the officer located a loaded Bersa Thunder 380 handgun in the driver side door pocket. The handgun had a round in the chamber, but no rounds in the magazine. A check of the handguns serial number returned that it had been stolen out of Washington DC. A criminal history query on the driver revealed that he is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior robbery with a handgun arrest out of Prince George’s County, MD. Additionally, there was a female passenger, who had multiple arrest warrants to include theft and malicious destruction of property. The driver, a 31-year-old male from Upper Marlboro, MD was arrested and charged with the following:
Opening soon signage is up at EggMania at 385 Muddy Branch Road (previously Curry Place) in Gaithersburg. While no opening date has been announced, representatives from the restaurant tell us they plan on opening this spring. The menu consists of egg-centric Indian street food, including a masala omelet, egg curry, and Goti Fry (sliced boiled eggs cooked with ginger, garlic and chili. Topped with American cheese and onion-tomato based gravy).
The restaurant tells us, “There’s lots of misconception when it comes to “EggMania”. In American culture eggs based dishes are primarily used during breakfast whereas in popular Indian street food culture, eggs based dishes are made for entrees and served during lunch / dinner and full menu items, not just breakfast. EggMania is not breakfast place. Hope to serve the community and bring this delicious food options for our MoCo residents and surrounding very soon…!!”
The Mayor & City Council and the Environmental Affairs Committee (EAC) invite you to participate in the Environmental Awards Program. Through the awards, the City looks to recognize & show appreciation for those who give back to the environment & encourage others to get involved.
The EAC awards those who demonstrate a commitment to environmental stewardship in one of three categories:
The City celebrates & honors Black History Month with storytime programs, film screenings, discussions, and an official proclamation. A list of events can be found here.
Celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February, Black History Month was started in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. He sought to bring national attention to the important contributions African Americans made to the history of the United States. Woodson chose February because it includes the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes & Abraham Lincoln.
Construction is scheduled to begin later this week at the upcoming Neal’s Bagels in the Kentlands. Neal’s Bagels is relocating from its current location about a mile and a half away at 12141 Darnestown Rd in the Potomac Valley shopping center in Gaithersburg. The Jewish deli has been there for about 30 years, previously operating under the name Bagels Deluxe. The new shop will be located in the Kentlands paseo, next to Burtons and across from RanKen Noodle House.
The plan for the Kentlands location is to include indoor seating, as well as an outdoor patio where customers can enjoy their breakfast. Additions will include a grill that will allow the breakfast spot to add fresh-made eggs to breakfast sandwiches, omelets, pancakes, and waffles. The restaurant is hoping for a May 1st opening.
Permanent signage is now up at the upcoming Shake Shake location in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood. No opening date has been announced but we’re told the restaurant is expected to open in the first half of 2023. Shake Shack has additional MoCo locations at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Cabin John Village in Potomac.
Background: On July 8, 2021, Shake Shack was granted approval for the construction of a 4,700 square foot building with outdoor seating as the second of three commercial infill sites totaling 16,000 square feet along Kentlands Square Place. The burger chain was granted its license to sell beer and wine on the premises during its Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) hearing on January 6th of 2022, and prepared to break ground in February. Construction began in March, but stalled after flooding that occurred over the summer.
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.
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 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.”